by Gene Turnbow | Apr 21, 2026 | Books
Writers frequently divide themselves into two camps: plotters, and pantsers.
I posit that they’re really the same thing.
Plotters and Pantsers
They’re funny words, born of the publishing industry. A plotter is somebody who works out the plot before they start, using it as a road map for where they want to go. A pantser is somebody who just starts writing, without a plan, and lets the story grow organically from the characters, or whatever they happen to feel at the time. I think you can guess which camp I fall into.
This is just my opinion, mind you — but I’ve done almost a hundred interviews with writers, and written about writing on the pages of SCIFI.radio for over fifteen years. And, I do have the benefit of having written a very highly regarded (though lesser known) book, Juniper Fairchild and the Alterwhere.
The Mechanics of It All
A pantser is a plotter who doesn’t think they have to plan anything out and just charges ahead, and then eventually has to go back and, with a bunch of pieces they’ve made, work out the outline anyway after the fact. They’re really plotters, they just don’t want to sit down and do the work up front.
Plotting is additive. It’s like building a house, you start with a blueprint, frame it up and build in increasing detail until it’s finished.
Pantsing is subtractive. It’s more like carving from a stone block with a chisel. You take away everything that doesn’t look like the elephant you know is in that hunk of marble someplace. The form is revealed to you as you work. I use the term “subtractive” very intentionally: as a pantser, one writes a great deal of material that must eventually be removed and thrown away, because it does not fit the story structure to which it must eventually be applied.
But here’s the thing: in order for pantsing to work, you must understand the rules of engagement. Stories must have beginnings, middles and endings. Characters need backstories, so that you have a frame of reference for determining how they’ll function in any given scenario. If you just start writing without a plan, you end up with a mess.
Two Kinds of Pantsers: Those Who Are, And Those Who Think They Are, But Aren’t (But Neither Really Is)
The author who believes they are a pantser and can actually function this way is really just an internalized plotter. Some writers are so good at what they do, and so practiced at it, that they can write their stories without spending too much time discretely thinking about their plan. They understand the lay of the land and the mechanics of writing so well that they have sublimated the planning process, and for them, it is more like instinct than technical work.
This begs the obvious observation that there are writers who think they are successful pantsers, and they’re really not, because they have no idea what they’re doing. These writers tend not to finish anything, because they’re trying to write without having a structure in which to work, and whether you hold that structure in your head or you write it down as a formal document, you must have one. It’s functionally impossible to write without one.
And no, despite statements to the contrary, writers who just set things up and see where they go have a destination in mind, whether it’s a particular situation, or a character revelation and transformation. That end point is always in the backs of their minds, whether they’re openly addressing the elephant in the room or not. There is always, always, a plot back there somewhere.
That said, your story outline is unlikely to withstand exposure to your characters with no changes. In Aristotle’s book on storytelling and theater, called simply Poetics, he lays the fact that character emerges from story, but that story also emerges from character. Events take place, and some of them are instigated by your characters, and some of them are merely experienced by them. This dichotomy defines the existence of the individual, and it is impossible to construct a reality, artificial or otherwise, in which this is not true. For this reason, an absolute control over your plot outline just isn’t possible.
Still, though the premise that the outline will always rigidly define the story may be flawed, we are still locked into having to have one, just as we are locked into having to know everything there is to know about the characters who will inhabit it and live out their experiences in it.
You cannot use the inherent instability of the concept of plot and the influence of characters actions upon it as an excuse not to make one. You cannot use the fact that characters are shaped by their environment and experiences as an excuse not to write their backstories. It’s the same problem, just from the other side of the fence. You need to plan out both your characters and your plot, and then work with both of them and adjust them as you go, but you must begin with something.
I once encountered a very educated writer at a local convention who was teaching class in his panels, essentially. He had something like 20 panels over the course of three days. He was gregarious, he was friendly, his mind was up there in lights, and he was brilliant at teaching, and a brilliant writer. I was on one of his panels, and I set forth my proposal that pantsers are just plotters who write a bunch of stuff, and then have to go back and do the plotting work anyway and edit everything down so that it made some kind of sense, but that they were basically just in denial of having to be plotters to finish the work.
He said, and I quote: “I think it’s cute that you believe that.”
I think it’s cute that he believes that.
I have confidence, though, that he will eventually figure this out. He’s a really smart guy.
Denial is Not Just A River in Egypt
The trouble with his observation was that he was so talented, and had worked so long and so hard on learning the craft of writing, that he could no longer completely explain how his internal processes work. He knows essentially everything there is to know about plot and character, and storytelling, but when some of his foundational bits dissolve into the carpeting, he can still walk the walk, but he can no longer feel certain of those bits beneath his toes.
There are lots of writers who fall into this category. These writers just barrel ahead, confident that their internal understanding of story and structure will naturally express itself as they go, and they will end up with a story with proper structure, character arcs, balance, emotional arcs, and all the rest. Some of these writers are extremely successful, like Stephen King is, or like Ray Bradbury was.
Trust me, you are not Ray Bradbury.
Eventually I’ll get to the point where I can just trust my intuitive understanding of plot and character, and just spin up marvelous stories, but I travel toward this goal with eyes wide open. I might get very very good at plotting, so good that I no longer have to make notes and outlines on paper before I write, but I will be doing this work internally anyway, and there will always be a plan. Trying to write without one is like trying to walk without bones.
If you’re starting out at a writer, the idea of being a pantser can be attractive, because it sounds freer, more fun, and less work. There are those who think they pantsers, but they’re either doing the work internally, or they’re doing tons of extra unnecessary work and then editing it to fit an outline they come up with after the fact. Either way, they’re plotters in denial.
One might have a plot deeply informed by one’s characters, but in the end we must all be plotters, whether we design that plot up front or retrofit one into the narrative later. There is no such thing as a pantser.
I invite your commentary.
by Gene Turnbow | Nov 4, 2025 | Books, Writing
I keep hearing this trope about how your characters speak to you and have minds of their own. I never understood this.
As a writer, I either know what my characters should be doing, and where my story is supposed to be going and why, and the emotional notes I want to hit and why, and then I make them do what I want.
And If I can’t, it means I haven’t thought things through properly, or worked out enough of the back story for my characters, so I go back and do the missing work. I’m never surprised by what my characters do in my stories. They are as I write them.
by Gene Turnbow | Oct 11, 2025 | Books, Business, Writing
This is just sort of a grab bag of stuff I learned while publishing my first book, Juniper Fairchild and the Alterwhere. This advice applies to both indie authors and operators of small press.
Know Your Genre. Read.
Read everything. It’s great if you know the classics, but read the new stuff. Learn how to build your stories so that they fit in the formats your anticipated audience will expect to see.
Do not write a 600 page doorstop as your first book. You can do that later if you get popular. Likewise, do not write a pamphlet and present it as a book and expect to be taken seriously.
Organize Everything
People who say they write by the seat of their pants aren’t telling you the whole truth: sooner or later you have to make an outline, and you have to fit what you’ve written into that outline, or you haven’t got a book. It’s better to plan things out, then write. Authors who can write straight ahead are those who are so skilled that they can do the planning part in their heads without writing it down. You are not one of those writers.
ISBN Numbers
You should buy a batch of ISBN numbers from Bowker. Don’t buy them one at a time. Each version of your book will need a separate one, and by the time you’ve used three, you might as well have bought the ten pack.
Do not buy ISBN numbers from anyone else. They’re lying to you when they say they can sell you one. ISBN numbes are not transferrable, and Bowker is the only source.
Do NOT pay the extra $25 for a barcode from Bowker. Bar codes are automatically generated by both KDP and Ingram Spark and applied to your book cover for you, so you never have to fuss with it, and you get those bar codes for free.
If the only place you will ever publish your book is Amazon, then you do not need an ISBN number at all, they can supply you with one (but because they actually own that ISBN number and not you, you cannot use the ISBN number you get from them anywhere but on Amazon).
If you’re Canadian, don’t buy your ISBN number from anybody. Get an account with Library & Archives Canada, which will issue you a batch of ISBN numbers for free. Follow this link to find out what you need to know.
Copyrights
File for a copyright for your work. It only costs $45, and you can’t necessarily rely on your publisher to do it for you, even if they’re contractually obligated to do it, because publishers are human at best, and people forget things. If you’re publishing your own work, there’s no excuse not to. If you run your own publishing company, encourage your authors to do it themselves and show them how. Authors owning their own copyright is a powerful thing.
Library of Congress Numbers (LCCN) – Getting into Libraries
To get your book into libraries, you’ll likely want to take the extra step of getting your book registered with the Library of Congress, and that means sending them two physical copies of your book. In return, you get an LCCN, a Library of Congress Control Number. That number, when used by other libraries, provides access to other important information about your book.
Do you have to have an LCCN to publish? No.
Can you get into bookstores without one? Yes.
However, all the best books, and every book published by the Big Five, have LCCN’s. If you want to be taken seriously, an LCCN is advised, and people expect to see it on your copyright page. Your opinion on this may differ from mine, but I think it skipping this would be like going to a dinner party in a tuxedo jacket and bermuda shorts, or in a cocktail dress and beach sandals.
Getting Into Bookstores
It’s easier than you think. You just have to go through all the steps.
If you want to get your book into libraries and bookstores, you will have to publish either through Barnes & Noble Press, or Ingram Spark. There is no point in doing both. Either of them will ask you for an ISBN number and will not provide one to you.
Once you are listed on either of these services, though, any bookstore in the world and any library in the world will be able to order your book. If your book is listed on Ingram Spark, it will automatically also be listed on Barnes & Noble. I walked into a local Barnes & Noble, introduced myself, showed them my book, and they ordered from Barnes & Noble on the spot.
Don’t Do Your Interior Design in Word. Just… don’t.
Don’t submit the interior design of your book as a Word document. I know they all accept that format, but don’t do it. For a good interior design, you will want pixel accurate control. You’re not getting that from a Word document. Use Atticus, or Adobe InDesign to output a PDF file.
Ingram Spark versus Amazon KDP
Both Ingram Spark and Amazon allow you to update both your cover and your content, but only Amazon lets you do that for free after publication. Ingram Spark lets you do it but only up to 60 days after initial submission. After that, they’ll charge you $25 each time you do it. Get it right the first time if you can.
Do not assume that you can upload changes to either service and have those changes propagate to books already in the printing pipeline. They can’t just yank content and replace it on the fly. Printing pipelines are enormous machines, and once you load up the books’ content and press “go”, that’s it. It goes into the machine and comes out as a book. The machine cannot be interrupted or opened while it’s running. Any changes you make will apply to the next batch, not any currently running batches.
I have watched videos where self-published authors have gotten their knickers all atwist because they tried to make last minute changes after orders were already in the pipeline and they did not understand that it wasn’t that Ingram Spark WOULD not help them, it’s that they COULD not help them.
Be aware that KDP uses a different coating on their matte cover stock for the covers than Ingram Spark does. Ingram Spark’s cover coating results in deeper, richer colors. The difference is noticeable, but only when you’re holding examples side by side in your hands. You’ll never notice the difference otherwise.
Wrapup
I hope this list of tips and tricks is useful. I learned it all by trial and error and doing my own research. I was surprised to find that nobody had ever assembled these tips together on a single page before, so may this list short circuit your journey and make your life as a published author somewhat less of a struggle.
–Gene
by Gene Turnbow | Sep 6, 2025 | Books
People like to complain, and when they have trouble with something the first thing they do is try to shift the blame to somebody else. It’s never them. So naturally, if something is a little harder, it tends to attract negative attention.
And so we come to Ingram Spark.
If you’re not aware, Ingram Spark is the single largest, best established, and by far the cheapest print on demand service outside of Amazon KDP itself. They provide a catalog service from which libraries and bookstores can order your books, putting you on the same technical footing as traditional publishers when it comes to distribution. There are other companies that do this, but Ingram Spark is far and away the biggest and most recognized name in publishing, outside of the Big Five publishers.
“The Big Five” in publishing refers to the five largest trade book publishing companies: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan Publishers.
Now we get to the crux of the complaints: their interface. I read through all the documentation on their web site, and found it straightforward. There were no confusing bits. Everything did what it said it did. If you follow their instructions for formatting, you will have a printable book that you can be proud of. What it does not have is things like extra features that spell-check your manuscript before you hit the submit button, or a previewer right there in their interface that shows you what your book will look like. Instead, they prepare a digital galley proof to show you what your cover and each interior page will look like. You download this once you have all your digital assets uploaded, and it takes them an hour to get back to you with an email showing you where to download it. You open the PDF locally, on your own machine, instead of tying up their server with that task, then you give them either a thumbs-up, “Yes, everything looks fine” or thumbs down, “No, I screwed part of this up, I want a do-over”. It’s missing some of the bells and whistles as compared to the Amazon KDP submission system, but really that’s all. Then they send you another confirmation email so you can double-check your digital galley proof, and you’re ready to go.
They anticipate that if you’re using their service, and you can read and follow instructions, that you will have a successful outcome. That confidence is well placed. There’s nothing broken about their interface. Everything works exactly as described, and the documentation is clear and has no ambiguity whatsoever. My hat is off to whoever maintains their on-line operating manual.
Humans, however, frequently make the error that they are dealing with a person, not a careful architected enterprise grade software interface, and expect them to adapt to variations in user performance and accuracy that just isn’t possible in real world situations.
I honest to gosh believed people were smarter than to think that changes they made were instantaneous across a multi-national company with distribution centers all over the world, but apparently not. Authors have put up indignant videos about it, having not read and understood the instructions, and expecting Ingram Spark to compensate for that on the fly.
Ingram Spark is a huge, huge system, and they expect you to know what you are doing. The secret sauce is to debug everything on KDP, which has a 1-3 day turnaround time on changes (they claim 3-5, but I’ve never had it take longer than one day), and only when you are dead sure you have it right do you upload to Ingram Spark, and even there the cover art will need adjustment because they compute their own templates. Using the KDP ones won’t work, you have to do the cover art over or it will not fit properly.
I have heard tell that the cover art as printed by Ingram Spark can be slightly more saturated than KDP. I’ve ordered a physical proof copy of Juniper Fairchild and the Alterwhere from them to see for myself, but I expect that a production artist used to variations in printing services will be easily able to compensate—and for all that, it’s likely something you’d only be able to see if you had an Ingram Spark edition and a KDP edition side by side in order to make that comparison. Even professionals would not be able to tell the difference without an A/B test.
If you are self-publishing, or you run a small press publishing company like Helium Beach, you’re going to have to get to know Ingram Spark. There are really no other viable options in terms of distribution and unit cost. There are potential pitfalls, but if you just sit down and read the instructions, you’ll be just fine.
Have fun with it.
by Gene Turnbow | Sep 2, 2025 | Writing
… and yet, I know nothing.
I haven’t even learned all the ways there are not to publish a book, but I now have at least a general idea of what I’m doing. I can tell you this much, publishers and agents really do earn their pay. There is a lot to know, and a lot to know to avoid.
For one thing, you can’t launch your book without both TikTok and Instagram. It’s harder to get traction on Instagram, but at least it’s mostly free of scammers trying to sell you author’s services. Apparently this is a thing on TikTok. You’ll get a pile of followers quickly, and that really does help, regardless. However, some non-zero percentage of these people are folks trying to sell you book trailer or fake reviews for your book, neither of which helps you, and both of which will drain your bank account with little to show for it.
The clue, by the way, that you’re talking to a scammer is the number after their name. If they have under a hundred followers, they are very probably not a fellow author. I hadn’t known this when I started out, and got buttonholed by one female author who got me talking about my book, then offered to sell me fake reviews. I told her to shove off. A week later, she contacts me again, under the same login-name but with a different number at the end. What I think is happening is that this author, who looks legit when you look her up online, is actually being spoofed by an illicit organization that uses her name and likeness, and by accident they’ll contact the same potential clients, thereby giving up the game because the second one doesn’t know what the first one talked about with you and repeats the same lame sales pitch.
I also found out that there are a bunch of book review services that are used by bookstores and libraries, but that nearly all of them want to review the book three months prior to press time. If you’re self-publishing, you don’t have three months. The time between a final draft and publication might be as little as one week.
In the world of publishing, things move at glacial speeds. For a major publisher, a three month delay is nothing. For a small press or an independent author, though, that’s a fiscal quarter. Nobody can sit around on a book that long, it’s financial suicide. For the next book I’ll add that into the marketing and distribution plan, but that obviously isn’t happening for Juniper Fairchild and the Alterwhere.
The most cost effective way of getting reviews for your book is through either Goodreads, or through Booksprout. Booksprout lets you substitute cash for the social elbow grease you have to apply to make Goodreads work for you, but it seems to me that Goodreads is probably the better long term plan. It has a social environment Booksprout doesn’t appear to have. and it’s vastly vastly cheaper. Either way, building a mailing list is essential, even a small one will perform better and do you more good than no mailing list at all. I think failure to do this is why so many indie books fail.
I’ve also encountered something interesting. Apparently an average review of 3.5 stars out of 5 is considered decent. I’m having a hard time with this idea. My review ratio is more like 4.75 stars out of 5. My writing style has been compared to those of Neil Gaiman (I know, I know, but remember him as a writer, not a human being with questionable personal values), T. Kingfisher, Terry Pratchett, Lewis Carrol, J.R.R. Tolkien, and L. Frank Baum. Once I step outside my protective bubble of my personal advance review list, I might do more poorly, but people don’t tend to make those specific kinds of remarks unless they mean them. When you say things on the internet, they tend to stick around.
Anyway, the point being that that fellow I found with a 3.5 stars out of 5 review average seems to be selling very well. I’m hopeful that this speaks well of my own potential.
Of course I’m scared to death that it’s all a data mirage, and that I’ve been basing my research on people who were either lying or didn’t have a clue themselves, or both. There’ll be no way to know until release day.
And now we wait.
-30-
Recent Comments