David Lender – A Financial Thriller
David Lender is a name we’ll probably be hearing quite a bit of. He has been compared to David Baldacci, he writes thrillers set within the financial sector and he has had books on the Kindle Bestseller list. This is quite impressive for someone who once had a literary agent tell him his writing was ‘not bad’.
When I interviewed David, he had just published two books with a third on the way. He has since released a fourth novel.
Darrell - You have twenty-five years of experience in the financial sector. When did you decide you wanted to become a writer and how did it happen?
David - I always wanted to write—in college I was an English major and saw my future profession as “Novelist”. But I didn’t make it happen until later in my life. I worked on Wall Street for over 25 years in the Mergers & Acquisitions business, for mainstream firms such as Merrill Lynch, the Rothschilds and BofA; that profession doesn’t allow for much time to do anything else. But I started writing about 15 years ago. I got up at 5:00 a.m., doing my bike workout and then writing for about an hour before heading to the office. On my commute home I’d outline scenes I’d then write the next morning. It took me about a year to finish my first novel, a thriller. I wrote the second novel the same way as the first—up at 5 a.m., outlining on the bus or train, in the car service, on airplanes, anyplace. Rewriting and editing drafts wherever and whenever I could. It took about another year. I don’t think my process was much different than anyone else’s. I think writers just have an urge, or compulsion to tell their stories. They eventually get around to it, shoehorning in the time whatever way they can around their day jobs.
Darrell - Your book "Trojan Horse" is currently sitting at number twenty on the Kindle Bestseller list at ninety-nine cents. Has this price point mostly had a positive impact on your sales?
David - I am certain the price point had a lot to do with Trojan Horse’s success to date. I launched it at $9.99, cut it to $6.99 after a few weeks, then $2.99 for a month or so. When I went to $0.99 it took off. During that time period I was educating myself on epublishing. I read blogs by Joe Konrath, Stephen Leather and Amanda Hocking. Also Kindle Review, Kindle Nation Daily, eReader News Today and The Frugal eReader. I joined a Kindle writing group online. I read Steve Windwalker’s excellent How to Price eBooks for the Kindle. I started thinking about the notion that at $0.99 I could capture the largest number of potential readers as an unknown. And that even if the increased volume of sales at that price point didn’t make up for difference in royalties, my primary goal at this stage should be to expose the maximum possible number of readers to my writing. I don’t see how Trojan Horse could have hit # 20 on the Kindle Bestseller list at a higher price right now. I launched my second book, The Gravy Train, at $0.99 on Kindle about two weeks ago, and will be releasing my next, Bull Street, at $0.99 on Kindle unless the world somehow changes in the coming months.
Darrell - On your website you relate the story of a literary agent who looked at your first book and said, "Not bad for somebody who doesn’t know what he’s doing yet.”You were then hooked up with an editor who helped mentor you. How important is having a mentor and how did your mentor help you become a successful author?
David - My mentor taught me how to write a commercially viable thriller. An aspiring writer can read all the books on writing he wants, and write until his fingers bleed, but without being run through the meatgrinder by a serious editor I don’t see how he can learn to write successfully. It takes an understanding of structure, conflict, point of view, character, premise and what a scene is or isn’t, for starters. Those things don’t just bubble up out of your subconscious on their own. Somebody’s got to slam you over the head with them.
Darrell - Your novels have a similar theme on the cover - Wall Street - with a similar font for the titles. Do you have much to do with the branding of your books and is there anything else you do in the way of marketing?
David - My father took the photos I’m using on the covers. Trojan Horse is “The Man in White” (look inside the “d” in “Lender” and you’ll see him jaywalking across traffic). My father was a talented amateur photographer all his life. I intend to use his photos as long as I can find shots in his considerable library that match the mood and subject of my books, and that allow for some recognizability of my covers. I also chose the font intentionally as a branding item. That could change in time, but for now I think it helps develop some consistency for my titles. On marketing, I’ve done some guest blogs, interviews and sponsored some Books of the Day on Kindle Nation Daily, BookLending.com, eReader News Today and The Frugal eReader. It’s about trying to connect with potential readers where they look for what to read next, an inexact science.
Darrell - Do you think there's a future for paperback novels or do you think they will all go the way of the dinosaur and ebooks will reign supreme?
David - I think print books, both hardcover and paperback, will always exist. Some people just want the feel of a book in their hands, or aren’t comfortable with the ereader, and some just want the mystique of ownership with books on their shelves. Trojan Horse is available in paperback and The Gravy Train will be out in paperback shortly. Bull Street will be released on Kindle and in paperback. I do believe that ebooks will become at least as big a factor as physical books.
Darrell - If someone is trying to make it as a writer, what is the main advice you would give them?
David - If you have the urge and you haven’t started writing yet, start. If you have started, keep writing. And, to borrow from Winston Churchill, never, never, never give up. But learn about craft and structure. Study your favorite authors, learn how they do things like set up scenes, craft dialog, slide in back story on characters, build drama and tension. And if you can, find a good mentor or editor.
Important Links:
And links to David’s books:
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