Look Who it Was Random video

The Successful Writer's Work Ethic With Kerry Wilkinson

2,102 views · Published 3 November 2013 · 39:00 · Indexed 21 October 2026

Channel: The Creative Penn · 2013 · Education

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Joanna Penn interviews Kerry Wilkinson about his Jessica Daniel series as well as YA Silver Blackthorn series. Kerry shares his writing process and how he manages to write so much, so fast, as well as his story of self-publishing, to #1 Amazon.co.uk to 14 book deal with Pan Macmillan.
Kerry Wilkinson is the author of the Jessica Daniel crime series with the Silver Blackthorn YA series coming in 2014. The first Jessica Daniel book reached #1 on Amazon.co.uk  and the series is currently on Book 6, Thicker Than Water. You can watch the interview on YouTube here, or listen above or on the podcast feed.

    Kerry was a sports journalist for a decade after University, and started writing fiction at aged 30. He looked into how to get published and didn't like the negative energy, in comparison to the positive energy of writing the book. He self-published in 2011 and his first book, Locked In, went to #1 in the Amazon.co.uk store.

    The Jessica Daniel series is character driven, more about Jessica's life and her friends, rather than a police procedural. There is a general formula around crime books, with a twist at the end of the mystery, so it is the character's that make it more interesting. Kerry reads a lot of non-fiction and also journalism and his plot ideas often come from little things he has read.

    We spoke on Halloween, so we discuss why people are obsessed with reading about the dark side of humanity ...

    Gender in publishing, both in terms of our names and also our characters

    Kerry particularly enjoys reading comics, and so his new YA Silver Blackthorn series is delving more into that world, written as if it could be turned into a graphic novel. On using book cover design to separate branding as opposed to author name.

    How self-censoring has disappeared after writing a number of books, as Kerry has relaxed into his voice.

    On Kerry's 14 book deal with Pan Macmillan ... and how he has already written all the books, so he is back into self-publishing at the same time. He doesn't get distracted during his work day, so no social media, no email. He just gets up early and works, sometimes 12-14 hours of writing. He can write 1000 words an hour. Writing as a production journalist for 10 years has made a big difference to writing at speed, but it's also the hours he puts in. Kerry thinks most people can write relatively quickly if they avoid distraction. He treats writing the books as a job. You have to work hard.

    thicker than waterKerry now plots heavily before the main first draft, sometimes 16,000 words of outlining, and then writes cleanly, without many edits. He also plans ahead for the bigger series, so foreshadowing and plot lines are organized.

    Kerry's thoughts on self-publishing and the current publishing industry. He just gets on and writes! He got pitched by lots of agents after reaching #1 on Amazon and went with the one who had actually read his books. He will continue being hybrid, combining traditional and self-publishing.

    On the importance of Amazon metadata in being seen, as well as a lower price for a new author. Having more books in the series so people keep coming back.

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