We were lucky to catch up with John Hartness recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, John thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I make a full-time living from my novels, and support my wife and three very needy cats as well. I got very lucky hitting the market at the right time with something that was different than the vast majority of the books out at that time. I published my first novel as an ebook in 2009, with a very modest internet presence as a poker writer and blogger, and published in=progress chapters on my blog to build interest. Once the book launched, I began appearing at local and regional science fiction and fantasy conventions to hand-sell my books and appear on panels to raise my visibility in the area and in the industry. As sales increased, I sped up production to meet demand, until I had to make a choice between a career of 18 years and my new passion, because there simply wasn’t enough time in the day to do everything I wanted to do. So in 2012, I quit my day job at 39 years old.
I went back looking for a job the following year because my 401K ran out and without COBRA, I couldn’t get health insurance. I worked several jobs for the next three years, trying to find a balance between my writing and my work, but finally in 2015 when I was laid off from my last position, I decided to put my nose to the grindstone and spend the rest of the year working as hard as possible to get a ton of books in the pipeline and really rev up sales. It worked, and I’ve spent the last seven years working for myself, and at this point I don’t think I could go back to working for anyone else.
John, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m John Hartness, and in my mid-thirties I decided to take up science fiction and fantasy writing. It was a lifelong dream, but the advent of quality print on demand technology and the ease of ebook creation combined to allow me to test the waters. Since 2009 I’ve published over 35 books, won several awards, and sold hundreds of thousands of books. In 2016, I founded Falstaff Books, and in the seven years since we have published over 300 books. In comparison, most presses our size produce fewer than a third of our number of releases per year. We have published everyone from NY Times Best Sellers to debut authors, and have helped launch dozens of careers. The best thing to me is the look on an author’s face when they hold their new book for the first time, especially if it’s something they’ve worked on for a long time, or something that is very personal and special to them.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
After living the life of a full-time writer for a year, I realized that I couldn’t get health insurance in those pre-ACA days. The companies simply weren’t interested in selling insurance to a man in his forties and his forty-something wife, each with preexisting health issues. So I had to go back to a day job for two years to make ends meet, and figure out how to balance work with my creative endeavors again. Then in 2015, when I was laid off from my last job, I had to carefully evaluate whether or not I could support my family with my writing income. Fortunately, by then, I could get health insurance for a reasonable price, which helped a great deal. Through some creative side hustles, and selling a lot of collectibles on eBay, I kept us afloat until my writing income stabilized, and then it was off to the races.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I want to produce the best books we can in the genres we publish, and to bring great stories to people. Along the way, I want to help writers realize their dream of being published. It’s an incredibly difficult path, and there are plenty of people out there who are willing to take advantage of starry-eyed writers. I’m the tough love, the Simon Cowell of genre fiction publishing, and if someone gets published through us, it’s because they have something that separates them from the pack. I want to find the best people who may not have been given an opportunity, and give them an opportunity to shine.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.falstaffbooks.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/FalstaffRises
- Twitter: @falstaffbooks
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FalstaffBooks
Image Credits
John G. Hartness headshot by Andrea Atkins.