I was driving across town one day when a new idea clicked. It had to do with a society that played out in virtual reality, which was virtually perfect, but in reality, awful. That wasn’t exactly how the story ended up, but I knew I had a vehicle that could carry everything I wanted to say.

John Be Lane – 6 February 2024

The Back Flap

What would you do if you found out one day that the Artificial Intelligence that ran everything was lazy, dishonest, and not quite as bright as it seemed? That there might be a way to outwit the Network, in spite of the oppression, and maybe find freedom, love, and a future, in the ruins of a desolate world? As long as you didn’t die trying, that is?

About the book

What is the book about?

It’s about repression and resistance, ignorance and enlightenment, indifference and love.

When did you start writing the book?

The idea was coming together in my mind for about a year – interrupted in the middle of that year by the pandemic. Toward the end of September, 2021, the book finally started writing itself. The catalyst was discovering the voice of the AI network. Once I had that, it all started to flow.

How long did it take you to write it?

The first draft took about six months of steady effort. I revised it off and on over the next year. It was probably about 14 months, altogether.

Where did you get the idea from?

I think the original spark might have come from a world affairs competition for high school students that I volunteered to judge. Shortly after that, I started thinking about the way students are taught at the K-12 level, and how it might be improved. I have a professional background in online learning and instructional design, so this was not a completely random topic. Anyway, I had a lot of ideas…but what do you do with something like that? Any kind of direct approach, like maybe starting a charter school, seemed overwhelming.

So I started kicking around ideas to capture the spirit of all that through storytelling. One angle was to have an astronaut stranded on a mission, who would have to call on their educational background to survive. Then I realized Andy Weir had already done that, way better than I could, in The Martian. I was driving across town one day when a new idea clicked. It had to do with a society that played out in virtual reality, which was virtually perfect, but in reality, awful. That wasn’t exactly how the story ended up, but I knew I had a vehicle that could carry everything I wanted to say.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

There was one section – maybe a fourth of the book altogether – that I hadn’t thought through as well as I needed to. I’d powered through it in the first draft, but when I re-read it, the problems were obvious. A lot of the pieces were usable; just in the wrong sequence. But there were some scenes I had to rewrite from scratch. To have to shift back to “first draft” mode, even for handful of scenes, required some pretty blunt self-talk. But the revisions had to be made, and I was pleased with how it turned out.

What came easily?

The parts of the story that I’d worked out in more detail in advance were the easiest to write, including the long opening sequence, and certain scenes and sections after that. That’s more on the macro level.

In terms of the language I used, I was a little tentative at first. But I fairly quickly found a cadence that kind of clicked in my mind. I’m not sure that readers would necessarily notice, but it made it easier to start laying down the words in a way that I liked.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

It’s a combination of both. One is a composite of a couple of people I was close to when I was younger. Some just emerge from their role in the story. But even the ones that are more created from scratch usually have some element of actual people. It could be a way of speaking, or a particular viewpoint. Which also means all of the characters have a bit of me in them. But once you get going, you want to make room for them to have their own agency.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

The writers who influenced me the most, stylistically, were people I read when I was younger, beginning with Dr. Seuss. The rhythms and rhymes of his poetry are imprinted in my mind. They’re almost musical. There might be a whisper of that in some of what I write. On the Road had a huge impact when I first read it. The energy and stream of consciousness showed me that writing did not have to be a grim, laborious endeavor. Jack Kerouac and the Beat writers led to Tom Wolfe and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. I was stunned by the way he wrote, and the liberties he took with language. The revelation there was that if you knew what you were doing, the rules and the externally-imposed limitations could be enthusiastically ignored. From George Orwell and 1984 in particular, I learned that fiction could be a powerful weapon against authoritarianism. Gunslinger, by Ed Dorn, has been another lingering influence. It has a kind of wry syntax and a twinkle in the narrative eye that stuck with me.

Do you have a target reader?

The story in The Future Lies demanded that the main characters be in their late teens. It honestly didn’t occur to me until I’d finished writing it that it was therefore technically a Young Adult book. Which I’m glad about, because if I’d known that in advance, I might have subconsciously tried to write for that specific audience, instead of just writing the best story I could. But as a result, I also think the book can resonate with readers well beyond the Young Adult demographic.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

My most productive work hours are afternoons between about 1:00 and 4:00. So the goal is to protect those hours from distractions and interruptions. And then to sit down and write. It could be in my office, or in the back yard, long hand or on the laptop. I’m fortunate that I really enjoy the act of writing. When I’ve written my quota for the day, there’s no better feeling.

I’d never written a novel-length narrative before. When I started this one, I wasn’t sure I could do it. So I set up a schedule that would get me to the end of the first draft. Steady momentum was the goal – keep writing, and resist the temptation to revise along the way.

The timeline was intended to strike a balance between ambitious and achievable. For me, that would be four working days a week, about 1,000 words a day, and 15,000 words a month. If I could sustain that, I’d have a 90,000-word draft done in six months. And it ended up working for that first draft. For the subsequent drafts, I allowed myself to step away long enough to come back with fresh eyes.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I seem to work better when I know where things are going. I learned from writing screenplays that it helps to have a list of scenes. This happens, then this happens, then this happens. That way, I can just start writing each day, and not have to figure out what happens next.

Still, there were gaps when wrote the first draft. I added and rearranged some scenes as I went. Sometimes, I’d stop long enough to list out the next 20 or 30 scenes. All I needed was a sentence, or even just a few words, to anchor the points of movement and conflict of the story. Between here and there, these things need to happen.

That process still allows room for spontaneity in the act of writing, which is really important. Characters and situations often surprise me along the way.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

For me, the priority with a first draft is speed to completion – getting words on the page. I typically read the previous day’s work before I continue writing the next day, to get back into the flow. I might clean up a few typos at that point, but I don’t allow myself to get too distracted. Momentum is essential with a first draft, because without a completed first draft, you’ve got nothing to react to. Once you have that, the real editing begins.

Did you hire a professional editor?

A few people who are close to me generously provided content editorial-type feedback. Another professional who’s a friend proofread the MS.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

I love music, but it’s too distracting for me when I write. I need all the focus I can get!

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

If traditional publishing was still the only game in town, I would have had to consider the agent route. But it was a lot more satisfying to spend that time finishing the book and getting it ready for publication.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

I might be unusual, in that I’ve always thought of myself as both a writer and a publisher. I started a neighborhood newspaper when I was ten years old, and I’ve always enjoyed wearing both hats. I’ve been fortunate in my previous professional life to develop my skills in both areas.

But because of the logistics and economics of traditional publishing, I had to bide my time until technology changed the ground rules. That, of course, was print-on-demand, and the global digital distribution channels. For someone like me, that’s been a profound, liberating innovation.

Having worked in various kinds of media production throughout my career, I’m comfortable working with graphic designers, illustrators, and editors, and planning a project and seeing it through all the steps. And I enjoy it. It’s a very satisfying creative process unto itself.

It also allows me to eliminate the opportunity costs I’d be facing to try to interest an agent, then a traditional publisher, then to endure the publication process – while losing time to market for a topical book like The Future Lies, and much of the creative control. I also believe in what I’m doing; I don’t feel the need for permission or approval.

Independent publishing, enabled by print-on-demand, has made that possible, along with the support of organizations like the Independent Book Publishers Association and the Authors Guild.

I still have to budget for promotion and marketing, but based on accounts that I’ve read, a lot of traditionally-published writers are responsible for that now, too. An enterprising author can save money by doing a lot of that by themselves. But I’m fortunate to be able to work with a publicist – Simone Jung at Books Forward – which to me, puts me on pretty equal footing with a traditionally-published writer.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

I collaborated on the cover with Julz Greason, who designed the interior of the book.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

Simone has a promotional plan in place. The marketing plan at the moment is more a preliminary set of options we’ll consider as things move forward.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

First of all, not to feel or be made to feel defensive about being an indie author. There are a lot of outmoded perceptions, mainly leftover from the vanity press days, that do not apply to independent publishing.

With that in mind, I would urge newbies to remember that the most important thing is to write. Not everyone who reads what you write will have a helpful reaction. So it’s important to develop a certain honesty and objectivity about your own work. Aim high. It’s also important, to paraphrase Charles Bukowski, to write only if you are unable not to write.

That said, I would also caution that independent publishing should be viewed as a privilege, not a license. The world isn’t in desperate need of more poorly-written or poorly-edited books.

But if you’ve honed your skills as a writer, and you have something to say, get it out there. Do not wait for the blessings of the fallible powers that be. You’ve got as much right to present yourself to the world as anyone else does. And thanks to indie publishing, there’s a way you can do that.

About You

Where did you grow up?

Mostly in the Dundee neighborhood in Omaha. In those days, Dundee was like an idyllic small town in the middle of a small, really cool city.

Where do you live now?

I moved to Denver after graduating from the University of Colorado, and I’ve lived here ever since.

What would you like readers to know about you?

That I see the written word as the most durable and intimate form of asynchronous communication ever invented. And that as readers, we are sharing in a kind of miracle. We can listen in on the voices and ideas and experiences of people who lived elsewhere in space and time. That’s not a small thing. It’s a treasure we should not take for granted.

What are you working on now?

With my publisher hat on, I’m focused on connecting The Future Lies with its audience. This allows me to take a needed break from the writer’s mindset, and refill that other creative well.

I have a couple of tentative ideas for new books, but from my past experience, the next big project will spring from the seed of an idea that shows up in my mind, and I can somehow imagine the rest of the tree.

End of Interview:

For more from John Be Lane visit his website.

Get your copy of The Future Lies from Amazon US or Amazon UK.