Mini AMA: Jez Cajiao

You've built deep, loyal fanbases across multiple series. Looking back, what's the single decision that had the biggest compounding effect on growing that readership? And is it something a debut author can replicate?

Jez: Honestly, what I built my base on was personal interactions with my fans, and that's something that anyone can do, if they're willing to put the effort in. There are still a lot of opportunities to build a following. At conventions especially.

You've built something genuinely significant without a traditional deal. I went the other direction. From where you sit, what does self-pub give an author that traditional publishing simply can't - and what do you think authors on my side of the fence have that you'd actually want?

Jez: The freedom to do whatever I want is why I stayed indie. But I also hated the extra parts - social media, adverts, back-system manipulation, data mining. That's honestly why we built Legion: to handle that for other people so I could go back to just writing. I think that's what you get from a publisher, more than being indie - the backing to cover your weaknesses and do the jobs you don't want to do. Also: a big advance. Always push for an advance.

The LitRPG community has an unusual quality: the authors seem to genuinely like each other. Why do you think the genre produces that dynamic, and does it actually translate into real support when someone launches a new book?

Jez: It's part mindset. There's a lot of other authors out there. We have the choice to look at them as competition, or share knowledge and rise together. I subscribe to the old ethos: 'a rising tide lifts all boats.' When you look at Matt D's success, some of his biggest supporters are the larger authors in the genre. The more fans he brings into the genre, the more fans we all get to sell to. It's better to be friends than rivals, and the spaces we have - LitRPG Con, the Legion Discord and Facebook - are deliberately kept as free of nonsense as possible so we can all have fun.

You write fast, you write a lot, across multiple series simultaneously. How do you stop the volume from flattening your voice?

Jez: Sometimes the story 'feels' wrong, and you end up slogging. What I do when I feel the struggle is go back a bit, immerse myself in the story, and fix the last few chapters. Soon enough you'll see the issue and lock back in.

If you were starting today, with no readership, no name recognition, just a first chapter and an idea - what would you do completely differently? And what would you absolutely not change?

Jez: I'd not change the friendships - beyond the obvious money, that's what is best from all of this. What I'd change? Even in our field there are a few bad actors, and many of us gave them more time than we should have. I'd be more sparing with my trust. But if I was more closed off I might never have made the friendships I have now, so... meh. I'd rather enjoy the good. What would I recommend? Come to the cons. Any you can. Grab a beer with your contemporaries. Ask them what they see that you're missing. Make new friends. Make mistakes. And definitely, always, have that last drink.