A Little Inspiration from Wool by @HughHowey
Wool Omnibus is the first in the Silo Series and is an indie phenomenon. Read the second, Shift. The third, Dust, is available for pre-order.
This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.
Wool is an adult science fiction/dystopian novel. If you only read YA in this genre, you’re really missing out. From the very first line, I couldn’t put the thing down. There’s a reason why this book is a phenomenon.
I’m not going to fill you in on everything I loved about it, from the characters to the silos the characters live in underground to all the engineering details. Instead, I’m going to focus on the one thing Wool did “wrong” and why it should encourage you as a self-publisher. Don’t worry, it’s inspirational.
One of the biggest rules in writing is to stick with your point-of-view (POV) main character. Readers first bond with whoever they’re first introduced to and do not do well when the person whose head they’ve been in suddenly leave. You risk losing the reader.