What Writers Can Teach Entrepreneurs About Creating with Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben (0:00)

If you can't find time to write, then your life is filled with things more important than writing, and you're not a writer. That's fine.

But don't say I don't have time to write. I never say I don't have time to do something. I don't have time to work out. I don't have time to write. I say it's not a priority in terms of my time. We all get 24 hours in a day, right? This is more your stuff, Guy, than mine. But we all get 24 hours in a day. And how you use those 24 hours, if you're too busy to write, then writing is not a priority. Maybe your other priorities are better and worthy and all that. But we're not questioning those.

Guy Kawasaki (0:34)

Good morning, everybody. I'm Guy Kawasaki. This is the Remarkable People podcast. And I got to tell you, I love mysteries and I love thrillers. And the guest today is Harlan Coben. And oh my God, he has published 100 million copies of his books, which is roughly a hundred times more than me.

And if you have Netflix, he has a Netflix series out called I Will Find You Right Now. And I'm not going to say what it's about, but it's definitely something you should actually see. And he has a book coming out and it's called Plot Twist. So welcome to the show, Harlan Coben.

Harlan Coben (1:21)

Guy, an honor to be here. Thanks very much for having me.

Guy Kawasaki (1:24)

Oh, the honor is all mine. And you have consumed hours and hours of my life with your books and your videos.

Harlan Coben (1:34)

I'm so happy to hear that. I hope you consumed in a positive way. I hope you consumed more in a positive way, not like waiting at a dentist office kind of thing.

Guy Kawasaki (1:44)

No, no, no. No, you are not a dental implant in my life. Maybe you're flossing, but you're not an implant.

Okay. So the first question I have to ask you is, why did you call this Plot Twist? Is it because you usually are a mystery and thriller writer and this is nonfiction? Or is it because many of your recommendations are probably the opposite of what writing experts say to do? What's the twist in this plot?

Harlan Coben (2:14)

Yeah, both. I think it's a plot twist, a memoir on writing, life craft and the messy first draft. So Plot Twist is what I think I'm probably most known for as a writer and a TV producer and stuff like that. So that's the one thing. And I hope the advice that I'm giving you while learning about my life at the same time is going to be surprising. And I'm always looking for the Plot Twist. That's how I live my life pretty much. So I thought that would be a pretty good title.

Guy Kawasaki (2:40)

Oh, it's a very good title. And until yesterday, my favorite book about writing was by Brenda Uland and it's called If You Want to Write. But as of this morning, this is my favorite book about writing and unlike you who has written 40 books, I've only written 19

Although some people say I have written one book 19 times, but I really say that about me too.

Harlan Coben (3:10)

So don't worry about it.

Guy Kawasaki (3:12)

But it's in our fault that most people haven't figured out how to leverage what they do. This is a one percent problem. And I have to fanboy a little bit here. So I have written 19 books or one book 19 times. They're all nonfiction, although I've been accused of writing fiction too, inadvertently.

But I have to tell you that I look at someone like you and how you come up with these plots and these characters I think is utter magic. I don't understand how your mind works, Harlan. So perhaps you could start off with some insights into this. What makes a writer? What makes a novelist?

Harlan Coben (3:52)

Well, first of all, thank you. Secondly, I try to describe this in a book and talk about how to do it, but I live with the writer's mind frame. It's always there front and center. And even if you're not a writer, I sort of think it's a healthy way to live and be and question. So like I teach my kids when they're growing up, I taught them every single person that you see on the street, richest man, poorest man, women, men, whatever.

Everybody has hopes and dreams. It's such a small thought, but it just gives everybody a bit of humanity, a bit of empathy, and in this case, a bit of story, right? What are those hopes and dreams? Did they accomplish them? Did they still hope to accomplish them? Did it happen and it wasn't what they thought? Did it happen and it was what they thought? And just making stuff up in your head, giving people agency in that kind of way. And I try to live my life that way. Everything is like a writer's prompt. That's part of the writer's mind frame. So first and foremost, if I'm giving advice to people on how to be a writer or how to come up with these ideas, and for every 100 that I have, I mean probably more, maybe one, one day will be used in a book. Of every 300, maybe one will actually be a full book idea.