1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

I did, but after 183 rejection letters, it was clear I was on my own. At the time I had invested over three years of my life researching, writing and working with editors on Sleeper’s Run. I wasn’t about to throw away all that time, money and effort—plus quitting is not really my style—so I rolled up my sleeves and started to learn about self-publishing.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?

I used Createspace for my paperback and Publish Green for my ebooks. I’m happy with both of them. They have good customer service and are easy to use, but there is room for improvement. Createspace sets the prices for their books too high to be competitive with established authors. Publish Green has a quarterly sales report that has proven too impractical for me. As a self-published author, I need to have that information sooner to be able to allocate my resources accordingly. The good news is Publish Green has told me that they are in the process of changing this for monthly reports.

3. What avenues have you taken to market the book? Have you gotten reviews, interviews, TV, print media coverage?

I’ve done everything I can to promote Sleeper’s Run within my means: press releases, reviews, interviews, social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), blogs, Internet and newsletter ads, internet quizzes, giveaways, merchandising, blog tours, book awards and even a pretty cool book trailer. TV, print and radio are just too expensive.

4. What drove you to write this particular book?

I love thrillers. It’s my favorite genre. I’ve wanted to do a story dealing with interventionist politics for a long time and I’ve been playing with a few ideas in my head that I thought would make a compelling thriller. Yet, it wasn’t until I melded those ideas with the current political situation in Venezuela that it sparked the inspiration I needed to write the book.

5. Is the book in any one particular genre? Is it a genre that’s familiar to you?

Sleeper’s Run is a political thriller with elements of action. Like I said before, thrillers are my favorite genre. However, Sleeper’s Run was based on non-fiction sources, of which I’m also very familiar. It was these sources that compelled me to write the book. At the time, I wasn’t too familiar with what has been called “the tough-guy genre.” But interestingly enough, the book began to develop in that vein. It became clear early on that it was going to take a certain type of character to make the story plausible.

6. Who are your greatest writing influences?

James Clavell’s Shogun was a great influence to me as a kid. Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Frederick Forsyth, John le Carré, Junot Díaz and Carlos Ruiz Zafón have also been great influences.

7. What’s your writing regimen? Any tips for keeping focused?

Depends on what I’m doing. For Sleeper’s Run I went through a lengthy research process: books, documentaries, articles and interviews. As well as going through urban survival training, flying lessons, knife and gun handling, first aid and other relevant training to supplement my knowledge in martial arts, traveling, etc. I’m self-employed, so when I had a project, I would work eight hours and write at least six (including weekends). Between jobs, I would put in at least ten hours during the week and six to eight on weekends. Sleeper’s Run was a very demanding book; there was a lot of re-writes.

I’m very focused and disciplined by nature. I would sit down in front of my computer and write even if I had no desire to do so, or very little to go by in a particular chapter. I approached it like I would any job. There were times I would trash a whole day’s work. Regardless of the outcome, I will always write. As much as I like the story, it was my love for the characters that kept me engaged.

8. Would you self-publish again?

I’m of two minds about self-publishing. On one hand, all I want to do is tell stories. Being an independent author means I have to run my own publishing house and essentially do everything: Hire editors, proofreaders, layout the different book formats, deal with marketing, advertising, distribution, etc.  It takes a lot of time and resources away from researching and writing. On the other hand, there’s an undeniable freedom to self-publishing. I can write whatever I want regardless of the current trends, get to change and design my own covers, offer my work faster than through a publisher, and basically present my work as I see fit. I would definitely self-publish again, but I can’t deny it would be nice to only have to worry about writing and promoting my work.

9. Any final words of advice for those looking to self-publish?

The Internet has made self-publishing relatively simple and accessible. What nobody tells you is that the real challenge lies in selling your book. Competition with both regular and independent authors is fierce. Getting any sort of attention to your work is a monumental task and the minute you give up, that’s the moment your book is dead. Your work won’t sell itself. Writing is probably the most underrated of the arts. After all, a large portion of the world’s population can put sentences together and everyone has plot ideas. Add to that the romanticized notion of  writing the next great American novel, and you can begin to see how people could get the wrong idea of what it is to be an author. Writing is a tough vocation and demands a lot of work. My advice to any aspiring self-published writer is to do some research before jumping into the independent market and contemplate if it’s really worth the effort. Your love and belief in your work is what ultimately will sustain you throughout the process.

Barbara Rayne is the author of – 21 Erased – future dystopian society novel.

1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

I am used to doing everything I can from my home, so first I wanted to see if I could publish my book without ever leaving my home, and when I saw I could, I most certainly did. Traditional publishing was out of the question.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?

Createspace was my service of choice and, so far, I’m very pleased. Those services where I just click-and-go are always on top of my list.

3. What avenues have you taken to market the book? Have you gotten reviews, interviews, TV, print media coverage?

Marketing the book isn’t easy. So far I made a website, blog, Facebook fan page, Twitter account, submitted e-book versions to Amazon and Smashwords while I wait for my paperback edition, joined some book author blogs and communities. This is my first interview and I applied for a review here. I plan on getting some more reviews as soon as I get my head out of the opening of blogs and social media profiles. Also, I plan to advertize my book via Facebook an Google adds.

4. What drove you to write this particular book?

The world we live in and what it could easily become made me put some of my projections into this book. Any reader should be able to draw some parallels from the book and apply them to the world around him. It’s a dire sight once you do. The main goal of this book, and probably some future books, is to make the reader stop for a moment and think about the message in the book and how easily it could become his/her reality if we keep living with our heads in the sand pretending nothing is our business.

5. Is the book in any one particular genre? Is it a genre that’s familiar to you?

It is mainly political science fiction because it deals with future fascist dystopian society. I like that genre so it is rather familiar to me.

6. Who are your greatest writing influences?

Oh, George Orwell, most certainly.

7. What’s your writing regimen? Any tips for keeping focused?

Once I get the inspiration, the whole world opens up in my mind, I open up my Word and start writing. I get rather fanatical about it so there is no procedure and I have no problem with being focused. I do have problems, though, with remembering to eat and drink.

8. Would you self-publish again?

As a matter of fact, I already plan to, with my second book.

9. Any final words of advice for those looking to self-publish?

Just go for it! You get nothing out of holding yourself back, but the regret. What have you got to lose?

In September 2011, he published his latest novel with Book Republic, The Memory of Trees, available in hardback and Kindle ebook. When he completed writing the novel, he launched a spiritual site, Strength Through Joy, featuring the serial pieces, Things That Happen, chronicling his own spiritual journey.

Self-Publishing Review: What’s The Memory of Trees and what prompted you to write this work?

Mick Rooney: One of the central themes in The Memory of Trees is the idea that our most precious memories can be ‘remembered’ or ‘entrusted’ to the trees for safe-keeping. Initially, I thought this was a belief exclusive to the Druids, but as I researched the idea more, I began to find similar beliefs were held by the Native American Indians, tribes of ancient South American, and even with cultures and religions in the Middle East and Far East. So, the tree as a very powerful symbol of growth, strength, knowledge and spiritual protection and preservation, permeates throughout the book. For Carlos, a shepherd boy from Cyprus, the forest becomes his ‘leafy cathedral’. The same idea can be developed in so many different ways; after all, the book itself, as a tool of learning and recording our experiences in life, is made from the pulp of the tree. The forests of the world are fundamental to the very air we breathe, and, I also think, an infinite source of ideas in literature, science and spiritualism.

It is strange sometimes what crops ups when you undertake writing a novel. It’s a journey, and I do a great deal of research for every book I write. That can present a lot of tangents and forks in the road ahead for a writer, and the trick is knowing what is the right path to follow that doesn’t distract you from the work, but rather adds to the folklore and strength of the final work. It’s like your own research, Henry, into the myth of 2012, and what the Mayans believed. You, as a writer, have to decide if the research process is more about your own development, or about the development of the book itself. It’s a fine line and compromise. I’m not a writer who writes a book over a few months. A book is a project for me, and it often spans several years. This one began back in the mid 1990’s.

I think a lot of authors begin their writing journey with stories containing or based heavily on very personal experiences. For me, that didn’t really start until I’d written several books. So, after about a year of research, The Memory of Trees took hold of my life as a novel. I’d been working on my own spiritual development at the time – and the two processes just worked beautifully together. Up until then, I did feel my previous work may have been perceived as very much literary fiction, and at times, a little inaccessible. The Memory of Trees is the one book I felt would have a much more general readership.

The Memory of Trees is the story of Carlos who travels from his simple village in Cyprus, following in the footsteps of Saint Paul and his uncle, into the Middle East and along the road to Damascus. Carlos is a teenage island boy, bright, thoughtful and passionate, brought up on the traditions of his village elders. After experiencing personal loss in his life and exile from his village, he sets out on a journey of knowledge and adventure, embracing the spiritual wisdom of the trees and a quest to explore the path his mysterious uncle once took into the Middle East.

SPR: People who visit TIPM may not realize that you’re a fairly spiritual person, with a leaning towards the esoteric. You also run the site Strength Through Joy. Is the Memory of Trees a reflection of that outlook? Would you consider this religious fiction?

MR: You know, I struggle with definitions – definitions of what an author is and how best their books should be defined.

When I published Academy a few years ago, the first reviews started describing it as an historical fiction. At first, that bemused me. For me, it was like cooking a beef dish and someone saying to you; oh, that looks like a nice dessert. I get close to my work at a very deep level, and I had to accept that in essence the reviewers were right, but I never set out to write a genre specific book. It is what it is – however reviewers or readers tend to want to classify or define books so they can pass on their reading experience to others. I’d prefer to define The Memory of Trees as a spiritual book, rather than a religious book. No religion by creed is directly mentioned in the book, and ‘god’ is perhaps mentioned two or three times in the book.

I did consider publishers of religious and spiritual fiction when I sent the book out on submission in 2009. That’s the problem when you try the genre specific route – oh, it’s not GOD enough for us; oh, it’s not really SPIRITUAL enough!! One US publishing house passed it to their children’s fiction editor because they thought it might best fit with that imprint. Another publisher in the US wanted me to rewrite the book more as a sort of travel world adventure novel. My next work is about alchemy and a serial killer. How would that square with a children’s imprint or an author of a religious novel?! I’ve never had an agent because I’d rather negotiate every book I write on its own strength and terms. I am probably esoteric, and with an agent, after every book, I’d probably have the agent reaching for the bottle of gin, revolver and medicine cabinet!!

I’ve tried to keep my own spiritual journey separate from the work I do on The Independent Publishing Magazine. That’s why I have a separate author site, as well as the personal spiritual site, Strength Through Joy. Originally, TIPM started out in very late 2007 as a place to record my own experience with self-publishing and the research I was doing into many author solutions services. The site address still holds the mickrooney.blogspot.com address. Since then, I’ve gone through two reincarnations with TIPM – POD, Self-Publishing & Independent Publishing, as it once was, and now, The Independent Publishing Magazine.  I reached a stage where the term ‘self-publishing’ was devoid of its real meaning, and I was researching and reporting on all that was happening in publishing – print and digital – for everyone, rather than just self-published authors.

SPR: How does this novel fit into your oeuvre of self-published work?

MR: I’ve never ever considered any of my books by the method or path the books reached publication. For me, it’s about connecting with the reader, and when you make that connection, the reader is not consumed by how the book is published, just so long as they can lay their hands on it. As a book, The Memory of Trees is certainly a more accessible book for general readers, in a way that some of my previous work would have been difficult to market. I was convinced after I wrote the book that it would eventually, with perseverance, find a publishing house, and thankfully it did with Book Republic.

SPR: What was your decision-making process about going traditional or sticking with self-publishing?

MR: In 1990, I set up my own publishing imprint and self-published several books at a time when we didn’t have POD (print on demand).  I’d spent a couple of years doing the submission rounds with publishers. But really, that’s when it started to get really difficult to interest editors. Publishing was starting to change, and the big fish were quickly gobbling up the smaller fish.  It became increasingly harder to find true independent publishers. The publishers were you really stood a chance – beyond the new gatekeeping control – were hard to find. Back then, the Internet was a limited resource and many independent publishing presses and houses hadn’t discovered it. Author handbooks and guides stuck to the rigid line of commercial houses and the defined path of find an agent and let them find you a publisher.  Self-publishing was still frowned upon and only a few mavericks like Peter Finch and Michael Legat were even suggesting self-publishing as a viable path.

I began with desktop publishing, learned bookbinding, bought equipment, got my own ISBN’s from Whittacker’s in the UK, at a time when you didn’t have to pay for them, and sold my books directly to bookstores. I learned so much back then. POD came along, and I switched to using Lulu in 2007. For a reprint of an earlier book I self-publisher during the 1990’s, Thais, I tried Blurb. In fact, I’ll stand corrected, but I believe I was the first person to use Blurb as a printer in 2009, and use Amazon Advantage with my own publishing imprint for distribution. It cost me more money per book to sell, but it hasn’t stopped 100+ authors now listing Blurb as their publisher of origin on Amazon today! I made the point directly to Blurb CEO Eileen Gittens back then, that they needed to start offering ISBN’s and online distribution if they were going to be able to take on Lulu and CreateSpace. A lot has improved with Blurb, but the company still has a way to go on developing distribution for authors using the print services.

In 2010 I published To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish with Troubador in the UK. It meant a lot to me that a book about self-publishing was published by a ‘traditional’ publisher.  It seemed to be that every second self-published writer wanted to speak about their experience of publishing and write a book to go with it, and the whole area became incredibly diluted by authors publishing mundane books.  No one was reflecting the growth in author solutions services in the UK and Ireland and analysing those companies to the dept I was doing on TIPM. I felt that needed to be put right.

When Book Republic accepted The Memory of Trees, it was the second book in a row to be traditionally published. BR has an option on the next novel, so we will see what happens. I’ve closed no doors on any path to seeing my books published. Both paths, depending on your aspirations and the opportunities that present themselves, are entirely valid.

It’s interesting that you said earlier that visitors of TIPM don’t realise I’m a spiritual person. I’d add, often, few of them also realise I am first and foremost an author. But writing to me over the past few years has been a dual process. More of my working time is taken up with the analysis of the industry, and I have to battle and remind myself that I also need time to be me – as an author. If promoting The Memory of Trees over the past two months has taught me one thing – it is; I need to keep reminding myself that the core of my being and how it all started out is about me being a writer, and what I share with readers and other authors.

SPR: How has your knowledge of the self-publishing industry informed how you’ve marketed this novel?  What’s the release been like so far?

MR: Again, as I hinted at earlier, it’s not so much my knowledge of the self-publishing industry, but publishing itself. The approach should be no different – good editing and design and distribution are as much at the core of excellent self-published books as they are at wide commercially published books.  For me, the greater publishing industry still publishes many well-edited and produced books that don’t sell well, and many self-published books sell well, but could have done even better had they benefited from better editing, production and marketing. I’ve always believed the best editors in the world are readers, because – to them – a good book is a good book, and readers, once captivated by a book, can be both forgiving and equally scathing.

While I’m not privy to the though process or decision making at my publisher at Book Republic, my impression and experience of working with them is of an innovative and very open-policy publisher. BR allows direct submissions from authors, and the approach is to look for something new, fresh and original in fiction. I also think the strength of an author’s practical, viral network and profile also counts a great deal to the publisher. I was involved at the design level far more than I have experienced with other traditional publishers. What I liked best about BR was their openness to adopt their publishing philosophy to every book as a singular project, rather than try to apply a rigid template across the board for every book.

Most of the marketing for The Memory of Trees, following the launch at the Irish Writers’ Centre in Dublin, has been viral, concentrating on the blog tour and social networking. It’s been about using those tools to generate interest in the book (both print and ebook) and to get stores to stock the book. That’s the key for any author and publisher. Book Republic has distribution through Ireland’s largest book print distributor, Gill & MacMillan, but that doesn’t guarantee your book will be on bookstore shelves. We lost Borders in Ireland more than two years ago, and this year, Waterstones pulled out. But some of the smaller independent booksellers like Dubray Books and Hughes & Hughes are showing strong signs of mopping up that part of the market.  Book Republic is a very progressive and innovative publisher, releasing titles through print production runs (hardback & paperbacks), POD paperback, as well as Kindle editions. The book only reached the physical distribution channels earlier this month, so we are still at an early stage. I think that is the other thing different with independent presses and smaller innovative publishers. They look at the long tail for promotion and sales of a book, rather than the sudden immediacy larger publishers seem to adopt.

SPR: How did you juggle all of your daily writing for TIPM with writing a new novel?  Do you think blogging – about any subject – can actually strip some of the writing urge for fiction?

MR: To be honest, Henry, it can be a real struggle to wear both hats at the same time. When I signed the publishing deal with my publisher, I knew I was going to have to cut back on the amount of time I was devoting to being a publishing consultant and running TIPM. I felt I had to break a perception among my own network that saw me solely as a journalist, researcher and writer. I spent three solid years building TIPM and many of the authors and publishers I met and spoke to were entirely unaware that I started out many years ago as a novelist. There are times when I feel pangs of guilt that I almost abandoned a small but dedicated readership when I last published a book of fiction in 2008. For them, The Memory of Trees has been a long wait.

As much as I’d like to think my general readership is singular – the reality is that there are readers, and then there are writers.  I think – without disparaging any of my readers – that writers through their own work and study adjust their perspective and what they will read dependant on the relevance to their work, rather than their lives. Readers, on the other hand, want to be just as stimulated as much as writers, but are less cynical—if that’s not too strong a word—and readers are more open to surprise and the romance of discovery. I hope I’m explaining this well enough, but there is certainly a kinetic difference between a writer and a reader.  It goes far beyond the idea that one is a creator and the other an explorer. For me, my readership is split down the middle. Some know me only through TIPM, and others have no interest in the publishing and research stuff.

In 2012, my primary goal is to place more of a focus on my own writing. I’ve no idea what impact that will have on my day to day work for TIPM, but I know my readers deserve another book within the next year. On New Year’s Eve, it’s that wish I will be raising a glass to.  In 2012, I have also given the commitment to be the self-publishing columnist for one of the UK’s biggest writing magazines, Writers Forum, and I’m looking forward to that. Whatever happens, I know I will have to be more discerning in the work I take on.

SPR: What’s your take on self-publishing and where it’s going? When both SPR and TIPM started, print on demand was the way to go, and now it’s somewhat being fazed out.  POD outfits have to be panicking somewhat – or do you think there’s still a healthy market for POD? Maybe everything will be POD at some point.

MR: This is a tricky question. The Kindle, and ebooks in general, have been the game changer.  I think POD may become the method of normality for publishers in regard to printed books, but only because high street booksellers will find it hard to compete with online booksellers and ebooks will become the new ‘mass-market paperback’.  POD works only because it localises a global publishing world. Print is only viable if the masses demand it. By definition of world economics – print is going to increase in cost over the coming years, to a point, offset print runs by publishers will reduce, maybe even equalising with POD unit prices for smaller runs. Yes, for some small and moderate sized publishers, POD, or more accurately, short digital runs, will become the standard model.

I’ve always said that the printed book will become a gift in the future of publishing—both for reader and publisher. The game entertainment industry has already grasped this idea and Microsoft and Sony have long being developing live online platforms for gamers. Every major Q4 game this year has a special, limited, or collector’s edition, priced much more than the standard edition, but still dedicated gamers to a brand will pay that increased price – whether it’s Assassins’ Creed, Call of Duty, Need For Speed or whatever. Big book publishers need to raise their backsides from their lunchtime salads and evening steaks and see what the gaming industry is doing to promote product and create branding on the long tail. Sure, it’s easy to sit back knowing the brand name of a bestselling author will deliver that regardless in many cases, but that kind of publishing is for lazy smucks trapped in a model of publishing that has changed little since the 1950’s, and in 5 years time, publishers relying on this kind of model will be praying on Christmas arriving in late summer.

Self-publishing as a term of publishing is a complete oxymoron – it makes no sense to me anyone. It doesn’t define what authors are doing today with Kindle or any author solutions service.  Walt Whitman was a self-publisher – he studied print techniques of the time and published his work.  I laid out pages on a simple word processor and studied bookbinding for my first book, Arcadia, in 1990, registered my own imprint – does that make me a self-publisher? Does going to CreateSpace or Lulu with your own registered ISBN make you a self-publisher? Does using AuthorHouse, Xlibris or iUniverse mean you aren’t a self-publisher because you don’t have your own batch of ISBN’s?  Self-publishing seems to have become whatever authors want it to mean, and likewise, also means anything to an author solutions service or vanity press.

SPR: You’re based in Ireland, close to the UK, and you also spend some of your time in the Netherlands – what’s the attitude like now regarding self-publishing in the UK.  Is the sea change as rapid as it is in the U.S.?

MR: I think initially self-publishing was about three to four years behind the U.S. over the last decade. The gap has shrunk considerably.  What I have found since I wrote To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish is that UK companies are quicker to understand the importance of distribution and many started from much smaller bases in significantly smaller market. Too many U.S. author solutions services have made the mistake of overstretching themselves to a point where the quality and attention to author’s books has dramatically deteriorated. That stretch is the difference between companies offering a one-on-one dedicated value-for-money service to being simply an author mill. In the early 2000’s, there was no ebook and no distribution platforms like Kobo or Smashwords. They’ve been game changers as well, though not as much now since the Kindle Publishing has come to the UK. There are not as many author solutions services in the UK and Ireland, but significantly, the better companies have learned quicker because of the mistakes of their American cousins. You don’t see as many companies popping up over a year and quickly disappearing in the UK as much as you see in the U.S.

While many self-published authors want the kudos of holding a copy of their books, the signs are that the savvy authors are wisely foregoing the initial move to print and focusing on building their brand and readership in digital, before making the investment in print.

SPR: What’s next for you at TIPM and next for you with fiction?

MR: I’m always trying to push the envelope on TIPM, and though the reviews will continue, I’ll try and be a little more selective, focusing more on those services I feel are truly innovative, rather than just a rehash of a model of POD service to authors offered by many other established companies. Digital publishing and ebooks have taken a front seat with TIPM and I plan to focus the reviews more on those companies and services.

I plan to finish the novel I’m working on at the moment, “Shadow & Orchid,” and it is a very different kind of book than The Memory of Trees! I like to keep myself on my toes as well as my readers!

SPR: Thanks, Mick.  Good luck with the book release.

Links:

The Independent Publishing Magazine

To Self Publish or Not to Self-Publish

The Memory of Trees | @ Amazon

Mick Rooney @ Facebook.

1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

At the time that I was editing the first book of my series, I was querying agents for a good year. I’ve gotten good feedback, but not one agent had ever said, “Send me the rest of the manuscript.” And it had gotten to where I had, at the time, two and a half manuscripts, and about two rejections per chapter.

I gave myself a promise that if by my birthday I wouldn’t secure an agent, I would do it myself. I had a free proof copy code from CreateSpace, and when my birthday had come and gone, I decided to go ahead and see the self-publishing route through. I didn’t look back since.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?

I used CreateSpace for hard-copy printing, and I went through Amazon & PubIt for e-publication for Kindle and Nook, respectively. I’ve had no complaints whatsoever, the templates are fantastic, and the staff had been most helpful when I asked them for assistance. I plan on staying with them for as long as I can. Same goes for Amazon & PubIt for e-pub.

3. What avenues have you taken to market the book? Have you gotten reviews, interviews, TV, print media coverage?

I’ve advertised by business-car-size flyers in the past, and have been interviewed by a local TV show in Queens, NY, Talents Unlimited. The TV interview was great fun, but the best marketing avenue I found was social media. Facebook and Twitter are excellent for exposure.

4. What drove you to write this particular book?

It was a combination of my love of mysteries and fantasy, combined with wanting to write a story that grows with its readers. At the time that I was laying out the story in the back of my mind, I asked myself constantly, “How would I feel if I’m reading this?” “How do I want people to feel when they’re reading this?” It helped shape the overall tone of the series, and how the characters interacted with one another. The main thing I wanted was to always leave room for them to grow: make errors, fix them, and (eventually!) learn from them. It’s important for me to write that sort of a story, and in this sort of a setting.

5. Is the book in any one particular genre? Is it a genre that’s familiar to you?

The Index Series is best classified as urban fantasy, but it’s not a genre I read often. I love my history, mystery, and thrillers, and I’m known to pick up a fellow fantasy story, but it has to find space between Stephen King and the social structures of the Tudor court!

6. Who are your greatest writing influences?

I won’t lie, Stephen King is definitely an influence, but I was a Caroline B. Cooney fan as a kid, and I enjoyed the way that she was able to keep then-15-year-old me focused on the story as well as dissecting the purpose behind each scene. Stephen King is just plain masterful with his imagery.

7. What’s your writing regimen? Any tips for keeping focused?

I write whenever the mood strikes, which is quite often, and my focus usually comes in a cup with milk and sugar! I kid you not; coffee is one of the best focusing agents to a writer. I usually commute with a notebook or my mini-Netbook, so I can just write whatever comes into my head.

8. Would you self-publish again?

Yes. I’ve done so with the sequels to my first book, and have every intention to continue.

9. Any final words of advice for those looking to self-publish?

First things first, and I will make no bones of this, self-publishing is not easy. Unlike a trad-pub medium, you do not have a marketing team, a cover designer, or an editor. It’s you and your manuscript against the world. It takes a lot of work to get it from first draft to perfect proof, and if my first book (of total 3 published and 5 completed) is any indication, you’re in for several years’ worth of revisions. You’re also in for a metric ton of marketing work as well. But the reward is the knowledge that you have written and released a book on your own is incomparable. It’s a wild ride, but the euphoria is amazing.

——

Katherine Gilraine is the author of The Index Series. She resides in NYC, and has been working on the series since 2006.

David Gaughran is the author of two books of short stories – Transfection and If You Go Into The Woods – as well as the popular blog devoted to self-publishing, Let’s Get Digital.

Self-Publishing Review: How long have you been writing?

David Gaughran: I’ve always been scribbling something or other but I only got serious about six years ago, i.e. writing with the explicit aim of publication.

SPR: Are you a disaffected writer fleeing the traditional industry, or did you start with self-pubbing?

DG: I’ve never had a publishing deal. I had a couple of shorts published but could never snag an agent. Around March this year, I started seriously considering self-publishing for the first time. I had been following it for a while, reading Joe Konrath’s blog and Dean Wesley Smith’s blog, but I still wanted a traditional deal. On the other hand, the publishing business seemed to be way behind the curve on e-books and I was becoming more and more frustrated with querying. Then Barry Eisler walked away from half a million dollars. I decided to take a closer look. When I discovered Kindle Boards, I found this huge group of self-publishers who were selling thousands of books a month. That made my mind up.

SPR: Transfection is sci-fi, and If You Go Into the Woods is described as Lovecraftian?  What’s your greatest interest as a fiction writer?  What sort of stories are you trying to tell?

DG: I read a bit of everything: shorts, sci-fi, literary, historicals, thrillers now and then, mysteries too, so I tend to be drawn to all sorts of stories. I guess I like reading idea-driven stuff most of all, but there is no real common thread aside from good writing and good stories. As such, I like to write a bit of everything. Novels tend to be historical, but my shorter work can be anything really.

SPR: Who are your favorite writers?

DG: I like a lot of South American stuff: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Jorge Amado. There’s a Cuban guy called Pedro Juan Gutierrez, and he wrote The Dirty Havana Trilogy which is filthy, desperate, and brilliant. Louis de Bernieres is great. I like a writer who is really in love with the language, but then uses it to create memorable characters and gripping plots. I like books with ideas: Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick, Michael Chabon. I like Murakami, and I used to read a ton of fantasy when I was a kid: Eddings, Jordan, Feist, Tolkein, and Donaldson. I imagine there will be a few self-publishers on that list once I finally get my hands on a Kindle.

SPR: Your site Let’s Get Digital has gotten very popular in a very short time.  Aside from providing great, useful content, how did that come to be?  Do spend as much time working on helping self-publishers as marketing your fiction?  Similar methods?

DG: It’s surprising to me. I only started blogging as a way of documenting the steps I was taking as an unknown, unpublished writer self-publishing for the first time. There was lots of great information out there, but it was scattered across a whole range of blogs and websites. There was a lot of misinformation too, myths about self-publishing. I thought it might be useful to filter all that and put it in one place so that the next person wouldn’t have to do too much searching. I also blogged about stuff I was trying: competitions, LibraryThing giveaways, setting up advance reviews, and told people what worked, what didn’t, and where I screwed up. The blog just exploded in July, which was really cool because I was just about to release Let’s Get Digital, which was based on the blog: kind of a why to self-publish, as well as the how.

I think I spend a lot more time helping other self-publishers than any kind of marketing. But it’s helping myself as well. Often it’s something I’m just learning about: translations, crowdfunding, whatever, and I share the information as I go along. Blogging about it just helps me get my own thoughts in order.

SPR: Given the popularity of your industry blog, how has this affected your Kindle book sales?  Would you recommend writers writing about industry stuff or writing about their niche?  The marketing stuff does seem to get the most viral traction.

DG: Writers should definitely write about their niche. While I have no doubt that it helped sales of Let’s Get Digital, I don’t think a blog about the publishing industry or self-publishing (or the craft of writing, or how to query for that matter), will ever help sell fiction. You might get some people checking it out, but it’s not like you’re going to get a ton of readers dropping in to check out a post on Kobo’s expansion into France. I only write about this stuff because I like talking about it. If someone wants to sell fiction, they should write about stuff that readers care about. If you write thrillers, then you could blog about famous serial killers. If you write courtroom dramas, then maybe you could host a discussion on famous cases. That’s what your readers will care about.

SPR: I asked this of Mick Rooney in a recent interview, and it is something I wonder (worry) about: do you think spending so much time on a blog can perhaps detract from the energy to work on fiction?

DG: Yeah, sure. You have to be disciplined. Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, forums – all that stuff takes time away from writing. But the focus always must be on new work. I actually spend zero time promoting, aside from around the time of a release. I think it’s better spent making connections and writing more, with the emphasis, hopefully, on the second. But the writing time gets eaten into, if you aren’t careful.

SPR: I get sort of annoyed when I’m called a “self-publishing guru” because, for one thing, it’s not true b/c I don’t have the sales of many self-publishers. I just find the industry really interesting and important.  Do you think there’s any problem with being associated with the medium as much as the message?

DG: No. If you are passionate about, if it interests you, then you should explore it. If I hear that Amazon have launched a new imprint, or that Telefonica are opening an e-bookstore in Latin America, I get excited just thinking about the implications. But there’s probably something wrong with us. That’s okay, everyone has their thing. Having said that, if I ever find that I’m spending less time working on how to be a better writer or producing new work, then I have to give myself a talking to.

SPR: You’re based in Sweden.  Is there any Swedish self-publishing scene?  How about the rest of Europe compared to the States? I lived in Europe for a year and it was refreshing compared to the U.S. When I said, “I’m a writer,” the response wasn’t “Yeah, but what do you do for money?” It was, “Cool.”  I imagine the attitude towards self-publishing is similar, though even in the States this has improved dramatically in just the last six months.  Is the European market seeing the same sea change?

DG: I have no idea. If there is a scene here in Sweden, I’m not connected to it at all. I know some self-publishers around Europe, but none here. And they don’t look down on writers, no. I’m Irish and we view writers in quite a positive light. Most of Europe is the same.

I’m not sure about the attitude towards self-publishing. Some automatically think it’s cool – without knowing much about the publishing business – others are just skeptical about e-books generally. It’s much more different in the UK – the market is a lot more advanced there, and Kindles are common. While there are a lot of tablets and smartphones here, the only dedicated e-reader I ever saw was in the hands of a Dutch ex-pat who brought it with him from the UK. E-readers are expensive. I’ve never seen one in a store, and with taxes and delivery charges, the cheapest Kindle comes to around $170.

On top of that, readers across Europe (apart from the UK, France, and Germany) are subject to a $2 surcharge on all e-books, levied by Amazon (and then local taxes add another 15% on top of that). This makes a 99c e-book $3.44 and a $2.99 e-book $5.74. That dampens the market too.

SPR: You also write the site SouthAmericana.com - where’s the fascination with South America come from?

DG: My fascination with South America began as a kid: all those stories of the Amazon, the Incas, and lost cities of gold. I finally got the opportunity to travel there in 2005. Well, I just quit my job and headed off, with half a notion of writing a book while I travelled around the world. I started in Brazil, with no real plan. I think was supposed to be there for two months, then move on to Australia. But after a couple of weeks, I knew I was going to stay there until my money ran out.

After traveling around a bit, I got a job teaching English in a shanty town in Peru, and I was able to stretch the trip out to nine months. While I was there, I was trying to write a comic novel about a failed hand model. It was awful. Towards the end of my time, I took a trip up to Guayaquil and found it was the town where the two liberators of South America met for the first and only time.

One of them, San Martín, inexplicably walked away – at the height of his career – leaving the other, Simón Bolívar, the chance to immortalize himself. I started researching it on the internet, just trying to figure out what happened, and, before I knew it, I was writing a book about it. It took me three years and I’ve rewritten numerous times since. It’s called A Storm Hits Valparaíso, and it’s coming out in December. At last!

I actually went back to South America for nine months in 2008 to finish the book, do a bit more research, and walk down those streets again. This time, being able to speak a bit of Spanish, I came across all sorts of stories. Some of those will make it into books. Others don’t fit and SouthAmericana.com is going to be a home of sorts for them. It’s something I love doing, and might even turn into a narrative non-fiction book of historical vignettes one day, but it’s fun just writing the posts. It also has the happy side effect of connecting me with readers who might be interested in checking out my fiction.

SPR: What’s your take on the “Publishing Death Spiral” of Konrath?  Do you see self-publishing taking over a majority of released work?  What do you see as the future of self-publishing?

DG: It’s hard to say. It depends what you define as “self-published” and “released work”. If we discount all the PLR stuff, the public domain books, and the content farm spam, I’ve still no idea of the size of self-publishing, but there has got to be more titles released than traditional publishing (again discounting all the above). In terms of revenue generated though, self-publishing must be a lot smaller. It’s hard to get hard numbers. We have them for the publishing business, but no-one is measuring self-publishing (that I know of) with any accuracy. All we have are crude barometers. I can look at the Top 500 e-books on Amazon and see that, for the last few months, around a third have been self-published, but that only tells me so much. That’s significant though.

As to the future, I think business conditions for self-publishers are perfect now, and can only deteriorate. I mean, large publishers will get to grips with this stuff eventually, won’t they? I’m sure they will get a lot more competitive in terms of pricing, releasing digital first, and connecting with readers. More writers (with audiences and backlists) will abandon traditional deals and go it alone, increasing competition amongst self-publishers. There are lots of smart, small publishers around too producing great books and posting astonishing numbers.

I think the larger publishers will downsize, I think they are weaker in a digital, online world, and I expect smaller players to grab a larger share of the market, but I don’t think the big guys will disappear. Some may go under, merge, or be bought out, but they are sitting on a lot of content, and are making money from e-books too. Their problem is they are trying to hold on to their writers without caving on their paltry royalty rates. At the same time they are gouging readers at higher price points to protect their print sales, which are collapsing anyway as the bookstores close and the existing ones restrict the amount of titles in each store to make room for scented candles. It’s an attack on their model from all sides and doesn’t leave them with much wiggle room while a horde of smaller, hungrier, and often savvier, competitors eat up as much of the market as they can.

SPR: What’s next for you with fiction?

DG: Aside from the December release (which I will be looking to translate), I have already started work on the next. It’s set in 1900s New Orleans and Honduras, following an American soldier of fortune. The first few chapters are written and the rest is outlined. I had to shelve it while I did the final edit on A Storm Hits Valparaíso, but I’m dying to get back at it. I’ve another two novels outlined for South America, one set in the Middle East, one in Tsarist Russia, a few shorts I need to finish, and an idea for a dystopian novella that has been bugging me for a while. There’s not enough hours in the day.

SPR: Thanks, David.  Good luck with everything.

DG: Thanks for the interview, Henry. This was fun.

Links:

DavidGaughran.com

Let’s Get Digital

A Storm Hits Valparaíso Fundit campaign

I came from the screenwriting world, and quite frankly, I was a bit fed up with all the blockades set up to stop talented people from succeeding.  I see it every day.  I had a stack of screenplays and outlines of stories that everyone seemed to enjoy, including managers and producers, but I wasn’t a schmoozer, which makes it harder to break in.  After several close calls with success, a friend suggested that I switch to writing novels.  I did some research and decided to self-publish because the idea of being in complete control of content, whether good or bad, was very attractive to me.  Plus, I can get my stuff out much faster.  I can publish at any time, instead of waiting months or longer for distribution.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?

I’m doing everything myself.  After taking a seminar (for graphic novels, of all things) given by Martin Shapiro, I took his advice and created a “presence” online.  I designed a company name, website, logo, etc.  So far, I’m happy with the service I’ve provided myself, except that I stay up too late some nights.

3. What avenues have you taken to market the book? Have you gotten reviews, interviews, TV, print media coverage?

I’m new to all this, and I’m learning as I go.  I sent out a press release with some success and am now shopping around for reviews and interviews.

4. What drove you to write this particular book?

I had watched and read a lot of zombie stories and most seemed to jump right into the outbreak, with little to no explanation.  I wanted to switch that up a little and show how an outbreak might occur and then spread once the virus has mutated.  I also liked the idea of mixing in nanotechnology as a kind of cautionary tale, and telling the story from the point of view of the zombie virus gave me a unique way to convey what happens.

5. Is the book in any one particular genre? Is it a genre that’s familiar to you?

Patient Zero is in the zombie/horror genre.  I’ve watched horror movies since I was a kid and started enjoying zombies about ten years ago.

6. Who are your greatest writing influences?

I have a somewhat odd list.  Although I’ve read several well known authors that I’m sure are on the top of a lot of writers’ lists (King, Koontz, Spillane, Crichton, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mar Shelley, etc.), I’ve been mostly influenced by Kurt Vonnegut, Joss Whedon, Doulglas Adams, Brian Michael Bendis, Steven Gould, and Jack McKinney.  Each one for a different reason.  I’ll never match his brilliance, but my writing style is probably closest to Vonnegut, the way it seemed like he was standing in front of you telling the story, with casual structure and dialogue rather than describing the leaves of a tree for half a page.  I respect that and try to achieve simplicity whenever possible.  That’s why I’ll probably never write an 800 page tome.

7. What’s your writing regimen? Any tips for keeping focused?

Depending on the day, I’ll write anywhere from 500 words to 2500.  It depends on what I’m writing, how much dialogue there is, and the degree of research that needs to go into a particular passage.  Plus, how much help my son needs on his homework and whether my wife wants to catch up on It’s Always Sunny.

8. Would you self-publish again?

Definitely.  I have every intention of keeping this going.  In addition to two additional novels being released between now and March 2012, with a fourth coming a few months after that, I will be continuing my TV in Prose series with a new episode every 1-2 months.

9. Any final words of advice for those looking to self-publish?

Brand yourself.  Create a website.  Spend some time doing it and don’t skimp.  Hire an artist to create a logo and design a book cover.  The first time I called a company and “This is Jim” and the girl asked, “From Black Rooster Creations?,” I knew I had done the right thing.

Self-Publishing Review: So what’s Ebookit – when did it begin and how have things been going since you started up?

Bo Bennett: eBookIt.com is a service for authors and publishers to convert their book(s) to popular ebook formats, and distribute their book(s) using the world’s leading ebook retailers.  We started this business back in October of 2010, with a public launch on January 1, 2011.  In just under 10 full months of business we 25 formatters who have manually converted over 1300 books, and have published/distributed over 800 titles in thousands of ebook stores on the Internet, including all the major players such as Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, and many more.

SPR: What are the biggest problems you see when authors try to convert a book themselves?

BB: Well, I was one of those authors who tried to convert a book myself.  I spent over 25 hours on trying to make it look right in just one format, then I realized that I had a few other formats to go!  The biggest problem most authors have is that they are under the impression some magic software exists that does the conversion for them.  This is like thinking scanning in a paper brochure will automatically produce an interactive website site with properly formatted text, images and menus.  It just doesn’t work that way.

SPR: Do you ever repair an author’s messed-up attempt at a conversion, or is it easier to just do it from scratch?

BB: It depends how the file is presented to us.  For example, if the author has a fairly simple document that they managed to get in ePub format — but it is not passing the industry epub check, we can usually make the needed edits to make the file work, and save the author money.  But most times, it is much easier for us just to simply work from the source file.

SPR: I see after your redesign that you have more of an emphasis on marketing, in addition to conversion.  What sorts of marketing services do you offer?

BB: It is more promotion than marketing. Right now we offer press release and MediaBlast services, but we are working on expanding and revising that offering.  These are services continually desired by authors, so we are working on more services that produce impressive results.

SPR: The emphasis of your front page is not as much on your bookstore, as it is with a place like Smashwords. That’s understandable, as Smashwords is a DIY publishing platform, and Ebookit is a conversion service, but do you see the service becoming a publisher as much as a converter?

BB: We do act as the publisher for authors for whom we provide the ISBN.  But book sales is not our focus, as there are literally tens of thousands of bookstores on the Internet that offer a huge variety of books using the Ingram Digital database.  We have many plans for the future, but competing with Amazon and Apple is certainly NOT one of them!

SPR: My dad’s novel (The Memory Gene) was formatted by you guys without right-aligned margins. I’ve heard arguments for and against this practice. What’s your take?

BB: It is certainly not common, but also not objectively wrong in any way.  When we format we respect the original formatting by the author as much as possible, as long as it does not cause errors or result in conversion problems.  Much of formatting is preference.

SPR: What sort of advanced conversion do you do – like formatting for the new Kindle Fire specs. Do you think you’ll ever get into eBook app design?

BB: We are getting into more and advanced formatting, but the industry is relatively young in this respect.  Likewise, much of the multimedia content is more like applications and less like books.  It kind of reminds me of video email that tried to take off back in the late 90’s, but failed miserably because creating text based emails was just so much easier.  I do not foresee the average self-published author spending thousands of dollars creating a complex application-type book.  It is a high-investment, high-risk venture. But that could change with technology and time.

SPR: What do you see as the future of the eBook?

BB: Monochrome ereaders will soon be history.  Frankly, I am surprised they lasted this long.  Within a year or two, buying an ereader that is anything other than a full-color touchscreen device, will be just as difficult as buying a CRT computer monitor (the kind of monitor with the big box behind the screen, kids).  And again, I do not see a large portion of ebooks with custom video, audio content and interaction beyond hyperlinks.  The evolution of the ebook will be limited by the ease of creating the content.

After I wrote about the challenges of marketing literary novels (see my previous post here),  I asked if anyone knew of an author writing a literary book that’s done what Amanda Hocking, J.A. Konrath, and other eBook superstars have done. A reader on Kindleboards told me about Darcie Chan and her novel, The Mill River Recluse, which, today as I post this, is #2 in Kindle sales and ranks as the #1 book on Amazon’s contemporary fiction list.

The story focuses on widow Mary McAllister. Disfigured by the blow of an abusive husband, and suffering her entire life with severe social anxiety disorder, McAllister spends almost sixty years secluded in a white marble mansion overlooking the town of Mill River, Vermont. As I’m discovering this gripping tale, it’s not a thriller, a paranormal romance, or a detective novel, yet people are loving it and posting reviews.

Who is Darcie Chan and how did she do this? She kindly agreed to an interview, below. This is Ms. Chan’s first novel, but before she released this book, she landed a top New York City agent, Laurie Liss, who, despite believing in the book, was unable to get a publisher. Two years later, with her manuscript still sitting in a drawer, Ms. Chan decided to try self-publishing the book as an eBook. It took off.

Christopher Meeks: You’re an attorney, a wife, a mother, and a gardener. When do you have time to write?

Darcie Chan: Well, I will tell you that, this summer, my modest vegetable garden has been completely overtaken by weeds!

In all honesty, it takes a lot of juggling.  I obviously have to give priority to my family and my job, so my writing generally happens later in the evening, after my son is asleep, and I’ve finished work for the day.

Where did you get the idea for The Mill River Recluse, and what drove you to write this book when you did?

The Mill River Recluse is the story of a woman with severe social anxiety disorder and agoraphobia who manages, despite a lifetime of physical isolation, to secretly change the lives of everyone who lives in her small Vermont town.

The basic concept for The Mill River Recluse was inspired by a certain gentleman named Sol Strauss who lived in Paoli, Indiana, the small town in which I lived during high school and my mother was born and raised.  Mr. Strauss, a Jewish man who fled Nazi Germany, operated a dry goods store in Paoli in the 1940s.  Even though Mr. Strauss lived quietly alone above his shop and never seemed to be fully embraced by the town’s predominantly Christian population, he considered Paoli to be his adopted community and is still remembered today for his extreme generosity.

I thought it would be very interesting to build a story around someone who is misunderstood or different in some way, and to show that even someone who is seemingly far-removed from his or her community may in fact be more special and integral than anyone could imagine.

In terms of timing, I wrote Recluse several years ago, before my son was born.  I had always wanted to try my hand at writing a novel, and I’d reached a point where I was finished with my education and had been in my job for a few years – long enough that I had been promoted and felt comfortable in my position.  My husband was still in his residency, so he was working long hours and was often gone overnight or at least until very late in the evening.  I thought that it might be a good time to attempt a first novel.

Did you start writing your book with Mary McAllister’s last night on earth, or did that come later? You love Alice Sebold’s opening to The Lovely Bones as much as I do, and your opening grabs boldly, too, hinting at parts of Mary’s life, which we immediately want to discover.

If I remember correctly, I had just begun writing when I realized that that should be the scene that opens the book.   It is an arresting scene, and I worried that, like the opening to The Lovely Bones, it might be a turn-off for some readers.  But, Mary’s last night is the point in time that separates the events of the past and the events of the present – the point joining the two timelines in the story.  It also provided an opportunity to work in hints of things that occurred during both timelines.  For those reasons, I felt deep down that it was the best way to begin the book.

I noticed in other interviews what an avid reader you are and how you learn from other writers. What two or three writers in particular have inspired you and what have you learned from their writing?

I actually read far less these days than I would like, but I do believe that it is so important to read a wide variety of books to continue to grow and learn as a writer.  We had three days with no power as a result of Hurricane Irene, and I was tickled to be able to devour a book over the course of two evenings while reading with a flashlight!  The book was The Eighty Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts, and it was fabulous!

It is hard for me to choose only a few writers who have inspired me because so many writers and books inspire me for various reasons.  But, with respect to books that have taught me something that I found relevant in writing Recluse…I suppose I would point to The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, because it shows that a shocking, tragic opening can give way to a story of remarkable beauty and peace.

Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper is a heart-wrenching story that serves as an example of absolute mastery of storytelling through points of view of multiple characters.  Finally, I would have to include A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith, which is my favorite book.  It is a story told with exceptional voice, honesty, and imagery.  I also love that Francie, the main character through whose point of view the book is written, is, against all odds, a real survivor who triumphs in the end.

Did you take creative writing classes in college or how did you come to write fiction?

I actually started college (at Indiana University, Bloomington) as a pre-med biology major, and it wasn’t until midway through my junior year that I was finally honest with myself about what I should be studying. I loved reading, writing, journalism, and other humanities classes;  I hated much of the pre-med curriculum, and I couldn’t imagine myself going through years of school and training to end up in a career that was not centered on reading and writing something other than medical textbooks and patient charts.  So, with three semesters until graduation, I changed my major from biology to English.

It was such a relief!  I was finally in classes that I loved.  Unfortunately, to graduate on time, I had to cram a major’s worth of required English classes into the three semesters I had remaining.  I was able to take only two creative writing classes – one was a poetry workshop and the other focused on short stories.  I enjoyed both of them very much, although writing fiction seemed a better fit for me.  I knew by that time that, someday, I wanted to try to write a novel.

I put my writing aspirations on hold for a long time. Through high school, college, and law school, I really didn’t have time for anything but my classes and my part-time jobs. After law school, I began working as an attorney, which is also a position with demanding hours. But, after a few years, I got used to the schedule and started writing late in the evenings as a creative outlet. I decided to attempt a novel-length piece of fiction, which wasn’t as intimidating as it once was. I figured that if I could draft or edit hundreds of pages of legal text within a few weeks, I could certainly complete a novel during my own time, writing at a far more leisurely pace.

I’d love to know everything about how you produced your book. How long did it take you to write it? How did you know it was done? Did you try publishing it the traditional way with an agent or did you decide it would be an eBook and just self-publish it? I see you have an agent at Sterling Lord, a great agency, best known for representing such authors as William Trevor, Ruth Rendell, and Ken Kesey. Did you get an agent after the book did well or before?

It took me about two and half years to write The Mill River Recluse, and several months more to edit it.  I was very lucky to have several family members, friends, and acquaintances volunteer to be “test readers.” I sought from them as much honest feedback on the manuscript as they would give and used it to refine the manuscript as best I could.

It has always been a dream of mine to have a novel traditionally published, so when I felt the manuscript was as good as I could make it, I began the usual process of trying to find a literary agent to represent it. That is, I researched agents, sending out query letters, sending off requested partial or full manuscripts, etc.  I accumulated many, many rejections…so many that I stopped counting.  After I had been at it for several months, I had the full manuscript out with three agents, which was a good sign.  I worked up the courage to send a query to another agent on my “dream agent” list – Laurie Liss, at Sterling Lord Literistic.  Honestly, I expected a quick rejection.  I was so surprised when I got an immediate request for the full manuscript…and then a very happy phone call a few days later.

Laurie’s fabulous reputation is well-deserved, and I hold her in such high regard.  She is extremely knowledgeable, supportive, and patient, and a passionate advocate for new authors.  She also keeps it real.  Laurie told me during our first conversation that Recluse would be difficult to sell because it was a quiet, literary novel and I was a completely unknown writer.  Nevertheless, she was willing to try because she loved the story and thought that readers would, too.  Despite her valiant effort to place Recluse, none of the many publishers she approached were willing to take a chance on it.  I saved the manuscript in a folder on my hard drive, and life went on.

I actually took a few years off from writing.  I had a very busy period with my job that required substantial overtime.  Also, my husband finished his medical training and accepted a faculty position at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, which required us to relocate to New York from Maryland.  Not long after that, we had our first child.  I am still trying to catch up on sleep lost from all of these things!

During the past few years, though, it was impossible not to notice the explosion of eBooks.  I started reading articles about writers who were so successful with their eBook sales that they established readerships and attracted the attention of trade publishers.  Even after all the rejections, I still believed that a few people out there might enjoy Recluse.

I wondered whether, by releasing it as an eBook, I might be able to get some valuable feedback from readers and gradually (over several months or years) sell enough copies that I would no longer be a complete unknown when I had a second novel ready for submission.  It seemed a better plan than continuing to let it languish on my hard drive. Laurie didn’t think it would hurt anything to try it, either, so I uploaded Recluse to the Kindle Store on May 18 and to the Nook Store in early June.

This takes me to how you overcame the challenges that bring many self-published writers down: quality control. Did you hire an editor, proofreader, or cover designer? How did you know your book was ready for the greater public? Everything about your book is well-done, including the cover, which is simple yet powerful. How did you do these things?

The Mill River Recluse has not been professionally edited…I did the editing of the manuscript myself, although the feedback I received from my test readers and from Laurie was invaluable in shaping what turned out to be the final draft.  My test readers were also fabulous from a copyediting standpoint – I try to be meticulous when it comes to grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, but every one of my test readers found something that I had overlooked and that no one else had caught.  And, I’m sure that a professional fiction editor could further improve the manuscript.

I also designed the cover myself, with some help from my husband and one of my sisters.  The cover is actually a photo taken by my youngest sister, Molly, of a large white mansion on a hill that overlooks my hometown of Paoli, Indiana.  I grew up looking at that house, and when I was developing the storylines for Recluse, that image kept popping into my mind.

My husband helped me darken it and make some other modifications until I felt it captured the central image from my story – i.e., Mary McAllister’s mysterious isolation in her marble mansion.  I also tried to make the cover eye-catching and as much like a traditionally-published book cover as I could.

Finally, in terms of knowing that Recluse was ready for the greater public…I didn’t actually know.  I felt that the manuscript was as good as I could make it, and I viewed releasing Recluse in ebook form as an experiment.  I think every writer takes a risk in making work public, but it is something that must be done if you hope to have others read your work.

I had no idea how Recluse would be received, but I felt that I had done my best and hoped that at least some people would enjoy it.  I have been flabbergasted and humbled by readers’ response to my novel. Recluse’s popularity has truly come as a complete shock to me.

About how many books are you selling a day, and how long did it take from first publishing the book to getting what you thought were good sales?

I never really settled on a particular number to represent what “good sales” would be for Recluse.  I certainly had no big expectations.  Early on, I was selling one or two copies every day or two, and I was thrilled with that. I think it was in the third week of June that the 100th copy sold, and my husband and I grabbed up our son and did a happy dance right in the middle of the kitchen!  To think – 100 people actually had my book!  That was much faster than I expected to be able to sell 100 copies, and again, I hoped that over a long period of time, I’d sell several hundred more.

At that point, I had read about some of the better-known self-published authors cracking the top 100 in the Kindle Store, and it never occurred to me that that was even a remote possibility for Recluse.

Toward the end of June, Recluse was mentioned as a bargain eBook on EReader News Today, which is one of the larger eBook-related blogs.  That resulted in a spike of several hundred sales, which was really incredible.  I fully expected the sales numbers to drop off again after a few days, though, and they did….but not all the way back to where they’d been before the mention.

Then, a few weeks after that, the sales numbers started climbing again and Recluse started receiving a good number of positive reviews from readers.  Things increased steadily from there, boosted periodically by a few features on other big ebook blogs (Kindle Nation and Pixel of Ink) and a few smaller advertisements on various websites.

Recluse entered the top 10 in the Kindle Store around the second week of August, and I feel like I have been living in a bubble of surreality since then.  The number of copies sold each day varies, but for the past six weeks or so, Recluse has been averaging several thousand copies per day.

The so-called superstars of self-publishing, people such as Amanda Hocking, John Locke, and J.A. Konrath, have written brilliant genre books, such things as paranormal romances, thrillers, and mysteries. You’ve written a literary book, which is typically a difficult sell. Books such as Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants and Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain take big publishers and marketing geniuses to find their audience. However, I see you call your book “mainstream women’s fiction.” Does this mean you aimed your marketing at women or did you go for a literary audience—or both? In short, how did you find your audience?

I was never quite sure whether to pitch Recluse as commercial or literary fiction.  To me, it seemed to have elements of both.   I also found that, among those who read drafts of Recluse, it seemed to really resonate with women, so I suppose I assumed that, were my novel ever to find an enthusiastic audience, the majority of those in that audience would be women – hence the label “mainstream women’s fiction.”

My marketing efforts were both late and modest.  I uploaded Recluse and then realized that I had to do SOMETHING to introduce the book to readers.  (Ideally, I should have set up social media accounts and advertising promotions BEFORE uploading the novel.)  However, my budget for book promotion was very limited.  I didn’t try to target my marketing efforts at women so much as users of eReaders (Kindles, Nooks, iPads, etc.) in general.  I just hoped that, once a feature of Recluse went live on an eBook site, the cover and description would attract readers who would enjoy that kind of novel.

Since Recluse was available only in ebook form, I wrote to several administrators of ebook-related blogs and requested features of my novel.  Some of these were free listings and others were features that required a very small fee.  I arranged for some small web-based ads to run on Goodreads.com and some eBook-related sites.

A few weeks after I uploaded the manuscript, I set up a website, Twitter account, and Facebook author page.   I also scheduled some features of Recluse to appear a few times on the large Kindle and eBook blogs (EReader News Today, Kindle Nation, and Pixel of Ink).   Almost all of these are paid sponsorships, but each one results in thousands of eReader users seeing a book, and I think they were very helpful in launching Recluse out into cyberspace.

I see reviews are a big part of your Amazon page, including a review from Kirkus. Did you send your book out for review? If so, did you send it out as an eBook or did you have physical copies you sent? How did you find people to review it?

As you probably know, it is very difficult to get a self-published book reviewed by a mainstream reviewer (such as Booklist or Library Journal) or newspaper.  I did hope to find some way to have Recluse reviewed by such an entity, though, because I was curious about what kind of industry feedback the story would receive.  A negative review could at least provide some guidance as to how I could further improve the manuscript.  I also thought that a positive review might lend credibility to my novel and encourage more readers to give it a shot.

I learned that Kirkus Reviews does review self-published books using the same standards applicable to traditionally published titles.  The only differences are that the author has to pay to have a self-published title reviewed, and the author can then choose whether to make the review public (since Kirkus clearly states that there is no guarantee that the review you receive will be positive).   I decided to take a chance on a Kirkus Review and sent in two copies of the manuscript.

I also learned of a website called IndieReader.com that highlights self-published and independently-published books.  It, too, offered professional reviews for a fee, and I submitted a copy of Recluse electronically to receive a review from there as well.

As for the reviews from readers that have been posted to the novel’s pages in the Kindle Store and Nook Store – at last count, the Amazon site has 137 reviews and the Nook Store has 61 ratings.  I know exactly five of those reviewers.  The rest have been left by complete strangers, and I feel so grateful to have received every one of them.

Did you price your book at 99 cents right away and have you tried other prices? Has Amazon helped in promoting the book?

When I originally released Recluse, it was priced at $2.99.  However, the goal of my “ebook experiment” has never been to make money. I only wanted to get my work out there over time and gauge people’s responses to it.  For that reason, I quickly lowered the price to $0.99.  I think it is true that readers are more willing to take a chance on a completely unknown author at that price point, and I definitely wanted to encourage people to take a chance on me.

I’ve read in some reader reviews that Recluse has started popping up in Amazon’s recommendations to customers (which are based on an individual’s purchase history and reading preferences).  I think Amazon’s recommendations certainly confer a promotional advantage.

How well does your book sell in other channels, such as for the Nook? I notice your Barnes and Noble page isn’t as populated as the Kindle page, yet I’m finding Nook sales are starting to catch up to my Kindle sales. (I’m stumped on how to promote for the Nook, however.)

Although Recluse is available in the Nook Store as well, I agree with you that there don’t seem to be as many ways to promote eBooks to Nook users.  In the past few weeks, the Nook sales of Recluse have increased dramatically.  I attribute that to the fact that the Nook Store prominently lists those eBooks that are on the New York Times eBook bestseller list. Recluse first appeared on that list three weeks ago and so now has much more visibility on the Nook website.   It may be that word-of-mouth recommendations are also factoring into Nook sales as well.

What about Smashwords, where, if it’s accepted for the premium catalog, one’s book goes onto Apple’s iBooks website? I’ve found the formatting so strict that I have to hire someone for $70 to get it on there, and I haven’t had enough sales to pay for it. Have you been luckier?

Recluse is available through Smashwords as well. Yes, the formatting there is very strict.  I actually made it into the premium catalog only to discover (based on feedback from a reader) that there was STILL a margin issue that made reading the story unpleasant/impossible.  I contacted them for technical support, and they were able to give me instructions about how to fix the formatting problem, which I did.

I then re-uploaded it and it passed for premium distribution again.  Definitely not a fun process!  Honestly, I’ve sold only a few copies through Smashwords, and I’m not sure whether that reflects sales from the iBookstore or only direct downloads from Smashwords.  Regardless, the sales from there are miniscule compared with those from the Kindle and Nook Stores.

I read that the Apple sales show up at separate times on Smashwords, so you may be yet surprised. Will your next book be published traditionally? Will the Mill River Recluse have a print edition?

The answer to both of these questions is “I don’t know, but I hope so.”  I would still love to have a book traditionally published, be it Recluse, my second novel (currently in progress), or a future work.

Where’s Unimportant

“Jack Addington is stuck. A carefree life wandering the globe has morphed into a monotonous existence working for an oppressive Manhattan-based software company peddling products which destroy the lives of decent people. Jack struggles through soul-sucking affairs with despotic executives and eccentric scientists by mentally projecting himself out of the present and into past adventures. Avoidance, however, is temporary, and it does not take long for his overly medicated mind to lose perspective, causing him to act increasingly irrational in a brutally rational world. Jack attempts to reconnect to reality through the guidance of a colorful group of ‘advisers’, but, a bleak situation continues to spin out of control despite his best efforts. Ultimately for Jack, a slice of contentment is found only when luck stands amid the rubble of his failed attempts at perseverance. Sharply satirical, funny and painfully honest, Where’s Unimportant is a snapshot of one man’s failed attempt at the American Dream.”

Read more about the book on Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/books/23837148/Wheres-Unimportant

Learn more about the author’s other writing projects at http://www.danielshortell.com/

QUICK INTERVIEW ON SELF-PUBLISHING:

1. How did you come to self-publish?  Did you try to get published traditionally? Hmm, I’d have to say I was driven primarily by my desire not to, once again, be a cog in a big corporate machine. After ditching my ten year career in software to focus on writing, I thought it would be a fun journey to leverage my technical know-how in order to compete with the giants on a quickly shifting business landscape. NO, I didn’t try to, and didn’t want to, pursue the traditional route.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service? CreateSpace for print. Kindle and Nook formats on my own. Smashwords to reach the rest (Apple, Kobo, Sony, etc)

3. What avenues have you taken to market the book?  Have you gotten reviews, interviews, TV, print media coverage? Just getting into this phase now. Currently pursuing reviews both online and in print. Using my existing blogs and social networks to push out. Passing cards out around bookstores in nyc…

4. What drove you to write this particular book? Desire to let off some steam, focus my creative energies and bear down on some brewing ideas.

5. Is the book in any one particular genre?  Is it a genre that’s familiar to you? Literary Fiction with a heavy satirical bent

6. Who are your greatest writing influences? Kerouac, Vonnegut, Hemingway, Seneca, Huxley, Fitzgerald, Popper, Eggers

7. What’s your writing regimen?  Any tips for keeping focused? Start early, eat breakfast twice, finish mid-afternoon. Keep a pad nearby at all times to capture ideas as writing is a process which is continuous – some of the best ideas invariably come just before falling asleep – jot these notes down quick and shape them the next morning. Focus tends to be a given assuming I’m working on material that I am passionate about.

8. Would you self-publish again? Yes, most definitely as it has been a rewarding process. Projects currently underway.

9. Any final words of advice for those looking to self-publish? Do it. Do it now. But (and here is the big but), do it 100%, meaning, go all the way. You are deciding to be the agent/publishing company/editor/typographer/web designer/blogger/technical guru and, oh, yeah, writer. This means you have a massive amount of work ahead of you if you want to do this properly/professionally. You must start with a solid, well-crafted story (if this isn’t abundantly obvious, quit now). Understand your genre and the nuances that make it is what it is, who is the ‘best’ in your genre and what makes them so good and why you enjoy reading them. Edit the living shit out of your novel, then have as many people as possible read your drafts and provide feedback/proofing. Don’t rely on Aunt Jane because she’s a sweetheart and reads the hell out of some Danielle Steel (well, unless that is the type of material you are working on), find the literary minds (or English/Lit/etc majors) among your friends and get them involved in your project. So, you’ve just finished the third draft? Excellent start working towards the sixth draft now. Edit, edit, then edit some more. You have your final draft ready? Edit it again.

Now you have your final draft. Time to format. Don’t know about Typography or Indesign? Learn it…you want this to look professional, right? Not good with technology? This is a problem because as a self-publisher you are aiming to leverage all the wonderful new technologies available to compete with the big dogs at their game…you have a lot of technological studying to do. Don’t have a blog/website or anything else on the www to centralize all the fragments of ‘you’? Build a website/start a blog/get some material out on the web before you decide to birth your book. Need a cover, right? But you are not a designer…this is a problem. You have one little image to represent your book traveling all around cyberspace (or not) as the face of your writing. This face needs to look damn good/be meaningful/ATTRACT EYES. Hire a Pro if you are not one or do not know who will accept back-rubs and alcohol as payment.

Thank you for reading,

Daniel Shortell

http://www.danielshortell.com/

Waiting for Karl Rove is one of those books. It’s irreverent satire, chock full of politically incorrect content, and the “characters” (aside from ourselves) are public figures, mainly in the political arena. Not to mention that it’s kind of a lampoon against the publishing industry, as a whole. So, yeah, risky.

We did get some good feedback from a few agents and small publishers, who chuckled at the cheeky query letter, and wished us good luck, Godspeed, and many happy returns (probably while deleting our initial query from their inbox after sharing it with everyone within a fifty mile radius and guffawing at our unmitigated gall).

The industry doesn’t seem willing to take risks at this point, and with the economy the way it is, that’s understandable.

Because I have two books being traditionally published this year – Far From Happy (PD Publishing) and I Wish I Were Engulfed in Flames (Skyhorse Publishing) – we thought having this self-published title available when the other books come out, might help sales.

We do have a plan. Is it a good one? Hell if I know. We’ll have to wait and see. We’ve been marketing on the internet every day. I know it’s going to take a lot of work to get book sales moving. We’re prepared to do that work. I think the important thing for ANY author to know (self-published or otherwise) is that they WILL have to market their work. There’s no getting around that. The books won’t sell themselves.

Writers, in essence, must become Self-Promo-Ho’s. Did you ever see “Glengarry Glen Ross”? Well, those of you who have, know you can’t be Shelley Levene. You have to be Ricky Roma and channel that used-car-salesman vibe – sell, sell, SELL yourself. Nobody’s gonna do it for you.

So, in the end, self-publishing this book was a chance we were willing to take.

Now for the questionnaire. (Couldn’t we do James Lipton’s Actors Studio questionnaire, instead? No? Ok, fine…)

1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

I believe I answered that one… mostly. We didn’t do much querying after the initial round. This book, in particular, given the political climate, has content that wouldn’t be as relevant in a few years (which is often how long it takes from query to store shelves), though I do think the humor stands on its own. It’s just a crazy, madcap, irreverent road trip memoir.

Think Thelma and Louise—only Thelma’s menopausal, Louise is an erratic big-mouth with a penchant for discussing her hemorrhoids, and they’re on a road trip to wrestle an apology from Karl Rove by any means necessary.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?

We used Createspace through Amazon. Yes, we’re happy with the service, thus far. Although formatting a book and getting it ready for publication yourself is a huge undertaking, it can be done. You need attention to detail and… patience. Lots of it. It helps that I have done a great deal of video production and am good with Photoshop. I think bad book covers are a big reason for low sales on internet marketing sites. Bad editing, as well. I don’t suggest self-publishing before putting your work through a lengthy workshopping and editing process. Also, this book has over 600 footnotes, so formatting THAT was a slow walk through hell. But, we did it, and the book looks great.

3. What avenues have you taken to market the book? Have you gotten reviews, interviews, TV, print media coverage?

We’ve scheduled blogger interviews and reviews, and are starting to work with Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites to get the word out. We also sent out press releases. Make no mistake, this “marketing” business is (and must be) a full time job when you self-publish. We’ve just started, and my hemorrhoids are already killing me from sitting in one place (in front of the computer) all day long.

4. What drove you to write this particular book?

As writers (at least this writer) I think it’s sometimes our job to shine a light on things, to push that bruise – to hold up a microphone and record the voices who are speaking loudly (and not speaking loudly). This can be done in fiction and non-fiction. Books are great entertainment, but my favorite types of books are the ones that have something to say, though you’re so entertained or moved by the work, you don’t realize it as you’re reading.

5. Is the book in any one particular genre? Is it a genre that’s familiar to you?

Kat and I love observational satire. So this was a walk in the park for us. I’ve never had as much fun writing as I did on this book.

6. Who are your greatest writing influences?

David Sedaris, Oscar Wilde, Edward Albee, Rufus Wainwright (songwriter, but an amazing lyricist), Augusten Burroughs – those are some of mine. Kat loves Dan Jenkins and Christopher Moore.

7. What’s your writing regimen? Any tips for keeping focused?

It’s hard to keep focused in my house ( I’m the mother of two autistic boys – enough said!) but I find that if I only sit down to write when I have a burning need to do so, that works for me. In between, I jot down ideas and notes. I know many writers say they need to write every day. I don’t have that luxury, but I do blog as much as I can, and write short stories and poetry to keep that “word economy” muscle from atrophying.

8. Would you self-publish again?

Certainly.

9. Any final words of advice for those looking to self-publish?

WORKSHOP, WORKSHOP, WORKSHOP. As many eyes on the work before publication, the better. Having said that, I think as a writer you must have developed the ability to take the advice that you know works for your story, and discard the rest. Also, I’m a big believer in “voice.” Voice is king. Plot, story arc, all that “writerly stuff” is important, but without voice, and without taking RISKS, it’s hard to get your work to stand out from the rest of the stuff out there. My favorite quote: There is no distinction without risk.

Now, I can’t resist ending with the Lipton questionnaire…

What is your favorite word? Spelunking

What is your least favorite word? Laundry

What turns you on? Hugh Laurie as “House” and Rachel Maddow as herself. I like my men cranky and my women smart and sassy.

What turns you off? Comb-overs

What is your favorite curse word? I’m partial to the f-bomb, but ass-hat is just plain funny.

What sound or noise do you love? The sound of bacon frying.

What sound or noise do you hate? “Mom, can you help me?” (being whined at a high pitch from the other room)

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Teacher. I’ve worked with elementary level kids on different projects, and though teachers are HIGHLY UNDERPAID (say it with me, people!) the rewards from teaching far outweigh monetary compensation.

What profession would you not like to do? Septic tank sucker guy – who charges me $250.00 a pop every time my autistic 9 year old stuffs too many baby wipes down the commode.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Ooh, honey – have I got a surprise for YOU!

And now for your moment of Self-Promo Zen – (because self-published AND traditionally published authors are nothing without promotion and if you thought you were getting out of here without me providing a link, you’re nuts.)

Waiting for Karl Rove AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.COM