PubGuy

2008-02-13T06:27:00.000-08:00

Mr. Met Offers

Unique View

Dan Reilly has a unique view of the world. Not through rose-colored glasses, but from the inside of a giant paper-mâché baseball head. Reilly served as the original “Mr. Met”, baseball’s first mascot.

Reilly chronicles his experiences in his Print-On-Demand book, The Original Mr. Met Remembers: When the Miracle Began.

“I was encouraged to (write the book) by friends and family,” Reilly said. “I had so many stories to tell. I’m a storyteller.”
It took Reilly about four years to write the book.

Seeing the book finally make it into print was a big day for him. “When I first received the book with the cover, that’s when reality hit. It was a great feeling.”

Reilly, who is not particularly comfortable in front of the computer, received help from his friend Richard Blodgett, an accomplished author and historian, to negotiate the demands of publishing in the electronic age.

“He was a big help for me. He was great about it,” Reilly said. “It really came out well. I’m very pleased with how everything worked out.”

While the book came out in November 2007, Reilly will begin marketing the book in earnest as Major League Baseball approaches spring training in March.

“I’m in the process of contacting everyone I know,” Reilly said. “Any of the contacts I have in the world of sports.”

Reilly has heard positive comments from many of the former Met players he used to cheer on. “They’re excited for me,” Reilly said.

2008-01-25T17:49:00.000-08:00

iUniverse Dies,

Leatherface Lives

This sure does look like a bad horror movie.

iUniverse is dead. The doors will close on March 31, 2008.

I spent 6½ years at iUniverse from November 1999 through September 2006. I met some of the most amazing people there among my coworkers and am very pleased that many of them remain my closest friends. I also had the pleasure of working with some of the best as-of-yet undiscovered authors publishing today. So it was with great disappointment that I greeted the news that iUniverse would close its Lincoln, NE office.

I’m extremely proud of the work we did at the company and the many quality books we helped bring to the public. I’ve featured many of those books on this blog, titles like The Death of Milly Mahoney, Tom’s War and The Quest. I was proud to help get other titles like Cagney & Lacey… and Me, My Father’s Voice and Subterranean Towers out to the public.

What’s that you say, iUniverse isn’t dead? It’s just moving to Indiana?

Authorhouse and its parent company, AuthorSolutions, purchased iUniverse in September of 2007 and is moving the iUniverse operations to its headquarters in Bloomington, IN. The name and the logo may go to Indiana, but the heart and the soul, the employees that made iUniverse what it is will remain in Lincoln. The iUniverse in Indiana will be akin to a reanimated corpse in a George Romero film. Some iUniverse employees will be offered the opportunity to relocate to Indiana, but I don’t believe many will be willing or able to take advantage of the offer.

A few years back 1st Books Library changed its name to Authorhouse for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was to distance itself from a less-than-stellar reputation. It seems that original reputation was hard to shake. So now Authorhouse will go around dressed in the iUniverse name and logo. Kind of like Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Good luck with that. Good luck to authors who venture too close to that house.

2007-12-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

Book Signings:

A Sea of Monsters?

When I first started this blog I envisioned a site that would offer all sorts of information for authors who were considering using Print-On-Demand technology to publish their books. While I’m proud of the work that I’ve done on the blog, it has not yet realized my original vision. In general, the blog has featured anecdotal information from POD authors who can be called successful in one way or another. I’ve mixed in the occasional traditionally-published author for their perspectives as well.

Anyway, I’ll be striving to get a broader mix of topics into the blog in the New Year. This should be easier as I avoid doing my homework in my MBA classes at all costs. With that in mind, I’ve run across a couple of posts on other blogs that talk about book signings and there place in every authors marketing campaign. I’ve only attended a few book signings, but enough to know that first-time authors come into them with high expectations and are often sorely disappointed. I’ve seen authors become angry and even cry after failing to sell a single book at an event.

A small consolation may be that book signings are a challenge for even some well-established authors. Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson juvenile fiction series and the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults, recently blogged about his early book signing experiences.

“I remembered one of the first book signings I ever did, ten years ago, when Big Red Tequila first came out. I was invited to Waldenbooks in a shopping mall in Concord, California. They set up a table at the front of the store. They allotted two hours,” Riordan writes. “I sat there in my coat and tie and watched people pass by, steering clear of me like I was an insurance salesman. I gave directions to Sears. I explained several times that I wasn’t an employee at the bookstore and I didn’t know where the self-help section was. I signed a napkin for a couple of teenaged boys who thought the title Big Red Tequila sounded slightly naughty because it had to do with alcohol. I sold no books.”

Riordan’s book signing struggles ran through the publication of The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters, the first and second books in the Percy Jackson series.

“I remember when Sea of Monsters came out, a year later, I was still having anxious conversations with my editor and agent, wondering what I could do to improve sales,” Riordan writes. “Were we missing something? Was I wrong to think the series would connect with kids? It took almost two years before I really felt like things were turning around.”

One of Riordan’s big breaks came when The Lightning Thief was selected for Al’s Book Club for Kids on NBC’s The Today Show. That honor came just prior to the release of the third Percy Jackson book, The Titan’s Curse. It was also just prior to the release of the last Harry Potter book, when interest in juvenile fiction was at a peak. Timing is everything.

I’ve read all three of the Percy Jackson books and enjoyed them thoroughly. Greek mythology is a central element in the books. The stories of Apollo, Athena and Poseidon helped establish my love of reading early on, so it was great to see that world featured in new adventures.

The fourth book, The Battle of the Labyrinth, is available for pre-order and set to be released May 6, 2008.

Over on R.W. Ridley’s blog, The Self-Published American, authors are being encouraged to think beyond the book signing and take advantage of the many marketing opportunities that the internet offers. Ridley references a recent article from the Christian Science Monitor, Why Book Tours are Passé.

“Among the many reasons for this shift are marketing tools that have made it possible to orchestrate a virtual encounter, without the hassle or expense of travel,” the article states. “Publishers and authors are now touting books through podcasts, film tours, blog tours, book videos, and book trailers.”

Ridley is an award-winning, self-published author and is also a sales and marketing consultant for Amazon.com-owned POD Company BookSurge. His blog features a number of other helpful marketing hints. Be sure to check out his books on Amazon as well, The Takers and Délon City.

2007-12-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

Litigator Publishes

Chasing Hunter

Chasing Hunter, a new novel published through BookSurge, has author Cort Malone running toward success. The novel follows Jake Hunter, a summer associate at a prestigious Manhattan law firm who finds himself caught up in a harrowing game of cat and mouse that puts his friends and family in grave danger. When Jake discovers his mentor, the firm's biggest rainmaker, lying in a pool of blood and near death, the attorney's final words lead Jake to evidence that could topple the highest ranks of the Russian mafia.

A few of the reviews on Amazon have compared Malone’s work to John Grisham. An insurance coverage litigator with the Manhattan law firm of Anderson Kill & Olick, Malone would like to emulate Grisham and his Rainmaker character Rudy Baylor, with success in the court room and on the bestseller list.

He recently took time to share his experiences writing and publishing Chasing Hunter.

What kind of marketing are you doing for your book? What have you found to be most successful? What has been least successful?
Chasing Hunter became available on Amazon on October 25th, so it has only been out for about 7 weeks, and I feel like I am still in the early stages of marketing. At this point, I have focused more on getting all of my family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances to read the book. To that end, I emailed everyone I knew with about the book, and asked them to forward the email on to anyone they thought would be interested. I also had postcards made up and mailed/distributed them to over 1000 people. We have hosted two book launch/signing parties (in New Jersey and Long Island), and I have also brought the book into several bookstores in an effort to get them to carry it. Finally, BookSurge helped me compile a press release, which was distributed to close to 800 media outlets. The email campaign and the launch parties were the most successful marketing efforts, and the press release appears to have been the least successful.

Did you seek a traditional publisher for the book prior to pursuing print-on-demand? If so, what kind of experience was that?
Before pursuing print-on-demand, I attempted to get an agent to represent me and attempt to sell Chasing Hunter to a traditional publisher. I did the research, studied the agent's guidebooks, and sent about 16-18 query letters to the agents who I believed were the best fit for my book. Unfortunately, the responses were all very brief form letters, often stating that the agents were not taking on new clients or did not feel that Chasing Hunter was right for them. Although this experience did not work out, I am glad that I went through it, and feel that it was a good learning experience for how to do a better job approaching agents in the future.

What led you to decide print-on-demand was the way to go? How did you go about researching the industry and what led you to decide on BookSurge?
I wasn't sure that print-on-demand was "the way to go" until after I began researching the industry. As with a lot of research these days, I think my first effort was typing the phrase "self-publishing" into Google and reviewing the websites that popped up. Other than my online research, I spoke with the few people I knew in the publishing field, and at least one person I knew that had self-published another book. One of the factors that led me to BookSurge was an article by a journalist about self-publishing. The article detailed the writer's own experience with self-publishing through BookSurge, and her experience had been extremely positive. After this article led me to BookSurge, I was pleasantly surprised at how quick, easy and inexpensive the process seemed. The more I explored it, the more confident I became in using BookSurge, and that is why I decided to use them to publish Chasing Hunter.

What are the strong points to the BookSurge process? How was there customer service? What areas could they improve on?
One of the strongest points to the BookSurge process is that they provide you with detailed information on exactly what is needed in order to publish your book. For someone like me, who took the publishing process extremely seriously, BookSurge gave me all of the information I needed to make sure that things would go smoothly. The customer service was very prompt and helpful - all of my inquiries (and there were many) were answered within a day, and often much quicker.

One area that could be improved is the quality control regarding the condition of the books. Although the majority of the books were delivered to the people who ordered them in pristine condition, there were at least a handful of orders that were unacceptable. Because the problem with these books included ink/color running over from the back cover onto the front cover, and splotches on the covers of several books, I am fairly confident that these were printing issues as opposed to damage that could have been caused during shipping by Amazon. After a few calls to complain about this, it seems that the quality of the more recent books has been top-notch, so I would give good marks again to the customer service department for responding to my concerns. One other random note - the books are occasionally different sizes, with some being slightly larger/smaller than others. Not sure how or why that occurs, but it would be better if all of the books had the same dimensions.

How was the cover designed and what is your impression of the final product?

I purchased the cover photo from a stock photographs website, which included an agreement granting me license to use the photo as a book cover. I had help with adding the graphics (title and author) to the cover photo from a friend at work, and I am ecstatic with the final product. I think the picture captures the plot of the book well, and my friend did an excellent job with the graphic design.

What prompted you to write this book? Have you always been a writer?
I have always loved writing, and the story for this book has been rattling around in my head for at least five or six years. Regardless of whether Chasing Hunter (and the sequel that I am currently working on, Serial Hunter) ever takes off, I would never stop writing because it is what I am passionate about, and what I truly enjoy doing. Although it is a work of fiction, several aspects of the book come from my own life - my career as a lawyer, interactions with friends and family, and my educational background all provided inspiration for Chasing Hunter.

How much did your work as a litigator influence this book? Can you describe your work? What type of cases do you deal with?
Although some people have called Chasing Hunter a "legal thriller," that description is somewhat of a misnomer. There is no trial or courtroom drama in the book, although the main character works at a Manhattan law firm. I consider the book more of a suspense thriller, and often call it a combination of The Firm and The Fugitive. Because there is not much "legal drama" in Chasing Hunter, my work as a litigator did not really influence the book. My specialty in the law is representing policyholders in insurance coverage litigation (a fancy way of saying that I help people try to get money from their insurance companies). I also have experience in commercial litigation and other general litigation matters.

Who are some of your writing influences or favorite writers/books?
My two favorite writers are Michael Connelly (especially the Harry Bosch novels) and Robert Crais (the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike books). I've also read almost everything by Grisham, Baldacci, and Deaver (the Lincoln Rhyme novels). Much of my writing style is similar to these writers, as well as to Harlan Coben and James Patterson. Several of the Amazon reviews of my book have mentioned the works of Coben and Patterson as books to which Chasing Hunter compares favorably.

Are you working on a new project? If so, what is it about and how is it coming along?

I am working on the sequel to Chasing Hunter, which is titled Serial Hunter. It is a psychological thriller involving the search for a serial killer and the psychiatrist who thinks that he can cure the murderer before he kills again. Several characters from Chasing Hunter will be returning for another fast-paced adventure.

Please feel free to add any additional comments you'd like.

I would just like to thank everyone who has supported Chasing Hunter so far, and those who I'm sure will be supporting it in the future. As I've told everyone who knows me, I am always happy to discuss the book with readers, pass along advice about my writing/publishing experiences, sign copies, attend book club meetings, or anything else of that nature. Writing Chasing Hunter and getting it out to the public has been one of the most enjoyable, satisfying experiences of my life, and I am thankful for everyone who played a part in making that dream a reality.

2007-11-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

The Nebraska Way Attracts National Media Attention

What is the Nebraska Way? Some would argue that the Nebraska Way would include hard work, integrity and a concern for one’s fellow human beings. The results of the Nebraska Way are put on display most fall Saturdays in the form of the University of Nebraska football team. But after 30 years of unparalleled dominance on the football field, a change in the athletic department has led to an erosion of the Nebraska Way.

That is the premise of Jonathan Crowl's new book, The Nebraska Way. When Crowl, a University of Nebraska student and Daily Nebraskan reporter, decided to research and write about the Husker football team’s decline, he did not have to search far for a publisher. He selected iUniverse, a Print-On-Demand company with ties to Lincoln, NE.

Crowl’s book has received press attention from major media outlets including USA Today, ESPN.com and Sports Illustrated.

Crowl recently shared his experiences writing, researching and publishing the book.

What led you to publish the book through iUniverse? How did you learn about the company?
I heard about iUniverse from a friend who is also working on a book, and I checked their website out online. I realized early on in the process of writing the book that self-publishing was about my only option for the book, because I wanted the book out during the 2007 college football season, and I began working on it the spring prior. It would have been very tough working anything out with a traditional publisher given the timeframe.

Was the fact that iUniverse has an office in Lincoln a factor in your decision? Did you visit the office at all?
I never have visited the office, but their location in Lincoln was an advantage. I hoped they would be a bit more understanding of my book's subject and its target audience, being that they were located at the epicenter of Nebraska football and were likely to have a lot of football fans working for them.

Did you seek out a traditional publisher prior to settling on iUniverse?
No. Time was a major factor, and I was pretty confident that marketing would be taken care of by the media, given the book's relevance to the current football program and season.

What was your impression of the iUniverse process?
Self-publishing can be a little frustrating at times, because there isn't much devotion from the company to your book. Any written work is essentially being pushed through on an assembly line, and it can be difficult getting any "special treatment", even for a book that you feel is going to have reasonable success. But, once the book was mentioned in Sports Illustrated and the New York Times, along with most other sports news outlets, I think they saw the potential for the book and have been very accommodating. I've been really happy with the response I've gotten from them in helping me with the book.

How was the cover designed?
Doak Ostergard, who was a heavily-contributing source for the book and wrote the forward for it, took the picture on the front cover. The rest was the work of the iUniverse design team, and I'm happy with the way it turned out.

When you began writing the book did you have iUniverse in mind?
I had self-publishing in mind; I didn't stumble upon iUniverse until later, but once I was aware of them and researched them as a publisher, I didn't look anywhere else.

How long did it take to research and write the book?
Somewhere between 2-3 months. Two of those months were very intensive, though; seven days a week, and the researching was much more time-consuming than I expected it to be.

What was the most difficult part of that process?
Making revisions and editing on my own. It's really tough to assess your own work sometimes, and I was concerned at the time about missing some obvious things, having weak transitions, presenting information poorly, and so on. I didn't have the luxury of getting advice and feedback from other people, so the book is essentially the best work I on my own could do. I will say, I would have really loved to have an editor read through it. There's only so much a writer can do on his own.

What type of legal advice did you seek out with regard to the book's content?
I talked to some people who have been published and worked in publishing, and iUniverse had a lawyer look over the book. Additionally, before the book was sent to the publishing press, another attorney looked at some of the chapters in the book where semantics and accuracy of information were vitally important.

What are your career goals and how will the book impact them? When are you scheduled to graduate?
My goal is to graduate in December 2009, but internships and other projects could delay that another semester. I would like to keep writing. I'm not sure in what manner, if it's books or articles. But I would also eventually like to go on to graduate school and become a professor. There are a lot of avenues open to me right now, and I'm trying to keep it that way.

How have you been marketing the book? What has been most successful for you? What has been least successful?
My book was unique in that news outlets gobbled it up. I haven't done hardly anything to market it. I have appeared on a few radio shows to discuss the book and its content, but most of the hub-bub about the book is media-generated.

What kind of national publicity has the book received? Have you been doing radio, TV, newspaper interviews?
I've done a few radio and newspaper interviews. As I said before, the book has been in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and on ESPN.com, along with most other local news outlets in Nebraska.

What kind of reaction have you gotten from fellow reporters (Omaha World-Herald, Lincoln Journal-Star, etc.)?
Not much of one, really. There are several people working up in the press box with books of their own, so I don't think having a book would generate big waves, even if I am much younger than them. But I'm sure there's a wide range of reactions. Some might not care, and some may be aggravated by it - because, you know, young people aren't supposed to write books. I know a few of them have used their space in newspaper columns to take a couple shots at me, but that doesn't really phase me. One thing to realize is that when news of the book broke, most people jumped right into commentary and criticism without knowing much at all about the book.

Initially there were a lot of people blasting me for writing a book, or trying to cash in on it and get my tuition paid for, but when people are that judgmental without knowing the full story, or the entirety of the book's content - I think it says more about them than it does me.

What has the reaction been to the book from players, coaches, other athletic department personnel?
For the most part, there has been no reaction. Most people just want the news of the book to die down as quickly as possible. I have heard a little positive feedback from within the world of Nebraska athletics, but I'm not going to point in any directions.

What has the reaction to the book been from your peers and your professors?
Very positive. Professors have been very supportive, although surprised, and many of my peers were shocked as well. I didn't tell many people about the book before it came out in the newspapers, so I'm sure a lot of my friends were caught off guard as well.

How has the publication of the book impacted your ability to cover the team for the Daily Nebraskan?
I don't think so. It could have depending on how the athletic department handled it, or how I handled it, but I've tried to separate the book and writing for the DN. I wrote the book at a time when I wasn't writing for the newspaper, so that has helped to keep them separate. No one has denied talking to me or treated me differently, and if anything, it gives me a much better knowledge of football team, which is a benefit to my reporting.

Will the book be available in local bookstores?
It's already in most bookstores in Omaha and Lincoln, as far as I know.

2007-11-03T04:04:00.000-07:00

Author A.C. Ellis

Hits POD Trifecta

Comparing and contrasting Print-On-Demand publishing companies has sprung up as a bit of a cottage industry unto itself. But what do these surveyors really know about the process? Sure they’ve checked out a few websites, studied a few contracts, and maybe even made a few phone calls. But can they truly judge a company without publishing a book with the company?

Author A.C. Ellis may want to consider setting up shop as a POD pundit after he’s done promoting his latest tomes. The Denver science fiction writer published three books with three different POD companies this past summer. In May, he came out with Worldmaker, an out-of-print title originally published in 1985, through iUniverse’s back-in-print program with the Authors Guild. Soldier of ’Tween was released by Angela Hoy’s Booklocker that same month as was In Pursuit of the Enemy with Infinity Publishing.

Ellis recently took time to share his POD experiences.

Who was the original publisher for Worldmaker? How did you go about landing the publishing contract back in 1985? Do you have other traditionally-published books?
The original publisher for Worldmaker was Ace Books, the mass-market arm of what is now known as the Berkley/Penguin group. My then-agent sold the book to them and negotiated the contract. She later sold the book to a German publisher (the German edition appeared in 1993) and about five summers ago the book was optioned by an independent Los Angeles film producer. After about two years of negotiation, the deal fell through.

Previously to the initial publication of Worldmaker by Ace, I had a collaborative science fiction novel, Death Jag, published in 1980 by Manor books. The co-author on that one was Jeff Salten.

How did you learn about iUniverse and the Authors Guild back-in-print program? I was simply browsing the Web one day, looking for self-publish/POD opportunities, when I happened across the iUniverse site, where they mentioned their partnership with the Authors Guild and the Back-in-Print program. I contacted the Authors Guild to confirm the information, joined the Guild on the spot, and applied to be included in the Back-in-Print program. The rest, as they say, is history.

What was your impression of that program and iUniverse?
I was truly impressed with both iUniverse and the Back-in-Print program. They were professional and extremely helpful. I had input into every step of the process, and even came up with the idea for cover art. A very enjoyable experience. And, to top it off, under the Authors Guild Back-in-Print program, there is absolutely no cost to the author.

If you have an out-of-print book you are having trouble getting back in print, I highly recommend this program.

What led you to publish Soldier of ’Tween with Booklocker? What was your impression of that company? How was the process different than the iUniverse process (aside from back-in-print versus new manuscript)?
After beginning the process of getting Worldmaker into print through iUniverse, I realized I had a perfectly good novel, Soldier of ‘Tween — which I had been offering as an e-book for a number of years to good reviews — that I hadn’t really tried to publish in paper format. I knew that I would have a hard time getting it published traditionally, because it had been out there as an e-book, so I decided to go the POD route. iUniverse was quite expensive in any of their publishing plans other than the Back-in-Print program, and Soldier of ‘Tween would not apply for that program. Besides, I wanted to try other POD publishers, to see how they stack up against one another.

I searched around and compared. The one that seemed the best for the money at the time was Booklocker. They seemed more author-friendly than most, and it appeared they would work with the author to produce a quality product.

I was right. Working with Angela Hoy was a writer’s dream. She is not only an expert in the POD publishing process, but is extremely knowledgeable about the creative process, as well. And those who work with Booklocker know their stuff, as well. I sub-contracted with a cover designer, and when I was sent a number of cover ideas that didn’t really suit my book (but were very good in the generic sense) was allowed to produce a cover of my own that more closely represented the book’s content. Consequently, on Soldier of ‘Tween, I got not only the byline for the book, but also the cover art credit.

It all worked out quite well.

What led you to publish In Pursuit of the Enemy with Infinity? What was your impression of that company? How was the process different from the other two companies?
In Pursuit of the Enemy, I had just finished my first mystery, and the first book of an envisioned series. I was still in the POD experimental mood, went looking for a company that did mysteries well. I finally found Infinity Publishing. Their editing process was quite good, and distribution was excellent.

Again, I came up with the idea for the cover, although this time I did not actually produce the artwork. I was amazed by how closely they had captured my concept when I opened the package containing my proof copy. Really, one fantastic cover!

What I plan is to brand the covers of the Brad Carpenter series books. Each will have a smoking gun pointing out toward you, but each will be a different gun. Each will have “Pursuit” in the title. Besides In Pursuit of the Enemy, I foresee Extreme Pursuit, In Pursuit of Justice, In pursuit of Happiness, In Hot Pursuit, In Cold Pursuit, In Pursuit of Honor, In Pursuit of the Past, and, finally, Final Pursuit.

Are you working on any new projects? If so, where will you be publishing it?
I am currently working on the first book of a very dark, very bloody mystery series, the Point series. The titles will be similar to Hollow Point, Point Blank and Point of No Return.

I hope to publish these books traditionally, capturing an agent at the March 2008 Left Coast Crime conference. That’s the plan, at any rate.

What kind of advice can you pass on to other authors using Print-On-Demand companies?
Shop around — don’t go with the first one you find. There are now many POD publishers out there, and you should be dealing with the one that is the best for your needs. And, of course, each author’s needs are different.

How are you marketing the books? What's worked best for you? What has been the least effective?
I am marketing my books. I realize that, even if my books were published traditionally, I would have to take the responsibility for getting them noticed. Publishers just don’t do that any more, not that they ever did much for writers that weren’t best-sellers to begin with.

It is still too early to tell what works best — these books were released during the summer of 2007 -- but I think the best bet is to do as much as you can through Amazon.com. I have published two short stories, The Navigator and Strolling the Road, through their Amazon Shorts program. On each of the pages selling those stories, there are links to my books.

And Amazon has several other programs designed to help sell books on their site, such as their AmazonConnect, Search Inside, and Affiliates programs.

Then, of course, there are my e-mail signature line, e-mail newsletters, Web sites and Blogs. Even this interview. Any way I can get the word out about my books.

Read more about A.C. Ellis and his books at his website http://www.acellis.net/.

2007-10-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

Napoleon Conquers Multiple
Borders, Boundries, Genres

Crossing borders and boundaries, genres and media is nothing new for author Landon Napoleon.

Napoleon’s debut novel, ZigZag, was published by Henry Holt in 1997. Shortly after the book hit the shelves, Napoleon was approached by writer/director David Goyer about film rights. The film adaptation of ZigZag came out in 2002 starring John Leguizamo, Wesley Snipes and Natasha Lyonne.

Napoleon than did a bit of a Zig Zag himself when he switched genres and brought out The Spirit Warrior’s Handbook, a self-help book that hopes to inspire one to ‘step into your true potential.’ Napoleon brought the book out through print-on-demand publisher iUniverse.

“I seem to be blessed as a writer in this lifetime. My first novel was made into a film that l love. And my first self-publishing go-around with iUniverse was nothing but positive,” Napoleon said. “I think the biggest plus with self-publishing is getting to design one's own cover; that doesn't happen in traditional publishing unless, perhaps, your last name happens to be 'King' or 'Evanovich.' With my self-published book I got to bring my artistic vision for the cover to fruition. With my novel, I got stuck with a really bad cover that completely missed the mark.”

While Napoleon had several successful signings with The Spirit Warrior’s Handbook, he did not push for much beyond that.

“One thing I've learned is that I love to write, but I'm not real big on the selling side. I did the basics—signings, readings, etc.—but probably not nearly enough to really get the book out there,” he said. “I wrote this one more for myself and if people stumble upon it and find it helpful then that's a real bonus. I had one former high school classmate find the book on her own and track me down to say it helped her tremendously as a person in recovery. That alone made the effort worthwhile.”

The stigma attached to self-publishing is not of much concern for Napoleon.

“Traditional publishing is, well, very traditional! For many in the industry there will always be a stigma associated with self publishing as not 'real' publishing. But I think the lines between 'traditional/real' and 'self-published/not worthy' are blurring more and more,” he said. “I also like the old adage (which applies to Hollywood, book publishing and finding the right mate): No one knows anything. Follow your passion and do what you want to do; forget about all the rest because the clock's ticking and sooner or later we're all going in the box anyway.”

Next up for Napoleon is finding a home for his recently completed novel, The Rules of Action.

“We're currently submitting the new novel to agents and traditional publishers. I like the idea of going the traditional route, if possible, because the publisher picks up a lot of the leg work (editorial direction, copyediting, layout, printing, distribution, etc.),” Napoleon said. “And I also love that self publishing is now a viable alternative to get one's work out there.

“The best advice I ever heard from a traditional book editor is the magical key to this whole business of getting published whatever route you choose. She simply said the best marketing tool is-- drum roll please-- write a great book. I think it's easy to get sidetracked and focus more on 'being a writer' (self publishing, marketing, speaking, selling, cashing six-figure checks, etc.) and less on writing. That is, plant butt in chair for extended periods and produce your pages every day. That's still the hardest part. Write first, sell later.”

2007-08-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Internet Buzzing

Over Culwell's

Car Wash

So what’s the key to self-publishing success? Really, it’s pretty simple. Just have your book featured in places like the Washington Post and The New York Daily News… and all over the blogsphere and the internet in general.

Like I said, simple.

OK, maybe simple is overstating it a bit, but “not impossible” probably hits it about right. Lori Culwell’s novel Hollywood Car Wash proves that, riding its celebrity insider premise to become one of the most buzzed about books of the summer.

Culwell and the book have been the subject of an interview for Liz Kelly’s Celebritology column on the Washington Post’s website, the book has been called a “sizzling, summer read” by The New York Daily News and has been mentioned on hot websites like Gawker and TMZ.

So how did Culwell pull it all off? A clever plot that involves a young Hollywood starlet and some strong initial word of mouth helped break the book.

“I know a lot of people in the industry, and I gave out a bunch of copies when it first came out. Then those people gave it to other people, and well... you know the rest of the story,” she said. “I'm not surprised at the buzz it's generated, because I think it's a good, funny book, and it's got a lot of Hollywood insider-y stuff, so people love it!”

The book, published through iUniverse’s ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) Press, has garnered 37 reviews on Amazon.com in addition to the mainstream press coverage and internet buzz.

Culwell did seek out an agent and attempted to go the traditional publishing route before landing with iUniverse.

“I first went out with this book to about 10 publishers through an agent more than a year ago, and felt that she gave up too easily after initial rejections,” Culwell said. “I had to push her to take it to the smaller publishers. I wanted to go out with it to show it did have an audience, and I ended up being right! I got a lot of good feedback on my work and a few near misses. The weirdest rejection I got was ‘no one wants to read an "insider Hollywood" novel.’ Crazy!”

The book started buzzing shortly after release in March 2007. Culwell is a bit of an internet marketing expert having penned Improve Your Website, Improve Your Business before putting out Car Wash.

The buzz for the book is due in no small part to the rumor that it is based on the real life experiences of actress Katie Holmes.

“It's fiction, plain and simple,” Culwell said. “But, I do have a lawyer.”

Culwell comes by her knowledge of the entertainment industry as both an actress and an author. She played a nurse on the daytime soap All My Children and also appeared in The New Lassie and the Animal Planet show Dog Days.

“I did wipe blood off of Susan Lucci after she bludgeoned one of her TV husbands with a candlestick,” Culwell said.

Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including San Francisco Bay Guardian, LA Weekly, LA Splash magazine, Salon.com and New York Metroland among and others.
Culwell is now hard at work on several projects.

“I'm working on another novel at the moment (not the next in the Hollywood Car Wash series, but also tv-related), and a non-fiction book. I also do my blog, Funny Strange, which people really like, and am talking to some people about getting that syndicated in some papers,” she said. “Also, Hollywood Car Wash has been optioned for TV, so I'm working on pitching the pilot for that. All exciting stuff!”

For more on Lori Culwell and Hollywood Car Wash check out her MySpace page.

2007-08-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

Styx Odyssey
Chronicled by
BookSurge Author

Styx has cut quite a path in its journey from its origin in Chicago to dominant arena rock act in the 70s and 80s to its delta days today as a touring and recording band. Rock biographer Sterling Whitaker chronicles the band’s odyssey in his book The Grand Delusion: The Unauthorized True Story of Styx.

Writing, researching and publishing the book, which came out in March of 2007 from Print-On-Demand publisher BookSurge, was a voyage not without perils of its own. Whitaker shared some of his thoughts on the trip the book took from an idea in 1993 to a bound book in 2007 in a recent email interview.

How long did it take to write and research The Grand Delusion? What was the toughest part of that process? I actually first conceived the notion for a Styx biography back in the early Nineties. I was working as a freelance music writer in Atlanta, and a group called Damn Yankees came to town. It was a "supergroup" composed of Ted Nugent, Jack Blades from Night Ranger, and Tommy Shaw from Styx. I had been a massive Styx fan as a kid, and Tommy had been my favorite member, so I went to the show to do a review/interview and got to meet him briefly. Styx at that time had reunited without him, and very recently he had tried to visit them backstage and famously been denied, an incident that made the newswires everywhere. When I asked him about it in passing, Tommy answered off the record in such a way that made it apparent that the story of Styx was much juicier than had ever been told. I conceived the idea for a book right away. The timing seemed perfect, with both Styx and Tommy very active in the charts at that time. I put out interview requests to all Styx members and Tommy was the first to answer. I interviewed him in 1993 for a book that was then laboring under the working title 'Rockin' In Paradise'.

Then grunge came along and turned the industry on its ear. Styx lost its deal, Damn Yankees lost its deal, and I lost my market. I dropped the project indefinitely.

In 1995 Styx reunited, this time WITH Tommy, to do some promo for a Greatest Hits record. That turned into a hugely successful 1996 reunion tour which then spawned a Gold live record and another very successful tour in 1997, and the band announced its first studio record with Tommy since 1983. The band was very hot again, but it was not to be . . . they had a huge falling out during the recording and the resulting album wasn't that great, and by the time the band went on tour to support it, they had fired their longtime lead singer Dennis DeYoung. That turned into a period of several years of turmoil, during which VH1 filmed an episode of its show 'Behind The Music' devoted to Styx. It was one of the most highly-rated episodes in the history of the show, and after it aired I was convinced that my market was now re-ignited. I also knew that despite the success of the show, the real story had not been told. So I picked up the project in 2001, read my old notes and decided to start over with a new tack. The Grand Delusion took about five years after that.

The toughest part was getting the band members and their associates to see the value of participating in a project like this. That's always difficult, because they have chosen to hide so much over such a long period of time and are reluctant to see a lot of it come out. In the case of Styx there has also been litigation, so some of the original band members who have sued one another are bound by certain legal constraints. In the end I was able to convince a lot of people, but there were many holdouts as well. So from the band I interviewed Tommy Shaw, drummer Todd Sucherman, and Glen Burtnik, who had replaced Tommy on guitar in 1990 and then returned to the band on bass from 1999-2003. Glen Burtnik also wrote the Foreword for the book.

Van Halen may play with David Lee Roth again. Aerosmith had a bitter breakup, but has been back together for quite some time. What are the chances that Dennis DeYoung and the other primary members of Styx play together again? Will Journey and Steve Perry reunite before Styx? The situation with Styx is what it has always been. There have been times when they were together, and times when they were apart for years. There have been times when they were speaking and times when they were not. I always joke that on any given day when the band is together, they are one phone call away from being apart, and when they are apart they are just one phone call away from being together again. I firmly believe that Dennis will be back with Styx in some permutation before they all retire. Anything else would make no sense. Since they really are too far apart as people to make that work over a long period of time, I see a Dennis reunion as their end game; something that they could do once before they retire as a way of going out, if not exactly on top, then somewhere closer to the upper middle.

Steve Perry is another story entirely. He apparently has no desire to sing in public whatsoever. It would surprise me if he ever joins Journey for anything again, but then, the music business is full of surprises. Every day brings some new wackiness. It never fails to amaze and amuse me.

What kind of reaction has the book received from members of Styx? From fans of the band? I don't believe most of the members have read it. I know they have expressed huge trepidation about it to the people around them, which is too bad, because it's not a scathing indictment of the band or anything of the sort. It's a very balanced view of the band and its music. Still, Styx has always had a terrible relationship with the print media—much of it self-inflicted, in my opinion—and they tend to be very, very, very defensive about what appears in print. The members who have actually bothered to read it seem to have liked it well enough. Glen Burtnik even wrote the Foreword. I have had very positive feedback from people that work for the band, which is interesting.

The fans have overwhelmingly embraced the book. The vast majority of fans have given me superlative comments on it. The reviews on Amazon are all excellent. I have received almost entirely positive feedback for the most part, which is very gratifying. When you are writing a thing like this, you work in a vacuum for years at a time with no idea whether your intent is actually making it to paper, so it's really great to have that acceptance. There have also been a very few fans who have objected to certain elements of the story, the interviews or the way I presented some characters or situations, and I've tried to separate what part of that is a fan's need to see their idols as heroic from what part of it might be a legitimate criticism of the work. I always try to view criticism as an opportunity to grow. As proud as I am of this book, I always want the next one to be even better.

How have you gone about marketing the book? What marketing tactic has been most effective for you? What has been least effective? Because it's POD, and because Amazon is the parent company of BookSurge, it made the most sense to target the initial marketing efforts to the online community. I offered some special incentives for buying the book online and used PRWeb to put out a press release to online, print and radio sources. I also got a website called Melodicrock.com to run an excerpt of the book the week it came out. I have been pretty successful in getting interviews on classic rock radio, which has not only driven some great sales online, but has had the nice side effect of creating some book store demand as well. About ten percent of the sales I have made have been through special orders from book stores. Online interviews have been another good source, and giveaways of signed copies through radio promotions have also been great for getting the word out.

The second phase of my marketing plan involves traditional book stores and libraries. Now that there is a demonstrated demand for this book online, it enables me to approach distributors armed with some numbers that might help them to justify taking a chance on a largely unknown author and his self-published book. They are generally very wary of that scenario. I actually just got word yesterday that a library distributor has made an order, and I also have pitches in to a specialty store distributor and a major distributor that sells to all of the major chains. I feel pretty confident, based on how things have gone so far, that the book will duplicate its online performance in book stores as well. The most effective marketing tactics have been press releases, e-mail blasts, radio interviews and giveaways, and online interviews.
The least effective have been banner ads and Google Adwords.

This is your second book with BookSurge. What led you to choose BookSurge as your publisher? What's your experience been like with the company? I chose BookSurge initially because I liked the way their royalty structure worked. I published a book called Unsung Heroes of Rock Guitar with them in 2003, and that experience was absolutely disastrous. I left it to them to format the book, and I was dissatisfied with everything from the cover, to the photos, to the paper quality . . . the result was a physical book that I just didn't feel good about. That made it hard to go out and effectively promote it, and predictably, it was a huge failure. But it was a learning experience, albeit a painful one. It taught me what NOT to do, which is a good thing to know.

I would never have considered using BookSurge again but for the fact that they were acquired by Amazon. That has made all the difference, and my experience with The Grand Delusion has been great for the most part. Of course there are still nagging little problems, but I know people who work with major publishers and the truth is, every publisher has its drawbacks.

How has the company changed since being acquired by Amazon? It's essentially a different company with the same name, as far as I'm concerned. The physical quality of the books is far, far better, the presentation is much better, which makes it possible for me to go out and compete with books published by major houses. That certainly was not the case the first time around. The customer service is also much better, and they don't have the fulfillment issues that they used to have anymore, either. With Unsung Heroes of Rock Guitar I had it happen many times where someone ordered that book and got something else in the mail entirely. I have been happy with the quality control, customer service and fulfillment since being acquired by Amazon.

Before going to BookSurge, did you attempt to find a literary agent and/or traditional publisher? If so, what was that experience like? I did, and it was the same old runaround. Styx is a very successful band, but one with a bit of a puzzling stigma because it got such terrible reviews. As a result of that, the band is misperceived, under-reported and under-represented. Most people in the music business don't realize how huge the Styx fan base really is, let alone the book publishing business. I did have some discussions but I wanted to write a very specific kind of book, one with the emphasis on the music and history of the band, and wasn't surprised when self-publishing turned out to be the best way to get that done. Traditional publishers are good at what they do, but what they do is mass market books for a short period of time, bank the money and move on. The Grand Delusion is a book that I feel strongly can continue to be creatively promoted year after year as Styx continues to perform 100 dates per year and releases new products. My having control of the production, promotion and distribution is really the best way to ensure that.

I understand you're working on a Van Halen book. How is that coming along? When can we expect that to be released? I'm workng full-time to promote The Grand Delusion right now and don't intend to start anything new until I am pretty sure the sales have peaked and slowed way down, which so far has not happened. I anticipate working this one project pretty single-mindedly until at least the end of the year, if not into next year. And in the meantime the word is that another writer is coming with a Van Halen biography in August, so I'll have to wait and see what kind of job he did to decide what I will do next. If he did the job right, I won't be interested anymore. If he didn't, then there will still be room for me to come along with a better version and say, "Here's the DEFINITIVE story of Van Halen." Otherwise I have toyed with the notion of a Journey bio, and I have also given some serious thought to an unauthorized biography of American Idol. I honestly don't know yet.

To any other writers I want to say, despite the "amateur" stigma that can be associated with POD publishing, if you write a great book and present it in a high-quality package, you can still separate yourself from the pack and publish your own work effectively and profitably, and with far less hassle than you would have with a traditional publishing deal. It's working very well for me!

2007-07-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

Scenes from a signing

Lynn Harris, author of Death by Chick Lit and Miss Media, was kind enough to share some photos from her recent launch party at Rapture in New York City. By the looks of the photos, Lynn had a very successful event. The event featured a signature drink, the Lolapolitan, named for the lead character in both books.

2007-06-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

Harris, Somerville
Solve Secret of
Publishing Success

Lola Somerville is quite the sleuth.

In Miss Media, she uncovered corporate corruption. In Death by Chick Lit, she’s hot on the trail of a serial killer. But Ms Somerville may have cracked the toughest case of all in between — how to solve the riddle of traditional publishing.

Somerville, along with her creator, Lynn Harris, has moved from Print-On-Demand publisher iUniverse, which brought out Miss Media in November 2003, to the Berkley Trade imprint with her latest effort, Death by Chick Lit. That book hit stores June 5, 2007.

“Berkley was attracted to Harris’s engaging writing, sympathetic heroine, and clever plot,” said Kate Seaver, Harris’s editor at Berkley. “Harris’s writing is hilarious, but at the same time she has some very pointed things to say about the chick lit genre and the publishing industry in general.”

Harris actually had several traditionally-published works of non-fiction before coming out with Miss Media. After that book came out, Harris began outlining the plot for Death by Chick Lit and looking for representation.

“I basically asked all my friends (my friends with good book deals) if they'd mind referring me to theirs. This also gave me incentive to focus on finishing a partial manuscript for the book, because agents don't necessarily take you on as, like, a person—they are more likely to take you on for a particular project. So I was this close to working with Agent A when Agent B called out of the blue after seeing a piece I'd written in Nerve and asked if I was looking for representation,” Harris said. “I met with her and felt we clicked. Plus, it was sort of the literary version of The Rules: I was impressed that she sought me out—obviously, she liked my writing, which is an important start—and that, in the bigger picture that she was the kind of agent who was aggressive and charge-taking and on the lookout like that. (Of course, she was also probably looking to expand her roster, but who isn't? Point is, I liked the way she did it.) And, fortunately, I did have a partial manuscript to show her; double fortunately, she liked it. So we agreed to work together.”

Agent B turned out to be Paula Balzer of the Paula Balzer Agency. She also represents Kathleen Hughes (Dear Mrs. Lindbergh: A Novel) and Tracy McArdle (Confessions of a Nervous Shiksa).

Harris said Miss Media helped prove to industry professionals that she could sustain a novel-length project.

“It did to some degree with my agent. Mainly because she loved it; that helped her be able to sell me enthusiastically and as someone she knew could sustain a book for 200-some pages,” Harris said. “But the new book really had to sell on its own terms.

“I would neither downplay nor overplay your POD book. Make it part of your package, and have your nice, short positive story straight—should it come up—about why you used POD the first time around. But unless your POD book has been a blockbuster—like you've driven around the country and sold literally thousands out of your hatchback—your new book is going to sell to a publisher on its own terms. Still, a POD book is nothing you should hide; it's an excellent calling card to have. Publishers and agents know that many successful writers get their starts this way.”

So how different is the traditional publishing experience from the iUniverse adventure?

“The process itself kind of feels the same, assuming you use iUniverse's (very high quality) editorial evaluation option,” Harris said. “The funny part is, at iUniverse, you're not working directly with an editor whose name you know; feels more like you're working with the great and powerful Oz. You come asking for a book; iUniverse magically gives you one!”

Harris will be busy this summer promoting Death by Chick Lit. She has several signings scheduled in the New York area including an appearance at the Community Bookstore, 143 Seventh Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 7:30 PM on June 28 and July 15 at Stain Bar, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 7 PM.

“Nothing really "outside the box," unless you consider a MySpace page outside the box,” Harris said. “While we're making the usual efforts to get good placement in the press and bookstores, I'm also working on building good old fashioned word of mouth—basically reminding your friends to tell their friends they liked it, and so on—which at the end of the day can sell as many books as an official Marketing Plan.”

Check out Harris’s website at http://www.deathbychicklit.com/ and her MySpace page at www.myspace.com/deathbychicklit. Harris has already received some solid press coverage for the book including a review by Kate Harding at blogcritics.org and an article on mediabistro.com (you have to be an Avant Guild member to access the whole article). If you want to go old school check out this article about Miss Media from the original PubGuy site.

Back in 2003, Harris received her author copies of Miss Media the day before her wedding. Her family has since expanded along with her writing career.

“We now have a seven-month-old daughter named Bess, who is a hoot and a peach. I'm sure she will come to love reading books, but for now she mostly eats them. Because of some publishing delays—something you'll have with traditional publishing but likely not iUniverse, by the way—I wound up having to go over the almost-final copyedited draft of DBCL while on maternity leave with a month-old infant. This should explain any typos or infelicities you may encounter,” Harris said.

“Now that I'm back at work, I'm (still) writing for Glamour, Salon.com, the New York Times, the Washington Post (doing book reviews for the latter two), and others; I also write the dating advice column for MSN.com and the "Rabbi's Wife" column for Nextbook.org. All in four days of work; I spend Fridays with Bess. Let's just say she gets more naps than I do.”

Lola’s career path has some remarkable similarities to Harris’s. Somerville may be following her creator down the Mommy track as well.

“I've got a new mystery in mind for her. More of a missing-persons case than a murder, though. And let's just say Lola may be sleuthing for two ...”

2007-06-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

Playmate Antonaccio
Shares her secrets

“What’s your Secret?”

Helena Antonaccio has been asked that question ever since she graced the pages of Playboy magazine. The question keeps coming even though 38 years have past since she was named Ms June 1969. Antonaccio is finally sharing her tips in her new book entitled appropriately enough, What’s Your Secret?

“I started writing it about four years ago when fans at shows kept asking me ‘What’s you secret?”, in acting and looking the way I do at my age,” she said.

Despite her notoriety as a Playmate, Antonaccio struggled to find a literary agent for the book.

“If I got one he was fired or left the group, or told they are too booked up with too many authors, nothing negative but just didn't have the time of day for me,” Antonaccio explained.

She turned to Print-On-Demand publisher iUniverse to get the book out and on to major online retailers including Amazon.com and BN.com. What’s Your Secret was released in May. Antonaccio is already getting kudos from friends, family and fellow Playmates.

“They’ve been impressed and couldn’t believe I finally got the book out,” Antonaccio said.

Antonaccio, a Jersey girl her entire life, continued to model and act following her Playboy appearance. She even made a return appearance in the magazine in August 1997.

“I have lead a healthy lifestyle my entire adult life. I am a firm believer in exercise and eating unprocessed foods as much as possible,” Antonaccio said. “I believe in holistic healing along with conventional medicine. Skin care is very important to me and I would like someday to own my own cosmetic and beauty line.”

The book is likely to earn a mention in the Playmate News portion of Playboy in the upcoming months and Antonaccio is planning other marketing efforts as well. She hope to contribute an article or two in several magazines, may appear at several pin-up and modeling conventions and is hoping to book television appearances as well.

For more on Helena and her book visit http://www.helenaantonaccio.com/.

2007-05-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

Journalist Documents

Father's WWII Days

Father’s Day falls quickly on the heels of Memorial Day. One day to honor a nation’s heroes, another to honor heroes at home. Often, they are one in the same.

James Hammond’s new book, Tom’s War, chronicles his father’s days as the copilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II. Hammond, a professional journalist who has worked for the Wall Street Journal Europe and is currently at The State in Columbia, S.C., compiled information gathered from his father’s letters, interviews with relatives of the men in his father’s unit and other sources to put the book together.

“The toughest information to gather was the personal statements and recollections of the airmen. I did find letters written during the war, military records, and a very crucial diary written by my father's sister,” Hammond said. “Also, finding local historians who knew about the crashes across Europe was a challenge.”

The research, writing, editing and production of the book took about two years, and saw Hammond traveling to the Czech Republic, Belgium and England.

“In the Czech Republic and Belgium, I found local amateur historians who knew about crashes that killed friends of my father. I gathered mission records of my father's unit, the 95th Bomb Group, at the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland,” Hammond said. “I interviewed former members of the 95th Bomb Group and the 100th Bomb Group. And I found family documents and records that shed light on my father's experience in World War II.”

Hammond’s research provided him with information about his father’s compatriots during the war, some of whom would not return.

“When I read my father's letters, which I did not see until after he died, I found the identities of two friends who died in combat. He had never mentioned them to me,” Hammond said. “I found those men's living siblings, and profiled the two dead airmen. That was particularly gratifying. Some great person once said, ‘You never die so long as someone speaks your name.’ I hope these brave young men will always live because of my research.”

Hammond chose to publish the book with iUniverse when he learned about the company from one of his interview subjects. A meeting with iUniverse personnel at a book fair in South Carolina helped seal the deal.

After going through iUniverse’s editorial and cover design evaluation, Tom’s War earned the Publisher’s Choice designation, awarded to books judged to be of superior editorial quality and featuring a cover design that holds up against traditionally-published counterparts.

“The editorial evaluation process was very helpful. The book improved because of the helpful critique. iUniverse proposed that I have their copy editor edit the manuscript. It was a good suggestion and I'm glad I paid for the service,” Hammond said. “I originally proposed an artist rendering of the photograph of my father, which was in color. But iUniverse pushed for the actual photograph, and I must say now, I think they were right. I think it is a grand cover.”

With the book now available through major online retailers including Amazon.com and BN.com, Hammond is beginning his marketing campaign.

“So far I have mounted a "viral" marketing campaign on the internet. We've sold some books. Next, I will be contacting book stores, contacting veterans’ groups and media outlets, and promoting it to newspapers,” Hammond said. “If things go as planned, there will be newspaper and radio stories about the book on Memorial Day weekend.”

Hammond has already met many of his goals by getting the book completed and published.

“My first goal was to produce an objective history of my father's experience. No rose color glasses. I wanted the experience warts and all. And I wanted this work of history to be written with feeling,” He said. “I believe this is an important addition to the body of literature about World War II. It is the history of an intact B-17 crew, through 35 missions, set in the context of the campaigns of their times. It also portrays what is going on back home for my father's loved ones while he was overseas in combat.”

2007-04-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

Message Boards
Help Del Sesto's Trip
On to Book Shelves
What leads a reader to pick up a book from an author they’ve never read before? It can be an attractive cover that jumps off the bookshelf or a positive review in the local newspaper. Or maybe an endorsement from a favorite author.

I discovered Nicole Del Sesto’s book, All Encompassing Trip, by hanging out on the message boards at the website of my favorite author, Christopher Moore. Del Sesto is a frequent contributor to the boards. Trip sounded interesting, so I picked up a copy and queried Del Sesto about how she went from message board maven to published author.

Is Afterbirth Books a traditional publisher using Print-On-Demand technology or a self-publishing outfit like iUniverse or BookSurge?
Afterbirth is an independent traditional publisher which utilizes Print on Demand technology.

What led to your decision to publish with Afterbirth?
For a period of about 4-5 months, I shopped my book through various literary agencies. I knew All Encompassing Trip wasn't "mainstream" but I really felt like people would enjoy it. So, I persisted through the rejections. I had some literary agents who were very helpful with suggestions for improvements, and I took them all and applied them to the manuscript. Two literary agents requested the whole manuscript.

During the time I was waiting to hear back from the agents, I'd finally broken down and purchased a book I'd been looking at called The Menstruating Mall, by Carlton Mellick III. I can't say why, but the title really appealed to me.

I'd not considered submitting directly to a publisher until I read that. I looked Afterbirth up on the internet, submitted my query and within hours they requested the manuscript. Twenty-four hours after that, I had an offer to publish All Encompassing Trip.

I asked a lot of questions (my editor can confirm that!) and contacted both of the literary agents who had the manuscript to let them know about the offer. Ultimately, they both very pleasantly declined the novel, and I decided to go with Afterbirth.

What was the process with Afterbirth like?
The best part of working with an indie publisher is the flexibility. Afterbirth was really flexible and willing to try as many ideas as I threw at them. Some of them worked, some didn't, but I was truly pleased with the fact that we tried everything.

Afterbirth operates like a traditional publisher in terms of editing and cover-design. The authors, of course, have input on the cover. My cover was a result of a contest we ran. (One of the ideas that Afterbirth was willing to try.).

Marketing is a challenge. The first thing that Afterbirth told me was that all their authors really try to help each other out in terms of promotion. We try to support each other in that way and share ideas. This is one of the big differentiators from using a service like iUniverse, a collective of like-minded authors trying to get their work into the world.

How long was the book in production before being released?
Feels like forever. Basically the whole process took a little over a year.

What type of marketing are you doing for the book? What has worked best for you? What has been least effective? In general, are you pleased with the results so far? What kind of goals to have the book? What are your long term writing goals?
My motto is: One book at a time. By that I mean, every time I sell a single book, I celebrate that individual success. I'm still sort of waiting to see how this all plays out. I think it would be really cool to sell the movie rights. Marketing? This is the $64,000 question. I've been very active in promotion of this book. It's very consuming and you really have to make the time, and be willing to try (and fail).

Things that worked:

MySpace has been terrific. I've made a tremendous investment in time there, developing relationships and an audience for my writing via blogs. It takes effort. You aren't going to sell books on MySpace by sending out a bulletin every 10-minutes telling people to buy your book. You'll irritate them and get deleted.

Offering personalized pre-orders was very successful.

I was the first Afterbirth author to print Advanced Reading Copies (ARC's) and because of this I was able to get blurbs from two mainstream authors (who I met on MySpace.)

Networking and never being afraid to ask questions—I am of the opinion that it never hurts to ask, and I got a ton of great advice along the way.

Things that didn't work:

Booksense Advanced Access program. Basically, you pay $50.00 to list your book in Booksense's bi-weekly newsletter. You offer up Reader Copies of the book in hopes that the store will like it and want to carry it. Turns out, the stores like free books. Most of the copies I sent out were up for sale on Amazon, BN.com and Alibris within hours of their arrival at the store.

My MySpace book giveaway isn't doing much for me. I thought it would be fun and easy, and I'm grateful for the people who have participated, but I thought it would garner some more participation.

The bookmarks I spent $200.00 on are sitting on the floor beside me aren't doing much for me. But that could be my fault. :-)

I've posted a blog on Amazon Connect about word of mouth. I'm just trying to get people to talk about my book, and tell their friends about it. I'm getting to the point where I feel I've sort of done all I can do on my own.

You're a frequent poster to the message boards on Christopher Moore's site (that's how I first became aware of the book). Were you able to see him on his latest author tour? Has that been an effective marketing tool for you? What other sites do you contribute to on a regular basis?
First, yes, I am a huge fan of Chris's both as a writer and as a person. He's a great guy and been a tremendous resource for me. I was able to see him on the You Suck tour (along with several of my friends from the board) which is always entertaining.

I try to be respectful of Chris's space, in that I'm not there to try to generate book sales. A good portion of those people I consider friends. A good portion of those people bought my book because they are friends. I've been posting there since before the completion of the book, through publication. They've seen my highs and lows about it, and been there to offer advice and encouragement along the way. I'm extremely grateful to them. In fact, I only found Afterbirth because of the Chris Moore Board. Chris blurbed Foop! by Chris Genoa, which was published by Eraserhead Press, which is run by Carlton Mellick III, who wrote The Menstruating Mall. So basically, I found my publisher as a result of a suggestion on Chris's board and a Listmania list on Amazon.

I drink my coffee with the Boardello every morning.

I've already mentioned MySpace. I belong to several book groups there, and I also post in the 50 Book Challenge at LiveJournal. I'm also a member of Bookcrossing. I love to be places where people are talking about books. Not because I'm trying to sell books, but because I love them.

Who are your biggest influences as far as writing goes?
This is probably going to sound so hokey, but every book I read influences me in some way. I think it's my reactions to certain books which compel me more so than an individual author's work. Chris Moore makes me want to write laugh-out-loud passages, and Tom Robbins makes me want to write fabulous sentences. Chuck Palahniuk makes me feel OK about being dark and edgy and weird, and Janet Evanovich makes me realize that there's a place in the world for writing that isn't brilliant, but which is entertaining.

I recently read Black Swan Green by David Mitchell , and it depressed me because the writing was so good. A week later, I read The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst and her beautiful writing inspired me to write more beautifully in the future.

I hope I am a sponge ... soaking up all the good and improving with each book I both read, and write.

What's your latest writing project?
I've got two projects in the works right now. Actually, I've got two projects sort of stalled right now. But they are out there awaiting creation ... Another Bizarro novel which is as yet untitled about a woman with a calendar addiction, who is being stalked by the Moon. The second is a mainstream collaboration with another author that I am unable to divulge any information on.

2007-04-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

Online Bookshelves
Offer Captive Audience

Readers are everywhere, but finding an avenue to reach this diverse group has always been a huge challenge for authors trying to market their books.

Author websites are a good outlet, as are web 2.0 sites such as MySpace and Facebook, but it's still difficult to pull people to sites unless they’re already looking for them. New social networking sites geared toward book lovers may help authors find a captive audience. Among the new sites are Shelfari, LibraryThing, BooksWellRead, MediaChest and Shelfcentered.

Shelfari recently landed a $1 million investment from Amazon.com.

Founded by former RealNetworks employees Josh Hug and Kevin Beukelman, Shelfari allows people to list book titles, write reviews, recommend books to friends and find like-minded bibliophiles. Check out this story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer when the site launched.

LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily. Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth.

You can check out the PubGuy’s bookshelf on Shelfari here: http://www.shelfari.com/PubGuy. You can add a widget to your blog to display your bookshelf. Scroll down the right side of the page for an example.

I’ve started a POD group on Shelfari, so come check it out and offer up your opinions.

* * *

Several former iUniverse authors have traditionally-published books hitting the shelves soon. Jennifer Colt’s third book featuring the McAfee twins, The Vampire of Venice Beach (Broadway), actually came out a few weeks back.

Brian Wiprud’s Tailed is due out May 29 and is available for pre-order at Amazon. Laurie Notaro’s There’s a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell drops the same day. Notaro is stretching out a bit. The new book is a novel, while her first five books were collections of columns and essays.

2007-02-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

Author Keeps
The Traitor's Wife
Atop Amazon Lists

It’s tough to stay on top.

A little adultery, some backstabbing and the occasional murder were a few of the methods employed in the days of Edward II.

While that might have flown during Edward’s reign in the 1300s, the setting for Susan Higginbotham’s historical novel, The Traitor’s Wife, Higginbotham has taken a gentler approach to keep the book amongst iUniverse’s top sellers on Amazon.com.

The Traitor’s Wife follows young Eleanor de Clare, favorite niece of King Edward II, and her marriage to Hugh le Despenser. The book, released in July 2005, has sold about 1,000 copies, claimed a silver medal for historical fiction in ForeWord’s Book of the Year Awards in 2005 and will soon be released under iUniverse’s Star imprint, reserved for the publisher’s top-selling and best-reviewed titles.

Higginbotham has used a variety of methods to get her book in front of Amazon browsers.

“I’ve taken advantage of all of the free marketing techniques Amazon has to offer—the lists, the blog feature, tags, the Amazon profile. I think the most helpful thing, though, was submitting my novel to Search Inside the Book,” she said. “Not only can customers preview the book, the search feature leads customers to it. With self-published novels in particular, it’s really helpful for customers to be able to “flip” through the book before they buy it.

“It helped a great deal too when after the first few months, enough Amazon customers bought The Traitor’s Wife for Amazon to start generating the “Better Together” feature, in which my book was paired with other novels, some by major authors, including Sharon Penman and Margaret George.”

Higginbotham has a strong web presence beyond Amazon as well. Her website can be found at http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/ and includes a link to her blog at http://susandhigginbotham.blogspot.com/.

“My novel, of course, is a historical novel, and one in which all of the major characters are historical figures as opposed to purely fictional ones. I put a lot of historical information on my website so that people doing searches for, say, ‘Edward II,’ would come across my website and thus to my book,” Higginbotham said. “I also have a list of novels set in the same period so that people looking for those novels would happen across mine too.

“My blog has also helped a great deal, and has been quite a fun experience as well.”

Despite her web success, Higginbotham has struggled in her efforts to storm the walls of traditional bookstores.

“Even the big independent bookstores in my area aren’t hospitable to self-publishers,” she said. “One refused to let me sign my books, even on consignment, but then suggested that I should put a link to their store on the website! Well, no.”

While Higginbotham chose iUniverse to take advantage of its design services, she’s recently published a second book, Edward II: His Friends, His Enemies, and His Death, with Lulu, a more do-it-yourself process than iUniverse’s programs.

“The Edward II book started out as a series of short articles that I was going to post on another website for marketing reasons. The other site went through some policy and management changes, so I ended up turning the articles into a booklet in PDF form and putting it on my website instead,” Higginbotham said. “I thought I might as well have a printed version of the booklet in case I ever wanted to hand out copies along with my novel, so I went ahead and had a version printed on Lulu—I call it my “little Lulu book.” It doesn’t sell many copies, since the booklet is simply a bound version of what people can read for free on my website, but the PDF file has brought a lot of people to my website.”

Higginbotham is hard at work on her next project.

“I’m working on another historical novel, set in the 1340’s and featuring some of the same characters who were in The Traitor’s Wife,” she said. “I’ve also been trying to get some material ready for submission to Amazon Shorts, which is a feature where authors who have a book listed on Amazon can sell works from 2,000 to 10,000 words, downloadable as e-texts for the princely price of 49 cents. For Amazon Shorts, I’m working on a short story, which is a genre I usually don’t write in, but I’m eager to see what type of response such a venture would receive.”

2007-01-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

BookSurge's Ridley
Wears Multiple Hats
Does anyone know more about Print-On-Demand publishing than Richard “R.W.” Ridley?

Ridley has published two books through BookSurge, his latest, Délon City, and the IPPY-award winning The Takers (2006, Horror). He also works as a sales and marketing specialist for the amazon.com-owned BookSurge.

Ridley recently shared his insights about POD, wearing both his author and publisher hats.

How long did it take you to write The Takers? How was the book edited?
The Takers took about 9 weeks to write. It was a project I had thought about for a long time. In fact, I wrote the first line about a year before I started developing the story. It just struck a chord with me. I am married to an editor. My wife has many years of experience proofreading and developing newsletters and online material. In addition, I had a team of about a dozen readers that gave me input. There were some after market typos that were discovered and easily fixed because of the POD model.

How was the cover design developed?
That was me. I have a background in marketing and advertising so I have experience in Photoshop. I wanted something simple but effective. I love to tinker around with that kind of stuff so it was a labor of love.

What was your reaction to winning the IPPY Award? How has that impacted sales of the book? Has it helped generate interest from traditional publishers or agents?
The IPPY award was just validation that I was on the right track more than anything else. It did generate some sales, and has helped tremendously on the marketing front. I used the "IPPY Award Winning Author" moniker on Book Two (Which is currently available on Amazon.com). I will be entering Délon City, Book Two of the Oz Chronicles this year. Librarians love award-winning books, so they have worked me into their budget. I've been through the rejection process with agents and traditional publishers for so many years that I haven't approached them since I self-published. The book's doing okay on its own, and I'm making 25% on sales right now. That would be cut pretty severely if I went the traditional route. I'm not completely closed to that opportunity if it comes along, but I don't feel the sense of urgency I once felt. If it happens it happens. If it doesn't, I'm building a nice little fan base that is spreading the word for me, and my sales should continue to grow.

How many copies of The Takers have you sold?
About 700. Not Harry Potter numbers, but pretty good for a POD.

What other marketing strategies have worked well for you? Have you been able to generate interest in the Charleston media?
I have the good fortune of talking to writers 5 days a week about publishing and writing, so a lot of my marketing strategy has been centered around personal contact. I have a three-year marketing plan put together for The Takers and Délon City and I'll do the same for The Pure (Book Three). I've been invited to speak to classrooms, Book Clubs and writers groups, and the relationships I've developed with other self-published writers have been invaluable. I have shamelessly asked for help. That's what you have to do as a self-published author. I preach this every day to BookSurge authors, and try to lead by example. I have had a few mentions from the Charleston press, and I even had a nice email exchange with the book reviewer from our daily paper. He didn't do a review because they only review pre-publication material, but he did put a blurb in the paper for me. Little things like that help a lot.

What kind of profile does BookSurge have in Charleston? Does the company generate much news locally?
We get a lot of great press from the local media. It's a great company that truly puts the author first. I know the people here, and I know how dedicated they are to putting out the best possible product for the author and the author's customer. I trusted them with my own books, and I didn't just do that because I work for BookSurge. My reputation goes out with every book I sell so my faith in the people behind its production takes precedent over company loyalty.

I see the sequel, Délon City, has just come out. It’s published by Middlebury House Publishing. Is this an imprint through BookSurge or a traditional publisher? How did you come to publish through Middlebury?
Middlebury House Publishing is me. It's still done through BookSurge, but I plan on putting out a compilation of Oz Chronicles books as Advance Reader Copies to try and generate more reviews from mainstream publications.

How long have you worked for BookSurge? How has the sale to Amazon impacted your role with the company and the company in general?
I've been with the company since April 2005. I actually started about two weeks after Amazon purchased the company, so I don't have a pre-Amazon point of reference. I love the idea of being part of the Amazon team. It truly is the great equalizer for self-published authors. They have a lot of great tools to help you gain exposure for your book on their site.

What have you learned about publishing by working at BookSurge?
Basically, I gained an understanding of why all those editors and agents over the years rejected my queries and submissions. The volume of writers seeking to publish is enormous, and when you submit a query, you can be rejected simply because you didn't follow their submission guidelines. It's not personal. It's because they have a pile of manuscripts on their desk that they need to get to. I have much more respect for agents and acquisitions editors. I still think they miss a lot of quality manuscripts, but I give them a pass because of the tremendous task they have to undertake day after day.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions that authors have about both traditional publishing and POD publishing?
The biggest misconception authors have about traditional publishing is that once they sign a contract they won't have to do anything but write the next book. A traditional publisher is going to demand a lot of marketing support from the authors they sign. I've even heard of traditional publishers "requesting" authors hire their own publicists. Publishing is a business and you have to treat it like one if you want to succeed. The biggest misconception author's have about POD publishing is basically the same thing. Some author's have an "if you build they will come" mentality. They invest in the publication of their book, and wait for it be discovered on Amazon. You've got to draw attention to yourself, and most authors aren't willing to do that.

What are some of your favorite books that you've worked on at BookSurge and why?
I've really enjoyed working with most of my authors and I hate to leave anyone out, but The Crescent Veil by Judith Sanders is an excellent read, and Point and Shoot by G.D. Baum has been getting a lot of excellent buzz.

Check out Ridley’s website at http://www.rwridley.com/ and his blog at http://selfpublishedamerican.blogspot.com/

2007-01-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

Off the Rails
a tribute to late

guitar great

Climbing the charts is nothing new for Rudy Sarzo.

As the bass player for bands like Quiet Riot and Whitesnake, Sarzo put out multi-platinum albums and played in front of massive crowds during the heyday of heavy metal. Sarzo is climbing the charts again, but this time, instead of earning a bullet on Billboard, his latest effort, Off the Rails, is climbing the book charts on Amazon.com.

Off the Rails is currently among the top sellers for Print-On-Demand publisher BookSurge. The book has garnered 38 reviews on Amazon from its release date of Nov. 2, 2006 through early January 2007.

Off the Rails chronicles Sarzo’s days as a part of Ozzy Osbourne’s band. The book is largely a tribute to the late guitarist Randy Rhoads. Rhoads was killed in a plane crash during the Diary of a Madman tour.

Sarzo had planned to publish the book through a traditional publisher, Cherry Lane, but when the deal fell through, he turned to the POD option and BookSurge.

“Due to a conflict of interest among the Osbournes, the publisher and my self, the book was dropped and I was left with an edited manuscript ready to be published,” Sarzo said. “So after nearly a year, I decided to go the self-publishing route. Since BookSurge is an Amazon.com company it was the only print-on-demand outlet I considered.”

Sarzo, a self-described computer geek, put the cover together himself and completed the publication process with BookSurge in three weeks. Sarzo credited Richard Ridley, his BookSurge Publishing Consultant, for guiding him through the process.

“Richard Ridley, was extremely helpful with the whole process. There's also an abundance of templates to suit your needs available at the Booksurge site,” Sarzo said.

Ridley, who has published two books through BookSurge himself (The Takers, Délon City), enjoyed working with the heavy metal bass master.

“Rudy contacted us, and I was just lucky enough to get the call. He is one of the nicest guys on the planet.” Ridley said. “The man is part of rock 'n roll history, but he's so down to earth you'd never know it by talking to him. Off the Rails has generated a lot of interest and it's one of our bestsellers on Amazon.”

As of Jan. 11, Off the Rails was listed as BookSurge’s No. 2 seller with a sales rank of 10,923.

Sarzo has been promoting the book with appearances on the Sirius and XM satellite radio shows of Scott Ferrall, Jim Breuer and Eddie Trunk. He’ll be on Rockline Wednesday, Jan. 24. He’s also done interviews for several print magazines as well as web zines.

“This is a book that has been highly anticipated by Randy Rhoads' fans for some time,” Sarzo said. “So there was a high demand for this book to see the light of day. Since I wrote the book for my friend who's no longer with us, my goal is to share memories of him with those who want to find out what Randy Rhoads was like.”

The book has already been translated into Japanese and that version is scheduled for a March 2007 release.

While the book has been front-and-center for Sarzo of late, music is always his main mistress. He has been on the road with Dio, a band he has been a part of since 2004. The band has plans to work on a new record this year.

Check out Sarzo's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/offtherails.

2007-01-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

Folio's Kleinman Discusses
Finn, First Impressions

It’s impossible to get that first novel published.

At least, it seems that way. Of course, some how, some way, a select few manage to get it done. Elizabeth Kostova broke records when her debut novel, The Historian, was picked up by Little, Brown. A few posts back on this very blog, I interviewed Jon Clinch, whose first novel, Finn, will come out with Random House in February.

Clinch’s agent is Jeff Kleinman of Folio Literary Management, so I decided to touch base with Mr. Kleinman to see what first attracted him to Clinch’s novel and to garner some advice for first-time authors on how to overcome the obstacles.

While Folio is just about a year old, Kleinman and his founding partners, Paige Wheeler and Scott Hoffman, are all veterans of the publishing industry. Kleinman was with the Graybill and English Literary Agency before starting Folio.

While putting together the Finn post, I visited Folio’s website at http://www.foliolit.com/. The site contains a step-by-step guide to getting published here: http://www.foliolit.com/stepbystep.php. I encourage everyone to check it out. As part of the guide, Folio encourages novelists to seek recognition for their work prior to submitting it. Now, they’re really talking about getting short stories published in magazines and submitting for awards that recognize unpublished work, might racking up some awards and some sales via a Print-On-Demand effort help establish an author’s track record as well? I decided to ask:

Step 1B for fiction says "Publish! Win awards, grants. Try to give the appearance of a writer whose career is really taking off. Bottom line, though: the book, and the writing, must stand on its own. If the book's fabulous enough, you don't need any further credentials."

I assume you’re talking about publishing short stories in literary magazines and the like, but does an award-winning (IPPYs, Foreword magazine for instance) POD book fit into this category as well?
It may, but the problem with POD and self-publishing is that it hasn't been validated by a third-party. So "award-winning" is great, as are great sales figures. You need to give the impression that *other* people are as excited about your work as you are.

My partner, Paige, gets a number of newly published authors who have written smaller books and are looking to ramp up their career. Some of these books have won awards. Also, a number of genres sponsor awards for unpublished authors and we look at those as well--it shows the author is really committed to writing, learning the craft and getting publicity.

What is your impression if an author first publishes his or her work with a POD company (iUniverse, Booksurge, Authorhouse, Lulu)?
If you self-publish your book, then you'll get your own ISBN - which will allow everyone to track how the book is selling. This may make selling the book to a traditional publisher more difficult if the book doesn't do that well; and the sales of that first book may reflect on the publishing chances for subsequent books. So if you publish the book yourself, then you may need to demonstrate that you have the wherewithal to market and sell the book successfully, too - which can be an uphill battle.

Then again, if the book is truly *terrific*, agents and editors will certainly fight for the chance to work on it - so on some level it always boils down to the book itself.

Do you get a lot of queries from self-published authors? Have you ever agreed to represent one and, if so, what type of success did you have with it?
I do get a lot - probably 20 or 30 a week. I've never represented one, though, although other people at my agency did, and did great with them - so it certainly *can* work.

My partner, Scott Hoffman, told me, "I'd say that the majority of queries we get from people whose books have been printed have worked with POD publishers, rather than self-publishing. The only authors I've signed who self-published were John Baur and Mark Summers, the authors of PIRATTITUDE: So You Want to Be a Pirate? Here's How! The book is doing fabulously, and is in its 5th printing since publication last September. I'd say maybe 3-5% of the queries I get are from authors whose books have been in print before. Occasionally, publishers have to see that there's a real market for a book before they'll take a chance on it themselves."

Paige has taken on a few – she handles a lot of genre books, and many genre authors decide to go the self-publishing route as they learn their craft. She represented Kate Wendleton, for example, and sold a five book "career series" for her.

Do sales figures for a self-published book carry any weight as far as whether you would represent it or not?
Yes, to some extent, see above. But we’re all really looking for great writing and are willing to try to get around poor sales figures if we fall in love with an author's work. Conversely, if an author has terrific sales numbers, that will definitely grab our attention.

What impact, if any, has POD made on your business?
I think POD has had virtually no effect on our business, but it's been successful for authors whose books are commercial, but appeal to a fairly limited or specialized audience.

Moving away from the POD questions, how did you discover Jon Clinch and Finn? What attracted you most to the book? What do you look for from a first-time novelist?
Jon was a referral from another client of mine, who runs Backspace, a fabulous writers’ website. She emailed me and told me that the site was “buzzing” about the opening pages of Jon’s novel, which he’d posted online. I read the first few pages on my TREO phone, sitting in the middle of a conference (OK, it wasn’t that exciting a conference), and emailed him immediately, asking for the rest. He hadn’t written the rest, but he emailed me what he’d done. I read the material immediately and sent him a retainer agreement within seconds – and then sat around biting my nails waiting for him to sign it.

The novel starts out with a bang: not only a gorgeous, surprising opening, but a wonderful, unique voice and an unstoppable premise, and characters that were familiar and new all at the same time. What attracted me most about the book? No clue. I think it was all of those things, wrapped into one luscious package, that had me on pins and needles from the get-go.

From a first-time novelist I guess I’m looking for precisely what Jon delivered: great writing, fabulous premise, dazzling characters, and a wonderful, wonderful read.

What other upcoming releases are you most excited about?
Brendon Burchard's Life's Golden Ticket is going to be Harper SF's biggest new author release. It's already broken records for 1st novel advances in several territories (with sales in 16 countries), and Harper's planning a HUGE first printing and a big author tour.

Also, Brent Ghelfi's Volk's Game is going to be Holt's biggest novel of the summer, with a 10 city author tour, a big british and german sales, and lots and lots of potential for a debut novel.

Pam Jenoff's The Kommandant's Girl is also generating tons of buzz, with starred reviews all over the place.

We have a number of mystery series that have taken off--Casey Daniels’ second book, following Don of the Dead, called The Chick and the Dead will be out in March.

Kate Kingsury, who has been on the Independent Mystery Bestseller list for the month of December with Slay Bells, will have another mystery out next Christmas.

USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean will have her next book, Surrender to a Scoundrel, out this January and it has already garnered fabulous reviews.

Charles Shields’ New York Times bestseller Mockingbird comes out in paperback in June.

Finn expands or elaborates on an established storyline. Anything in particular that attracts you to this type of material either as an agent or as a reader?
It’s certainly an area that interests me, as a reader. I love the idea of taking a familiar setting or characters and going somewhere new and special with them – giving me a new perspective not just on the new work, but on the original work, as well.

------------------------------------------

I stumbled across this post from UK author Christopher G. Moore about how his novel, Chairs (Heaven Lake Press, 2000), received a recent sales boost when You Suck, the latest novel from Christopher Moore (my favorite author) became available for pre-order.

Makes one seriously consider choosing a pen name like Jack Evanovich or something.

Riding the coat tails of a bigger name is an excellent way to get noticed and generate sales. My very brief study of Amazon's Buy X, Get Y program led me to conclude that it will sell books, but will it be enough to cover the cost of the program? To link your book to a Top 250 seller is $750 for a month, while a book outside the Top 250 goes for $500. Here's a link from iUniverse about the program and another one from BookSurge (an Amazon company). BookSurge quotes a price of $1000 for the program, but I think that includes an administrative fee if BookSurge sets it up for one of their authors.

Bottom line—you have to sell a lot of books in a month to cover the cost of the program.

------------------------------------------

The Vampire of Venice Beach, the latest from former iUniverse author Jennifer Colt, is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The book will be released March 27, 2007.

Colt published her first two books, The Butcher of Beverly Hills and The Mangler of Malibu Canyon, with iUniverse. Those books, along with Vampire, were picked up by Broadway Books.

Colt has an interesting article on her website about how the cover design evolved from her own Microsoft Word-generated efforts that she submitted to iUniverse to the splashy neon colors of the Broadway editions.

2006-12-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

Beyond Beowulf
Captures Rhythm
of Ancient Text

Beowulf is often used as an introduction to epic poetry in high school English classes. Not being a fan of poetry, a groan was my first response. But Beowulf won me over because it was a good story.

Christopher Webber’s Beyond Beowulf works for the same reason. It’s a good story. I can appreciate the poetry now as well. One of the most fascinating parts of the book is Webber’s introduction in which he explains the technical aspects of the poetry and the framework in which he constructs the work.

Webber published the book through iUniverse and received the company’s Publisher’s Choice designation, endorsing the content and the cover design. The book has also earned the company’s Reader’s Choice designation which means it has sold at least 250 copies through retail channels.

His marketing efforts have included numerous book signings and appearances and an impressive blog at http://beyondbeowulf.blogspot.com/. He even made an appearance on a cable access show in Connecticut, in which his friend, Sam Waterston, the actor who plays Jack McCoy on television’s Law & Order, read from the book.

Webber recently shared some thoughts on writing, publishing and promoting Beyond Beowulf.

What inspired you to write Beyond Beowulf?
I'm fascinated by the SOUND of the original, Beowulf, both in Old English and in translation and began by trying to do my own translation of Beowulf. I'm still not satisfied with that, but I became very aware of the unanswered question at the end: "What will become of us now that Beowulf is dead?" and thought someone after all these years should try to provide an answer.

Were you ever intimidated when you thought “I’m writing a sequel to one of the classics of ancient literature?”
I probably should have been! But I don't remember ever stopping to think about it. If I had, I might have stopped right there!

You’ve written the story as an epic poem, emulating the original. What lead you to that decision? Did you consider writing the story in a different form?
No. I had a correspondence once with a distinguished professor who believes the best translation of Beowulf is a prose translation. I simply don't understand that. Beowulf survived because of the sound of the poetry. A sequel that used some other format would not really be a sequel worth talking about.

Was writing it in that form challenging?
Actually, I think the form made it easier. The need to alliterate made it necessary to ponder word choice more deeply than I might otherwise have done and the alliteration often seemed to suggest the direction the story might take.

What kind of feedback have you received on the book so far? You’ve had a number of readings/signings so far. How have those gone?
I think most authors have had the same experience I have had: a range of audiences from very small to reasonably large. The smallest consisted of the bookstore owner and his parents! But even there, I enjoyed the opportunity to discuss the book with an intelligent audience. The largest audience was probably fifty to a hundred. Reading poetry is always enjoyable. If my book were a technical manual or "how to" type of book, I think I would get bored. But good poetry like good music can be often repeated and enjoyed.

You received the Publisher’s Choice designation from iUniverse. What was your impression of the iUniverse process?
My first impression of iUniverse was very favorable. The people I worked with were prompt to respond and always helpful and supportive. The Publisher's Choice project has been less satisfactory. I was told I was being given the designation in July or August and that it would take "2 or 3 weeks." In fact, it was November before it began to move and I have only today been able to send off the necessary forms to complete the application process.

How did you arrive at the cover design? Was that something you contributed or did iUniverse create that?
I had a picture of a warrior's helmet from a book I had read about archaeological exploration of burial mounds in East Anglia that seem to indicate links with Sweden. I sent them that picture (with other suggestions) and they did the rest. I didn't much like their original color scheme so they changed it. I liked the result a lot. When they wanted to redesign the cover for Publisher's Choice designation they changed the title type face and placement and I'm less satisfied than with the original.

You mention on your blog that Sam Waterston did a reading with you on a cable access show. How did that all come about? What kind of reaction did you get to the show?
I've heard from a lot of people in the area that saw it and were very interested. I’ve come to know Sam Waterston through my involvement over the last dozen years with an Episcopal congregation in Connecticut that he’s part of. It seemed to me that his name would get more attention than mine and he, always generous, was willing.

Are you working on additional writing projects?
People have asked me whether I intend to do a sequel to the sequel. In fact, what I've begun working on is what I call a "paraquel." What I thought it would be interesting to do is tell the same story again from the viewpoint of the hero's wife, Yrfa. Wiglaf is the hero of my story and the only character carried over from the original. Since Wiglaf dies at the end of my sequel, I thought it might be interesting to begin from that point and let her talk about her bereavement and then review their life and relationship. I've done about 500 lines so far toward a goal of 3000 plus (same as Beowulf and Beyond Beowulf). I find that Yrfa is more interesting than I had realized with very strong views about male/female relationships and the male proclivity for war. I've also begun to notice that their son, Weo, inherited just the wrong mix of his parent's best qualities and is potentially a rather nasty piece of work. But we shall see how that develops.

What I'm thinking of doing is completing this paraquel and then polishing my translation of Beowulf, the original, and then publishing "The Beowulf Trilogy" in one volume.

Meanwhile I have one proposal sitting on a publisher's desk. He's indicated interest but asked me to flesh it out some more - which will take time. I've got another project well along and several other ideas I hope to be able to work on before much longer. Having had three books published this year, I'm feeling as if there isn't as much happening right now. On the other hand, I have a pretty busy schedule of readings on my calendar.

2006-12-15T22:08:00.000-08:00

Clinch's Finn Tackles
Literary Challenge

"The average man don't like trouble and danger."
–Mark Twain from Huckleberry Finn

Author Jon Clinch is not one to avoid trouble and danger. At least not on the printed page. He has taken on the equivalent of Mount Everest in terms of literary challenges. Finn, Clinch’s first novel, is an offshoot of one of the giants of American Literature, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.

The novel, set to be released by Random House on February 20, 2007, moves Huckleberry’s father from supporting role to spotlight. The official book description states, “It begins and ends with a lifeless body–flayed and stripped of all identifying marks–drifting down the Mississippi. The circumstances of the murder, and the secret of the victim’s identity, shape Finn’s story as they will shape his life and his death.”

Rather than being intimidated by working in the shadow of Twain’s classic, Clinch embraced it.

“The Twain context provided motivation and inspiration, but it was never a handicap or a source of fear,” he said. “Some people, including one or two famous authors who will remain unnamed, counseled me against writing Finn on account of the danger of working in Twain's shadow. I believe that they had no idea how seriously I was taking the idea, and how far I meant to push it.”

Clinch dove into all of Twain’s work as part of his research.

“I reread piles of Twain, since my goal was more to re-envision the world that he created than to recreate the actual world of the Mississippi Valley in the 1840s,” he said. “Certain external research did pay off, though. I discovered the history of the Illinois State Penitentiary at Alton, for example, which dovetailed nicely with Finn's history of criminality.”

In addition to Twain’s own work, Clinch drew some inspiration from others who had created new material within the framework of a classic piece of literature.

“I've only taken note of the biggest examples: Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, John Gardner's Grendel, Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea,” Clinch said. “I was delighted when Geraldine Brooks won the Pulitzer for March last year—not only because March is a fine book, but because her victory suggested that the culture is prepared to take this kind of fiction very seriously. And by "this kind of fiction" I mean fiction that starts with a known framework and a familiar set of elements, and then makes out of them something arresting and new.”

Jeff Kleinmann, an agent with Folio Literary Management, was onboard with Clinch early on. Clinch wrote the book over a five-month period, writing eight to ten hours at a stretch while working around his day job.

“The character, and his world, took over my life to an alarming degree—and I was frankly relieved when it was over,” Clinch said. ‘Folio's Jeff Kleinman and I found each other through another writer he represents. Based on the first 50 pages — all that existed at the time — I could see that he understood the book and was hugely enthusiastic about it; so we threw in our lots together. This was in August of 2005. Jeff spent the next four or five months cultivating editorial interest all over New York, while I finished the book.”

With the novel complete and the publication date set, Clinch now turns his attention to marketing the book. He already has the publicity wheels turning with a strong web presence at http://www.jonclinch.com/ and a site exclusive to the book at http://www.readfinn.com/.

“The web is very important these days. Random House did a fantastic job on the www.readfinn.com site. It's loaded with interesting and useful information,” Clinch said “And there's more to come, including a full-blown Teachers' Guide. The team at Random House really believes in this book, and they've put their credibility and strength behind it.”

The ReadFinn site is interactive and even features some fiddle music in the background.

“The music on the site is a fiddle tune that I've loved for years and years,” Clinch said. “I tracked down the fiddler on the web, and he kindly authorized its use. You can find him at www.TexasShorty.com.”

Clinch will begin an author tour on Feb. 26 at Olsson’s Books and Records in Washington, D.C. Midwest stops include a March 18 visit to the Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop in Milwaukee, WI, and March 20 at Borders in Madison, WI.

2006-12-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

Douglas' Quest
twists, turns
to iUniverse

In Diana Douglas’ new book, The Quest, Carolyn Reed is searching for answers and searching for her mother. Reed’s investigation leads her from her sheltered Los Angeles life, to a cabin in Maine and then on to France to unravel a cover-up dating back to World War II.

Douglas’ efforts to write and publish the book took almost as many twists and turns before ending up at iUniverse.

“I had started some time back. Quite a long time back,” Douglas said. “It was in the 80s when the search for Klaus Barbie was still going on. I had always been intrigued by the background of The French Resistance and did quite a lot of research on it. An agent accepted the first draft and was about to send it out to publishers, when Klaus Barbie was captured. The agent said to me 'That'll teach you not to base any fiction on a living character' and withdrew it.

“Over the years I would come back to the idea and it went through (more than one) metamorphosis, ending up close to 400 pages. My new agent, Claudia Menza, was very enthusiastic about the book and submitted it to top publishers who were complimentary about the writing, but unsure about what genre it belonged in. After almost three years of this, at my husband's urging, I said ‘the hell with it — I'll cut scenes and characters, speed it up and make it into a thriller.’ Hence, iUniverse.”

Her husband, Donald Webster, has two books with iUniverse, The Beckoning and Blood Son.

Douglas already had a publishing credit to her name before putting out The Quest. In 1999, Barricade Books published her memoir, In the Wings. Douglas tells how she met and married a young actor, Kirk Douglas, in New York City. While the marriage was short, it did produce two sons, Michael and Joel (Michael wrote the forward to the book). She later married the late actor-producer-novelist Bill Darrid. She enjoyed steady work as an actress herself. Her television credits alone cover a wide variety of productions including Flipper, Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco, Days of Our Lives, The Waltons, Knots Landing, Lou Grant, Remington Steele, Cagney & Lacey and The West Wing.

“(In the Wings) originated because my son, Michael, asked me for a memoir for his son, Cameron,” Douglas said. “It took four years. I wrote it with no thought of publishing until friends suggested that it should be, and Barricade Books took it immediately.”

Diana, Kirk, Michael and Cameron Douglas all starred in the 2003 theatrical release, It Runs in the Family.

Diana has some additional projects in the works.

“I'm working off and on on a sequel or addition to In The Wings, as so much has happened since. I'll call it The View from Here. I have a play I wrote called Valldemosa about the time that Frederic Chopin and George Sand spent with her children in Majorca. It will be performed at the theater in Woodland Hills at The Motion Picture & Televisions Fund for a charity benefit on Feb, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th.”

Douglas had a positive experience with iUniverse.

“I was very impressed with the assistance from iUniverse. They designed a splendid cover without my help. (They) did a very good blurb piece on the back,” she said. “When the author copies arrived, I had the same reaction as when Wings came out - checking all the pages like counting my babies toes!”

2006-11-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

Compelling
Characters
Highlight Doolittle's
The Cleanup

Sean Doolittle has some new neighbors, but they’re kind of a shady bunch. He only has himself to blame. He invited them. Heck, he invented them. We will say this for them, while a few may be of questionable character, they all have one thing in common — they’re compelling.

Doolittle, an Omaha-based writer, has set his fourth published novel, The Cleanup, in his hometown.

“Honestly, after spending the amount of time with them that I did, they sort of feel like neighbors. I guess I live on a questionable street.” Doolittle said of his Cleanup characters.

This is the first time that Doolittle, whose previous books include Dirt, Burn and Rain Dogs, has set a novel in Omaha.

“Local readers will probably recognize real and loosely fictionalized locations all over town. The book ranges from midtown to the Old Market to the river, into the bluffs across the river and back, out to the west side, around the southeastern and northeastern police districts. There’s even a car chase on Saddle Creek Road,” Doolittle said.

The book takes place in the aftermath of a fictional October blizzard.

“The weather definitely complicates the plot” Doolittle said. “I really wanted this book to have an authentic, specific feel, like the story was happening in this part of the country as opposed to any other. I’m not sure how to quantify it with specific locations. It’s just a quality that’s woven into the basic fabric of life in one place versus another.

“I did a lot of general driving around, and I rode with the Omaha Police Department, and I did my usual poking around on the Internet for various tidbits. But this book is, now that I think about it, the first novel I’ve written wherein the main character is actually FROM the area where the story takes place. That probably says it all right there.”

The book follows Matthew Worth, a cop whose been busted down to patrolling a supermarket that’s been a recent victim of robberies. The Cleanup references something a little messier than spilt milk in aisle nine.

“A tender love story about a cop who hides a body to help a girl” is how Doolittle describes it.

Doolittle grew up in Nebraska graduating from Norris High School in Hallam. (The school was destroyed in a tornado in 2004, but has since been rebuilt.). He has both an undergraduate and graduate degree in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Doolittle credits several teachers for inspiring him to pursue a career as a writer.

“Three English teachers in particular: one in 5th grade (Ruby Russell), one in high school (Ed Baker, rest easy), and one in college (Gerald Shapiro),” Doolittle said. “The latter was the person who told me, in a way that made all the difference, that he saw in me the raw talent to make a go of it as a writer. But all of these people played some critical role or other in fostering my love of books and encouraging whatever raw knack they saw. I’m in debt to all of them.”

Doolittle published his first book, Dirt, through a small press, the now-defunct UglyTown of Los Angeles. UglyTown also published a hard cover version of his second book, Burn. Bantam Dell republished Burn and put out his third novel, Rain Dogs, before The Cleanup hit the shelves.

“I’m one of those stories you seem to hear more and more these days, a writer who started out in the indie press and moved to a larger New York publishing house,” Doolittle said.

“I think all writers, aspiring and veteran, would do well to accept what a large, inevitable role luck plays in any publishing career. Having said that, in my personally opinion, determination and doggedness and hard honest work remains the best way to place yourself in luck’s path.

“You'll find a lot of advice out there about how to "market" yourself. I say, keep your head down. Read everything you can. Work hard on improving your craft, and strive to grow. Keep writing. Thicken your skin and push yourself. Keep writing. Read some more. Read like a writer. Write some more. Write like a reader.

“And just keep doing all of those things. It’s a tough business—tough to break in, even tougher to stay. If you can be discouraged or turned away, you probably should be.

“If not. . .well, you don’t need my advice anyway.”

Doolittle is already hard at work on his next book, “a still-untitled suburban thriller about a college professor, a retired cop, and a shallow grave.”

He will be at Lee Booksellers in Lincoln, Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. and at The Mystery Bookstore in Omaha, Saturday Dec. 16 at 5 p.m.

For more information on Doolittle and The Cleanup check out http://www.seandoolittle.com/ and http://www.thecleanup.com/.

2006-11-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

Authors Harley Jane Kozak and Susan McBride at the Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave.

Kozak: Polished Product

Helps Publishing Chances

MANHATTAN, KS — One has to empathize with Wollie Shelley. She just can’t find Mr. Right.

It’s no wonder. Author Harley Jane Kozak has Shelley, the protagonist in her first two books, attempting to navigate the dating scene in novels entitled Dating Dead Men and Dating is Murder.

Kozak, a graduate of Lincoln East High School, was on hand at the Great Manhattan (KS) Mystery Conclave, Nov. 3-5, to discuss a challenge that can be as daunting as finding Mr. or Ms Right — getting published.

Kozak, along with fellow authors Susan McBride (The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club, The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) and Laura Durham (For Better or Hearse, Better Off Wed), hosted a discussion entitled “Everything You Wanted to Know About Publishing But Were Afraid to Ask, Presented by the Book Babes, Who've Been There and Done That.” A polished manuscript is the biggest key, Kozak said.

“You might think ‘well, if they see that there is a lot of raw talent here, they’ll take me on.’ That’s actually not true,” she said. “People are so overwhelmed in the publishing world with unsolicited manuscripts. You have to send your absolute best.”

The publishing business is just that — a business, she said.

“In this publishing climate, it’s very rare to have someone who seriously edits your book. An editor’s job is not as it was in the olden days,” Kozak said. “They need to see a manuscript that they think can realistically make them money. You have to be prepared for that reality.”

Kozak, who has a long list of acting credits from soaps such as Guiding Light and Santa Barbara to feature films including Necessary Roughness, The Favor and Parenthood, has managed to conquer the book business as well. Her third novel, Dead Ex, is currently in the final stages of editing with her publisher, Doubleday. It is scheduled to be released around August 2007. In Dead Ex, Wollie is dating a correspondent on the fictional talk show SoapDirt. Kozak was able to tap into her experience on the soaps and spent some time on the set of General Hospital as well.

“It was really fun. That was the easy part because that’s the part I did not have to research except for going and spending a day on the set of General Hospital,” Kozak said. “It turns out I knew half the people at General Hospital cause they had done other soaps that I had done. It’s very small world.”

Kozak got some assistance with her research from readers of The Lipstick Chronicles , a blog to which she contributes.

“I thank at least a dozen of them in the acknowledgements,” she said. “When I finished the first draft I had this 15-page list of things I had to check out. People wrote in and said ‘I’ve got number seven for you.”

Marketing plans for Dead Ex are still hazy, but a trip to Lincoln for a book signing is almost a foregone conclusion.

“I’m sure I’ll come back to Nebraska just because I’m always looking for an excuse to come back to Nebraska,” she said. “It’s dear to my heart and I dearly love the bookstore (Lee Booksellers) there. I just have friends there that I always love to see.”

2006-11-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

Terry Rodgers' Apotheosis of Pleasure. Used with permission.

Vectors, Apotheosis
Highlight Artists' Work
Remember when Dorothy went from the black and white of Kansas to the Technicolor of Oz?

Artist Terry Rodgers collaborated with Jim Zimmerman, an English professor at James Madison University, to produce Vectors of Desire through POD publisher iUniverse in September 2004. The book includes 50 black and white images of Rodgers’ major oil paintings.

In Vectors, produced at 7.5” x 9.25” as opposed to iUniverse’s standard 6” x 9” trim size, Rodgers’ paintings translate well to black and white and the larger format allows for a better presentation of the work. But much like classic black and white films should be presented in the original form; Rodgers’ work should be seen in color.

Rodgers’ paintings receive just that kind of treatment in Apotheosis of Pleasure, which will be available in December through Torch books of Amsterdam.

Apotheosis, which recently had a short write-up in Playboy, is a 112-page hardcover. In addition to 100 images of Rodgers' work, the book contains a short story, The Absent, by internationally best-selling French writer Alina Reyes.

Color and scale are an important part of Rodgers' work. The original of the image featured above is 96" x 144".

In a recent interview, Rodgers shared information on both Apotheosis of Pleasure and Vectors of Desire.

How did the Apotheosis of Pleasure book project come to pass? What role, if any, did the Vectors of Desire project that you did with Jim Zimmerman play in the evolution of the new book?
TR: Jim’s book took a first look at the work. It definitely created some interest. The time had come for a fairly comprehensive and full-color book of the paintings.

What will be the best way to get the book? Will it be available through Amazon.com and BN.com? Do you know what the retail price will be?
TR: Initially, the book will be available through:
idea@ideabooks.nl and torch@xs4all.nl

The retail price will be 45 euro which is about $60.00.

What does the publication of the book signal for your career?
TR: It provides a terrific opportunity for people to see a great variety of my work.

What type of promotion will you be doing for the book?
TR: I won’t be promoting the book. I make paintings and there’s never enough time for that. I will leave the promotion to the publisher.

What kind of goals did you have for the Vectors of Desire book and what was you impression of that book and the publication process with iUniverse? Do you feel the work translates to black and white?
TR: Vectors of Desire provided an introduction to the work. I believe that was Jim Zimmerman’s goal. Jim hoped that people would visit my website where they could see the work in color. Color is very important to my paintings.

One of the central themes that many of the writers hit on is that, while there is a lot going on in your paintings the subjects are rarely if ever interacting with one another. Is that a valid observation and, if so, what does that communicate?
TR: It is something that I notice around me frequently. Do remember that these are paintings and not social science data. The paintings may be better read as metaphors than data. I am representing something about the difficultly many people have relating to others even when they seem to be interacting. Often their activities and exchanges/jokes/laughter are to disguise their loneliness and fear. As they may reveal the next morning.

Paris Hilton makes the occasional appearance in your work. What does her image represent in your work? Is she aware of your work and has she ever commented on it?
TR: Paris is a perfect example of someone envied by many, criticized by more and “known” by very few. An icon of desire and an enigma. She is both a private person and, in the minds of many, a fantasy/fiction. And so much of our contemporary “mind” is made up of highly-imagined desires – cars, clothes, enhanced bodies, perfection, sexy experiences, vacations. So Paris represents very well this confusing duality of self and image.

What kind of interest has the Playboy article generated in your work and the book?
TR: Everyone at the coffee shop I frequent knows my work now.

Visit Terry Rodgers' website at http://www.terryrodgers.com/.

2006-10-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Mahoney, Severeid sign
with The Literary Group

Milly Mahoney sure doesn’t act dead.

While the titular character from Susanne Severeid’s mystery novel, The Death of Milly Mahoney does indeed come to an unfortunate demise, the novel itself has been living an active lifestyle since it was first published with iUniverse in the Fall of 2005. The latest milestone is a contract for representation with Frank Weimann of The Literary Group International.

The signing caps a surge of publicity for Mahoney, which has received both the Editor’s Choice and Reader’s Choice designations from iUniverse, that included a review on the POD-DY Mouth blog and a subsequent mention in Entertainment Weekly when that blog was the subject of a short piece in the magazine.

“The POD-DY review was a terrific break,” Severeid said. “Her blog has such credibility, especially since people know her level of objectivity. I felt so honored that she chose Milly over hundreds of other books to review, and that she loved it. To then have the Entertainment Weekly mention come out a short time later; well, you can't buy that kind of publicity. I was very happy when Frank offered to represent me.”

Weimann learned about Severeid and The Death of Milly Mahoney through a scout and elected to take on the project based on that recommendation.

“What we loved most about the book was the style in which it was written,” Weimann said.

Severeid did her research and negotiated before signing with LGI.

“It's a big step, signing a contract; you've got to be sure of what you're signing. I first checked with an attorney friend, and looked over various websites (the Mystery Writers of America has some excellent contract information). I also recommend buying the book, Business and Legal Forms for Authors and Self-Publishers, by Tad Crawford. There was a bit of back and forth along the way, but I don't think I've ever signed a contract or release without making some changes,” Severeid said. “And, having been a model and actress, I had some experience with all that. In agreements, everyone obviously tries to get the best deal for themselves, so consensus is vital. Some advice to other authors: don't let yourself feel rushed, and never sign anything you don't understand or that you don't feel comfortable with. A good contract should satisfy both sides, since once it's signed you’ll be a team, working together. But know what your "deal breakers" are, and be prepared to walk if you don't get them.”

While Weimann is shopping The Death of Milly Mahoney to traditional publishers, Severeid is hard at work on the second in the Trix Donovan series. Donovan is the protagonist in The Death of Milly Mahoney.

“I'm working on the next book in the series and am pleased with how it's coming along. I've even gotten several emails from total strangers who say they can hardly wait to read the sequel, so that's fun, and I'm hearing from librarians who say they can't keep Milly on the shelf, that it's always checked out or has holds,” Severeid said. “I love these characters and want to work with them for a long time if I can.”

Severeid said her iUniverse experience has been nothing but positive and has really helped her get the ball rolling.

“I've been very pleased with the professionalism every step of the way, and with the individuals I've dealt with. iUniverse gives a lot of personal attention and support to the author, and they produce a quality product. Unlike some of the other POD or self-publishing options, iUniverse is honest about what they offer.”

While the fact that the book was previously-published by iUniverse had no effect on his decision to represent the book, Weimann does see some positives with POD.

“I think it is terrific for authors, as it has taken away the stigma that used to exist around 'self-published' books; readers now take these books very seriously,” he said.

The Literary Group International represents a wide variety of titles and authors including Johnny Damon’s Idiot (Crown, 2005) and Mindy Starns Clark’s Blind Dates Can Be Murder (Harvest House, 2006). Upcoming releases include The Alchemyst (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2007) by Michael Scott and The West Point Way by General Joseph Franklin.

To read more about Susanne Severeid and The Death of Milly Mahoney visit http://www.susannesevereid.com/. The website for the Literary Group International can be found at http://www.theliterarygroup.com/.

2006-08-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

Wiprud walks Crooked Path
to Publishing Success
Brian Wiprud traveled a long and winding road to acquire a traditional publishing contract. The Brooklyn author managed to ride a straightaway stretch with iUniverse and drive his mystery novel, Pipsqueak, from POD to a deal with Random House’s Bantam Dell Publishing Group.

Dell published Pipsqueak in June 2004, and Stuffed followed in 2005. His third book, Crooked, hit the shelves in August 2006, and a fourth, Sleep with the Fishes, will be out in October of this year.

Wiprud recently discussed how he made the jump from POD to traditionally-published author.

How did you feel when Pipsqueak first got picked up by Dell?
Suspicious. Dell kept wanting to see the manuscript of the next book—as did a lot of people at that time, so I was sort of like ‘get in line.’ But a number of publishers and agents had requested Pipsqueak and a manuscript for Stuffed, and none had gotten back to me. Sending out my work became just a process with no goal. So when Dell said they wanted to offer me a contract, I didn’t know what they were talking about. They had to say the words “we want to give you a two book contract” to make me realize that they wanted to publish me. But I still was suspicious. I mean, this must be some kind of mistake, right?

How did it all come about?
When I published Pipsqueak with iUniverse, I sent it to everybody who was anybody in the mystery publishing biz and it snowballed. People read it, recommended it on the Internet, and next thing I knew, I was not only nominated for a Lefty Award, but I also ended up winning and being nominated for a Barry Award. Talent and perseverance can actually work!

Did you shop Pipsqueak to agents and traditional publishers before going to a POD company? If so, what kind of reaction did you get from the agents/traditional publishers?
I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 660 rejections for six novels prior to Pipsqueak—the actual letters are in a box in a barn being eaten by mice. By the time I penned Pipsqueak, I’d more or less given up on traditional publishers and agents. Some of the editors and agents I’d been submitting to for fifteen years, so they probably saw my SASE and thought, “oh dear—not Wiprud again.” I even tried changing my nom de plume and mailing address, figuring I was a marked man. But when I saw what was possible with POD publishing, I said,”Tthe heck with them. They don’t get the privilege of rejecting Pipsqueak. I’m just coming out with it”.

You first published Sleep With The Fishes with another POD company before coming to iUniverse with Pipsqueak. What prompted the move and what was your iUniverse experience like?
I published a previous book, Sleep With The Fishes (coming out again this fall as a Dell mass market paperback) with Xlibris, and I don’t mind saying that they were terrible. Aside from pre-publication nightmares, when my book came out, they jacked the price up by a third, and it proved almost impossible to actually buy for three months after my launch. It was a disaster. Who is going to pay $24 for a trade paperback that takes months to arrive? iUniverse was the complete opposite with an utterly smooth pre-publication process. When it was ready, it was actually available and people bought it. The rest, as they say….

How much different is the Dell version of Pipsqueak from the iUniverse version?
Nothing huge in a narrative sense, but there are textural improvements that as soon as I saw the edits I said, “Of course!” I can’t stress enough the importance of having a professional editor. It’s great. Anybody going POD should hire the best freelance editor they can afford.

How did you go about marketing the book while it was with iUniverse?
I could go on for quite some time about that topic. Fundamentally, I found on-line reviewers who read and reviewed my book. I went to conventions, got involved in my genre, and listened to what published authors had to say about what you as an author can do to promote your books.

What kind of marketing are you doing for Crooked?
The last two years I took myself on tour. The first year I drove across country visiting independent bookstores and the second year I did a circuit of Florida bookstores. I’m taking a year off from touring this time around. I made bookstands for mystery bookstores that like my work and sell it so they could get the books off the shelf and closer to point of purchase. Buyers have to see your book, and if it sits spine out on the shelf, they are less likely to notice it.

What are the differences between marketing a traditionally-published book and a POD book? What are the similarities?
Again, I could go on and on, but for the new author even at a traditional publisher, you have to do a lot of your own promotions, so it's really very much the same. You have to get out there to the conventions, to the stores, and to the reviewers. Your publisher will send out advance reading copies, but the rest is up to you until your sales warrant them putting more bucks behind your product. Makes perfect sense. It’s a business.

Crooked came out on August 1 and you have another book, Sleep with the Fishes, coming out on October 1. What's the thought process behind releasing another book so soon after Crooked?
A one-two punch—sustained and expanded shelf presence.

Another former iUniverse author, Jennifer Colt, mentioned you on her Web site and in my interview with her. Is it important to network as an author?
Important? It’s essential. A lot of other people have traveled the same path: learn from them. Most authors are pretty generous with their time, although I limit myself to helping humor authors.

What are you reading right now? Who are some of your favorite authors and your biggest influences?
My biggest influence would be Donald Westlake. I just finished two of his Dortmunder books. I love his work and his work ethic. His advice to new authors is taken from the Nike ad campaign, “Just Do It.” He means that writing classes and all that can help, but the most important thing is to write a lot and become a better artist. You can’t expect to paint the Mona Lisa on your first try. This requires honing your craft, which can only come by “doing.”

What advice would you pass on to an author considering POD publishing?
I was fortunate to ride the first wave of POD publishing, but right after my wave came, a tsunami of authors with half-baked novels inundated reviewers and booksellers with crap. No doubt there were some decent novels in there that got washed away by the flood, books that with a little more work and polish may have stood out and survived. As you can imagine, people in the book business are now very picky about which POD books they will even consider reading. New authors contact me regularly, and they seem to think that it’s not so much about the book as about promotions. But it’s almost ALL about the book. You get one chance to be "new" to reviewers—don't blow it by pushing around a mediocre book. Your novel has to be terrific, a stand out, to make a splash, to be wildly original and at the same time embody a commonality to which readers gravitate. Have your book professionally edited and create a bold, pellucid opening chapter. Make the prose clean, and have a sharp cover done by an artist who does book covers. Amateur book covers scream POD mediocrity. It’s no secret that this market is very tight, and profit margins are slim. The big publishers have to be shrewd about what books they publish and what authors they decide can continue to produce a product that sells. For them to invest money in you, your work has to look like it will pay off. So expect to invest a lot of your time, and not a little of your own money, into becoming a professional author. This is not a get rich scheme. This is a career that requires diligence, practice, and fortitude, just like any other career.

Read more about Brian Wiprud and his books at http://www.wiprud.com/.

2006-07-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

Pratt Keeps Morcyth Saga Moving Along
“To be continued”—Don’t ya just hate that?

Can you imagine reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring and then having to wait years for The Two Towers to come out? Brian Pratt can, so he hasn’t wasted much time between releasing installments of his Morcyth Saga. He published the first book, The Unsuspecting Mage, in December 2005. The fifth book, The Star of Morcyth, just became available in June 2006.

In between, he’s also published The Fires of Prophecy, Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li and Trail of the Gods.

“Perhaps my main reason for writing the Morcyth Saga was due to the fact that other authors seemed to drag out a series and make the reader wait a long time for the next installment,” Pratt said. “Also, after having read many books over the years, I always wanted to try my hand at it. The series will be seven books, the fifth one is out now.”

Between the five books, Pratt has already sold more than 1,300 copies.

“Tried the newspaper announcement thing but that went nowhere; the one person who responded only put a small blurb in my hometown paper—hardly worth the effort,” Pratt said. “Chat rooms would be the most productive avenue I've tried. Drop your name, that you are an author and people start talking. Once they know you, they want to try your book. It's free advertising, all you spend is your time and I have a lot of that.”

Pratt discovered iUniverse with a simple Internet search after trying traditional publishing first.

“The publishers I've tried have all turned me down as well as the half dozen agents I sent letters to. At first, I was excited, but as the rejections came in, I sort of gave up on that avenue and am simply working word of mouth. The numbers say it's going well.

“Everyone I've dealt with at iUniverse has been most helpful. The publication process goes well and the cover design is great. Very happy all way around.”

Pratt list Raymond E. Feist, Isaac Asimov, Piers Anthony and J.R.R. Tolkien among his biggest influences. You can read more about Pratt and the Morcyth Saga at http://www.morcythsaga.com/.

2006-06-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Photos by Eycke Strickland

Severeid takes Sequim

iUniverse author Susanne Severeid recently enjoyed a very successful book signing and self-publishing seminar in the Olympic Theatre Arts Center in Sequim, WA. Severeid, who's mystery-thriller The Death of Milly Mahoney was published by iUniverse in August 2005, moved to Sequim late last year.

About 70 people attended Severeid's event and she quickly sold out of her copies.

"I spoke off the cuff for some 2 1/2 hours about my experience writing and self-publishing "Milly"...plus answered tons of questions," Severeid said. "People were still asking questions, buying books, etc. I've already been asked to address a local authors' group, and have been asked to do this presentation again so that others who couldn't make this one can attend."

Read an early interview with Severeid here. Check out her website at www.susannesevereid.com.

2006-05-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

From iU to Broadway:
Colt hits the 'Big Time'
In one way or another, we all want to go to “the show”—whether that means getting called up by the Yankees or the Sox, landing a part in a Broadway play or signing a traditional publishing contract.

iUniverse helped Jennifer Colt hone her skills before she made her Broadway debut—literally! Colt’s series of comedic mystery novels featuring twins Kerry and Terry McAfee was picked up by Broadway Publishing Group, a division of Random House. Her first book, The Butcher of Beverly Hills, came out under the Broadway imprint in July of 2005, while The Mangler of Malibu Canyon hits stores in June 2006. Both books were originally published by iUniverse. A third book in the series, The Vampire of Venice Beach, is scheduled to be released in March 2007.

Colt shared her thoughts on marketing Mangler and her experience moving from iUniverse to the “big leagues” of traditional publishing.

How does the Broadway version of The Mangler of Malibu Canyon differ from the original version published with iUniverse? Can you describe the editorial process for the first two Broadway books?
The first thing my editor told me was that I needed to pump up the romance. I had been reticent about that because I planned to do a long-running series, and didn't want to burn out all my romantic storylines in the first few books. I was also afraid to slow down the action. But after the deal was made, I had many months in which to revise all three manuscripts before we signed, and I managed to develop the romantic arcs of my characters in a very fun way.

My editor also cut some of the gore, and gently pointed out to me that most novels contain detailed descriptions of characters and locations. I was so used to writing screenplays, I'd left too much of that to the imagination. All in all, the books are much better reads now.

What kind of marketing plans do you have for The Mangler of Malibu Canyon? Will you be doing a book tour of some kind? Anything that will take you to the fair state of Nebraska? Will you be at BookExpo America in D.C.?
Unfortunately, no to both venues. We’re concentrating on the West Coast (read: cheaper travel.) It just makes sense because the books are set here, and Los Angeles/San Diego is a big market. I'm planning to go to Bouchercon in the fair state of Wisconsin (which I've visited before), but that's about it for travel. If people are interested, my local schedule will be published soon on http://www.jennifercolt.com/. So far, I'm confirmed at B&N on the Third Street Promenade, June 21st at 7:30 pm.

How much of the marketing is your responsibility? Do you come up with your own ideas for marketing or does the publisher and/or agent dictate/contribute?
It's both. The publisher does a fair amount for new writers, but obviously the established names get the lion's share of the advertising and promotion dollars. (Chicken/egg controversy, anyone?)

I’ve been much more involved in promotion for this book. I've set up contests on other Web sites, and I’ve reworked my own site to include contests and games, etc. I didn't do much promotion on Butcher because my publisher had originally scheduled the books to be released six months apart, and I thought, “Holy cow, if they want books to release every six months, I'd better get cranking!” So I wrote a fourth while waiting for the contract and a fifth while I was waiting for Butcher to come out.

What kind of goals do you have for the book from a sales standpoint?
You have no control over it, so the only reasonable goal to have is that people will find the book and enjoy it. If they do, they'll spread the word.

Can you describe your feelings when Jenny Bent called to sign you, when Broadway picked up the books, when you held the Broadway version in your hands for the first time? Where does holding your first book from iUniverse rank on that list?
When I got my iUniverse copy, my husband and I both had the same reaction: "Hey, it's a book!" It was so different from the piles of loose paper lying around, and so gratifying to hold in my hand. It was pretty thrilling.

On my first call with Jenny, I sounded like a complete idiot. She asked me what kind of publishing deal I envisioned, and I'd given it absolutely no thought, so I blurted out something like, "Makes no difference. If you publish it, they will come." Apparently she felt strongly enough about the material to sign me anyway. She told me she thought people were going to be excited about the books. Next thing you know, we were off to the races.

There was much dancing around the living room when the Broadway version arrived in the mail. This time our reaction was: "Hey, it's a book! And it glows in the dark!" After the initial excitement wore off, I was scared to death about what was to come.

You've talked about it a bit in other interviews, but what role did publishing with iUniverse play in eventually having your books picked up by a traditional publisher?
Well, I'd have to answer "everything." Publishing with iUniverse gave me the sense of being a real author. I had to finish the manuscript because of a self-imposed deadline, then I had to let go of it (the hardest thing to do, stop editing). Following that, I got to experience that lovely jumping-without-a-parachute feeling that comes from knowing it's going to be typeset for all time, and people may reject it utterly as a book.

I was able to get reviews because it was a real, physical book that could be mailed out. The good reviews gave me hope that I wasn't wasting my time. I was on a learning curve in terms of writing a novel and became more confident each time I published. I think if I’d been picked up initially by a big publisher and sent out there to sink or swim, I might have been too addled to continue writing.

By the time I'd finished Vampire of Venice Beach, I had begun to understand my writing process, and the reviews I'd amassed made all the difference in getting an agent and a deal.

Love the covers of the Broadway books. Did you have any input on them?
I love them too, but can't take any credit. I know they worked very hard on them at Broadway because I saw several iterations before they came up with the final series look.

Who are some of your influences? Who are you reading right now?
Right now I'm gazing longingly at a stack of unread books on the end table. They include works by Robert Crais, Patricia Highsmith, Jeffrey Deaver, Nero Wolfe, Brian Wiprud, Barry Eisler, Richard Matheson, Zadie Smith, plus a nonfiction book entitled Spook and a metaphysical book called The God Code. The last book I remember reading was Hannibal (again). What a trip!

My comedy/satire influences are: Janet Evanovich, Dave Barry, Carl Hiaasen, Donald Westlake, Loony Tunes (seriously), Christopher Moore, Elmore Leonard, Susan Isaacs, Tom Robbins, Helen Fielding, Lucille Ball, Peter Sellers, Preston Sturges, P.G. Wodehouse, and many more...Saying they're "influences" is just another way of saying I love them.

Two fabulously funny writers I've recently discovered are Mark Haskell Smith (Moist) and Tim Dorsey (Cadillac Beach). Also, a guy named Duane Swierczynski, who wrote an amazing book called Secret Dead Men. (Sorry to get carried away with the answer, but I'm a fan first and foremost.)

You mention Brian Wiprud on your Web site, another iUniverse author who has gone on to the big leagues. Is it important to network as an author? Do you exchange ideas for stories and marketing ideas?
We all exchange marketing ideas, but rarely talk about the actual books. I have a new friend I met at MWA (Mystery Writers of America), a genius by the name of Brett Ellen Block. Strangely for a genius, she possesses a good business sense. Without her prodding I might have procrastinated promoting the book until two weeks before the it came out. Brian is always on me about that stuff, too. Writer friends are great for keeping you mentally afloat in this wacky business.

What can you tell us about your next book, The Vampire of Venice Beach (March 2007)?
That it kicks ass! Basically, it's more of the same. An outrageous plot, funny dialogue, lots of action, plenty of twists. My protagonists Terry and Kerry McAfee (identical twin PI's) are hired to do crowd control at the "Coming out of the Coffin" parade in Venice Beach. When Ephemera, Queen of the Undead, falls out of her coffin with puncture wounds on her neck and her blood drained, the McAfees are on the case. They pursue the murderer into the murky underworld of "social vampires"—fanged individuals who live on the dark side of the street (and who are addicted to the taste of human blood.)

I like the publisher's line: "Will the girls get their ghoul?"

Read more about Jennifer and her books at www.jennifercolt.com.

2006-04-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

Morning Glory Blossoms
With POD-DY Mouth Review

Brian A. Massey’s Morning Glory’s Long Lost Order of Worship recently collected the Needle Award in the Literary category from blogger POD-DY Mouth. The momentum from the award has helped Massey, who has published four books with iUniverse, land an agent. Massey selected Kristin Nelson to represent his work after receiving inquires from six agents and one editor following the award announcement.

Getting a review for a print-on-demand book from a reputable outlet can be difficult, but blogger POD-DY Mouth, a traditionally-published novelist who chooses to remain anonymous, waded through over 6,000 requests and reviewed 50 print-on-demand books over the past year. From those 50, she chose 10 Needle Award nominees, five in the commercial category and five in the literary category, before choosing a winner in both areas.

Ms Mouth raved about Morning Glory in her review. “This is the hidden antique in the corner of the old store that no one realized was a rare artifact. This is that diamond, that needle. The lotto ticket just came in,” she said.

Morning Glory follows Steer McAlilly, a young Presbyterian minister, who’s life is jumbled after a sexual indiscretion with a beautiful 19-year-old member of his congregation.

What was your initial reaction to winning the Needle Award?
I was honored and delighted. Girl on Demand says that she received nearly 6000 requests to review novels. Girl chose fifty, and every one she picked was excellent in its own way. Ten were nominated for the Needle Award (five literary, five commercial), and these were judged by two separate panels of New York agents and editors. You can only pray to finish on top in a competition that fierce. To do so is to take a lesson in unending gratitude.

How did you first hear about the POD-DY Mouth blog? How did you go about submitting your book to her?
I heard about the blog in April of last year, not long after its inception, via a message board. Soon after Morning Glory was published, I emailed Girl the sell sheet I’d put together with the help of iUniverse’s marketing toolkit. She said she was intrigued and asked me to email her the PDF.

What kind of interest has the Needle Award generated for Morning Glory? I understand you signed with an agent. Who did you sign with? Did you have multiple offers for representation? How are you coming on landing a traditional publisher?
Six agents and one editor wrote almost immediately to ask for copies of the novel. The agent I signed with is Kristin Nelson, head of the Nelson Literary Agency. She called to say she had finished Morning Glory in one night and loved it. I cannot say enough kind things about Kristin to do her justice. I was impressed--no--overjoyed with her conviviality, as well as her knowledge of literature. From our first conversation, I knew Kristin was the right agent for me. What a delight it was to be offered a place among her impressive list of clients. I’m happy to report that Kristin has already begun shopping Morning Glory
to traditional publishers.

Can you describe your writing/revising/editing process? What kind of critical feedback do you receive prior to submitting the book and from who?
Some writers are sprinters, but I prefer the marathon approach: I write five days a week, trying to get each line right as I go I compose on a computer and use a pen for revising. Each day, my first task is to revise the previous night’s printout. After I’ve typed in changes, I’m warmed up and ready to begin writing new material.

Once I have the first draft of a novel completed, I like to let it breathe awhile and work on something else--sometimes a shorter piece of nonfiction, sometimes the rough draft of a previous novel. This gives me distance. When I start revising, I like to feel as if the work were written by someone else. Revision typically takes as long as the actual writing. On average, I go through a manuscript eight to ten times. At first, I’m on the lookout for any larger story and character elements that need work. The final passes are about smoothing sentences, copy editing, fact checking.

Fortunately, I’m married to someone with excellent editorial skills. My wife, Maria, has a degree in English and received quite a bit of creative writing instruction from her grandmother, M. J. Amft, a widely published author of short stories. Maria gives me feedback during the early stages of a project, and she helps a great deal with proofreading and fact checking in the later stages. POD publishing gives both of us that extra motivation to make sure the book is camera-ready, as perfect as we can possibly make it. We are always aware (and wary) that it will pass through no editorial filters beyond our own.

Tell me about the cover for Morning Glory? How did you come up with it? Was it difficult to get permission to use?
The cover art is a reproduction of an original painting by my father-in-law, Warren Linn. Warren has been a freelance illustrator for many years. He’s a dedicated artist who has showcased his work in Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, and The New York Times--places all of us would like to see our work. Was is it difficult to get permission? No. Warren’s a generous guy. The piece is titled St. Francis. I love it for its central image of a red-nosed man climbing toward the light of heaven with a rosary in his hands. The hero of Morning Glory, Steer McAlilly, is a Protestant minister, but I love the ecumenism of Warren’s painting. Aren’t we all climbing toward heaven with a peace offering to God in our hands? Aren’t we all in some way saying, ‘I didn’t do my best. Forgive me?’

What's your latest writing project?
The best perk of fiction writing is that one asks his own heart in solitude and secrecy to explore big questions about the meaning of life. An artist searches for answers that will truly enthrall him, pump into him enough ego and adrenaline to go on and write a book. Only after this enchantment occurs within himself does he dare hope that others might wish to see the record of his travels. So, my latest project is my place of solitude for now. I hope others will want to come and visit later. It’s like your best and quietest fishing spot. You want to keep it to yourself for awhile; then you start to invite your friends along.

You mention Jack Kerouac in your author bio. Who are some of your other influences?
Yes, Kerouac and all of the Beats are favorites of mine. They are possessed of a joy that paints in all of human experience, an irreverent exuberance that doesn’t exclude the poor, the downtrodden. At its best, their work has all the harmony and dissonance of jazz; it’s verbal music, sentences and stanzas created one breath at a time. From the larger world of literature, my greatest influences have been Shakespeare, Cervantes, Voltaire, Moliere, and Balzac. Among modern Brits, I admire Graham Greene and John Fowles. As for Americans, my true favorite is John Steinbeck. Without sacrificing his sense of place, his roots, he attempts to write a different sort of book each time out. As our great novelists go, he is one of a very few who possesses that enormous variety of emotion, the palette of bright and dark humanity that brings us to the truth of who we are; laughter competes with sobs for page space in his work. Happiness usually loses the battle in a Steinbeck story, but his characters go on hoping for better times. America has yet to produce a writer more worthy of emulation.

You published The Revenants with iUniverse in 2001. How did you first learn about iUniverse? What are your impressions of our process?
The first time I heard of iUniverse and seriously considered using their service was when Marshall Frank wrote about his experiences in the Southeastern Mystery Writers of America newsletter. His testimony was so close to my own, I was convinced to give iUniverse a try. I’ve been consistently impressed by your process--it is efficient and user-friendly.

Did you shop your books to agents and traditional publishers prior to submitting to iUniverse? What was that process like? Any memorable rejections?
Several years before I sent my work to iUniverse, I was under contract with a large literary agency in New York. With a good deal of regret, I left that agency in the hopes of finding more creative freedom. For a writer with serious aims, this is the most laudable thing POD publishers offer: the opportunity to speak truths you may not be let to speak in the traditional marketplace. None of my last three iUniverse novels were seen by agents or traditional publishers. At that time, I felt I had to focus my energies solely on getting the books written and out into the world.

How have things changed at iUniverse since your first book (besides price increases!)?
The most palpable change in POD publishing since the printing of my first book (2001) is the steadily eroding promise of print-on-demand technology in bookstores. That is, I believe, why many authors signed on. For some reason, the miracle machines never landed in the chain stores. No POD author with any sense ever expected to compete for shelf space with the big houses, but many of us believed in the fairy tale of our own corner cupboard, a small space where our POD books would be made for the customer one copy at a time.

Where can iUniverse improve the most?
It’s an uphill battle to get bricks and mortar stores to carry POD books, but if iUniverse could work out a way to accept returns, authors might at least be able to see their work in their hometown bookstores. This said, I still must praise iUniverse for treating each of my books with respect and delivering a fine product each time. Were it not for iUniverse, my novel would never have been reviewed at POD-DY Mouth, I would never have won the Needle Award, and I most certainly would never have signed with the agent of my best dreams without sending out even one query letter. I began this interview by using the word gratitude, and believe me, I have a heart full of it for the good folks out in Lincoln, Nebraska who took a box of paper called Morning Glory’s Long Lost Order of Worship and transformed it into a book.

In addition to Morning Glory's Lost Order of Worship, Massey has published The Revenants, Shadow Clock and Blind Horses with iUniverse. Visit his website at www.brianagincourtmassey.com.

2006-03-21T17:26:00.000-08:00

Boy King Mystery
Investigated in Tut
Investigating ancient mysteries has become a hot fiction genre over the past few years. Whether it’s Dan Brown searching for the Holy Grail in The DaVinci Code or Elizabeth Kosovo tracking down Dracula’s Tomb in The Historian, solving those puzzles has held millions of readers entranced.

iUniverse author Robin Berard, a middle school teacher in South Florida, investigates the mystery surrounding the death of King Tut in her juvenile fiction novel, Tut: The story of the pharaoh and the girl who loved him.

The story is told through the eyes of 15-year-old JoAnne Wilson, who’s bored with her school work. JoAnne gains first-hand knowledge of Tut’s fate, when her social studies teacher finds an interesting way to challenge her.

Ms Berard recently shared some insight on how she came to write the book.

How did you first become interested in the mystery surrounding Tutankhamun? What inspired you to begin writing the book?
This is a very long story, but the short version is: I had been looking for an idea, wondering if I could write a novel. I was teaching 6th grade social studies at the time (I now teach 8th grade Language Arts) and we were doing a webquest—studying whether or not King Tut was murdered or died of natural causes. One of my students commented, "Wouldn't it be great if we could take a field trip back in time and find out what really happened?" That was the moment at which the book was born.

What kind of reaction to the book have you gotten from your fellow teachers, your students and the community?
All have been very supportive. I was a bit nervous when I decided to publish the book because I didn't want people to feel that they had to say nice things; however, my whole school has been positive and supportive. We recently used the book for a book club discussion. That was very strange for me -- listening to other people interpret the book. I have received wonderful emails from people I don't know.

Are you able to incorporate the book into your class?
More for the writing than the content. I use it to show kids how I revise and so forth. Many of our sixth grade classes, who cover that content, have been able to use it. Also, the Tut exhibit is currently nearby in Ft. Lauderdale, so there are many Broward schools currently talking about the book. It also just made the middle school summer reading list (we have 40 middle schools!), so that is VERY exciting.

Who are some of your writing influences?
Another long story. I cannot claim to have had that one influential teacher -- at least not in middle or high school. When I was about 35, I went back to school to earn another degree, and that was the first time a teacher suggested that I should consider writing. Her name was Dr. Cyrene Wells at the University of Maine. Of course, I have read so many wonderful novels...

Did you seek traditional publishing prior to coming to iUniverse? Can you describe that experience?
Yes, I started to do that, but then I found out that the Tut exhibit was due in Ft. Lauderdale in a couple of months, so I decided to "get the book out there" to coincide with that event. It's important to note, however, that I've never thought of this book as valuable only in light of the exhibit. I did query a few agents; those who responded were not interested in EGYPT (politically unpopular?), and many of them did not want to handle "time travels." The publishing business is so difficult to break into... as we all know.

What is your impression of the iUniverse process? Was the editorial evaluation helpful?
My husband and I are both impressed with the iUniverse process, and we think that we got our money's worth and then some. The editorial evaluation certainly gave me a good deal of confidence as it was very positive.

How have you been marketing the book?
Lucky me to be in the school system. I feel this has been a HUGE factor, and it will continue to be a factor as summer months approach. We have notified Barnes and Noble stores and Borders stores throughout Broward that the book is on the summer reading list. Also, I have been told that the Broward Public Library system just ordered copies of the book for their collections in order to provide books to summer readers. Many of my teacher friends have passed the book to their friends in public and private schools, so there is currently a lot of buzz being generated. The museum people have been less helpful. I approached them about carrying the book in their bookstore, but they seemed wrapped up in red tape.

The end of the book strongly hints at a sequel. How's that coming along? Can you share anything about where Jo travels?
Yes, definitely a sequel—I'm thinking possibly a trilogy. I want to share a comment that a parent made to me at the recent book club discussion. She told me that the book had changed her daughter's life because she "would never view social studies the same way." Wow. That took my breath away because way back in the beginning, when I first started writing this book, I wanted kids to enjoy social studies and to understand that people who lived long ago were REAL and lived fascinating lives and fell in love... So, I love the thought of breathing life into social studies. As to the setting of Book Two (untitled, but about half done), you can probably guess the time period (if you reread the last page or two) but I'll keep LOCATION a secret for now. The research I am currently conducting is fascinating!

2006-03-10T14:42:00.000-08:00

Vlad Heads Back to Europe!
iUniverse author Michael Augustyn and agent Judy Klein have sold the Italian rights for Augustyn's historical novel, Vlad Dracula, to Newton & Compton Editori.

Movie rights for the novel have been purchased by Our Thing Productions.

2006-02-17T17:09:00.000-08:00

Novelist Harley Jane Kozak grew up in Lincoln, NE.

Kozak's career takes her from Lincoln to Hollywood and to a Barnes & Noble store near you

What do iUniverse and traditionally-published novelist Harley Jane Kozak have in common? Roots. Kozak spent many of her formative years in Lincoln, NE. The same place iUniverse calls home.

Before her first book, Dating Dead Men (Doubleday, 2004), hit the book stores, Kozak was wandering the halls of Lincoln East High School (she graduated in 1975).

She made her name as an actress with roles on daytime’s The Guiding Light and Santa Barbara as well as big screen releases The Favor, Necessary Roughness and Arachnophobia before her writing career moved to the forefront.

Kozak’s second book, Dating is Murder, was published by Doubleday in March 2005. Both books feature protagonist Wollie Shelley, a greeting card artist turned amateur detective.

She recently shared some of her thoughts on growing up in Lincoln and how Dating Dead Men moved from manuscript to published book.

How did growing up in Lincoln influence you as a writer, actress and person? Any role models from Lincoln that helped encourage you to pursue acting and writing?
Lincoln was a great place to grow up in. As we lived on a farm through most of my childhood, there was a lot of alone time, with the dogs, the cats, the fields and the sky. At the time I thought I was lonely, but in retrospect I see that it was perfect for developing my imagination.

I had a lot of role models in Lincoln, including Jon Peterson and E. Mike Dobbins from Lincoln East High, Dave Landis, an incredibly generous and talented man who made me believe in myself, and David Bell and Dr. William Morgan at UNL in the theatre department. Writing didn't come until later in life for me, so my influences there weren't so much Nebraska writers, although there is certainly no shortage of literary talent in Lincoln.

I saw you had a book signing in Lincoln in March 2005. Do you get back this way much? Any public appearances planned?
I probably won't get back there until my third book comes out, in 2007.

When you first began writing Dating Dead Men was getting it published always your main objective or did that goal emerge later?
Once I realized that what I had on my hands was a novel, not a short story or screenplay, yes. I knew from the start that publishing it was the goal.

How did you pursue publication for the book? Did you send out a ton of query letters to agents? Was your notoriety as an actress helpful in landing an agent and a publishing contract? How did that process go for you? Any particularly memorable rejections? Any advice for a new author going down that path?
I pursued agents in the regular way, accumulating rejection letters, but then found my agent out in left field (so to speak.) A friend of mine named Karen Joy Fowler (a remarkable writer) had my manuscript on her kitchen table when a friend of HERS, named Kelly Link (another remarkable writer) picked it up, read it, liked it, and called HER agent, who then asked to read it.

As for my notoriety—as an actress, I'm not notorious enough for it to have made much of a difference for agents or editors—I doubt most of them have heard of me. But it certainly didn't hurt when it came to marketing the book, as booking actresses or former actresses on TV or radio is much easier than booking novelists. And of course, any old fans of mine out there are more likely to buy my books than are total strangers, so it's undoubtedly helped with sales.

One memorable rejection came from an agent who said, "you may have a publishable book in you, but this isn't it." (it was sold 8 months later to Doubleday.)

The only advice I have for new writers is: make the book as absolutely perfect as you can, using whatever resources—classes, books on writing, friends with a good editorial eye—and then, when you KNOW it's good, send it out and don't give up. If your instincts and intuition tell you it's good, as well as a few trusted readers (your mother may or may not qualify), don't give up. Of course, for me, that point came after 8+ years and 17 drafts. But I'm slow.

After the book was picked up, was the editorial process what you expected? Was it a difficult process or smooth sailing? Was the second book easier in that respect?
It was all pretty smooth sailing. With the second book, the only tough thing was a title change, which I ultimately got used to. In both cases, I was blessed with people at Doubleday who were lovely to work with and genuinely liked my books.

Do you have much input on the cover designs?
Very little.

How much responsibility do you have for the marketing of your books? Any particular aspect of the marketing process that you especially enjoy?
You can do as little or as much as you want/enjoy/can afford, but it makes a huge difference. An author who's willing to take charge of her own marketing will enjoy much more success, and much more support from her publisher, than one who sits back and waits to be told what to do. In my case, my publisher was sufficiently impressed with my own efforts on the first book, that they started to pick up the check for my tour halfway through it, and with the second book, duplicated what I'd done the first time out, paying for the whole thing.

I saw in another interview that there was some discussion of a movie or TV series based on the books. Any news in that department? (after reading Dating Dead Men, I thought it would be a great sister show to Monk).
Thanks! Dating Dead Men has been optioned for TV development by Aaron Spelling, but in Hollywood, that means very little. It's only Step 2 or 3 in a 798-step process required to get something from printed page onto the network schedule. We could all grow old waiting for it to happen.

How’s the third book coming along? When can we look for it in stores?
I'm on page 402 of the first draft, which sounds like a lot, unless you're me, who makes HUGE changes between Draft 1 and the subsequent 14 drafts. I expect it will be out sometime mid-to-late 2007, as it usually takes a year from the time you turn it in (my deadline is August 1, 2006) until it hits the bookstore shelves.

Who are some of your favorite contemporary authors? What book are you reading currently?
Right now I'm reading my friends Sarah Strohmeyer's upcoming book The Cinderella Pact and I just finished a phenomenal book by a new author named Cornelia Read, which will be out this year very soon. It's called Field of Darkness. I'm also reading my friend Marcus Wynne's book Brothers in Arms and—oh, yes. The Iliad. As research for the book I'm writing.

Vist Harley's website at www.harleyjanekozak.com.

2006-01-24T16:18:00.000-08:00

Young Oregon Author Defies Classification
Don’t try to pigeonhole MaCherie Doerfler or her writing. When she self-published her first book with iUniverse, Tabitha, as a high school sophomore, she generated comparisons to young writing phenom Christopher Paolini. While Tabitha fell into the romance category, Doerfler’s latest effort, Internal Gold, is in more of a fantasy vein. It’s Fairy tale–themed plot may invite comparisons to one of her heroes, Gregory Maguire.

How long have you been writing stories? When did you begin to think about publishing your work?
Like most writers, I suppose, I started out as a reader. Read everything, everywhere, all the time. Nearly got ran over by a car once. Then I began writing short stories in sixth grade for school, and found out I loved it. In seventh grade, I made a few feeble attempts at writing a novel, and in eighth grade I did it. I'm definitely ambitious; and I knew right away that if I was going to put so much time and energy, and so much of my soul, into writing this novel, that I wanted to publish it.

Who are some of your favorite authors? How do they influence your work?
I love Robin McKinley's books. She has strong, independent heroines, realistically flawed in a rather endearing way, and she has a unique sense of magic: vague, yet a part of life. Lately, I've also become a fanatical fan of Gregory Maguire. What I love most about his writing is his sense of irony, his edgy dialogue, and his insight on human nature. And yes, I'm a Harry Potter fan. The characters and places in Harry Potter seem to truly exist. I feel like I've gone to Hogwarts with Harry. These are all things I value a lot in a story, and I think that they definitely show up in my own writing.

How do you approach writing. A newspaper article mentioned that you try to write at least 300 words a night? How much revision do you do? Do you have a group of people that read through the work for you?
My 300 hundred words a night became: "Okay, so I'll write 1,000 words a day over the break, and uh, 800 on Saturday, and 1,500 on Sunday, and I could probably fit in 200 words a day over the week after I finish my homework, tomorrow's impossible..." I don't really have much of a revision plan. I rewrite when I feel like I need to rewrite. As long as I don't hear that little voice screaming, "This sucks! Go back! It stinks like your brother's gym socks!" I usually just keep going. When I complete a chapter, I send it to a friend whom I can trust to be honest to read it for content. My first novel was read by a teacher, while Internal Gold was read by a classmate/friend who reads almost nothing but fantasy novels. Still looking to join a writing group...

Who are your biggest supporters? (friends/teachers/parents)
I'm fortunate to have people around me who support me at school, at home, at iUniverse, and around the community, but when it comes down to it, I am my own biggest supporter. It's because I have to be. I'm the only person who knows how serious I am about writing. I can't ever doubt myself because there's always someone else to do it for me: "But it'll be really tough writing as a career...You should have a back up plan...It'll be a hard life..." People with back up plans fall back on them. I just have to remind myself during the difficult parts that this is what I want to do, and that I can do it. And when I'm feeling really overwhelmed, I tack a photo of the person on the wall and throw darts at it. (To those who haven't tried it, it's a blast.)

What do you enjoy most about writing? What do you feel you’re best at? What is the most difficult part of writing?
I've been told by teachers that I have a rare gift for dialogue. (Which is funny, because I never know what to say in real life.) I enjoy writing dialogue; I think it moves the story along in a way more interesting than stating what's going on, and it gives more personality to the characters. This can be translated into playwriting, and I've written a few plays and have won an award for one. However, with plays I have a lot less freedom because I must always be conscious of whether it can be easily staged and how it will look performed.

I think my other strong point is creating funny, interesting, believable characters that readers grow to care about. I love having people who have read my books come up to me and talk about Tabitha and Gleda as if they were real people, or say they cried when...well, I don't want to give anything away.

The most difficult is making enough time. With school, art, chores, and rehearsals if I'm in a play--well, it's no wonder I'm already a coffee nut.

What kind of goals do you have for your books and your writing career?
Nothing huge. New York Times Bestseller. Maybe a Pulitzer one day. That's about it. But in all seriousness, I want to grow as a writer throughout my life, learn all I can, and shoot for as high as I can.

How did you feel when your first copy of Tabitha arrived?
Probably how my parents felt when they first held me: "Isn't she beautiful!" And then, "Is it just me, or is she a funny color?" And finally, "Now what do I do?"

What kind of reaction did you get from your classmates when Tabitha first came out?
Mostly, "Did you write a book?!" The most surprising reaction I got was "You're my idol!" The notion that I was anybody's idol seemed absurd and made me laugh for quite a while once I got home. However, what I will always remember most is, "I read you're book and...and it was really funny! I never knew...wow, it was funny." Yes, I do have a sense of humor. Shocking, isn't it?

What kind of media attention did you get when Tabitha came out?
A lot of local papers did articles, and the school paper, etc. The biggest appeal to reporters, I suppose, is my age, and the articles tended to focus on that. While "Wow, she's only fifteen!" is totally fantastic, sometimes I secretly wish they would have put, "Wow, what a great read!" regardless of my age. The reporters didn't seem to have read even the back cover. I'm grateful for any publicity, but "She's so young" doesn't necessarily translate into "She's a good writer"--and I believe a lot of people have low expectations of my work, which is really frustrating. An article came out in the Stayton Mail today about Internal Gold, and there was about one to two short paragraphs about my actual book, which didn't really capture what it was about at all.

Internal Gold is science fiction/fantasy while Tabitha was a romance. Was it difficult to switch genres? Was it your goal to do something completely different the second time out?
The first novel I ever attempted was fantasy. Then I got stuck and tried a Regency romance, because I was in phase where I positively adored Jane Austen's books and anything else in the same time period. I still enjoy her books, but fantasy is my first love. While Tabitha was fun, writing Internal Gold was more adventurous, magical, and an altogether transforming experience.

What are you working on currently?
I'm currently working on another fantasy, called Ice Everlasting. I'm about halfway through. Like Internal Gold, it takes basic elements of a fairy tale--this time Snow White--and turns it into something totally unique. It has magic, a heroine who can beat up a guy twice her size, cheeky monkeys, an evil queen, a company of performers, a bohemian city located within an enchanted mountain, a wronged prince seeking revenge--all the fun stuff.

What are some of your other interests outside of writing?
Art and theatre. I've been doing art before I was writing. Shortly after, I got involved in theatre, and I've done several plays at school and at a community theatre. Art helped me become more creative. Theatre taught me about people. It taught me to be open-minded, and not to be afraid of failure. I believe art and theatre have helped me become a better writer. I also consider art and acting as career options in addition to writing.

How did you go about researching your publishing options? What led you to choose iUniverse?
Simplicity. Friendly people who didn't say on the phone, "Uh, could I talk to your parents?" And an amazing package! Nothing really compared.

2005-12-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

Don Haskins (left) and Ray Sanchez at a booksigning to promote the rerelease of Haskins: The Bear Facts.
Sanchez talks with Josh Lucas, who plays Coach Haskins in the upcoming Disney film Glory Road.

iU Author Ray Sanchez
Helps Pave Glory Road
Disney’s new film Glory Road chronicles the high point of legendary basketball coach Don Haskins career, his run to the 1966 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship with Texas Western (now known as the University of Texas-El Paso).

Haskins and his Texas Western team made history by being the first team to start five African-American players in the championship game. The contrast between the two teams in the final was stark as the Texas Western Miners faced an all-white team from the University of Kentucky.

El Paso sportswriter Ray Sanchez reported on Haskins’ team and later published two books, Haskins: The Bear Facts and Basketball’s Biggest Upset. Both books have been reissued through iUniverse’s Authors Choice/Out-Of-Print program.

How did you first become involved with Coach Haskins on his biography?
As a sportswriter and sports editor I followed and covered Don Haskins' career since he arrived in El Paso in 1961. In fact, I was the first news person he met on his arrival in El Paso. We began a long and exciting connection and friendship.

Can you describe the process of writing Haskins: The Bear Facts?
Haskins became the greatest coach in the history of University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and one of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball. But no one had ever written a book about him so I took on the task myself. After much urging, he agreed to co-operate with me on his autobiography. We would meet in early mornings (he was still coaching then, 1986) for many days and he told me the history of his life. The book, Haskins: The Bear Facts, was published in 1987 and was re-released this year with an update.

What was your involvement with the new movie Glory Road?
The whole process of the movie Glory Road started with my books. Screenwriter Christopher Cleveland called me, said he had read both Haskins: The Bear Facts and Basketball's Biggest Upset and wanted to do a movie. He and Disney Studios used my books extensively for background and I became a consultant for the movie. I'm officially listed as a consultant in the credits. I helped Christopher with the script, all the players in the movie were provided a copy of Basketball's Biggest Upset and I helped actor Josh Lucas, who portrayed Haskins in the movie, with background on the personal habits and personality of the coach. I also helped Disney researchers and provided them with information.

What led you to republish the books with iUniverse?
The demand for both books increased with the announcement of the movie. I sought advice on re-publishing them from Jim Fensch, who had published many books with iUniverse before. He had moved to El Paso. He encouraged me strongly to contact iUniverse because he had much success with that company.

How has the process with iUniverse worked for you?
Fantastic. The people are friendly, co-operative and have done one whale of a job.

You were at the El Paso Herald-Post for the Texas Western championship. Tell us more about your journalism career and what you are up to today.
I started as a sport writer at the El Paso Herald-Post while still in college (Texas Western College then) and went on to become sports editor. I covered almost every conceivable major sport, including Super Bowls, World Series games, Triple Crown races, the Dallas Cowboys and, of course, the Miners and NCAA events. After my retirement in 1990 my services were highly sought locally. I wrote a weekly column for the El Paso Times and I am now writing a sports column for a new paper here, El Paso Inc. I am also freelancing. I have written or co-written four other books. They're The gods of Racing, Baseball: From Browns to Diablos, El Paso's Greatest Sports Heroes I Have Known and The Miners: The History of Sports at University of Texas at El Paso.

I have received many awards, including Scripps Howard awards for column writing and news reporting and have received UTEP's highest honor for journalism, the Hicks-Middagh award for "Excellence in Journalism."

2005-12-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

Angels book comes
Out of the Blue
While the Boston Red Sox’s “Reversing the Curse” run to the 2004 World Series Championship has been well-chronicled and who knows what kind of tomes the White Sox 2005 title will bring, not all World Series championships are as well documented.

Joe Haakenson helps give the 2002 Anaheim Angels their due with Out of the Blue, published with iUniverse.

Haakenson, who covered the Angels for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, a group of papers that includes the Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Pasadena Star-News and San Gabriel Valley Tribune among others, was pleased with his iUniverse experience.

“I’m happy with it overall,” he said. “I especially like how the cover and back cover came out. However, the quality of the pictures on the interior were not as good as I expected.

“The production process went smoothly. Cecilia (Cuevas) was my contact and she was helpful with the questions I had.”

Haakenson said he has some modest plans to market the book since it is coming out three years after the championship season.

“I’m hoping to get an advertisement in the newspaper I worked for,” he said. “I feel a little weird trying to come out and advertise hard now considering the book is on the championship season of 2002, over three years ago.

“I’ve gotten a word of congratulations from one of the top people in the team’s front office. I plan to sign a copy to give to the manager, Mike Scioscia. I’m going to look into finding out if they would be able to put the book in the gift store at the stadium.”

Haakenson, who is now the sports editor at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, has several other ideas for books kicking around.

“I would like to write more books,” he said. “Probably related to Major League Baseball. I also have an idea for a fictional story revolving around a baseball beat writer.”

Haakenson had shopped Out of the Blue to traditional publishers before coming to iUniverse.

“The traditional publishers seemed very excited and led me to believe there was a chance of publishing with them. Ultimately, they weren’t serious,” Haakenson said.

“I received advertising emails from numerous self-publishing companies that I’d look at now and again. For some reason, iUniverse stuck out. I don’t know exactly why. I think the simplicity of the process is very important. Going over the steps needed and breaking it down like that was very instrumental in pushing me to get it done.”

2005-11-10T18:38:00.000-08:00

Shedding some light on Into the Unknown
Hans Kraus has a story worth telling. A medical pioneer and a legendary rock climber, Kraus also was one of the first to sound the alarm about America’s slide into an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle. But when professional journalist Susan Schwartz approached traditional publishers, they refused to get out of their chairs.

Schwartz brought her book, Into the Unknown, to iUniverse and now Kraus’ story is available to all.

How did you first become aware of Hans Kraus' story and what inspired you to write the book?
The book grew out of a magazine interview I did in 1994 for the leading climbing magazine, Rock+Ice. I used to write regularly for the climbing/outdoor magazines, and this particular one asked me to write a series of articles on leading climbers, one of whom was Hans Kraus. When I met Hans, then 89, I was so impressed and left feeling that there was a remarkable story that couldn’t be captured in a standard 3,000 word magazine feature. And indeed there was.

What type of research did you do for the book? How long did it take to do the research?
The research was extremely complex and involved, requiring lots of different kinds — historical into the Nazi era, medical into back pain and surgery, the Kennedy years, as well as sports history. One of the many challenges was figuring out how to go about such diverse types of research. Occasionally I would find myself go off on tangents, because the research was so fascinating, then ending up with considerable amounts of material that I would later cut.

Did you shop the book to traditional publishers and agents before coming to iUniverse? What kind of experience was that?
I did, and even though I had an established reputation in the climbing/adventure world, I got the same response again and again. . . You write like a dream, write a great proposal, but you’re a first time book author, writing about someone who is dead and is no longer famous, so the experience with these kinds of biographies don’t make best sellers, which is what everyone is looking for. Understandably too, given that publishing has always been a tough industry, but more so than ever. People forget that it was always tough to get your first book out in print. There’s a long list of famous authors who ended up self publishing their first book, such as Emily Bronte and Beatrice Potter.

You've got some great blurbs for your book? How did you go about obtaining them?
Thanks so much. Lots of perseverance. The most famous ones were literally cold — that is, not family or friends. There were people I tried to get blurbs from, but they didn’t respond. Others, such as Katharine Hepburn (obviously when she was alive!) and Mike Wallace, were extremely gracious. I was quite gratified by the power of writing a thoughtful, direct and sincere letter.

How did you determine that iUniverse was the right place for your book?
I researched the range of smaller publishing companies and looked at the pros and cons of going with them, and weighed that alongside self publishing and the options that presented. And for me, I decided that iUniverse was the best place for my book. No regrets at all. I’m very grateful to the opportunities that iUniverse opened up for my book.

What kind of experience did you have with iUniverse, the editorial evaluation in particular?
It’s been a great experience. Everything was laid out, very professional, very clear. Of course, I say I particularly loved the editorial evaluation — it was extremely extremely positive!

What is your impression of the end product?
I get loads of compliments on the book, the quality of the writing, but also on the appearance.

It looks like your doing some neat stuff with your book signings (a slide show, etc). Can you describe what all your book signing entails? How have those been going for you?
The book signings and slideshows are so much fun — I love them. As an author today, with iUniverse or a small or even large publishing house, you carry responsibility for much of your marketing and need to take the initiative. I realized that you have to treat the promotion/pr/marketing as a necessary part of being an author. I joke that depending on how you look at it, now that the actual writing is finished, I either promoted or demoted myself from author to SVP of Distribution and Marketing for the book! That included putting together an appealing package for promoting the book. I spent literally weeks putting together several different slideshows to promote the book, including buying a MAC rather than using my old PC, as I had researched that the slideshow capability on an Apple was better. And it’s really paying off. I’m getting wonderful responses to my slideshows . .. And when I give them, I get wonderful responses to the book. And wonderful sales.

What's your next writing project?
I have a couple of exciting ideas in mind . .. But first, I’m, going to concentrate on getting the world out there about my current book, Into the Unknown!

Visit Susan's website at www.susanebschwartz.com.

2005-10-30T18:13:00.000-08:00

Christopher Moore talks about his first time… publishing.

I thought it might be interesting to hear from some traditionally-published authors on how they became just that—traditionally published.

I just finished reading Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore and after checking out http://www.chrismoore.com/, I emailed Mr. Moore a few questions about how his first book, Practical Demonkeeping, came to be published.

Moore is the author of eight novels including Practical Demonkeeping, Coyote Blue, Bloodsucking Fiends, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Lamb, Fluke and The Stupidest Angel. The Stupidest Angel won the 2005 Quill Award in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror category.

Moore’s literary agent is Nick Ellison, who shows up on POD-dy Mouth’s list of great agents.

I kept the email short, asking only six questions, to help improve the chances of a response. Of course, when Mr. Moore wrote back in less than 12 hours (better than I do with my email), I wished I had asked a few more.

When you started writing Practical Demonkeeping was publishing it a thought that was always there or did that goal emerge later? If so, when?
I always had thought of publishing it. I started writing novels instead of short stories because I wanted to make a living at writing fiction.

You mentioned in another interview that you just followed the advice that the magazines offer, sending query letters to a ton on agents and then waiting. Was that a frustrating experience? What kind of feedback did you get from agents? Any particularly memorable rejections?
It was about as frustrating as I'd been led to believe it would be. They're not kidding about that. The first agent that accepted me wanted so many changes in the manuscript that I actually turned him down. That was tough. I ended up getting an agent through a connection with a friend who was in the TV business.

You mentioned that film rights to Practical Demonkeeping sold before the publishing rights did, was that through the same literary agent? How did being picked up feel?
No. It was sold through a Hollywood agent. It felt great. It was a ton of money. Would have been nice if they'd actually made a movie, but it was a ton of money.

How has your relationship with your agent (Nick Ellison) and publishers evolved since Practical Demonkeeping?
Nick has been great. He's been out there slugging for me for years, and I think we're pretty good friends. As far as publishers, I had mixed feelings about my first two publishers. I felt that they could have done a lot more with the books, but I felt as if they sorta didn't get what I was doing.

How involved were you in the marketing of Practical Demonkeeping? How has your involvement and approach to marketing your books evolved?
I was only involved in that I went to the few places that my publisher told me to go. I still do that, but they send me to a lot more places and a lot more people show up. I've also cultivated a pretty loyal following through the internet, as I've had my e-mail address on the books since 1995 and I make an effort to personally answer every letter I get.

What’s your latest project?
I've just finished a book about Death, called A Dirty Job and I'm starting the sequel to my 1995 vampire novel, Bloodsucking Fiends.

Check our Moore's website at www.chrismoore.com. He has several interviews available there including one on writing. There are some cool video interviews as well.

2005-10-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

Vlad Dracula by Michael Augustyn

Robin Hood, King Arthur, Charlemagne—great heroes all, with legends enhanced by classics of literature. But Dracula? Certainly the vampire of Bram Stoker’s novel won’t show up on any such list.

Michael Augustyn, author of the historical novel Vlad Dracula, might beg to differ. In his book, Augustyn lays out the life and times of the Romanian prince that inspired Stoker’s vampire tale, and describes the duality of a man celebrated in Romania as a national hero, but who’s blood thirst inspired the tag “The Impaler” and an image of ultimate evil.

“I was inspired to write about Dracula for two reasons,” Augustyn said. “First, there were no historical novels on the subject in English. Second, I wanted to get into his psyche, and that of Romania. How could he impale 10 percent of his population, including women and children, and still be considered a national hero, a Robin Hood actually?

“His people had been so abused by Hungary, the Ottoman empire and their own nobility and church that they welcomed his sense of justice, hard as it was. It was kind of like his insanity versus his enemies' terror tactics. And he outdid them.”

Augustyn’s research is evident throughout the book lending authenticity to the tale.

“It took me seven years, on and off, getting down the history of Dracula. Some will quibble with some of the things I presented, but I would challenge them to cite sources that clearly contradict my interpretation,” he said. “There are significant disputes about the number of his brothers, his sons, the name of his first wife, and the facts surrounding one of his protagonists, Janos Hunyadi, a hero of Hungary. I assembled the facts from as many sources as I could find in English and wove my novel around them.”

Augustyn first published Vlad on his own before revising and republishing the book with iUniverse.

“(iUniverse’s) Editorial Evaluation process is an excellent asset,” he said. “They check the quality of writing and make specific suggestions, leaving the choice of change up to the author.”

Augustyn counts Edward Rutherford (Sarum, Russka, The Princes of Ireland) and Wilbur Smith (The Triumph of the Sun, Blue Horizon) as two of his favorite authors and also enjoys reading some ancient texts.

“I also read the classics, manuscripts written by the ancients themselves, like Livy’s The War with Hannibal and things by Herodotus,” Augustyn said. “They might be slanted—they are—but they give a flavor to the period that a writer can build on. They give a sense of the subject era.”

Vlad Dracula is currently being considered for translation into Portuguese by a Brazilian publisher and Augustyn is working on a second novel.

“I have two-thirds draft of another novel completed, one aimed at a younger audience, historical in background, but much looser in regard to relying on facts.”

2005-10-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

iUniverse author Susanne Severeid signs copies of her newly released murder mystery, The Death of Milly Mahoney, at the Flagstaff, AZ, Barnes & Noble.
Photo by Bea Jacobs 2005.

The Death of Milly Mahoney by Susanne Severeid

Hollywood—where dreams come true—at least on the big screen. But Tinsel Town can be a bit tougher when the cameras aren’t rolling.

iUniverse author Susanne Severeid, a former actress herself, captures a bit of the seedy side in her mystery novel, The Death of Milly Mahoney. Severeid’s protagonist, Trix Donovan, is drawn into a mystery when she receives a call from an old friend that she has lost touch with.

What inspired you to write The Death of Milly Mahoney?
A couple of things. A close friend of mine, who was gay, was murdered. It was brutal and senseless and it gave me a lot of emotional background for this book. I had written a short story about his death, really as a way to work through my grief and confusion, and it was published in an anthology. I had also reached a time in my life where I was ready to sit down and write a book, and I knew I wanted to draw upon my years in the entertainment field and Southern California. I began my career as a model at 19 in Los Angeles, which is where I grew up, and moved on to top t.v. commercials, t.v. shows & some films, anchoring documentaries, radio... For me it was all fascinating and I'd met so many bizarre, colorful characters, but didn't want it to be too autobiographical. Fiction is much more fun, because you can take more liberties. I had lived in Malibu in a beach cottage, like my protagonist Trix Donovan, so that's for real.

Who are some of your writing influences? Who do you read?
I've always enjoyed the genre of murder mysteries, from the old-fashioned classics like Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes, to Ellis Peters, P.D. James, Grisham, Paretsky. But so few out there on the mass market have believable plots--unlike real life, which is my main influence. I mean, if you know what really goes on backstage and in politics, truth can be stranger than fiction...and a lot of it isn't very pretty.

It seems like you did a lot of research to make sure the police procedural issues and legal issues were portrayed accurately. How did you go about doing the research?
Much of The Death of Milly Mahoney is based on firsthand experience in the sense that I've really known people who were like some of my characters in the book. But where I had less personal experience was with police and the judicial system, so I called and visited local police stations and officials, attorneys, etc and I enrolled in our local Citizen's Police Academy. It was amazing! A twelve-week course where we did everything from high speed car chases to visiting the maximum security prison in Winslow, Arizona. I had extensive conversations with the Medical Examiner, viewed crime scene photos, you name it. Everyone I spoke with was so helpful in answering my questions. I'm really happy with the feedback I'm getting from readers who tell me the dialogue and characters in my book are honest and ring true. That's gratifying.

You had a number of people write cover blurbs for you prior, to publication. How did you go about obtaining them?
They're all authors whom I respect; that was important to me. I simply asked them to read and evaluate my manuscript. You know, "Ask and it shall be given unto you." Don't be afraid to ask, all someone can say is "no." Think of who you know, or friends who may have contacts, and ask them to look at your manuscript and give you a quote if they like it.

Did you send the book out to agents and traditional publishers prior to coming to iUniverse? If so, what kind of feedback did you get?
Yes, I spent--or should I say wasted--months of my time before deciding to go with iUniverse. It became so clear to me that without a track record or established contacts in this particular field (even though I had a children's book published with a traditional publisher in Europe, and several articles in U.S. periodicals) that it just wasn't going to happen. I did get some very positive feedback along the way, including a top agent who saw its potential, but said they just couldn't take on a debut novel. I was trying to figure out my next step when I heard about iUniverse from a couple of authors who'd been happy with their experiences. "So, stop beating your head against a wall, just get it out there," they told me. One even said, "Susanne you cannot, must not let this manuscript languish unpublished. It's too good!" That was like a breath of fresh air and I thought, hey, if I can't walk in through the front door, then I'll climb in through a side window, but I will get my book out there in the marketplace. I knew that this book was good and deserved it's place in the sun, and I wasn't about to let it decorate the interior of my file drawer just for lack of contacts.

How was your iUniverse experience in general and the Editorial Evaluation process in particular?
Excellent. Honestly, I approached this with a lot of trepidation, knowing nothing about the self-publishing field or what to expect. But my PSA, Rachel Krupicka, was fantastic--she really held my hand every step of the way--and I've been totally pleased with the process and the final product. It's been 100% professional. I mean, I was probably a total pain because I had very particular ideas about certain aspects of the book, and its cover. The Editorial Evaluation is always a little scary, being judged always is, but there, too, I was very pleased with the comments and felt they were right on the mark. I paid attention to them and made some changes, which I feel improved the book. I'm very proud of having gotten the Editor's Choice distinction for The Death of Milly Mahoney.

You recently had a book signing at the Flagstaff Barnes & Noble. What all did that entail and how did it all turn out?
Beyond my wildest expectations! The assistant manager said that it was the most successful author signing she remembered at their store. To do it, I just picked up the phone and called the manager, who was totally receptive to the idea. I think most stores generally are very supportive of local authors. We set a date and I went in a few days before with the iUniverse marketing posters & bookmarks, a stack of books, a bunch of flowers in a vase, and a plate of cookies. Oh, and I also emailed every local friend and relative I could think of! Not only did they buy, but to my surprise, several shoppers who I didn't know were drawn to us and also bought the book. I'd sent press releases out to our local press who picked it up and wrote a couple of great articles and/or put it in their Calendar section.

What are your goals for The Death of Milly Mahoney? What type of marketing plans do you have?
I'd really like to see this book out there in a big way. And, yes, I'd like to make money with it! It's a quality book with commercial potential and, in time, I hope to see it marketed in the mainstream as a mass-market paperback. I plan to try to market it internationally to English-speaking countries and countries where a large number of people commonly read books in English. I lived in Europe for ten years and there's a huge market there for this kind of book. As a matter of fact, the manager of the American Bookstore in Amsterdam has already told me he'll order and display several copies. After that, translated versions. And...maybe film rights. My husband and I have, over the years, been very involved with the motion picture business.

Do you have a sequel in the works yet?
Yes. I hope The Death of Milly Mahoney will be the beginning of a continuing series of "Trix Donovan Mysteries"!

What other things (writing and otherwise) and you working on/involved with?
Well, I have a nine-year-old at home and a very busy life generally. I'm finishing up a second children's book, and I'd like to see my own book on public speaking & presentational skills, which was used as a course book at the University of Amsterdam and for corporate training seminars, published in the States.

You have a pretty wide and varied background in entertainment and media. How does your knowledge of Hollywood and the movie industry color Milly Mahoney?
In a huge way. The characters in my book, and much of the pathos and humor, are a composite of some of the many people I came in contact with over the years, and the strong sense of place comes from the fact that I lived and worked in Southern California for years. That was my turf. My husband was also in the business as a top motion picture historical advisor & researcher, writer, and photographer.

Visit Susanna's website at www.SusanneSevereid.com.

2005-09-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

Adventure on Dolphin Island by Ellen Prager

So you think magical creatures exist only in the imagination of J.K. Rowling at Harry Potter’s Hogwarts? Don’t tell that to Dr. Ellen Prager. For Prager, a noted oceanographer, and the heroine of her book, Kelly Wickmer, dolphins are at least as magical and mysterious as any old hippogryph.

In Adventure on Dolphin Island, Prager tells of Kelly’s courage as she tries to navigate her way back home after being separated from her parents and brother. Kelly learns about many of the real world magical creatures from the residents of Dolphin Island and she’ll rely on some of them in her quest to return home. Prager seeks to both entertain and educate with Adventure on Dolphin Island.

What inspired you to write Adventure on Dolphin Island?
I'm passionately committed to finding new ways to engage the public (young and old alike) in learning about the oceans, appreciating their beauty, importance and the problems we now face. While I've enjoyed writing non-fiction books, I thought that combining a fun, fiction adventure story with ocean science and conservation could be a powerful new way to reach the public. And it is a way for me to share some of my own adventures and wonder for the sea.

Who is the primary target audience for the book?
The primary target audience is children, principally middle school age, and their parents. I'm finding that it is also appropriate for older kids, young adults, and as a book for parents and teachers to read to younger children as well.

What led you to publish the book with iUniverse? Did you shop it to traditional publishers first?
I shopped a very early version with a few traditional publishers. However, it doesn't fit into a simple fiction or non-fiction genre - as it is a mix. Also fiction for kids is notoriously difficult to break into and this was my first fiction book. After getting some terrific feedback from parents, educators and kids on an early version, I decided it was worth the risk and investment to self publish through iUniverse. iUniverse was recommended to me by someone that had previously used it and had a good experience.

What was your experience with iUniverse like?
Excellent! iUniverse was wonderful to work with. Very professional, timely, pleasant and the final product came out great. I've already recommended it to other authors.

What are your goals for Adventure on Dolphin Island? What are your marketing plans for the book?
I hope that Adventure on Dolphin Island will become a popular read for children of all ages, in school and at home. And that it will inspire people of all ages to learn about the oceans and appreciate the wonder of the seas. I also hope after reading the book, kids and their parents will become more actively involved in activities that help to protect and conserve our oceans and marine life. The book could also make a great movie!

In terms of marketing I am hoping to reach the public through specific niche groups like marine educators, the diving industry and community, and my own network within the media and ocean-interests. I am also applying for grants that will combine a traveling promotional tour of the book with education about the oceans.

You've been published traditionally before. Tell us about those projects.
I have published two popular science books, The Oceans and Furious Earth: The Science and Nature of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis, with McGraw-Hill. Both are easy to read books that bring what we know and don't know to the public.

In addition, I published three children's books (SAND, Volcano, and Earthquakes) with the National Geographic Society. These are illustrated books for kids 3-8 years of age and are a fun, simple look at a few fascinating earth science topics.

But of all the books so far, I enjoyed writing Adventure on Dolphin Island the most!

How was your traditional publishing experience different than the iUniverse experience?
The experience of working with iUniverse on the whole was much more pleasant than with traditional publishers. They were more professional, courteous, timely, and available. I also felt like I had more control on the overall product. The one drawback is in marketing and distribution. The fact that copies are not returnable and the discount is not as much for retailers is problematic. And the word doesn't get out through traditional sources such as publishers weekly or booklist.

What is your next publishing project?
Hopefully, a sequel!

Learn more about Dr. Prager and her work at www.earth2ocean.net.