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Tyler James Russell

/ Kris Wampler

Russell HeadshotTyler James Russell knows from experience the importance of patience and of honing one’s writing craft. Read the lessons he learned as he worked his way to publication.

1. Tell me briefly about your latest book – what is it about and what motivated you to write it?

To Drown a Man is my debut poetry collection. It came out of a transition point that resulted in me embracing vulnerability in a different way, in both my life and my writing. There’s not much formal inventiveness here, it’s a fairly plainspoken style. I’d come to a point where I was recognizing a lot of the barriers that I’d put up between myself and other people, and wrestling with how difficult and even painful it was to pull those down. Writing was, unfortunately, one of those barriers. I wanted people to see me as smart, clever, etc., and so I tried to write in a way that was smart, clever, etc. and not in a way that really touched on honest, vulnerable states of being human. So, I ended up setting writing aside for a while (and this is after writing regularly for more than 10 years) as I walked through that. Some of the poems in To Drown a Man are the first things that emerged when I started writing again.

2. How have your sales been?

I had a friend send me a postcard just before launch with a Don Marquis quote: “Publishing a volume of verse is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo.” I laugh at that quite a bit. If that’s true at a normal time, it’s probably doubly true during a pandemic.

That being said, I’ve been really humbled by the amount of people who’ve not only bought the book but also taken the time to reach out to me about it. Both people in the literary world and people who I’m pretty sure don’t interact with poetry much at all. So much of that has come out of simply getting comfortable telling people about the work I’m doing, because I think anything that comes off as at all “salesy” doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s something I’ve had to grow into.

3. You’ve decided to use a traditional publisher for your book. Why did you choose this versus self-publishing?

This is my first book, and with the amount of factors I had to get my head around, I really wanted to leave it to the experts. Unsolicited Press is amazing, and I’ve been so happy to let them do their thing while I do mine. Continue reading →

Bob Russell

/ Kris Wampler

Bob Russell is a Christian author who has been traditionally and self-published. He explains the many different ways he’s used to successfully market his books.

1. Tell me briefly about your latest book – what is it about and what motivated you to write it?

My recent e-books include three in the Christian Concepts Series: The Church, The Christ, and The Christian, plus one missions-oriented book.

My personal favorite is my e-book God’s Nature: Sonlight Sunlight, which shows amazing alignments between science and Scripture. This book has received great reviews from a wide variety of people from internationally-known theologians, women’s ministry leaders, full-time homemakers, and long-term prisoners. It is part of my Christian Concepts Series of three books which use biblical analogies to explain complex Christian topics in easy to understand and memorable ways. The original print version of this series received 11 literary awards. All of my books contain a “Think and Grow” section at the end of each chapter which is ideal for personal or small group study.

My most unusual book is one in which I edited the wire recordings of martyred missionary Jim Elliot (Jim Elliot: Recorded Messages). As a child I lived in the Elliot home for a time. Jim was one of my Sunday School teachers and his father was my spiritual mentor for years.

2. How have your sales been?

Because I write in a small niche market where having a strong name awareness is important, my sales have not been as strong as I would desire but they have been steady. It is important to note my writing goal: “I’d rather write what the Spirit guides and have no readers, than to appeal to more readers without the Spirit’s guidance.”

3. You’ve used both self-publishing and traditional publishing. Which do you prefer, and what are the pros and cons of each?

Previously, I published four print books through two publishing houses. Later I switched to self-publishing (five e-books and one print book to date). Using “draft2digital” has many advantages for me. It is much faster, I have better control, greater distribution options, higher royalties, etc. Continue reading →

Bobby Nash

/ Kris Wampler

Bobby Nash has both self-published and been traditionally published.  Find out what he believes to be the pros and cons of each, and what they have in common.

1. Tell me briefly about your latest book – what is it about and what motivated you to write it?

In The Wind – A Tom Myers Mystery is the first book in a series of novellas featuring Tom Myers, the sheriff of Sommersville, Georgia.  Although this is the first book in the series, Sheriff Myers and his deputies have appeared in my novels Evil Ways and Deadly Games! and will also make a brief appearance in the upcoming Evil Intent novel before their second stand-alone novella comes out in 2021.

In In The Wind, an FBI/US Marshal task force has stashed Bates Hewell in a safe house in Sommersville.  Hewell is the star witness in the RICO case being built against Antonio Manelli, head of the Manelli crime family, an organization with a long history dating back to the 20’s.  When armed mercenaries attack the safe house, the agents are killed, save for two that are wounded.  Bates Hewell escapes into undeveloped Sommersville County with trained killers on his tail.

Sheriff Myers is understandably upset that the feds used his county without informing his department, but he sets that aside and begins a search to recover the missing witness before those sent to kill him.  When Tyson Monroe arrives, also on the hunt for the witness, Myers is skeptical.  Is Tyson Monroe there to help or hinder his manhunt?

2. How have your sales been?

Sales are okay.  They can always be better.  I am always working on ways to reach new readers.

3. You’ve chosen self-publishing.  How have you liked it so far?  Talk about some of the positives and negatives you’ve encountered.

I added self-publishing to my publishing plans a few years back. I still work for traditional publishers, both small press and larger publishers, but there are certain types of stories I want to tell that the publishers I work with aren’t as interested in telling.  So I set up BEN Books to do those stories in the manner and format that works best for those stories.  Most of my BEN Books releases are crime/action thrillers like the new Tom Myers series, the Snow series, and novels like Evil Ways, Deadly Games!, Suicide Bomb, and more.  It allows me to own and control my IPs and also do work for hire at other publishers.  The best of both worlds. Continue reading →

Diana Miller

/ Kris Wampler

descentDiana Miller has had experience in both the indie and traditional publishing worlds. She explains why review swaps are a great way to build your reader base.

1. Tell me briefly about your latest book – what is it about and what motivated you to write it?

My debut novel Descent is being published by FyreSyde Publishing on April 14th, 2021.  It follows the story of Serafina Thomas. Sera is orphaned at sixteen, and sent to live with her only remaining relative in a small, rural town. Recruited by a dark, alluring young man to attend the prestigious St. Michael’s Academy, she is thrust into the secret underworld of demon hierarchy where one must fight to survive. She quickly meets Justin, who rules the demon hierarchy along with his grandfather the Arch Demon, who has taken a special interest in Sera. Martin is the Watcher; an Archangel with one goal in mind: to eradicate the demons from the Earth, protecting the human race for all time.

All three are thrown together in this sage of time and tragedy, with Sera torn in the middle. Will they bind themselves together in order to save their own species, or burn in the chaos? A millennia old struggle comes to a head in the first book of The Demon Chronicles trilogy. The sequel Feud will be published just a few weeks later!

2. How have your sales been?

I actually had this story self-published for a little bit, and it did ok. I’m excited to reach a larger audience with my publisher. My free short story “5 Days to Die” has been downloaded many times, and I’ve had great feedback. It’s on Amazon for $0.99 or for free if you sign up for my newsletter on my website (dianagmiller.com).

3. You’ve used both self-publishing and traditional publishing. Which do you prefer, and what are the pros and cons of each?

It was an exhausting process to manage on my own, and with a full time job I just couldn’t devote the time needed. I’m excited to be partnering with FyreSyde to help with this aspect of it!

My publisher has a greater audience reach than I could possibly have alone, and access to more resources (cover artists, editors, etc.). I owe it to my story to make it the best version possible, and I concluded that I just couldn’t do it on my own while keeping up with my family and full-time job as a music teacher.

I’ve met some amazing indie authors, and read some amazing stories! Some of the very first reviews of Descent were from these lovely people, and it’s been wonderful to be active in the writing community. The con is the sheer amount of work, and how hard it is to be seen in a sea of indie authors lately. I’m hoping to have the best of both worlds by working with my small publisher. Continue reading →

Jerry Knaak

/ Kris Wampler

dark-terror-poster

Jerry Knaak stays busy not only writing, but building a community around his work. Read about the numerous marketing and promotion methods he uses.

1. Tell me briefly about your latest book – what is it about and what motivated you to write it?

My latest book is called The Dark Terror, the third in a probable trilogy. My 12-year-old son came up with the title. It tells the continuing story of Elizabeth Danae Rubis, a newly-minted vampire who has been terrorizing the San Francisco Bay Area as she adjusts to her new existence.

2. How have your sales been?

Sales can always be better. As a new author I am constantly seeking ways to grow my audience.

3. You began your writing career later in life than many authors. Talk a little about this.

I have been writing professionally for 25 years or so, but mostly in sports. I started a blog almost six years ago. Writing isn’t new to me. I was the editor of my high school newspaper; I wrote for the cruise book when I was in the Navy; and I became a journalist and sports writer. I tried my hand at a few short stories but they have been lost to the wind. Vampires have always intrigued me and I fell in love with the genre at an early age. I always figured that if I ever wrote a novel, it would be about vampires.

I started the first book in 2011 but set it aside after some negative feedback. I really didn’t know what I was doing. In January 2016, I picked it back up again, rewrote it from the first person perspective and it took off. After complaining that I always felt like I was late to the dance (on trends, literature, music, etc.), my best friend told me: “Because you’re worried about what time the dance started.”

Continue reading →