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Paul West

/ Kris Wampler / 1 Comment

Paul West saw the self-publishing revolution coming in the 1990s as music was increasingly becoming digital.  He discusses his book, First Cause, and the numerous marketing methods he’s used to reach his audience.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

Journalist Adam Grey has just woken up in the hospital, a week after the world was thrown into chaos by a battery of explosions.  A woman named Angela, whom he recently met, might have something to do with the attacks.  As the truth emerges, it will challenge their conventional assumptions about what it means to be human.

First Cause: A Novel About Human Possibility is a thematically driven speculative thriller with a strong female protagonist.  It appeals to a broad range of readers, including history buffs and sci fi fans.

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

Back in the 90s, when I first had the idea of actually trying to publish somewhere down the line, I noticed what was happening in the music industry; I had the feeling the publishing industry would begin to go in a similar direction and I looked into the ways that that might happen.  I had a decent social network in place, so I set things up by building a mailing list while I was working on the book; I sent out excerpts and occasional updates, and I threw a ‘completion party’ when I wrote the last word on the last page – before all of the post edits, though.  I was just celebrating the fact that the story was complete!  I celebrated with friends, family, acquaintances, and all the people who’d provided critical feedback and moral support during the writing process. I took a year away from it, just to decompress – then I began the editing process, my own A-Z edit, and then some fantastic editing done by people with great minds and sharp eyes.

3. How have you liked self-publishing so far?

I’m glad I did it!  Partly because I’ve sidestepped the machine politics of the ‘big six’, but also because I feel real ownership over my product.  I have to say, though, it’s a lot of work.

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Robert Szeles

/ Kris Wampler / 1 Comment

Robert Szeles wears many hats, including music producer, graphic designer – and, of course, author.  Robert discusses the hard work that goes into self-publishing and offers bountiful advice for the new writer just starting out.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

When a monogamous guy and a polyamorous gal are brought together by two of the least respected gods of Los Angeles, Love and Romance, they find themselves on the bumpy five-lane freeway to love, contending with a vengeful ex-girlfriend, a dominatrix boss, an irresistible TV star, an egomaniacal TV producer, Hollywood backstabbing, and the greatest obstacles of all: themselves!  A sexy romantic comedy set in Los Angeles, where even gods are only as good as their last gig.

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

The state of the publishing industry is in tumult and I thought I had a better chance at publishing myself.  Then if I have some success, I can always approach the major industry later with a successful track record, if that seems worth doing.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

I have had a couple short stories published.  I haven’t pursued traditional publishing beyond that for the above reasons.

4. How have you liked self-publishing so far?

Liked?  It’s hard.  I imagine any kind of publishing is hard.  There are things that are wonderful, like the freedom and creative control, and there are things that are terrible, like the long work hours, lack of budget and lack of support from a company and its resources.  I can’t say I’ve liked it.  I like being a writer and author.  The publishing part is necessary if I want to be read, which I do.  But some of it is fun, like creating the book covers, which I do myself because I’m a professional graphic designer.  And my book trailer turned out fabulously, but it was two months of purgatory.

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Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon

/ Kris Wampler / 2 Comments

Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon made his career in television and film before turning to writing.  Find out about the promotional methods he’s using to get the word out about his book.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

John Smith, an unsuccessful and unfortunately-named novelist, has his computer stolen and the only copy of his unsold latest novel goes with it – prompting zero sympathy from the police. Despite fear of his guru’s disapproval, John mysteriously acquires two handguns, a lot of cash and a crack team to reclaim his work. Together with beautiful mathematics genius Susie Bellavista; Biro, a Hungarian-born ex-RAF Regiment sergeant; and one-time activist and fellow-failed writer March Klossowski, John explores the power and wonder of mathematics in an attempt to solve an imponderable, real life mystery. Where will this whirlwind adventure lead? Back up your files and enjoy the ride!

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

When I left school back in the day I was writing poetry and short stories and getting them published, but not earning enough to live on. I went to film school because I saw that this was a way to be an artist and get paid! I became a successful film-maker. I made TV documentaries, TV and cinema commercials, pop promos, short films and one feature. After a while I began to think it was about time I wrote the novel, which I had not done way back in the day. One morning I woke up with an idea, which I thought was brilliant and I was motivated enough to get started. Once I was up and running I was unstoppable.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

Yes. Two popular science books: Introducing Fractals with Icon Books and The Colours of Infinity with Springer.

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Ro Lockhart

/ Kris Wampler

Ro Lockhart is a juvenile fiction/fantasy writer who just released her book, Elementals, in February on the Amazon Kindle.  Check out her list of marketing techniques below.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

My pitch: “Amy and her father decide to take a camping trip in the great outdoors to reconnect, only to find that their trip takes on some uninvited guests: an exotic but fierce elf, a Druid witch bent on revenge, and a whole slew of frightening elementals.

Between the prophetic dreams Amy’s having and Unna, a banished Druid with evil intentions and her minions on Amy’s tail, it’s a race against time to battle elementals, traverse and treachorous terrain, solve puzzles and find the courage neither of them thought they had.”

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

I’ve been writing since elementary school and I always had the grand notion that I would grow up and write a few books, they would fly off of shelves and I would be rich and famous. Well, that didn’t happen.

It took not only my own rejections from agents and publishers to help me see the light but other authors as well.

So many authors with phenomenal work were getting rejected left and right. But then I heard about the success of a few indie authors and realized that this is a new day where, if you really want to make it and have ambition (as well as a good story), you can be the weaver of your own destiny.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

I have not been published traditionally because after the first few rejections, I found that if I went at it on my own I would do better than doing nothing at all.

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P.B. Dillon

/ Kris Wampler

P.B. Dillon, sci-fi author from New Zealand, turned away from traditional publishing after a bad experience.  He discusses that and which methods he now uses as an indie author.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

The Mage-Wrought Warrior is a fantasy series, the first two books of which are Mage-Wrought and Urgitwoods.  It’s the story of Lito, a hero like no other.  Given life by Garvin, he must struggle against impossible odds to save the life of Tyrealla, Garvin’s daughter – all the while wrestling with the riddle of his own existence.

It won’t be easy: they’re about to be attacked by the Kelits, fierce warriors who paint themselves blue and file their teeth.  Their leader is a Dark Mage who will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal.  The Dark Mage seeks immortality – which he believes he can gain through the use of a jewel that forms part of Tyrealla’s favorite necklace.

Added to this are the complications that Lord Cirovan believes Lito was made to protect him; Tyrealla treats him as if he were repulsive; and, because of how he came into being, Lito doubts that he qualifies as fully human.

Will Lito be able to help defeat the invading Kelits?  Will he be able to save Tyrealla from the Dark Mage?  Will he win her over, or learn to accept who and what he is?

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

Publishing has changed.  There’s no mystery to it any more.  If you are online, you have access to all the tools you need – and unless they think they’re on to a major bestseller, I’m not sure traditional publishing offers any additional value.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

Yes.  I was hugely naive and thought it was the right thing to do at the start of my career.  It took ages; attracting an agent/publisher from New Zealand (where I live) isn’t easy, partly because of the geographic separation which should mean nothing but does.  And then, when I finally got my book deal, I realized that I no longer had control over the cover, the editing, or even the book title – and was still expected to do all the marketing myself.

It wasn’t a pleasant experience.  Turned me away from writing for a number of years.

As soon as the rights reverted to me I decided to start doing it myself.  That was mid-way through last year.  Now I’m in control and can do things my way, and it’s much better – and I’ve already sold more copies than the traditional publisher did.

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Tanya Allan

/ Kris Wampler

Tanya Allan writes in a variety of genres and has worked for many years cultivating a web presence. She talks about the various websites she uses and which methods she’s avoided.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me one of your books in five to ten sentences.

To Fight for a Dream: Meet James Allan, a captain in the Parachute Regiment with experience in Northern Ireland and the Falklands Conflict, as he embarks on the most terrifying mission of his life…to become Jane Allan at the age of twenty-eight.

Follow his life through a series of flashbacks, through his schooling and military career, up to the moment he attempts to win over his bigot of a father.

The join Jane as her life begins to go right, after three decades of being wrong, but still an emotional roller-coaster nonetheless.

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

I write fiction across several genres: romance, war, science fiction, police investigation thrillers, espionage; however, but much of my work deals with individuals living out their lives with the added burden of coping with some form of transgender issue, so established publishers are reluctant to take a risk in such a marginalized sub-genre.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

No, see 2. above.

4. How have you liked self-publishing so far?

Fine.  I started posting my work on free sites in 1998 and received positive feedback. There appeared to be a market, so I looked at the most cost-effective and simplest system for publishing.

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A.L. Collins

/ Kris Wampler

Fantasy writer A.L. Collins has turned an endless imagination into a cottage industry of writing.  His unique and creative approach to marketing – even involving scent candles to reference things created in his books – is presented here.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

People say to learn from the past, but that’s not always an easy thing to do.  Especially when your past has been literally erased from view.  Rigil thought he was normal.  He wanted to protect what little he had from the rest of the world.  But things did not go as planned when a shadow organization of immense power stormed his hometown, burning it to the ground.  Now he’s running for the capital city, praying he makes it in time to warn of the doom lurking overhead.  As he travels with a gypsy, a shapeshifter and a witch, Rigil combats enemies and black magic wherever they may arise.  However, the young man will soon learn that the road through the darkness is a harrowing experience when one tries to go it alone.

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

I’ve always loved storytelling.  I adore making people feel things they haven’t felt before.  I think that as I grew older I realized that my imagination was just overwhelming at times, so much so that I lay awake at night dreaming up wild adventures.  A lack of excitement in my younger life coupled with my fascination with people, personalities and characters is what really made me realize that writing is really what I wanted to do.

3. You have not been traditionally published.  Why?

For a few personal reasons I haven’t been traditionally published.  Not every publisher can discover every breakthrough book.  So many good ideas get lost in the shuffle.  And this is also a career just as it is a passion.  I had people to support, friends who counted on me.  I decided to take my future into my own hands.  I hoped that if I was any good at writing these stories, then the fact I didn’t get traditionally published wouldn’t matter.  Maybe the stories would shine through on their own.  I am still looking for options, but I’ll continue writing regardless of my publication status.

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Ted Gross

/ Kris Wampler

Ted Gross is a short story writer who’s busy with a variety of writing projects.  In this interview he offers a laundry lists of recommendations for indie writers to successfully get their books out there.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

Ancient Tales, Modern Legends, a short story collection by Ted William Gross, presents the reader with engaging and thought-provoking stories spanning the ages.  Covering subjects of love, loss, pain, desire, need, frustration and hope, these stories are meant to entertain as well leave an indelible impression upon the reader.

This is not a book to dismiss easily.  Enjoy it, grow with it.  You will, in turn, be haunted by it and the stories will remain with you long after you have closed the pages.

As almost all authors will tell you, their work in writing is a labor of love.  “Ancient Tales, Modern Legends” is a collection of stories that were written over many years, sometimes in great pain, sometimes with great joy, and is certainly a labor of love for both the author and the reader.  As colleagues read them, and some were published, I was prodded to publish the rest.  It is my hope that they will make you, the reader, stop and think, perhaps just about the waywardness of life.  They all are short stories in the pure art form of this genre.

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

I followed the industry for many years.  I have watched the indie book explosion.  I have also closely watched the trends.  My feeling is that the days of traditional publishers where they were the “bully” on the block has come to an end.  It is an age of “let the reader choose”.  You can write just so many query letters, have just so many books accepted and then cancelled on you before you either give up or find another avenue.  Indie book publishing offers another avenue.  And it is becoming more and more legitimate in the eyes of readers.  And certainly easier to actually go through the “publishing routine”.

In the end, simply a matter of practical thought and decision.

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Sean MacUisdin

/ Kris Wampler / 1 Comment

Sean MacUisdin is a sci-fi writer who lets his imagination tell the story.  Sean talks about balancing writing and marketing and why he’s exploring the use of e-book trailers on YouTube.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me one of your books in five to ten sentences.

Were you ever afraid of boredom more than the unknown?  Did tedium and predictability, those bywords so often associated with the responsibility of adulthood, give you pause for a moment, and inspire you to do the unexpected?  Meet Alexander Armstrong: seventeen years old, poised to graduate high school and preparing for the comprehensive education and career laid out by his parents. That is until, fueled by an immature desire for adventure, he stole away one night and hopped a train for Vancouver where, in a fit of teenage pique, he signed up for service in the United Nations Off-World Legion.

Eight weeks later, as he jumps from the bed of a transport truck into the mud of the colony of Samsara, twenty light years from Earth, Alexander is confronted not by a sterile and deliberately planned colony of his dreams but by a world of transplanted tribes, warlords, and refugees.  It is a world where the tundra camel and steamboat reign supreme over the trackless steppes and mountainous lakes and rivers; where pirates, Chinese Tongs, Kazakh bandits, and Gliesiun warriors pale before the presence of his decuria leader, Subedar Angus Motshwega, better known throughout the Legion as MacShaka the Tartan Zulu.

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

To be honest, I was motivated by what often felt like insurmountable odds in getting my book to print.  Agents, publishers, awards, and no end of luck seemed to be the factors I needed to bring my books to print, so I opted, after a course at the local college, to take the e-book approach.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

I have only had a poem published in a Canadian anthology.  I tended to write more than market, since I spent much of my time over the last decade away with the Royal Canadian Navy.  It’s only recently with a shore posting that I have had the time to concentrate on marketing my books.

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Gilly Fraser

/ Kris Wampler

Gilly Fraser has been traditionally published and so has seen both sides of the writing profession.  She advises indies to edit their books and work tirelessly to get them in the hands of readers.

1. Pretend for a moment I’m a reader looking for my next book.  Pitch me your book in five to ten sentences.

If my book Forbidden Love and Other Stories were to be reborn as a curry, it would be hotter than a korma, but not as spicy as a vindaloo.  It would probably be something like a Chicken Tikka Masala!  The four short stories in this collection have nothing in common except romance, and a touch of humor.

In Slippery When Wet, Maxine has to decide if she’s living a dream come true or a nightmare when the man of her fantasy turns up unannounced in a swimming pool.

In the title story Forbidden Love, rock star Jake Lee is drawn back to his roots and the girl who first inspired him.  But has he left it too late to go home?

In The Great Pretender, a tale of love and retribution is played out through the ages – but not unobserved.

And in Melissa and the Cowboy, lust can happen along at the most inopportune moment.

2. What motivated you to become an indie writer?

I love the independence of it.  It’s not an easy option – far from it – but I relish the opportunities and the freedom it affords to the writer.  I’m aware that this freedom is open to abuse by those who are content to publish sub-standard material and so it’s up to those writers who genuinely love their craft to produce the very best work possible.

3. Have you been traditionally published?  Why or why not?

Yes – I had nine books published by Mills & Boon under the pen-name of Rachel Elliot and I’m very proud of that.  I hope the rights will soon revert to me so that I can publish the backlist, though I’m quite keen to rewrite the books to some extent to make them fresh and up to date.

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