What made you decide to take on the challenge and write a novel? How long did it take to write your first book? How many rewrites did you do on it?
I am attorney having practiced commercial real estate law for over 30 years. Ever since reading The Firm by John Grisham years ago, the idea of writing a novel and doing something artistically creative has intrigued me. I worked on a thriller entitled Startling Connections over the span of many years while practicing law. I tried to get an agent and/or a publisher to publish it but my attempts were met with numerous rejections. Although the book was finished, I put it in a drawer and did nothing with it for several years. Fast forward to 2009.
What happened next?
After
leaving my traditional law firm job in New York and starting up my own law
practice, I had more time to think about writing again. On most nights when I
put my children to bed they wanted to hear a bedtime story. Night after night
they asked me to come up with a bedtime tale and usually I did. One day I
mentioned to my daughter that I had actually written a whole book (Startling Connections) and parts
of other books. She was very interested and wanted me to read the book to
her. Startling Connections is
actually a thriller for adults so I had to read her an edited version of parts
of it. She thought it was very good and encouraged me to get it published.
Around, 2010
self-publishing through Amazon, the iBookstore and Barnes & Noble for
e-readers was really taking off. I spent a year rewriting and updating Startling Connections. I also
hired an editor to work with me and by the end of the 2010 beginning of 2011 I
self- published Startling
Connections. To date it has received 11 five star, 2
four star reviews and two three star reviews on Amazon.
Who helped you
with the editing?
I did pay someone to help with a
light edit of Startling Connections since it was my first book and I wanted it
to be a as professional as possible.
How did you
decide on the way to do your self-publishing
I researched self-publishing
(uploading the files) and figured how to do it on my own after a lot of reading
on the subject. I did utilize a professional to format the e-books so that they
would come out well.
Are you
involved with any critique groups?
I am not active in any critique
groups, however, I sometimes interact with readers or authors in the author's
forums on Amazon.
How do you go
about getting book reviews?
I have given some books away but I
never condition giving a book in return for a review. I thank a reader and say
if they want I would welcome a feedback either in the form of an email or a
review. Some reviews are from people who know me but others are posted by
strangers who I don't know and have never met.
Could you give
me a short synopsis on suspense novel, Startling Connections for my readers?
The
protagonist, Larry, lived an uneventful life as a
commodity trader in New York City until a sudden tragic incident during a
routine dinner with a friend connected him to Sofia, the beautiful and
intriguing woman of his dreams.
Their ensuing relationship unravels
a sequence of life-changing events. Sofia is mysteriously abducted by a global
terrorist organization about to launch an attack of unprecedented dimensions.
Though ill prepared for such a journey, Larry's love for Sofia and his fear of
losing her force him to embark on a dangerous quest filled with thrilling
non-stop action as he travels to the ends of the earth to try to find Sofia,
get her back and thwart the terrorist organization's diabolical plans.
Startling Connections, though packed with action
and a twisting plot, also examines the causes of extremism and terrorism in
modern society and the dilemma as to best way to confront and eradicate it.
Sounds
intriguing! How did you make the jump from adult suspense to your second book which
was written for children?
Although my daughter was
excited that I had published Startling
Connections she quickly came to realize that it was not a book
for kids that she could have her friends read. I was thinking of writing
another thriller but she pleaded "Dad can't your write a kid's book that
my friends could read?" I protested "I don't know... I was thinking
about another thriller." "PLEASE Dad..." Well, as any parent
knows, it is extremely difficult to turn down a request like that from your
child so after some thought, I agreed.
I ran my idea for the
story A Journey Through the Space Vortex broken into three
books by Katherine. She gave the story concept a thumbs up. Day after day I
would work on the outline and write a few pages of book one-The
Sapphire Prism Cave. Night after night I would read her what I wrote
and she would give me helpful comments like "Dad, a kid wouldn't say it
like that - how about..." So I had a good instant feedback from a great
"editorial assistant."
Every day she should would
ask "Did you write?" Most days the answer would be
"yes", but if it was "no" I was in big trouble!
Finally, I finished a first draft of the book. We were both very happy
and excited with how the story turned out. For the next six months I edited,
polished and proofread the book with the assistance of a number of readers.
It was first published on Amazon,
the iBookstore, Barnes & Noble and Kobo as an e-book. Just this year in
April, I published it using Createspace, as a physical book. So far the book is
just being discovered, but I have gotten very positive feedback on it so far
from both children and adults.
How far along
are you on the rest of the trilogy?
I
have a rough outline of the plot for the second novel in the A Journey Through The Space Vortex series
and have the concept for the third and final book.
How do you
write? Did you do an outline first? Did you do individual character development
before doing the full plot?
I use three separate documents for
writing. The first is an “idea list” where all ideas for the book are quickly
jotted down as they occur so that they are preserved. The second is an outline
where I organize and develop the ideas. Lastly, there is the draft of the book
itself where the story is actually written.
Although many of the thoughts and ideas are organized in the
outline, I often spontaneously develop and add plot, description detail while
doing the actual writing. I also find that listening to great music helps get
the creative juices flowing. (The Rolling Stones and The Who are two of my
favorites to listen to while writing.) With respect to character development, I
usually think about and feel the character’s personality and bring it out
during the writing. For example, in The
Sapphire Prism Cave, James is full of energy, enthusiastic and daring.
These characteristics comes out through his actions and dialogue.
How much does
social media play in your promotion of your books?
I have separate Facebook pages for
each book where I can post about things of interest and interact with readers.
I find that reading a review from someone who truly liked your book or
receiving an e-mail from someone touched by it is one of the most rewarding
aspects of writing. I sometimes post about my books on pages like Amazon Kindle
or Barnes & Noble.
A writer is often confronted with a dilemma as to how to get
their books noticed by readers. If he or she says nothing, it is harder for a
potential reader to discover the book and the author. If he or she constantly
posts only about the book, many readers “tune it out” because they consider it
spam. The best thing seems to be to try to provide interesting content, i.e.,
pictures, articles and writing, which the provides value to the reader. The
problem with this is that providing truly valuable content can be very time
consuming.
What type of
publicity do you do to promote your book? What has worked best for you in
generating sales?
The best way I have found to promote
my books and actually generate sales is to temporarily reduce the price and
publicize the book and price reduction through sites such as eReader News
Today, Kindle Nation, Book Bub, Pixel of Ink, Kindle Tips and Tricks. I think
more readers will give a book a try when the price is reduced and it is brought
to their attention by these sites. Before doing this though it is best to have
a number of good reviews, a good synopsis and a great cover.
I have tried Facebook ads and unfortunately found that that
so far they have not been very effective in actually increasing sales of books.
The ultimate goal, though hard to achieve, is to get enough
people talking about and recommending the book through word of mouth so that
publicity and promotion is no longer necessary. I think most people discover
and read books recommended by their friends and also in a book review or from a
“best seller”
What do you
know now about writing/publishing now that you wished you had known sooner?
Coming up with a good marketing plan
for one’s books is difficult and involves a lot of trial and error and
consistent, hard work. Also how difficult it is to turn marketing efforts into
actual sales.
What have you learned
about writing you would like to pass along?
You have to have a real passion for
what you are writing about. You have to really care about quality and pay
attention to details. Quality is more important than quantity. You have to
define what success means to you. Do not be afraid to try new things and
experiment. Don’t be afraid of failure. If you don’t try something you will
never succeed and if you don’t love what you do, you will never do it well
enough to truly succeed. Keep trying new things and don’t give up. Don’t make
excuses for not writing or getting a book done.
Just do it, despite obstacles that inevitably arise. The satisfaction of
accomplishment from finishing it makes the struggle to get it done worthwhile.
What is the best advice you’ve heard
about writing?
Veronica
Roth gave an amazing answer to a similar question which has stuck with me. She
said “One piece of advice I have is: Want something else more than success.
Success is a lovely thing, but your desire to say something, your worth, and
your identity shouldn’t rely on it, because it’s not guaranteed and it’s not
permanent and it’s not sufficient. So work hard, fall in love with the
writing—the characters, the story, the words, the themes—and make sure that you
are who you are regardless of your life circumstances. That way, when the good
things come, they don’t warp you, and when the bad things hit you, you don’t
fall apart.”
That’s
all for today’s interview. If you’d like to know more about Peter’s writing and
his books, here’s some links to do that.
Startling Connections on Amazon: http://amzn.to/pDlU57
Startling
Connections Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/oJO2HA
The Sapphire
Prism Cave on Amazon: http://amzn.to/SSHGGR
The Sapphire Prism Cave Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/O4SLhC
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