Q&A with Steven Lee Gilbert discussion

Hi and welcome to my Q&A. For the next few days, I’ll be posing and answering questions about my book, the writing process, influences, and any other interesting stuff that comes to mind.

To start, if you don't know much about me, I'd encourage you to check out my author bio under my profile, but I'll warn you, it's not very interesting, certainly not as interesting as other author bios I've read, people who've suffered great lost, overcome tremendous odds, risen to incredible heights in striving to reach their potential. But then, the stories I find myself most drawn to are not those of epic achievement against all odds, at least not in the sense that the epicness of it all or even the achievement itself is central to the story. What is central is the conflict. the character's reaction to life's absurdities and letdowns, moments of disillusionment, disappointment, and despair that test their resolve. This sums up precisely, I think, the story behind A Lovely, Indecent Departure.

What I do think is interesting is how I arrived here on Goodreads as a published author. It is something I am always happy to share as it, too, is about work and passion and opportunity and as such part of the collective human condition and one in which I think everyone can relate.

As in a lot of stories we read, questions arise about the author's own experience, how much is made up and how much of the story is real. Everything you read in my novel is fiction and all of fiction is based in real life. It is the writer's job, as Hemingway once said, to tell the truth. To make others believe that if what happened in the story were to happen in real life it would happen in no other way, only then can the story take a life of its own. It is one of the novelists greatest accomplishments to be asked: Is this true?

Finally, there is the act of writing itself. How, when, where, why. What gets in the way of it. Where I find influence and inspiration. How I followed this dream, even after so many potential roadblocks, some of which came before I began, and some of which came after. The truth about writing, in fact, is not that you stop talking about writing and sit down and really do it but that you stop talking and sit down and do it again and again and again. This sounds like ridiculous advice, but of course most advice sounds ridiculous until you realize the first time you need it.

So, this being my first Q&A—and the first for many of you—welcome. Unlike most of the writing I do—alone—it'll be nice sharing this experience with each of you.

Hi, Steve--as a fellow indie writer, I'm interested in the marketing/publicity side of things. Specifically, I'm curious as to how you've been building up your reviews, as I've heard that makes a big difference when people are browsing the "unknown." Did you rely on ebooks, paperbacks, or a mixture of both? Did you contact strangers or did family/friends/acquaintances come through for you?

Hey Bill, Thanks for the question. The reviews the book has gotten so far have been a nice mixture of family, friends, acquaintances and strangers, with the tally split pretty much 50/50 between those readers I know and those I don't know.

I've taken a very active, common sense role in outreach and getting the book in front of people who review books, often identifying them through my own research—or noticing when they add my book to their to-read list here on GRs, or fan page Facebook likes —then contacting them directly via email with a synopsis, cover photo, link to read a sample, short bio, etc (much like a query letter), and waiting for their reply. I try to only select those readers who I think would enjoy the book, or who make a point of mentioning in their review policy that they like to read self-published authors. This method has worked pretty well so far (by pretty well, I mean maybe 30% of the time the blogger responds positively).

Goodreads has been a great forum for identifying potential readers and reviewers, as well as introducing me to other independent writers of great books. Being a blogger myself (about type 1 diabetes, not so much writing), I appreciate the amount of time and effort they spend on sharing the things that are important to them, so I try to make my pitch short, to the point, and if possible, link it to something they have experienced before, i.e. similar books, places they've been, and other information you can glean from their profile, review policy and/or about me sections.

As far as which book did they read of mine... some read the eBook, which I offered to them as a free download from Smashwords, or I sent them a paperback copy. 70% favored the digital format. I also encourage approaching overseas readers.

The marketing has been the hardest for me, especially considering that what I want to be doing most is writing my next book, but I do find the more I connect with readers, online and elsewhere, the more I find talking about the book, and about writing in general, to be great fun and even, in some cases, personally eye opening.

Thanks, Steve. Sounds like much the same approach I've been using, with much the same results. Hadn't considered the international crowd specifically, although not sure how to target them. Totally agree that it's time-intensive and all marketing time is time spent NOT writing, but it's become a necessary part of the equation.