Long Sentences Like A Good Wine Endure through Time

When did long sentences go out of style? Have we have been taught that in order to grab the attention of the reader we must do it in as few sentences as possible, because we know that the reader’s attention span is very miniscule? The reader’s attention instead has been captured by the electronic age and it is increasingly harder to get people to read. However, in our rush to capture the reader’s attention have our sentences become less vibrant and less meaningful?

Great writers of literature endured the test of time. Their sentences were vibrant and full of meaning and their sentences tantalized our senses like an excellent wine with dinner.
Have we become unable to appreciate vibrant verbs, the provocative adjectives, the descriptive adverbs that make a sentence more robust and vibrant? Have our words been reduced to simple sentences on a page?

The longer sentence where every single word is the best that can be found and a word or phrase could not be cut from this without sacrificing anything essential is like a puzzle where every piece fits the picture. Below is an example from the opening of Virginia Woolf’s essay, “On Being Ill.”

“Considering how common illness is, how tremendous the spiritual change that it brings, how astonishing, when the lights of health go down, the undiscovered countries that are then disclosed, what wastes and deserts of the soul a slight attack of influenza brings to view, what precipices and lawns sprinkled with bright flowers a little rise of temperature reveals, what ancient and obdurate oaks are uprooted in us by the act of sickness, how we go down into the pit of death and feel the water of annihilation close above our heads and wake thinking to find ourselves in the presence of the angels and harpers when we have a tooth out and come to the surface in the dentist’s arm-chair and confuse his “Rinse the Mouth —- rinse the mouth” with the greeting of the Deity stooping from the floor of Heaven to welcome us – when we think of this, as we are frequently forced to think of it, it becomes strange indeed that illness has not taken its place with love and battle and jealousy among the prime themes of literature.”

This sentence has 181 words and like a puzzle each word fits tightly. This sentence is not something to be feared because of the number of words it is something to be embraced for the flow of words sounds like music. It is pleasurable to read, graceful, witty and intelligent. I don’t think Virginia Woolf would take kindly to being told that short sentences that have lost their vigor and meaning are in style today.

***********

Do you strive to become a better writer by writing better sentences? Do you strive to become a better reader by reading the classics? Do you strive to become a better student by writing papers that have not been plagiarized or copied from the internet, but are written in your own words?

My challenge to all writers, readers and students is to read a classic novel. Look up the words that you come across when you don’t know the definition. Write down the definitions, put the words into sentences and try to use a new word a day in your conversation.

Happy Reading!

Beyond the Code of Conduct – author interview- K.M Daughters

Join K.M. Daughters, authors of the romantic suspense novel, Beyond the Code of Conduct  (Wild Rose Press), as they virtually tour the blogosphere in June on their first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

FBI Agency Brass and Sullivan family connections force Special Agent Bobbie Leighton into an undercover operation with inactive Homicide Detective Joe Sullivan.

Posing as a cattleman and his arm-candy wife the couple is assigned to infiltrate NY attorney Bradley Sterling’s illegal operation. Suspected of baby trafficking, Sterling maybe be connected with Joe’s brother, Jimmy Sullivan’s murder.

How do Bobbie and Joe adhere to their professional code of conduct living under the same roof? Can they forget their personal history, ignore their volatile feelings for each other and ensnare their target when they might be next on Sterling’s victims list?

 

 

 

Hi K.M. Daughters,

 

Welcome to Paperback Writer

 

 

Q: Will you share with us how you came up with the idea for this book?

A: Secondary characters in the first book in the series thought the story was about them!  We were curious about their fate.  Did they get back together?  Did Bobbie find the career fit that had eluded her in the past?  Did Joe adapt to inactive status as a former homicide detective because of his injury?  As we searched for answers the seeds of a plot took root and bloomed.

  

Q: Do you plan your stories first with an outline or does it come to you as write it? 

Because we’re a team an outline works best for us. 

 

A: Do you know the end of the story at the beginning? 

Q: Yes, we do, conceptually.  But the last sentence is written in sequence and it is the last thing we write.

 

A: Do you have a process for developing your characters? 

Q: We create life histories for our primary characters, sometimes from young adulthood, sometimes from childhood depending on their internal conflicts and baggage when the story opens.  We don’t use the majority of their back-stories in the story itself, but we have a layered, complex understanding of who they were and are before we begin developing plots.

 

Q: It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be? 

A: Very little of our personalities are written into our heroines, or heroes for that matter.  The restaurant choices they make, the settings where they live and work, and maybe their sports team allegiances might have something to do with our personal biases.

 

Q: What is your most favorite part about this book? 

A: It is so hard to pick just one!  Especially without giving away the action.  Let’s just say the ending.

 

Q: When in the process of writing your book did you begin to look for a publisher? 

A: We already had selected our intended publisher, The Wild Rose Press, since we published Book 1, Against Doctors Orders, with this wonderful company.  Our contract stipulates first right of refusal on the series, and we were hopeful they’d be interested in Book 2 as well.  Thankfully they were – as well as Book 3, Capturing Karma, which we just contracted to The Wild Rose Press. 

 

Q: What struggles have you had on the road to being published? 

A: Uncertainty in the face of difficult odds of finding the right Editor who heard our unique voice and thought it held promise. 

 

Q: What has been the best part about being published? 

A:  Every single thing.

 

Q: What do you want readers to remember and carry with them after reading your novel? 

A: We hope readers perceive our characters as “real people”, accessible, relatable.  Our writing is emotional and we hope readers experience emotions along with our characters.  We’re not happy unless we make each other cry during our read-throughs.

 

Q: Do you have plans to write another book? 

A: Book 3 is in edits now and our work in progress is book 4.  We have a rough premise for Book 5, the conclusion of The Sullivan Boys Series.  We also plan a single title, mainstream fiction.  Recently we’ve played with some ideas for a paranormal romance series, also.

 

Q: Would you care to share with us how the virtual book tour experience with Pump Up Your Book Promotion has been for you?  

A: Crazy, wonderful and full of daily delights.  Dorothy Thompson is remarkable. 

 

Q: Where can readers find a copy of your book? 

A: Online in digital with a click through to Amazon at the publisher’s site: http://tinyurl.com/qwgpsp  At Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/cbunqh or Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/dco3cn or any local bookstore can order it for you – ISBN#1-60154-544-4

 

Q: Do you have a website for readers to go to? 

A: Yes, we welcome visits often and invite readers to sign up for our mailing list, too.  http://www.kmdaughters.com

 

Thank you, K.M. Daughters for sharing your book and characters with us today. It has been a pleasure and I hope you have had a successful virtual book tour.

 

BEYOND THE CODE OF CONDUCT VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘09 will officially begin on June 1 and end on June 26. You can visit K.M. Daughters’ blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of June to find out more about this great book and talented authors!
As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

Living Like You Mean It: Use The Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life Your Really Want – Author Interview – Dr. Ronald J. Fredrick

Paperback Writer is pleased to introduce author Dr. Ronald J. Frederick, author of the nonfiction self-help book, Living Like You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want (Jossey-Bass (Wiley)), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in June on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

ABOUT THE BOOK
So many of us long to feel more alive, connected, and secure in our lives, particularly now, in these challenging and difficult times. Why is it so hard? Part of the problem, says Dr. Ronald J. Frederick, has to do with a fear of our feelings—a feelings‐phobia—and the consequences of expressing our feelings to others. It’s this fear that keeps us stuck, detached from the wisdom inside us and distanced from the people around us.

And yet positive emotional experiences can actually “rewire” our brain and free us up to experience ourselves and our lives more fully. LIVING LIKE YOU MEAN IT: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want by Ronald J. Frederick, shows how we can overcome our feelings phobia in order to enjoy more satisfying lives.

Drawing on cutting edge science, many years as a psychotherapist and his own personal experiences, Dr. Frederick advocates that we understand and express the broad range of our emotions so that our feelings actually become allies in our search for fulfillment. His proven four-step process for tapping into the hidden power of our emotions includes:

*Recognizing the signs of fears in ourselves, and the defenses we unknowingly use to cut ourselves off from our potential power.
*Understanding how to tame our fear and exercise control.
*Learning how to experience our true emotions and make use of their many resources.
*Developing effective, measured ways to express and share our feelings.

A master story‐teller, Frederick interlaces therapeutic techniques with stories from people who have learned to recognize and deal constructively with the emotions that have kept them from living their best lives. The trick, Dr. Frederick shows, is in being able to navigate and diminish the fear that is so entangled with our feelings, so we can progress in a healthier, less encumbered direction, and get the life we really want.

INTERVIEW

 Hi, Dr. Ron Frederick. Welcome to Paperback Writer.

Q: Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book?

A; Living Like You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want is a self-help book published by Jossey-Bass, a division of Wiley. Based on cutting-edge science, it shares my proven four-step approach to overcoming fear and becoming more emotionally present in one’s life and relationships.

I was inspired to write Living Like You Mean It by my own life-changing experience. I was in my early thirties, had just finished my doctoral studies, and despite having everything going for me, I hit a wall. I was in relationship I frequently questioned and found myself filled with trepidation and fear about moving forward. I ended up in therapy and discovered, rather surprisingly, that the anxiety I was experiencing at the time had so much to do with being uncomfortable with what I really felt deep down inside. I had become so afraid of my emotions, of listening to and trusting my true feelings, that I couldn’t hear the voice of my deepest self buried somewhere inside me—the voice that knew what I wanted, knew what I longed for, knew what felt right to me and what felt wrong. I might have gone on doubting myself forever had I not gotten the help I needed to recognize what, in fact, I really was afraid of and to learn how to overcome my fears, accept and embrace my emotional self, and really connect with others. The experience changed my life. My anxiety decreased, I stopped doubting myself and felt much more confident and in touch with my personal truth. I found it much easier to be emotionally present and felt closer to the people in my life. Ultimately, I found the courage to listen to and trust my heart and move forward, to leave the relationship I was in, and to realize the kind of relationship and life I had dreamed of having.

When you have an experience like that, when your life is changed in such a dramatic way, you want to spread the good stuff around. The more people I’ve been able to help, and the more I witness the dramatic changes that can take place when we develop the ability to be with and share our feelings, the more I have felt compelled to spread the word. I guess you can say that it’s become a mission for me: to help people to wake up to their feelings and get the lives they really want. I wrote this book to help people do just that.

Q: Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time?

A: While the material in the book is something I’ve thought about for a long time, the impulse to put it into a self-help book format was a bit of a “light bulb” moment. One of my trainees asked me if there was a book he could recommend to clients to help them deal with their feelings and, after considering that there wasn’t anything that quite addressed the topic in a way that would be useful, something stirred inside me and, I thought: why don’t I write one!

Q:How did you come up with the title?

A: The title was quite a challenge. I went through several before ending up with Living Like You Mean It which, in the end, I adore. I had wracked my brain, consulted friends, family, editorial and marketing professionals. On a last ditch effort to come up with something, I ran a list of all the titles I had considered by a marketing consultant and Living Like You Mean It jumped out at him. I had considered so many titles that, at that point, they’d all become a blur. I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. A fresh pair of eyes did the trick. Living Like You Mean It had actually been suggested by my sister and, in the acknowledgements section of my book, I credit her. She saved the day!

Q: How did you find an agent and publisher?

A: I solicited agent referrals from people I knew who had published books. I also did a lot of research on my own. I found the site: www.agentquery.com to be invaluable. I did three rounds of mailings to agents and, ultimately, got offers from two. The agent I chose, Dan Ambrosio at Vigiano Associates in NYC, was recommended to me by a colleague. He helped me tighten up my proposal a bit and then pitched it to several publishing houses.

Q: Who reads your work in progress?

A: Well, along the way, my partner Tim read every word I wrote. I chose to have my editor at Jossey-Bass review each chapter at a time. I preferred working in this way as I wanted and needed the feedback and guidance along the way. It helped to focus me and shape the book as I went.

Q: Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

A: My editor, Sheryl Fullerton, was amazing as well as the other folks at Jossey-Bass. I also got wonderful feedback from a few colleagues, family members, and friends that was invaluable.

Q: How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

A: The first three chapters of the book were part of my book proposal. I worked on my proposal for over two years. After I signed my contract with Jossey-Bass, I had eight months to complete the rest of the book. I got it in just a week or so before my deadline. Whew!

Q: How long did it take from start to publication?

A: Four years from start to finish. From inception to hardcover book sitting on the store shelf.

Q: Do you have any advice for new authors?

A: Getting a book published has so much to do with being tenacious. For me, it was four years from start to finish, with many road blocks along the way. I’m so glad that I persevered despite all the rejection, all the hurdles, all the down times. That I reached out to others for help and that I stuck with it as long as I did. I can hardly believe it sometimes when I’m holding the book in my hands that it’s actually come to fruition. It’s been quite a ride. So, don’t despair. Hang in there and keep at it!
And, to learn more about me and Living Like You Mean It, please visit: http://www.livinglikeyoumeanit.com/index.html

Thank you, Dr. Ron, for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of you tour.

LIVING LIKE YOU MEAN IT VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘09 officially begin on June 1 and will end on June 26. You can visit Dr. Ron Frederick’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of June to find out more about this great book and talented author!

The Pyewiz and The Amazing Mobile Phone – Author Interview – Herbert Howard Jones

Paperback Writer would like to introduce our author for today Herbert Howard Jones, author of The Pyewiz and the Amazing Mobile Phone. Herbert is on his first book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion and as part of his virtual book tour you have a chance to win prizes.

WIN PRIZES As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Journey to a frozen planet to find a long lost twin an amazing crystal phone with incredible powers and a cunning old pirate wizard who must be stopped.

Schoolboy Terry Mctrain thinks the new tenant in his parent’s guesthouse is strange. Stranger still is the reason why she is here. Then Terry learns about a twin brother he never knew he had, kidnapped by a pirate wizard years ago. Baffled by all this, Terry realizes there’s a mystery to be solved, and a secret to be uncovered. But when he discovers that the fate of the world is also in his hands, he wonders..

Could this turn into the adventure of a lifetime?

Perhaps, but unless Terry and his friend Will travel to the other side of the solar system to solve this puzzle there’s a danger that the world would be destroyed, and his twin brother lost forever.

Hi, Herbert Howard Jones,

Welcome to Paperback Writer

Q: Will you share with us how you came up with the idea for this book?
A: Thank you for asking me. But unfortunately, there was nothing profound about the stimulus for my book, which came quite unexpectedly, early one afternoon, in the form of a workman that I had employed to remove some junk. But it was his manner, the way he held himself, his appearance, his aura, which reeked of the sea and planted the thought of The Pyewiz in my head! He was the very incarnation of a fictitious character yet to be born on paper. He had two help mates with him, Terry and Will, and they too became the young protagonists in my swashbuckling adventure. I also borrowed ideas from Tolkien, but not too blatantly that you would notice. But he did invent the ultimate adventure travelogue, and I used this format in my book. I also wanted to write the book as a kind of cathartic therapy and see what I would come up with.

Q: Do you plan your stories first with an outline or does it come to you as write it?
A: I think that it is essential to have an outline, and then fill in the details as you go along. Once you know what your parameters are, you know when you are out of bounds. I believe that it keeps everything tight and under control.

Q: Do you know the end of the story at the beginning?
A: The end of the book is surely the back story, isn’t it? The book in hand is the sequel to the back story! First you work out the character’s motivations and reasons for their actions, and then you tuck this away somewhere, and start work on your novel, which deliberately leaves out these very elements. Then at the end of the book, you tack on the back story. So you really have to know the end, even before you get to work on the book itself. Well for certain types of fiction, anyway. But if you don’t keep your readers guessing, which is what this method achieves, then you may as well stick to writing letters!

Q: Do you have a process for developing your characters?
A: The J.R Rowling method is the best in my view. She kept note books, and wrote notes about them, what they looked like, what they wore, and what their general preferences were. She built up a character dossier, and got to know her characters so well that she knew how they would behave in any situation. This gave her characters consistency and believability. I use this method myself. But it also helps to draw a little picture or caricature of them too. Then there really is no going back. The character springs to life and there is nothing you can do about it, other than finish the story. Because obviously, it is the characters who are the true authors of your tale.

Q: It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?
A: Yep, I’m Terry! I felt closer to this character than any of the others. I could never be the Pyewiz. The guy’s karma would freak me out for one thing!

Q: What is your most favorite part about this book?
A: The Pyewiz conducts mock war games to keep his crew on their toes. Terry and Will find themselves getting enmeshed in this. They manage to commandeer one of the galleons and play loud rock music over the PA system! I thought this might tickle some readers.

Q: When in the process of writing your book did you begin to look for a publisher?
A: At the end of the project, which probably isn’t the wisest thing to do. But I hate the idea of writing story proposals. I don’t think I could cope with the pressure if one of them was taken up.

Q: What struggles have you had on the road to being published?
A: The usual round of rejections, bouts of self doubt, envy of those who are published, tendency to subscribe to conspiracy theories about the industry, formation of sweat beads on forehead when opening agent’s letters, nightmares, inane looping of self-talk; was it the folder? Yes it was the folder; I knew I shouldn’t have used that yellow folder with the Homer Simpson logo on it! Rollercoaster’s have an easier time! Aside from all that, there is a feeling that the industry is oversubscribed, and that it would doing agents a big favour if people stopped writing books for a while. I also don’t think it’s healthy for authors to get too wrapped up in their brainchild. I think you have to distance yourself emotionally from it, and at an appropriate time, let it go! The mental, emotional and physical struggles of an author are truly the struggles of the damned.

Q: What has been the best part about being published?
A: The reaction of people around me. I have been invited to quite a few dinner parties since getting into print. Also, I’d say handling the book for the first time in the knowledge that the British Museum has a policy of keeping a copy in their archives. Well, they used to, and it’s a damn nice thought!

Q: What do you want readers to remember and carry with them after reading your novel?
A: I want them to say to them, ‘I can’t wait for the movie’. No, seriously, I want them to think fondly of The Pyewiz, despite his failings as a human being. And I hope this doesn’t sound big headed, but it is surely ever writers dream to have their characters creep into twenty-first century culture as mini icons of sorts. If not, my book is big enough to be used as a door stop! Either way I can’t loose!

Q: Do you have plans to write another book?
A: Well I’ve set myself a target of writing 500 pages a year, which equates to two books year. At the present time I am writing the sequel to my first book, entitled, The Pyewiz and The Sons of Terrafirma, and I’m tapping out my first occult thriller about an unusual archaeological find which has curious implications for the heroine of the story.

Q: Would you care to share with us how the virtual book tour experience with Pump up Your Book Promotion has been for you?
A: Simply thrilling! It is also a great honour to be on the same promotional pages as Barry Eisler and Jamie Ford! These guys really are the top guns, and so with any luck some of their talent will rub off on me! And by way of a quick infomercial, let me tell all authors out there to immediately down tools and sign up with Dorothy Thompson’s agency right now! Pumpupyourbookpromotion has to be the best value for money PR outfit on the internet. I’m happy because there are already there are over 18,600 listings for the word ‘Pyewiz’ on Yahoo, and it is all down to Dorothy Thompson. I even made the Chicago Times and libreria universitaria! Thank you Dorothy and partners!! Also, it really is fun to be given carte blanche to write anything you like and have it posted on all these sympathetic blogs. I’ve really indulged myself. If Dorothy will have me again, I’ll sign up with her like a shot.

Q: Where can readers find a copy of your book?
A: From Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk also Amazon.com.jp (I do actually have a Japanese character in the story), Barnesandnoble.com, Powells.com. Whsmiths.com, to name but a few.

Q: Do you have a website for readers to go to?
A: Yes indeed, www.science-fiction-fanatsy.com and www.solarsystemtales.com

Thank you, Herbert Howard Jones for sharing your book and characters with us today. It has been a pleasure and I hope you have had a successful virtual book tour.

Thank you Rebecca for taking such a kind interest in my work.

THE PYEWIZ AND THE AMAZING MOBILE PHONE VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘09 will officially begin on May 4 and end on June 26. You can visit Howard’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in May and June to find out more about this talented author!

Sea Changes – Author Interview – Gail Graham

Paperback Writer is pleased to announce or author for today, Gail Graham, author of Sea Changes. Gail’s virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion. As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

ABOUT THE BOOKWhen Sarah’s husband dies suddenly, she is left with no anchor and no focus.

Grief is an ever-present companion and counseling a weekly chore with minimal results, but when Sarah decides to end her life her suicide attempt takes her to an underwater world where she finds comfort and friendship. Afterwards, back on the beach she wonders – Was it a dream? Was I hallucinating? Or am I going mad?

Her efforts to make sense of the experience lead to Sarah’s becoming a suspect in the alleged kidnapping of a young heiress. Now her worlds are colliding – and the people she trusts are backing away, not believing a word she says. She must decide what is real and what is not. Her life depends on it.

Hi Gail,

Welcome to Paperback Writer

Thanks for inviting me here to talk about Sea Changes.

Q: Will you share with us how you came up with the idea for this book?
A: My husband died suddenly, leaving me a youngish widow. I instantly become socially invisible. Friends vanished. My life was gone, even though I was still alive. I seemed to no longer have an identity. Many widows experience this, but it was not what I expected. (It’s not what any of us expect) Then one night I found myself watching a documentary about people who believed they’d been abducted by aliens. I was intrigued by how ordinary these people seemed. They certainly weren’t publicity-seekers. They were just ordinary people to whom something extraordinary had happened. I wondered how that would feel, to experience something that you know is impossible, to know that it happened and to also know nobody believes you. The anomie of widowhood plus this curiosity to know how “the impossible” might feel provided the seeds of the ideas at the center of Sea Changes.

Q: Do you plan your stories first with an outline or does it come to you as write it?
A: I don’t actually make an outline, but I usually have an idea of where the plot is going. My fiction is always very character-driven, and Sea Changes is no exception. But a good plot is important, too. It keeps your readers turning the pages and wondering what will happen next.

Q: Do you know the end of the story at the beginning?
A: Yes. In fact, the last line of Sea Changes was the first thing I wrote.

Q: Do you have a process for developing your characters? A: My characters grow and develop like children. When they’re born, they are totally dependent upon me for everything. Then they start talking and walking and developing their own, distinct personalities. Sometimes – again like children — they turn out very differently from what I expected. And sometimes, they take the plot in an entirely different direction from what I planned. But that’s okay. In fact, when that happened with Sea Changes, I knew I had a viable, living novel.

Q: It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?
A: Certainly, there is a lot of me in Sarah Andrews, the protagonist of Sea Changes. Like Sarah, I am a widow. Also like Sarah, I lived in Australia for many years, and felt very much of an outsider. But I think Sarah Andrews is also a stronger, better, braver version of me – I think she’s perhaps the person I would like to be rather than the person I am. As for the other characters – they’re figments of my imagination, and to the extent that it is my imagination that creates them, they are part of me, part of my psyche. The creative process is basically a process of dissembling and reassembling elements of the author’s experience and psyche. That’s what I love about writing. Authors get to create whole worlds out of nothing other than what’s in their head.

Q: What is your most favorite part about this book?
A: The magical realism. These are the parts of Sea Changes where exciting and transformative things happen, because these are the moments when anything is possible.

Q: When in the process of writing your book did you begin to look for a publisher?
A: Not until I’d finished it. But you can’t just look for a publisher, these days. First, you’ve got to find an agent, because most mainstream publishers won’t look at an unagented manuscript. It’s the agent – rather than the author – who goes looking for a publisher

Q: What struggles have you had on the road to being published?
A: I was fortunate enough to find an agent. But the process is time-consuming, frustrating and generally awful. And the sheer rudeness of many of these people is appalling. They say that they’re busy, but that’s what running a business is about – being busy. I mean, how long does it take to hit the Reply button? I also have a big problem with the idea that agents have to “be in love” with a book before they take it on. It just sounds totally phony. So the biggest struggle was the agent thing. I have promised myself that I will never go through that again.

Q: What has been the best part about being published?
A: The best part of being published is having people (mostly reviewers at this stage) reading Sea Changes and totally “getting” it – that is just so great! I tried very hard to do something, and from the comments so far, I succeeded. That’s a wonderful feeling. Having Sea Changes out there and knowing that even as I sit here answering your questions people are reading it is the most fabulous feeling in the world.

Q: What do you want readers to remember and carry with them after reading your novel?
A: I want them to believe – as I do — that anything is possible.

Q: Do you have plans to write another book?
A: I’m currently working on another novel, set in 7th century Tang China. Also, I’m writing a book of non-fiction about what it’s like to come back to the United States after having lived in Australia for 32 years.

Q: Where can readers find a copy of your book?
A: Sea Changes is available through Amazon and in book stores.

Q: Do you have a website for readers to go to?
A: My website is at www.gailgraham.net

Thank you, Gail for sharing your book and characters with us today. It has been a pleasure and I hope you have had a successful virtual book tour.

The SEA CHANGES VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘09 will officially begin on June 1 and end on June 26. You can visit Gail’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of June to find out more about this great book and talented author!

How To Win A Pitch – Author Interview – Joey Asher

Paperback Writer is please to announce our author for today, Joey Asher, author of How to Win A Pitch.

 ABOUT THE BOOK

How to Win a Pitch will help you learn how to: Develop presentations that win contracts. Create connections to secure business relationships. Identify, discuss and fulfill client needs effectively. Veteran business coach Joey Asher has helped his clients win over five billion dollars in new business contracts. He uses his former experience as an attorney and journalist to help readers and clients rise above their competition. He has authored two previous books, Selling & Communication Skills for Lawyers and Even a Geek Can Speak: Low-Tech Presentation Skills For High-Tech People.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JOEY ASHER  is one of the country’s preeminent experts on selling skills and communication.  As President of Speechworks, an Atlanta-based communication and selling skills coaching firm that has been helping business people deliver presentations that win business for over 20 years, Asher combines his skills as an attorney and journalist to help sellers communicate a clear, simple message that connects with prospects and wins business.

 

 

 

Hi Joey.

 

Welcome to Paperback Writer.

 

Q: Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book? 

 

A: “How can we distinguish ourselves from the competition when what we are offering is so similar?”

 

Q: That’s the most common question my clients ask as they prepare sales presentations. My new book answers that question.

 

A: The book is “How to Win a Pitch: The Five Fundamentals that Will Distinguish You from the Competition.”  It details how to create and deliver presentations that win business.  It’s aimed at sales people. But it’s also a great book about how to persuade listeners.

 

As president of Speechworks, an Atlanta-based, nationally-known communication skills coaching firm, my colleagues and I have helped clients create and deliver presentations that have won billions of dollars in new business. We work with all industries including construction, architecture, engineering, high tech, financial services, manufacturing, real estate, accounting, law and others.

 

We have learned that the key to a great pitch is executing five fundamentals.

 

• Making the presentation solution-oriented
• Keeping it simple
• Delivering with passion
• Interacting with the prospect during the presentation
• Appearing well-rehearsed.

 

The book teaches how to execute those fundamentals. It includes recipes for success as well as success stories taken from my experiences working with clients.  The book covers everything you need to succeed including how to:

 

• Create a simple, persuasive presentation.
• Rig the pitch in your favor.
• Develop a presentation style that connects and builds relationships.
• Get lots of questions.
• Rehearse.
• Overcome stage-fright.

 

 

Q: Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time?

 

A: We are a communication skills coaching firm that works with sales people in helping them learn how to create and deliver great presentations.  So I always thought it would be a good idea to do a book focusing on helping sales people. I sat down to write it when I felt I had enough ideas for sales people to really help them.

 

Q: How did you come up with the title?

 

A: The title is a simple description of what you will get from the book.

 

Q: How did you find an agent and publisher?

 

A: I’ve never had an agent. I’ve always approached publishers directly with my ideas.

 

Q: Who reads your work in progress?

 

A: No one.  I finish it and send it to the editor.

 

Q: Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

 

A: In this most recent book, Amy MacGregor, who managed the publishing and editing of the book, did a nice job of suggesting ways to make the book more user friendly.

 

Q: How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

 

A: All three of my books have taken me six months to write.

 

Q: How long did it take from start to publication?

 

A: About 18 months.

 

Q: Do you have any advice for new authors?

 

A: When I’m writing a book, I write two pages every day. If I’ve done my two pages, I stop even if I’m in the middle of a sentence. That allows me to get a running start the next day. If you do that every day, you’ll have a book in about six months.

 

Thank you, Joey for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of you tour.

 

The HOW TO WIN A PITCH VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘09 officially begin on June 1 and will end on June 26. You can visit Joey’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of June to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

The Case of the Missing Sock – author interview – Renee Hand

Paperback Writer would like to introduce our children’s author for today, Renee Hand, author of The Crypto-Capers and The Case of the Missing Sock. Renee’s visit is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion.

ABOUT THE BOOK In this is story siblings Max and Mia Holmes, along with their good friend Morris and their flamboyant Granny Holmes, are know as The Crypto-Capers. They are a group of detectives who unravel crimes by solving cryptograms that criminals leave behind. Mia is an expert puzzle solver. Max is great at deduction and reasoning. Morris is a computer genius, and Granny…well, Granny is the muscle of the group. Don’t let her size or age fool you—she is quite handy.

The Case of the Missing Sock leads the Crypto-Capers to Florida, where they are hired by a Mr. Delacomb. The mystery leads the team to different locations. Clues flourish throughout the mystery. Suspects by the handful seem to pop up at every turn, but who committed the crime? Help the detectives solve the case by solving the cryptograms and puzzles.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR My love for reading and writing started when I was a child. I always had a passion for it. I remember frequently wearing out the stone steps to the local library. When in a bookstore I would sit in the middle of an aisle perusing a novel that I was eagerly going to purchase but couldn’t wait to read. Often, when I had extra time, I would write stories that would pop into my head locking myself in my room for hours. Now that I am older my love for reading and writing has not diminished. In fact, it has only become a bigger part of me. It is because of this that I chose to share my interests with other readers who love books as much as I do.
My goal in writing is to entertain, but more importantly it is to build a connection with my readers. If I make another person feel some kind of emotion while they read my books, whether it be love, anger, or compassion, then I did my job as a writer and that makes me feel good about what I write about. Romance is something in all of us. It is something that brings passion to our lives and happiness to our hearts. It is the strength, courage and determination of when two souls find each other and their journey, that inspires me to write in this genre. It shows that love, of any kind, is not an easy path to take. You must fight everyday to keep it for it is never easily attained and can so easily be lost or forgotten.
Since my first novel has been published I have done over 50 events. I have been on radio, TV, and have been in over 30 newspapers. I have experience talking in classrooms about writing. I have presented at various libraries, have done several book signings and many other venues with more going on in the future. My family has encouraged my talents and creativity and I couldn’t have gotten this far without their support and love. Having Magic Hearts published really was a dream come true and I am thankful to God for all of the blessings in my life. I have also received an award for Magic Hearts for Best 2006 Fantasy Romance. I am thrilled. My second novel SEDUCTION OF THE LONELY HEART has won a National Literary Award for Best Romance of 2007. I am thankful for these two awards.
I have also ventured in writing other genres. I have a new children’s detective series that will be coming out. The first book of the series, The Crypto-Capers in the Case of the Missing Sock, is currently released. This story is filled with adventure and heart. With relatable characters and you, as the reader, are apart of the story, helping the detectives solve the case. I love being an author! Thank you for all of your support.

Hi Renee,

Welcome to Paperback Writer

Q: Will you share with us how you came up with the idea for this book?
A: There were two reasons why I wrote this book. One, I love reading mysteries. I also love to figure out cryptograms, I am a cryptogram junky. So I thought what a great idea it would be to combine the two things I love to do and make it into a story where kids could interact with it. Two, I wanted children to be involved with what they were reading. This series is fun and entertaining, always keeping the reader’s attention. Not only does the series challenge the avid reader, but also keeps the reluctant readers attention. As soon as the reader picks up the book, they have instantly joined the team as a detective. The reader will be asked to look up different things and to participate in the story on different occasions. My goal was to have kids remember what they were reading because they are learning information with value, yet having fun at the same time. I am all about having fun in my stories and the activities I create for it.

Q: Do you plan your stories first with an outline or does it come to you as write it?

A: I really just let my ideas come to me. I have a favorite tool that I use in my writing. I have what I call “an idea wall.” Whenever I get an idea I write it down and stick in on my wall for future consideration, as well as to remind me of things that I want to make sure I incorporate into my story. My story usually develops on the fly, which works great for me and my creativity. I will lay out certain ideas in a specific order at times, depending on the scene in my story and where I want it to go or what I need to have happen. So, certain ideas in my story are planned out to be in a certain way, but after that I let my creativity take me where I need to go.

Q: Do you know the end of the story at the beginning?

A: When writing a mystery, it is an absolute must to have an idea of what the ending of your story is going to be like from the beginning. Will it stay the same as you start writing and get to the ending? Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. By the time I develop my story and come to the ending, my ending always changes from what I originally thought it to be, and that is because as I have developed my story, I have come up with better ideas. My endings always turn out better than how I originally plan them.

Q: Do you have a process for developing your characters?

A: I develop my characters based on how I feel they should be. Only a few of my characters are based on real people, the rest are based on my imagination. Character development is very important in a story. As a writer, you are giving your characters life. You are giving them a heart and a soul. Every character in a story must have a purpose for being there. All of my stories are character driven. I want the reader to understand not only what is going on in the story and how the characters fit, but I want the reader to understand how my characters feel and to relate to them in some way. That right there is something that I am known for in everything I write. I want that connection with my readers and I get that through well developed characters with lots of description.

Q: It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?

A: I am the heroine in every one of my books. The women carry a lot of my characteristics. In my children’s detective series, Mia, who is my cryptogram solver, is very much like me. She is a clever girl with strength and courage, who loves to solve cryptograms.

Q: What is your most favorite part about this book?

A: My favorite part of this book is the strength and diversity of my characters. Each character has a special talent which helps unify them as a group. The characters are relatable and interesting. Throughout the series these characters will grow and change just like children will grow and change. My characters will make mistakes, and just like life, will learn from them to help them become better people. These characters are strong, never giving up when a situation turns bad but rising above it to overcome it. At times they do have fear, but that fear is what drives them to the truth. I also like the fact that in my series, there is so much meaning and interesting things going on.

Q: When in the process of writing your book did you begin to look for a publisher?

A: I began looking for a publisher when my book one was complete. I wanted to make sure that I had a finished manuscript just in case the publisher wanted to see it right away.

Q: What struggles have you had on the road to being published?

A: I have four books that are published. Each one of them is not without their share of headaches. My first book took me some time to get published, but once I found a publisher that liked my work, the process went quickly. When finding a publisher for my children’s series, the process was quick with very few rejections. In all honesty, I had more rejections from agents then I did from publishers. My road was smooth and easily traveled compared to most.

Q: What has been the best part about being published?

A: The best part about being published is that I get to travel around and talk about my books. I have met so many nice and interesting people along the way. From the time my first book was published until now, I have done around seventy events. I work very hard promoting and getting my books out there for the world to see. In all honesty, I probably wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have, if I wasn’t out there. I have made some great connections which have propelled my career in many ways.

Q: What do you want readers to remember and carry with them after reading your novel?

A: That you can do anything they want if they set their mind to it. No goal is too big. Whenever I write a story, no matter if it is a romance novel for adults or for my children’s series, I put a lot of heart in it. When a reader gets done with reading one of my books, they are not just going to set it down and say, “That was a good book!” and walk away. They’re going to say that my story meant something to them in some way and they will remember it. I love to have that connection with my readers.

Q: Do you have plans to write another book?

A: I have more books in the series coming out. The Crypto-Capers is a series. Book 1 is The Case of the Missing Sock. Book 2 is out and is titled, The Case of Red Rock Canyon. Book 3 will be out in the fall with two coming out every year. I should also have a new romance novel out this year. Readers can check out my website for all upcoming books. www.reneeahand.com
Q: Would you care to share with us how the virtual book tour experience with Pump Up Your Book Promotion has been for you?

A: The tour has been great. I have been given lots of opportunities and my book has gotten a lot of exposure. I am very thankful for finding Pump Up Your Book Promotion and being a part of such a great team.

Q: Where can readers find a copy of your book?

A: My books are available at various bookstores, as well as online at Amazon, www.amazon.com and Barnes and Nobles, www.bn.com. Please check out my website at www.reneeahand.com and e-mail me or visit my blog. Thank you again for having me.
The two books in the series available now are:
The Case of the Missing Sock ISBN# 978-0-87839-304-6
The Case of Red Rock Canyon ISBN# 978-0-87839-309-1

Q: Do you have a website for readers to go to?

A: I do! Readers can go to www.reneeahand.com to find out all about my books and the activities that I am doing for them.

Thank you, Renee for sharing your book and characters with us today. It has been a pleasure and I hope you have had a successful virtual book tour.

Thank you so much. It was an honor and a pleasure to be here.

THE CASE OF THE MISSING SOCK VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘09 officially begin on June 1 and end on June 26. You can visit Renée’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of June to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

No Teachers Left Behind – Author Interview – HBF teacher

Paperback Writer is pleased to announce our author for today, Hopeful But Frustrated Teacher (HBF Teacher), author of the realistic fiction book, No Teachers Left Behind (2nd Avenue Publishing, 2009.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

HBF Teacher has been a public school Middle grades teacher for three years. Before that, HBF substitute taught for two years. HBF has also worked as a live-in nanny and an accounts payable representative.

Today when not nurturing young minds, HBF enjoys travel, photography, culinary arts, and the cinema. The Cohen Brothers and Tyler Perry are among her favorite artistic contributors.

You can find HBF Teacher online at http://www.noteachersleftbehind.info.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Explored through a series of poems, emails, and brief conversations, NO TEACHERS LEFT BEHIND is a fictional yet realistic look at the frustrations of middle school staff.

Hi HBF Teacher,

Welcome to Paperback Writer

PBW: Will you share with us how you came up with the idea for this book?

HBF: My own personal frustrations and disappointments as a middle school teacher led me to write this book.

PBW: Do you plan your stories first with an outline or does it come to you as write it?

HBF: Writing a story to me is like interacting with a force in which you have only minimal control. I always try to start with a plan in mind, but then the characters just become real. When this happens, they write their own stories, and I merely become a viewer in their lives.

PBW: Do you know the end of the story at the beginning?

HBF: I rarely know the ending of the story at the beginning. The characters decide their own endings.

PBW: Do you have a process for developing your characters?

HBF: There is no real process. For some weird reason, I tend to create names first, and then the characters develop. Sometimes they are huge exaggerations of people I have met in my lifetime, but not often.

PBW: It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?

HBF: Yes I do believe that authors write themselves into their characters, and I am no exception to that. There is a part of me in most of my characters. In No Teachers Left Behind, I am definitely all of the teachers who want to make a difference yet feel that they can’t.

PBW: What is your most favorite part about this book?

HBF: I love all the humorous email conversations. Laughter is indeed the best medicine, and laughing helps me keep my job.

PBW: When in the process of writing your book did you begin to look for a publisher?

HBF: I always knew that I wanted to go with Createspace, a division of Amazon, because it was the quickest route to publication. No Teachers Left Behind is a story that I really feel people should read so I wanted to have my book published as quickly as possible.

PBW: What struggles have you had on the road to being published?

HBF: No struggles really because writing is one of my passions. The hardest parts, if any, are finding the time to write and then coming up with clever ideas to market the book. There are so many books published each day that you really have to find a way to make yours stand out, and this is necessary even before the book is actually published.

PBW: What has been the best part about being published?

HBF: The best part about being published is holding the first copy of your book in your hand. It means that you’ve completed what you’ve started, and that’s a wonderful feeling.

PBW: What do you want readers to remember and carry with them after reading your novel?

HBF: Remember that teachers are people too, and for the most part, we’re actually nice people who care about our students and want to see them become successful. No one has ever become a teacher because of greed and a desire to be adored by millions.

PBW: Do you have plans to write another book?

HBF: There’s always a story to tell, and I already have ideas for a sequel to No Teachers Left Behind. I also have plans to write a young adult novel.

PBW: Would you care to share with us how the virtual book tour experience with Pump Up Your Book Promotion has been for you?

HBF: I am really enjoying my experience with Pump Up Your Book Promotion. The people are wonderful to work with, and my name and my book title – well they are popping up everywhere on the web.

PBW: Where can readers find a copy of your book?

HBF: Readers can purchase a copy of my book at Amazon.com.

PBW: Do you have a website for readers to go to?

HBF: Readers can learn more about me and No Teachers Left Behind at http://www.noteachersleftbehind.info

Thank you, HBF Teacher for sharing your book and characters with us today. It has been a pleasure and I hope you have had a successful virtual book tour.

THE NO TEACHERS LEFT BEHIND VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘09 officially begin on May 4th and will end on May 29th. You can visit HBF Teacher’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of May to find out more about this great book and talented author!

The New IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and Our World, – Author Interview – David Gruder, Ph.D., DCEP

Paperback Writer is pleased to announce our author for today, David Gruder, author of The New IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and our World. David’s virtual book tour is brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

David Gruder, PhD, DCEP, is perhaps the world’s only clinical-organizational psychologist specializing in integrity development. Known as “The Integritizer,” he is the leader in transpartisan nondenominational strategies for solving the massive integrity deficits that have caused today’s vast social, economic, and political challenges. Dr. Gruder founded the “Integritize America Campaign,” an integrity stimulus plan for renewing personal, relationship and societal integrity so we can finally co-create sustainable solutions to today’s most challenging issues. His latest book, “THE NEW IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and our World,” is the world’s first step-by-step guide to attaining personal, relationship, and career fulfillment during difficult times without sacrificing ethics and integrity. It has won five book awards in the areas of “social change,” (book of the year), “current events in politics and society” (honorable mention), “health & wellness” (book of the year), “self-help” (bronze medal) and “metapsychology” (book of the year). A professional speaker and trainer for almost three decades, Dr. Gruder speaks, trains, consults worldwide on how to “Integritize” citizens, government, communities, businesses, health care, education, religion, journalism, advocacy groups, and leadership. His clients have ranged from family-owned businesses to American Express work teams, from the Sanoviv Medical Institute to the San Diego Office of Education Management Academy, and from local politicians and executives to World Trade Organization ambassadors. His main website is www.TheNewIQ.com

ABOUT THE BOOK:
From the White House, to the board room, to the privacy of our own bedrooms, and virtually everywhere in between, integrity deficits are destroying our personal lives, our businesses, our economy, our healthcare, our society, and our planet.
Creating sustainable integrity-centered solutions to today’s vast array of major challenges requires us, as individuals and as a society, to take a fresh look at what creates life fulfillment. It requires us as citizens to develop a new integrity-centered vision of what we need to require from our leaders in government, business, advocacy groups, community organizations and the media.
The New IQ is the world’s first road-tested guide to integrity-centered living, working, loving, and serving. Hailed as a “once-in-a-generation book,” it provides the first step-by-step road map for restoring the vanishing virtue of integrity… for the sake of our loved ones, our communities, our businesses, our society, and our own personal wellbeing.
Going far beyond being a self-help book, this critically acclaimed five-award-winning action plan offers a socially responsible way to attain personal, relationship, and career fulfillment during difficult times, without sacrificing ethics and integrity. Here at last is your complete guide to “personal development that serves us all.”

INTERVIEW:

Paperback Writer
www.rebecca2007.wordpress.com

Interview Questions For Non-Fiction Authors

Hi Dr. Gruder.

Welcome to Paperback Writer.

Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book?

It’s no secret that we are suffering today from the devastating effects of massive integrity deficits at all levels of society. What is largely a secret, however, is the widely embraced faulty life fulfillment formula that is responsible for these integrity deficits. I wanted to write a book that exposed this faulty formula and that provided a practical nonpartisan interfaith road map for replacing it with a sustainable formula for individual life fulfillment and societal repair. My idea was therefore to write a book offering answers to what I believe are the five biggest questions of our time: 1) Why have we allowed severe integrity deficits to damage virtually all parts of our society? 2) How did so many of us adopt the insane belief that life fulfillment, wealth accumulation and a comfortable lifestyle require sacrificing integrity, people and social responsibility? 3) What do the few who succeed without making these sacrifices do to create happy fulfilling integrity-centered lives? 4) How can the rest of us easily learn to do on purpose what these rare folks do intuitively? 5) What profound improvements will we see in the world as more and more of us shift toward integrity-centered living, loving, working and serving?

Was it a light bulb moment or something that you thought about for a very long time?

It was a combination of both. The first light bulb leading to The New IQ went off forty years ago, but it took me decades to fully decipher the lessons I learned from the experience. When I was fifteen my parents naively sent me to the infamous Woodstock music festival because the summer camp for the performing arts I attended had offered it as an optional field trip. Woodstock surprisingly opened my eyes to some of the key integrity ingredients I describe in The New IQ. The second light bulb was the profound ways in which I was impacted because of being in the New York area during and immediately following the 9/11 attacks. That experience moved me so deeply that I committed the remainder of my career to helping to restore integrity in our society and around the world. The third light bulb was my own twin towers falling six months after that, when my first wife ended a marriage that I would have sworn on a stack of bibles was a marriage for life. It woke me up to hidden aspects of self-integrity and relationship integrity that I had never before understood to be crucial integrity dimensions. I write in The New IQ about all of these stories and the lessons about integrity that they taught me.

How did you come up with the title?

Many people know that there is more to intelligence than their Intelligence Quotient (IQ). There is emotional intelligence, relationship intelligence, leadership intelligence, etc. But, of the many forms of intelligence we have (or need to upgrade), it seems to me that the most central one of all is the one in which we are collectively most lacking: Integrity Intelligence. As a clinical and organizational psychologist, I am convinced that this form of intelligence is the foundational ingredient necessary for co-creating sustainable solutions to the multitude of significant problems we face today. Hence, my book title, “The New IQ: How Integrity Intelligence Serves You, Your Relationships and Our World.”

How did you find an agent and publisher?

I did not use an agent for The New IQ. I was deeply blessed that my publisher found me.

Who reads your work in progress?

My wife Laurie (who spots where I’m unnecessarily complicated and where my heart or passion aren’t shining through), my now-84-year-old mother (a published poet and incredible proofreader), some of the men in a support group I attend (they give me valuable insights about how my material will be received by average readers), a number of professional and writing colleagues (they point out my inaccuracies, blind spots and technical writing weaknesses), and of course my publisher and editor.

Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

All of the people I listed above plus everyone else I mentioned on my acknowledgments page in The New IQ.

How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

About a year.

How long did it take from start to publication?

About 1¾ years.

Do you have any advice for new authors?

Here is what I share with the helping professionals and leaders I mentor who are thinking about writing a non-fiction book. Truth told, this is the advice I wish I had been given and mentored with when I wrote my first book. Build your platform for selling your book before you finish the book. Non-fiction books are rarely ends in themselves. Before you write your book get clear about the upscale backend you want your book to generate interest in. While you write your book develop that backend so it’s ready when your book is published, including effective strategies to convert book buyers into upscale customers. Consciously write your book so that it serves your back-end. Write at the intersection of what you are truly passionate about and what your target readers most want (your target readers are those who are most likely to want to buy your back-ends). Write your book in a marketing-friendly way, rather than writing it for the sake of the content only. Allow your passion to shine through on every page. Understand each step in the book creation, production and marketing process, from soup to nuts. Invest in experts who specialize in the parts of the process you don’t have the expertise, passion, objectivity or time to do yourself. Make peace with the fact that writing a book is about 15% of the book process – and get good with the rest, which is about securing a publisher, pre-production, printing, distribution, marketing, and maximizing your back-end sales. In particular, get really, really good at and passionate about effective book marketing – don’t expect a publisher to rescue you from this responsibility. Learn to love the entire process, no matter how much of it you decide to outsource, or don’t bother writing a book. And once you start marketing your book, be prepared to persist, persist, persist, and improve, improve, improve.

Thank you, David, for stopping by Paperback Writer on your virtual book tour. I wish you continued success through the rest of your tour.

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World – Author Interview – Chet Galaska

Paperback Writer would like to introduce our author for today, Chet Galaska, author of the Christian nonfiction book, Finding Faith in a Skeptical World (Triad Press), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in April and May on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

 

Finding Faith in a Skeptical World covers subjects that once stood between him and faith. As he searched, he found that his skepticism was based on shallow perceptions he’d accepted at face value. One by one, troublesome issues were explained and they became reasons for belief instead of doubt.

It was as though he had a scale, with reasons for skepticism on one side and reasons for belief on the other. When he started, there was far more weight on the “skeptical” side, but it gradually shifted and became counterweight on the “belief” side. Eventually, the evidence for faith far outweighed the arguments for disbelief, and the case for faith became overwhelming.

Some chapters deal with matters of faith such as prayer, redemption, salvation and sin. Others address issues like Christian hypocrisy, why bad things happen, miracles, Satan and the Christian view of war. Some are about the seemingly contradictory relationship between science and religion that are discussed in chapters on scientific perception, creation and evolution. Other subjects like the sometimes violent and cruel history of Christianity, “Born Agains” and the Christian view of the Jewish people don’t fit neatly into any category. The common denominator is that each addresses an issue that can be misunderstood and create a distorted, negative view of the faith.

The book was written with the intent of providing brief shortcuts for curious unbelievers, those seeking faith, those new to it, and for Christians who may not be familiar with some of the ideas covered. The author realized that a book like this would have been valuable in helping him come to faith. Since none was available, he wrote Finding Faith in a Skeptical World to share the things he learned in a reader-friendly, direct and concise way.

 

 

 

INTERVIEW:

 

 

Would you share with us how you came up with the idea for your book?

 

I didn’t believe in Christianity until I was in my early 50’s and had my interest in it aroused by my physician.  Over several years I learned about issues that had stood between me and faith and found that I had misunderstood most of them.  In the end, the evidence supported faith and I became a believer. 

 

It took lots of time and effort to glean the information from various sources:  independent reading, sermons, Sunday school classes, mentoring by knowledgeable Christians and participation in a Bible study group.  There was no source I found that touched on the issues that I needed information on, so I wrote one to help others.

 

Was it a light bulb moment or something you though about for a very long time?

 

I’ve worked on it for so long it seems as though I always had the idea.  Obviously, that isn’t the case.  I guess it was more of a light bulb moment.  With all time it took to put my thoughts together on my beliefs it dawned on me most people who might be interested in looking into the Christian faith wouldn’t have the time or motivation to investigate it I did.  And even if they did, they might not have access to the great sermons I heard or the mentors I had.

 

It was clear that a short, readable book that touched on these topics would be unique and useful.

 

How did you come up with the title? 

 

Until it was ready to be published the working title was Stumbling Stones, because each chapter represented a hurdle to be overcome. The terms “stumbling stone” or “stumbling block” are used in the Bible to describe such things.  But as appropriate as the title might have been, it didn’t describe what the book was about.  So I added a subtitle:  “Finding Faith in a Skeptical World.”  With feedback from others, I realized that the original title was weak and confusing so I just went with the subtitle.

 

I’m glad I did, because it enabled us to come up with a cover that illustrated the title strikingly.

 

How did you find an agent and publisher?

 

Looked in the mirror.  As an unpublished non-celebrity I learned how daunting it is to find either a good agent or a publisher.  I asked a well-known author in the same genre how he got started, and it turned out that he was also unknown at first.  He printed his first book and did speaking engagements where he sold the book and got it out in the public.  After a time, it wound up in the hands of an agent who asked if he could shop it around.  It was picked up by a major publisher and the rest is history.

He suggested I do the same.

 

A word of warning:  in order to make this work, the author must keep ownership of his book’s ISBN – it’s not enough to have the copyright.  If you contact a co-publisher make sure you ask who owns the ISBN and you’ll find that most of them won’t deal with you if you insist on keeping it.

 

Who reads your work in progress?

 

A variety of people have read parts:  my wife, kids, pastor, friends.  But mostly I do.  I find that re-writing multiple times helps to pare it down and make it clearer.  It’s a strange thing, but I’ll write something, come back to it a couple of days later with fresh eyes and frequently come up with a better way to say it.

 

I also had a professional edit the text before printing.

 

Who made a difference in the book’s quality?

 

Valley Sharpe from United Writer’s Press was of great help with the editing and design work.  She suggested various interior designs and also did the graphic design work for the cover.

 

How long did it take you to complete the first draft?

 

About four years, but only because this was a part-time project that I worked on in fits and starts.

 

How long did it take from start to publication?

 

It took about a year from the completion of the manuscript to getting the book printed, so the total was around five years.  During that final year, the publishing company had to be legally established, a designer and editor found, the ISBN and copyright obtained, a printer contracted, distribution set up, a web site established (http://findingfaith.us) and other elements worked out.

 

Do you have any advice for new authors?

 

I wish I was a wizened old author who could offers pearls of wisdom, but I’m not.  All I can offer is the one thing that has always worked for me:  persistence.  It seems to be working for Finding Faith in a Skeptical World.  I’m speaking, selling the book and getting good feedback.  I’ve had some people come back and buy copies to give away and I know it’s been recommended to others by those who have read it.  I get charged up each time I hear these things, and the more books that get out there, the more they happen.

 

 

THE FINDING FAITH IN A SKEPTICAL WORLD VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘09 officially begin on April 1 and end on May 29. You can visit Chet’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in April and May to find out more about this talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.