Why did you choose to write this particular book? It seemed like a natural. I was reaching middle age and the story about my ill-fitting jeans came to me and seemed like I could center the book around that idea. Everything grew from there.
Who designed the cover? Jennifer at Hot Damn Designs along with her associate Kim Killion designed the cover. I originally had a cover that most of my friends and associates thought was a bit juvenile for the mature level of my subject matter so I decided to make a change. I gave Jennifer a photo and she actually found another photo that looked a little more suitable. I simply made suggestions and corrections as we went along and she did the rest.
Who is your publisher?I published my softcover book through Create Space which is Amazon’s publishing arm. I actually went through iUniverse first which was fairly inexpensive and their editors and staff provided me with sound advice but, ultimately, I couldn’t get the control that I needed to promote the book. But on the other hand, it was iUniverse who provided me with the final edit of the book—the version that is available for sale now. While I thought that the version that I presented to them was good enough they suggested an exhaustive, thorough edit which would make the book as good as it could be. I agreed and—though the edit was expensive—it was the best thing I ever did in terms of writing. The edit literally changed my life in terms of writing style, grammar, and punctuation. I didn’t do a total re-write of the book but entire sections were removed and I wrote five new chapters. Short undeveloped points that I made from the old introduction became new chapters and I created a whole new intro.
What are your goals as a writer? Like the Army motto, I want to be the best writer I can be. I want to continue to hone my style and branch out into other genres. For me, writing is hard work and I want to keep writing and stay viable and fresh. My immediate goal is to get my sales up and to get more reviews—more reviews will eventually lead to more sales.
Have you ever considered anyone as a mentor? I’ve never really had a mentor until recently. Kathy Shoop—a fellow author who has had a great deal of success selling her books—has helped to guide me through the difficult process of book selling in today’s market.
What dreams have you realized as a result of your writing? I have two books on the market now and I’m working on a third. I’ve found my style and I’ve discovered that I’m pretty versatile—I can write in a more than one genre. The process of selling and marketing books isn’t what I thought it would be but I’ve adjusted to the new way of things. I always thought that an agent would sell my book to a publisher who would offer me a sizable advance, say six digits or so. But these days, if a writer goes the traditional publishing route and manages to secure an advance it’s more in the neighborhood of $8,000 or so. And my book may never appear on that bestseller’s table which stands so prominently by the entrance of the door of the bookstore. The bookstores have that spot sewed up and brick and mortar stores are pretty much going by the wayside.
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Genre – NonFiction Memoir
Rating – PG
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