It may be the beginning of the work week, but it's the final leg of the Blog Ring of Power's interview with Robert MacNeil. Please visit Dean, Terri, Theresa, and Emily in that order for the first four parts of the interview. Let's finish up with some words of wisdom.
1. Tell us about your
route to success – how/when did you decide to self-publish? How did you handle the editing, proofreading,
cover design, etc.
I think the biggest
question
facing authors today is, "Do I self-publish?" When I wrote Iona Portal,
I assumed the best
way to publish fiction was to seek an agent and a publisher. I even
queried one agent. But in the process I began to research the
publishing industry.
I found that the publishing
industry today is sort of like the “horse and carriage” industry at the turn of
the 20th century. It's an industry with
a long and glorious history, but it has passed a tipping point and will never
be the same again. And for the author,
that's good news.
The traditional
publishing
industry has never been kind to authors.
An aspiring author can often spend a year or more just finding an
agent. I’ve talked to some who have
spent several years, sending query after query, and still no agent.
Rejection slips pile up. Some agents don’t even send rejection slips
any more. If they’re not interested, you
never hear back from them. You wait… and
wait… and wait…
Assuming you finally get an
agent, your agent then tries to sell your book to a publisher. Then come edits and re-edits, and sometimes
major re-writes. The typical timeframe
from a query to publication can be 2 ½ to 3 years. But even then, success is not likely. The
failure rate for first-time authors is about 90%.
Why would any author choose to go
that route? Because, until recently, it
was the only game in town.
But in the last 5 years a major
earthquake has struck the publishing world.
We've seen the rise of Amazon.com, print on demand, and most of all, the
e-book revolution. The whole paradigm
has changed.
The key to success used to be
getting your book prominently displayed in brick-and-mortar bookstores, and to
do that, you needed a publisher. That’s
not even an issue anymore. We’ve
entered an era when the vast majority of books sold are sold online. That means you don't have to go through an
agent and publisher to get your book to the people. Any author can now have his book for sale at
the biggest "bookstore" in the world.
It will be there for as long as he wants, available to anyone who wants
to buy it.
So the traditional route of
getting an agent and a dead-tree publishing company is no longer the default
option. In fact, unless you are a
celebrity, or you’re already a bestselling author, that route is probably not
your best option.
So I decided to self-publish. It wasn't easy, but I did my homework. The crucial thing is figuring out what you
can do yourself and what you have to pay to get done.
I don't think any author should
try to edit or proofread his own work.
You're too close to it, and won't spot your mistakes. I usually have my books proofread by three or
four people. They're all experienced
proofreaders, but they all tend to find a different set of mistakes.
The cover is another biggie. Unless you have a lot of experience in
graphics, you should NOT try to do your own cover.
I am fully convinced Iona Portal
could have done very well going the traditional route, but in the end, I'm very
comfortable with my decision to self-publish.
Iona Portal has been out on Amazon Kindle for 8 months now. For five of those months it's been in the
"top-ten" of Amazon's best-rated science fiction books. It's not a best seller yet, but it's moving
closer.
If I had gone the traditional
publishing route, chances are very good I'd still be querying agents, and
probably be a year or more away from publication.
2. What tools are
must-haves for writers?
The crucial tools for a writer
today are laptop with a long battery life and a fast internet connection. I'd find it very hard to write a book
without thesaurus.com and Google search.
3. Do you have any
advice for other writers?
In the future I'd avoid trying to
publish in all the markets. I spent a
lot of time publishing on Smashwords because of all the distribution channels,
but found I couldn't really promote adequately on that many channels. I've heard that a lot of people do very well
on Smashwords, but I've been very disappointed in my sales there.
My primary focus right now is
Kindle. Amazon has been amazing to work
with, and are quick to respond to questions.
I've also loved publishing in
paperback through Amazon's Createspace.
I've heard some writers debate whether it's worthwhile doing a paperback
version in today's market, but Createspace makes producing a paperback easy,
and I've found that they do sell well.
Lots of people tell me they still
like the feel of a real book in their hands.
And as much as I love my Kindle, if I'm going to the beach, I feel a lot
more comfortable leaving a paperback book on my towel when I go in for a swim.
4. What do you feel
is the key to your success?
My philosophy for success in
writing is that you have to start by writing a good book, then you have to work
really, really, REALLY hard to market it.
If you have a good book, market it well, and give it time, it will find
an audience.
5. Do you have
anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
My primary goal is to
entertain. If you're looking for great
literature you probably want to read a different book. I want Iona Portal to grab your attention in
the first chapter, keep you on the edge of your seat, and leave you a little
breathless at the end.
But I also want my
readers to
know that some of the events in Iona Portal are based on true
encounters, just shifted
into a science fiction universe. As
Araton tells Erin Vanderberg, "You’ve seen a tiny sliver of what is
true,
but there’s a much larger reality beyond what you’ve known.” That's
true for all of us. One of my favorite Steven King quotes is a
line from The Gunslinger, "Go
then, there are other worlds than these."
There really are other worlds out there.
6. What are your
current / future project(s)?
My goal is to finish Iona Stronghold (book two of the Synaxis
Chronicles) by the end of this year. My
working title for the third book in the trilogy is Iona Rising.
Author Bio
Robert David MacNeil is an
author, wine-lover, and investigator of things supernatural. Over the last twenty years he's traveled to
32 nations researching, writing, and teaching on angels, demons, and
supernatural encounters. His travels
have taken him from the steppes of Mongolia to the jungles of Thailand, and
from the Eskimo villages of Northwest Alaska to le fin del mundo, the "end
of the world," at the tip of South America.
Long a fan of science fiction and
suspense thrillers, Robert also has a love for history–especially ancient
Greece, Rome and medieval Europe. He's
particularly fascinated with Patrick, Columba, and the ancient Celts of Ireland
and Scotland. The Celtic monks had a special
relationship with the angels. They also
loved beer and invented whiskey. The
Irish really did save civilization!
Robert and his wife, Linda, live
near Dallas, Texas. He has authored five
non-fiction books under a different pen-name.
Iona Portal is his first novel.
Please let us know
where your readers can stalk you:
Website: http://ionaportal.com/
Twitter: @RDavidMacNeil
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Robert-David-MacNeil/e/B0067NDEMA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
What format is your
book(s) available in (print, e-book, audio book, etc.)?
Iona Portal is available in
paperback and Kindle e-book at Amazon.com.
Amazon Prime members can read Iona Portal free on their Kindle
Find the Kindle version here:
http://www.amazon.com/Iona-Portal-Synaxis-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B005IA87WA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313854512&sr=8-1
Find the Paperback version here:
http://www.amazon.com/Iona-Portal-Book-Synaxis-Chronicles/dp/1467992542/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1313854512&sr=8-1
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