Guest Post: Doing Q&As as Characters

In promoting Baby Grand, I’ve been asked a few times to do a written interview as Jamie Carter or Don Bailino, two of the book’s main characters, and so far I’ve declined. It feels weird to me—bringing those characters out of their worlds to answer questions in this world. But authors do it all the time. Just yesterday, I read a character interview done by my writer-friend Chris Nickson, and I asked if he wouldn’t mind putting together a guest post regarding his thoughts on using character interviews as a promotional tool. He was kind enough to say yes.

Over the last couple of weeks, my blog has featured an interview with Richard Nottingham, Constable of Leeds in the 1730s. It’s part of a build-up to the At the Dying of the Year, the fifth novel in my series featuring, you guessed, Richard Nottingham.

These kinds of interviews are a good way to introduce people who haven’t read my books to some of my characters, and they also serve as a reminder to those who might have read one or two. It perhaps works best where there’s a whole life built up around the character (there was a real Richard Nottingham and he was in fact Constable of Leeds from 1717 to 1737). It gives me something to draw from, and there’s an entire backstory, a history and family.

Admittedly, it’s strange, having the character address readers directly. It’s even a little jarring; he’s out of his usual context and doesn’t generally speak at such length, most certainly not about himself. That made it a challenge, which is never a bad thing, having to consider the character in a new light. It helps that he’s so familiar by now, an old, trusted friend, but it doesn’t necessarily make it easier.

And it’s fun – that’s the most important. Finding that fine line so that people are intrigued but without going into too much detail (I’m also a music journalist, and over the last 20 years I’ve conducted many interviews, I should probably add) adds to the pleasure. It’s an exercise in writing, after all, and in character, sustaining that person and making him (or her) seem real – just like a book, really.

Advance Praise for ‘Baby Grand’

Here’s a sampling of some of the advance praise for Baby Grand. Thank you to all of you who took the time to read my debut novel. I am grateful for your kindness and humbled by your kind words.

• “A perfect thriller from Dina Santorelli—heart-stomping, emotion-packed and utterly surprising. Readers will be gripped by the tightly woven story and richly layered characters. A terrific read!”
  —Ellen Meister, author of The Other Life

• “What an enjoyable read! It pulled me in at the beginning and didn’t let go until the last page. Very difficult to put down! I’m already looking forward to the author’s next book.
  —Joseph Mugnai, publisher, Family magazine

• “A superb debut for Dina Santorelli. A well-crafted novel that’s also a page-turner. Baby Grand’s a winner; you won’t want to put it down.”
  —Julia Markus, critically acclaimed biographer and winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Award for her novel Uncle

• “Dina Santorelli has the gift of a natural storyteller, and Baby Grand sweeps along at a frantic pace, plunging the reader into a tale with wonderfully real characters you care about. It’s very human, very exciting, and absolutely engrossing.”
  —Chris Nickson, author of the Richard Nottingham series of historical mysteries

To Market, To Market

This week’s guest blog post comes from Chris Nickson – you may remember him from my Debut Author Q&A last week. Chris shares some marketing insights with us, something I’ve told seminar attendees and heard from published authors time and time again, that the work on your novel doesn’t stop after the writing has.

You book’s been published after trying for so long. You feel on top of the world – as well you should. But guess what? The work’s just beginning. Now you have to sell it.

Unless you’re a big name with a big publishing house, the advertising budget for your book is going to be little or nonexistent. If anyone’s going to tell people about your baby, it’s going to be you.

It takes work, it takes time, but it’s worth it. The good news is that your expenses, at least, are minimal.

Online

These days you have to have an online presence. Every writer should have a website. It tells people who you are, and it makes a great shop window for your work. There’s no need to have anything fancy. Software for making a site is cheap, and you can find deals in web hosting. Just make it look good. Think about what you want on there; you don’t need audio or video, or even elaborate slideshows. Stick to the basics – just do them well.

Use Facebook and Twitter. They’re excellent ways to network. Establish a page for your book on Facebook – that way you can disseminate information about it to all its fans. Get to know other writers on Twitter. Follow them (metaphorically, of course!). You can learn things, come in contact with interesting people, exchange ideas.

If you want to be ambitious, record a short extract from your book. Along with a photo of the cover, and put it up on YouTube. Link it to your site, Facebook, Twitter. It doesn’t cost anything, and it’s another weapon in your arsenal.

Out And About

Making yourself visible helps publicize your book. Contact the library service where you live. Many of them welcome guest speakers – you get to give talks on writing and seem like an expert, but the library has something to offer people. And when you’ve finished, you can self copies of your book. It’s a win-win situation.

Book stores have people in to sign books. Make yourself one of them. Independents welcome it as a way to draw in customers, and you reach more people. In the U.K., at least, the big chain of Waterstone’s will have relatively unknown authors in on Saturday mornings. Contact these people, go in and talk to the managers – sell yourself! In a couple of hours, it’s quite feasible to sell up to 15 to 20 copies. When you show up, though, don’t just sit there and wait for people to come over. It won’t happen. Grab a couple of copies of your book and talk to people browsing in the appropriate section. Be friendly, not pushy. Charm them. Believe me, it works.

Print

Getting print reviews of your book can be difficult. So many books, so little space. What can you do? Use your contacts. If you know someone who works on a local or regional newspaper, ask them to help, even for a name. You’ll have publicity copies, and this is where you use them.  By way of example, I wrote concert reviews for a regional paper. When my book was coming out, I talked to the entertainment editor who did a small feature on me and my book (if you have a good hook, it’s even better). I also talked to musicians friends who gave me another name. That led to another article. Don’t be too pushy, but work those contacts.

Keep Going

All of this is fine for an initial push, but you need to keep going. Be persistent, go back to bookstores for more signings, keep using your Facebook page and website. Employ all the tools you have. That way, when success happens, you’re the one who brought it about, and it seems doubly sweet.

Chris Nickson is a freelance writer, music journalist and novelist. His historical crime novel, The Broken Token, was published in October. He is also the author of 30 non-fiction books and was a regular commentator on National Public Radio until 2008. He moved back to the U.K. in 2005 after 30 years of living in America.

Meet Author Chris Nickson

Hey, kids! It’s time for another installment of Debut Author Q&A. This week, longtime music journalist Chris Nickson gives us the inside scoop on his first work of fiction.

Name: Chris Nickson

Name of book: The Broken Token

Book genre: Historical Mystery

Date published: October 2010 in the US, May 2010 in the UK

Publisher: Creme de la Crime

What is your book about? Ian Rankin meets Charles Dickens. Seriously, in 1731 the Constable of Leeds has to catch a killer who’s murdering prostitutes and their clients. To his astonishment, one of the prostitutes is his former housemaid, whom he thought happily married and living in the countryside.

You are an accomplished music journalist and nonfiction book author. What made you decide to cross over to the world of fiction? I’ve always written fiction, have done since I was 11, and I have six thankfully unpublished novels. My father was a writer, with TV plays produced, and his own unpublished novels, so I grew up with the idea of writing, especially novels. I think most of us who write feel that the novel is the pinnacle, it’s “real” writing. I’ve published about 30 nonfiction books and no idea how many reviews and interviews, but this feels like really making it.

Most challenging part of the novel-writing process: The start. The first couple of pages have to be just right for me to be able to move forward.

What motivates you to write? Truthfully, I don’t need motivation. Writing is just so much a part of who I am that it really defines me. In the last 18 years, I doubt there have been three months overall when I haven’t written something. In part that’s because it’s my bread and butter as a freelance writer. More than that, it’s because I love writing. Being paid to write is my dream job. It’s not work. It’s pleasure, whether fiction or otherwise.

Did you experience writer’s block during the writing of your novel? No, I can’t say I did. For me writing is a habit. I had setbacks, bits I had to delete, but never a block. Mostly it’s just a case of writing down what’s happening in this movie playing in my head.

How long did it take you to write this book? With revisions and so on, probably about nine months.

What was your favorite aspect of the writing process for this book? Seeing it unfold, which isn’t always easy. At times it can be like walking through a tangled wood where you can barely see a yard ahead. Then it opens up a little and you see where to go. Sometimes, on those rare occasions, you turn a corner, and the path is across open country. When you hit that, it’s a glorious feeling. The other part was the character of Amos Worthy, a pimp, who appeared fully formed and could have taken over the book. I love him.

How difficult was it to find a publisher? Do you think your success as a nonfiction author helped in any way? My nonfiction success made no difference at all. It was very hard to find a publisher. I had a bad experience with an agent – I’ll leave her nameless – and that put me off for a while, so I let it sit fallow. Then I found a book published by Creme de la Crime, which is a small publisher specializing in crime and located close to where I was living. I thought, hmm, and sent it in. Lynne, the publisher, really liked the book and got behind it completely. I’m very grateful to her for that.

What is the biggest misconception about writing a book? That anyone can do it. It takes real perseverance to actually complete a book, and I have admiration for anyone who’ll stick to it. The adage about it being 90 percent perspiration and 10 percent inspiration is very true. But it’s also a craft and one you have to master. Whether I’ve actually mastered it is for readers to decide, I think.

I understand that you have already finished the sequel and are beginning work on a third book in the series. What made you decide to create a series rather than write an entirely different novel next? Yes, the second in the series is done. Because of various things, it’s up in the air who’ll put it out at the moment, or even if anyone will, but I’ve had some interest from a couple of publishing houses. With my main character, Richard Nottingham, and his family, as well as his deputy, I feel I have some good creations, people I wanted to know more about, so I wanted to go back and see what was happening to them. I’m about 10,000 words into the third book and they still seem to have things to say or do. Going in, I never envisioned a series, but it actually felt right and natural.

Oprah has famously said that there is no such thing as luck, without preparation and a moment of opportunity. Would you agree or disagree with regard to your own success as a writer? I’d agree. You make your luck, and usually there are years of hard work behind it. There’s 40 years of writing behind The Broken Token. The trick is to make it look effortless!