Tell us a little bit about yourself, your books and any new projects you are working on.
1. When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
I guess I first knew that I wanted to be a writer was about twenty-five years ago when I started writing poetry to my wife along with some children’s stories that I enjoyed creating.
2. How long have you been writing? How many books have you written?
Again, I have been writing about twenty-five years. I have three books published now. I published my first book of poetry in 2001 entitled The Important Things in Life as gifts for family and friends. My second book was a book of faith filled poetry entitled Our Creator at Work published in 2003. I sold this book to cover the publishing costs. My last book which I published with Gatekeeper Press in 2022 was my first nonfiction book. It was 500 pages long and a four-year project. It was called A Walk Through Time A History of Watertown.
3. What made you want to self-publish?
After sending a number of my children’s stories to publishers with a number of rejections, I decided to go to self-publishing when I had enough poems to actually publish. My children’s stories needed an illustrator which I am not, so they were never published.
4. Would you recommend new authors self-publish, and would you recommend Gatekeeper Press?
I think self-publishing is the way to go for most people, and I would truly recommend Gatekeeper Press as an author’s first step. The author manager was great and helped so much along the way, as well as allowing all the pictures I needed to tell the history of Watertown. I was able to purchase copies of my book for sale as well as my book being sold by Amazon and a host of other booksellers.
5. What do you do marketing-wise to help announce and sell your books?
To help sell my book and let people know about it, I gave a copy to the local library, historical society, newspaper and television stations, and promoted it on Facebook for all my family and friends to see. The newspaper helped promote it locally, and Facebook helped promote it nationwide for those who used to live in the Watertown Area. I also had two book signings at the local mall as well as talking about my book and the history of Watertown at the local library and historical society. It sold well because of these events.
6. What advice do you have for a new or fledgling author?
The advice that I would give to new authors is not to get discouraged and stay with it. You also should make sure you have someone who will edit your book time and time again until you are completely satisfied with the final outcome.
7. What social media platforms are you on?
8. What is the one piece of advice you wish you had known when you first started out?
I wish I had known to research more to find the right self-publisher to fit my needs like I did with my last book with Gatekeeper Press.
9. What do you feel is the biggest challenge authors are facing going into 2023 (and beyond)?
The biggest challenge for 2023 is first, finding the right publisher and second, getting your book out there so people know about it. Yes, marketing is a big challenge with so many other books out there.
10. Have you won any awards or contests that you would like to mention?
I have not received any actual awards or contests, but the praises I have received on Facebook, Amazon, the spread in the local newspaper with a feature length story starting on the first page, at my various talks on my book and at my book signings is the greatest award I could ever receive.
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