Interview with Hillary Quote Book Author Tom Kuiper

Tom Kuiper is a political activist who has followed Hillary Clinton’s career for many years…and is not impressed. Prior to “Yankees Fan,” Kuiper created the “Hillary Quote Deck of Cards” sold on the popular NewsMax site. His present book, I’ve Always Been a Yankees Fan: Hillary Clinton in Her Own Words, is published by World Ahead Media.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Tom. Can you tell us whether you are published for the first time or multi-published? Can you give us the title(s) of your book(s)?

Thus far, I’ve only done one book, I’ve Always Been a Yankees Fan: Hillary Clinton In Her Own Words. I may do another Hillary quote book, depending on events in 2008.

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

“Yankees Fan” is my first book. (The Deck of Hillary, mentioned above, was my first published work, though)

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

I was rejected by at least 4 publishing houses before I found my publisher of “Yankees Fan” which is World Ahead Publishing, based in Los Angeles.

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

I was not too surprised I had a hard time getting published, since I was a first-time author. What was surprising for me was the fact that even the conservative publishing houses did not publish it, even though the Foreword of my book was written by Bill Clinton’s former political advisor.

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

World Ahead Publishing, which specializes in conservative titles, decided to publish it in the spring of 2006. I chose them because I wanted someone with solid conservative credentials with access to the conservative media.

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

Obviously it felt wonderful to be a published author. Two great thrills were to see my book listed on Amazon for the first time, and to see it on my shelf at the bookstore. We celebrated by having a book signing in my hometown.

What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

I wrote a few articles for some conservative publications, appeared on many radio programs, and even appeared on TV a couple of times. (CNN and MSNBC)

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

I would probably have held out for a mainstream publisher, instead of a smaller, specialized publisher.

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

I have not done any more books, but have done some articles for a number of conservative websites, which include Newsmax, WorldNetDaily, and HumanEvents.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

I only wish I had gotten hooked up with a mainstream, competent book agent. I had an agent for a short time, and I did not like him.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

My research has been used in a number of Hillary books in the past couple of years. Former Clinton advisor Dick Morris is the most famous, thus far. I sent a copy to Vice-President Dick Cheney a few months ago and got word back that he loved it. I also know that Rudy Giuliani is a fan of the book, having mentioned it on the campaign stump.

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

Talk show host, or producer. I like getting the facts and telling people about them.

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

I’m hoping to combine them, at some point. I would love to do either a radio or TV show based on “Booknotes,” the C-Span program that talks with authors about their books.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

I hope to be my own boss within 10 years, either doing more books or my own radio/TV/internet shows. As I said earlier, I enjoy getting the facts and getting them to the people.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

Keep at it. It most likely will take years, but the first one is the toughest.

Tags: Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours, online book promotion, author publicity, virtual book tour, book promotion, Thomas D. Kuiper, I’ve Always Been a Yankees Fan, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton