Deborah Woehr is a writer, designer, and problogger who lives in San Jose, California with her husband and two children. She earned her A.S. in Computer Graphics in 1993 and began writing in 1997, publishing one short story and several articles. Currently, she is a freelance writer for Syntagma Media. In 2006, she edited and published the 2006 Writer’s Blog Anthology, a collection of essays and poems written by bloggers. Her novel, Prosperity, will be available on Amazon in February. You can visit her website at www.deborahwoehr.com.
Welcome to Beyond the Books, Deborah. 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)?
This is my third published book. I published the 2006 Writer’s Blog Anthology, which is a collection of blogged essays and poems by the writers I met that year. Earlier this year, I self-published a “blook” (a book written on a blog) entitled God’s Last Twilight.
What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?
Black Roses. This was my very first attempt at writing a novel. It was about a serial killer who stalked a successful real estate agent/mom. The main reasons I didn’t query publishers for this book was because it was poorly written, and I felt that there were/are too many serial killer novels in the bookstores already.
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 didn’t really give traditional publishing much of a chance because I had heard too many horror stories from writers who managed to make it past the “iron gate.” However, I wrote queries to two New York literary agencies just so I could gain the experience of writing query letters. The first one-line rejection slip came within a few months, while the second came a year and a half later.
I decided to research the POD industry as an alternative. This was back in 1999. I wasn’t impressed with what I saw on these sites, and the books I ordered were poorly designed and unedited. I kept on working on my novel while keeping one eye on the POD industry and researching the option of self-publishing.
How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?
When one published writer told me that getting my novel was akin to winning the Lotto, I almost gave up writing. That stung worse than the rejection slips. After I calmed down, I went back to work. Any fantasies I had about becoming the next Stephen King or Dean Koontz vanished.
As the years passed by, I kept reading everything I could find about the POD industry, self-publishing, and traditional publishing. The more I read, the more I decided that the traditional route wasn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. No matter which publishing route you take, you still have to do all the marketing yourself if you hope to sell any copies of your book.
When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?
I signed up for an account with Lulu in 2003 but waited until I was ready to publish my anthology so I can watch this company and read what writers experienced. When I learned of the overwhelming satisfaction, I decided to test their service with the anthology in 2006. I was so pleased with the quality of the book and their ISBN distribution service that I decided to use them to self-publish Prosperity.
How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?
I experienced a mixture of excitement and mild anxiety. Seeing my name on the cover of that anthology gave me such a feeling of accomplishment. Knowing I had to market it made me nervous because it was such a diverse collection of genres.
I don’t remember how I celebrated when I successfully published the anthology, except that I sent an email to all of my friends and relatives. I did the same thing when I published Prosperity. After I shot off that email, I treated myself to an evening of mindless TV with my family. I was just so relieved to have this book written and published after an embarrassingly long time.
What was the first thing you did as far as promotion when you were published for the first time?
With the anthology, I listed the ebook version on every free ebook site I could find. The modest sales ultimately came from Amazon purchases.
If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?
No. Lulu has been a fabulous service as well as an economical one. I loved the process of designing my own books from cover to cover. I had total control over the editing, interior layout, and design. This was a perfect opportunity to utilize my art degree, which I began gathering dust when I started a family.
Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?
I’ve just recently self-published Prosperity. As far as growth is concerned, I’ve learned that typing “THE END” isn’t the end of a book’s journey. The author must buzz about it well before it’s published (say 1 to 3 years). Thanks to the Internet and its technology, new authors have a much wider playing field than they did when I first started writing. I’ve learned (and am still learning) how to use it to my best advantage.
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?
That’s a tough question to answer because I still feel very new at this. I’ve made many “beginner” mistakes when designing my books, but I’ve learned from them. I don’t think I’ll ever publish a book at Christmastime again, because I found myself rushed with the publishing process.
What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?
I became a freelance writer shortly after I published the anthology, writing for a major blog network. Another accomplishment involved my first production of a one-piece book cover. Oh, and I designed a simple website for my husband’s family business.
If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?
A graphic designer. My favorite subject in school was art. When I began attending night school to earn my degree, I pictured myself landing a job with an ad agency or a publishing house. My life took several turns, and I became a writer. But I never lost my passion for art.
Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?
I plan on combining these two worlds by the end of 2008, although I won’t limit myself to book design.
How do you see yourself in ten years?
I see myself publishing another book or two, while freelancing as a writer and designer on a full-time basis.
Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?
Check out all the publishing options that are available and figure out which one works for you. Before you publish that book, start networking with as many people as you can and focus on building friendships instead of selling. That’s very important! Once you earn their trust, you won’t need to ask them to buy your book.
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virtual book tour, virtual blog tour, virtual author tour, book promotion, paranormal author, ghost story, Deborah Woehr, Prosperity, Pump Up Your Book Promotion
Great interview ladies. This is one of the best statements “As far as growth is concerned, I’ve learned that typing “THE END” isn’t the end of a book’s journey. The author must buzz about it well before it’s published (say 1 to 3 years). Thanks to the Internet and its technology, new authors have a much wider playing field than they did when I first started writing. I’ve learned (and am still learning) how to use it to my best advantage.”
You are so right Deborah. You must talk about your book and promote your book until it feels like there is no one left on the planet to tell.
Best of luck with the tour.
Cheryl
By: ccmal on February 8, 2008
at 3:42 pm
Thank you, Cheryl. :)
By: Deborah on February 9, 2008
at 3:40 pm
[...] Interview with Beyond the Books: I don’t know about you, but I enjoy listening to or reading about people’s life stories. The questions are mostly writing-related, which were interesting, but I enjoyed reading the authors’ responses to the last five questions. [...]
By: Deborah Woehr » Virtual Book Tour Still Going Strong on February 13, 2008
at 4:04 pm