Interview with Bestselling Author David Brody

David S. Brody is a Boston Globe bestselling author named “Best Local Author” by the Boston Phoenix newspaper. He is a Director at Large of the New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA). A real estate attorney, he resides in Westford, Massachusetts with his wife, novelist Kimberly Scott, and their two daughters. He coaches youth sports and Special Olympics and plays in adult hockey and softball leagues.

You can visit David online at www.davidbrodybooks.com

Welcome to Beyond the Books, David! Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

Thanks for having me. Cabal of the Westford Knight is my fourth book.

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

Unlawful Deeds was my first book.

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?

Unlawful Deeds was published by a company called toExcel. This was a company half-owned by Barnes & Noble at a time when Barnes & Noble was trying to get into the publishing business. Most of their titles were self-published, but Barnes & Noble grabbed a few titles every year and marketed and promoted them as would a traditional publishing house. I was fortunate that they chose Unlawful Deeds as one of those titles. A few years later Barnes & Noble pulled out of the partnership and to Excel changed its name to iUniverse, which many of your readers are probably familiar with.

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

This didn’t apply to me.

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

A major part of the plot of Unlawful Deeds was based on the still-unsolved theft at the Gardner Museum of Art in Boston. It was—and still is—the largest art theft in history. Just as I was set to send out query letters to agents, a local newspaper announced they were on the verge of solving the heist. Well, that would have ruined my entire plot! So I rushed to get the book in print before it became obsolete. Here we are, almost 10 years later, and the crime remains unsolved. But the book became a Boston Globe bestseller.

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

I remember thinking that the coolest thing was having my own ISBN number. I was also sad that my grandmother, who was an avid reader, died before she ever saw the book. I don’t remember how I celebrated, but I remember being amazed when a book store invited me in to do a book signing, which I thought was something only really famous authors did.

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

The book was set in Boston, and a lot of it was based on the Boston real estate industry, so I went to the local registry of deeds, where real estate closings are held, and put promotional fliers for the book on all the closing tables.

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

No. It actually worked out great.

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

My last three books have been published by Martin and Lawrence Press. I actually went back and rewrote Unlawful Deeds and Martin and Lawrence Press re-released it. The main thing I’ve learned (and incorporated into the rewrite) is that sometimes less is more—I took out a lot of informational stuff from Unlawful Deeds that may have proved I knew what I was talking about but also may have been a bit dry for most readers.

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 actually got lucky and didn’t fall into that trap of sending out query letters and then just sitting around waiting for responses. I would encourage authors to do whatever it takes—self-publish, vanity press, small publishing house—to get their book out there. In this country we have this notion that an independent film maker is a noble, worthy artist, but also that the only quality books are those published by the larger publishing houses. I have trouble reconciling that.

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

What I find the most gratifying is when readers come to my events or email me to tell me they enjoyed one of my books.

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

I’m a real estate attorney by trade, but I devote about 80% of my time now to writing.

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

I think I’ve found a nice balance. I enjoy practicing law part-time, and it’s nice to have the chance to get out and interact with the world. Writing can get a bit lonely sometimes.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Pretty much doing the same thing.

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

There’s no formula for becoming an author. Doctors come from medical school, lawyers from law school, etc. But writers just sort of bubble up almost randomly from all segments of the population. The only thing they have in common is perseverance (and, of course, creativity). All you can do is keep plugging away and trust your talent.