Jason M. Kays is an intellectual property attorney with fifteen years experience in both information technology and entertainment law. Kays is an accomplished jazz trumpet player and his passion has always been music, technology, and convergence of the two in today’s digital age. This is his first novel.

You can visit Jason online at http://www.virtualvice.net/ or check out the trailer for Virtual Vice here.

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

Thank you for the opportunity to join in the dialogue. Virtual Vice is my first novel. I have just begun work on my second, Mainstream.

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

The name of the book is Virtual Vice. The book follows the rise and demise of a sociopath, Scott White, who transitions from the organized crime of the Cali Cartel to the organized crime of Wall Street. Hence, the “vice”. “Virtual” relates to both the virtual reality made possible by technology, and the facade created by con men behind Ponzi schemes to lure investors to a non-existent business opportunity or product.

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 never approached publishers with the book, but did shop it out to approximately forty-five literary agents. I received plenty of rejection letters. To my pleasant surprise, I also received a letter of interest from a prominent agent in Los Angeles. Representation was contingent on my making the novel entirely non-fiction, something I was unwilling to do.

This made me even more determined to see that the book reached an audience on my terms. In order to retain creative control, I elected to use a print on demand publisher. In addition to offering the book on Amazon and through four other e-tailers, I released the work as an audiobook. May 2009 it was the second most popular download on Podiobooks.com, with 8000 downloads in 4 days, and remained on their top ten list for six weeks, so it appears that it’s finding that audience.

It’s highly unlikely a first time author will land a literary agent. It seldom happens. Having an agent helps, but is not essential. More and more authors are going it their own without an agent and are being met with a good deal of success.

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

Unless an author has a colossal ego, he feels some measure of dejection after receiving a rejection letter. I was no exception. In responding to or internalizing the rejection, the author needs to draw from those same reserves of tenacity and resilience that enabled him to complete the book. For me, personally, rejection or a critical review strengthens my resolve to achieve my goals for the book. It helps motivate me to get more creative in devising workaround alternatives to mainstream distribution channels and marketing. If a particular agent, publisher or critic responds negatively to the work, how do I reach an agent, publisher or critic that may be more receptive to my story and its presentation? Always keep in mind that publishing is a business. A rejection is not necessarily a commentary on the quality of your story or the telling of it; it is often nothing more than a commentary on its commerciality.

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

Mid-April 2009 by Book Surge. A mid-sized print on demand publishing house wholly owned by Amazon. I looked at all prominent POD publishers out there and Book Surge’s product was far superior. Their rates are higher than the competition’s, but you do see a return on your investment in the quality of work. Their editorial team is superb.

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

When you first hold the author’s proof in your hands — the bound hardcopy of the book complete with cover — it is a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. To celebrate, I enjoyed a good bottle of Champagne with a nice maduro cigar.

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

The most significant thing I did to promote the book actually occurred three months prior to publication: I set up a website dedicated to the book. A website structured around branding your new book is one of the most effective, if not the most effective, marketing techniques available to the author. When a prospective buyer pulls up Amazon’s website, with over a million titles available for purchase, what are the odds your title will cross their monitor? You need a conduit to direct the reader to your Amazon product page, and the most effective conduit is a website dedicated to exploration of your book. The website allows you to pitch the book and yourself, as author. It also affords the author the opportunity to interact with the buyer: to establish a rapport with a prospective reader.

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

No. I was very pleased with the service and end product working with Book Surge.

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

Virtual Vice was published April 2009. Mainstream should have a 2010 or 2011 publication date.

I have grown as an author, both as writer and businessman. Getting this second book to market and promoting it once it’s there will be much easier, now that I know what tools are available to me. As a writer, I believe I have learned a great deal about structuring a novel to maintain continuity and focus.

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?

In this respect, I did a good job, as did my team, so there is not much that I would do differently. The only real mistake was wasting time pitching the book to agents. I would advise new authors against the effort, as I think the odds of finding representation are so miniscule that they are greatly outweighed by the detrimental effect of the inevitable rejection. There will be plenty of time for rejection: you don’t need that negativity as you’re coming out the gate for your first run around the track.

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

Aside from becoming published, I would say the overwhelming positive response to the audiobook after its release on Podiobooks.com. Podiobooks will not add directly to your revenue stream, since there is no compulsory payment for each download, but the author stands to benefit greatly indirectly if his novel becomes a popular audiobook. If people are talking about the book around the water cooler, those that do buy books will buy yours.

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

Doing market development within the music industry.

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

If and when my writing generates enough revenue to allow me to focus on it fulltime and retire the law library, I would be receptive to that transition. In the interim, the two professions are mutually complimentary.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Having built a fan base for my writing and working on a fourth or fifth novel.

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

In general terms, I have no advice. By that I mean do not seek counsel on what to write — write what you feel compelled to put to paper. Write what you must; not what you think you should or is expected. Don’t seek input along the way. That will either inflate or emaciate your ego and neither is healthy. Finish the book then hire the best editor you can afford, heed her advice and let the self-flagellation begin.