David Liss is the author of five novels, with more on the way. His debut novel, A Conspiracy of Paper (2000) with its hero, the pugilist turned private investigator Benjamin Weaver, was named a New York Times Notable Book and won him the 2001 Barry, MacAvity and Edgar awards for Best First Novel.

David’s second novel, The Coffee Trader (2003) was also named a New York Times Notable Book and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the year’s 25 Books to Remember.

His third novel A Spectacle of Corruption (2004) the sequel to A Conspiracy of Paper, became a national bestseller. David’s fourth novel, The Ethical Assassin (2006) is his first full-length work that is not historical fiction.

David’s most recent novel, The Whiskey Rebels, is set in 1790’s Philadelphia and New York. The third Benjamin Weaver novel, The Devil’s Company, will be in stores in late 2009.

Born in New Jersey and raised in Florida, David is, in fact, a one-time encylopedia salesman. He received his B.A. from Syracuse University, an M.A. from Georgia State Universty and his M.Phil from Columbia University, where he left his dissertation unfinished to pursue his writing career.

David lives in San Antonio with his wife and children. You can visit his website at www.DavidLiss.com.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, David. 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)?

The Devil’s Company is my 6th book. My previous titles are A Conspiracy of Paper, The Coffee Trader, A Spectacle of Corruption, The Ethical Assassin, and The Whiskey Rebels.

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

My first effort was called Jesus Was a Mammal, which I wrote just after I graduated from college. It was not published. I wonder why…

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 sent my query letter out to more agents than I can recall – at least fifty – and most of these resulted in rejections. Some agents asked to see a few sample chapters, but they all rejected it. One told me it was unpublishable. Once I landed my agent, however, things moved very quickly. She sent the book to 15 editors, 5 of whom put in bids. There was eventually an auction, and in the end I had to choose between to excellent major publishers. Not a bad position to be in.

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

I understood that rejection is part of the process. Mainly you keep moving on. I always reminded myself that I did not like every book I’d ever read that received good reviews. It would come to a matter of taste, and what I wanted was an agent who would “get” my work. I always believed that I did not need every agent to like my project, just the right one.

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

A Conspiracy of Paper was published in 2000 by Random House. They were still in it at the end of the auction, and I went with them for a variety of reasons, mostly all sound, though I could have easily gone with the other publisher and felt happy. I was very lucky to have to make such a difficult decision.

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

It made me feel pretty good. I’d always wanted to write books for as long as I could remember, and it was incredible to realize that I could actually have a career doing the thing I most wanted to do. I’d always assumed that writers were somehow “different.” They were marked by something that set them off from the rest of the population. It was pretty crazy when I realized I was now one of them. I celebrated by buying a bottle of very expensive wine.

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

My publisher arranged any number of things – major media coverage, a tour, parties, the works.

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

No. I know there are a lot of devotees of self publishing and small publishing, but I like being with a major house.

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

I think every writer develops every time he or she works on a new project. Every book I’ve written has been an opportunity to learn new things and develop my craft.

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?

Honestly, I don’t think I made many mistakes. I was a graduate student at the time, and I knew how to do research, so I really researched the publication process and was very deliberate about what I did. Of course, I’m sure I could have improved my query letter, perhaps targeted agents more effectively, but that would be dependent upon the kind of experience I have now, which would have been unavailable to me then. As far as speeding things up, I’m not sure that speed is the issue. I wrote my novel as well and as quickly as I could. After that, I did my best to figure out how to try to land a quality agent. The one thing that would have sped things up would have been having more personal contacts, but those are kind of difficult to come by.

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

I would have to say having found readers who are interested in what I do and appreciate my particular kind of historical fiction.

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

I’m very politically engaged, and I think would very much enjoy working in politics or public policy.

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

I could write (contemporary) political fiction if that was what I wanted to do. For the time being, I’m happy where I am.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Much like I am today, only older and with more books.

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

I always advise people to write the kind of books they would like to read. Don’t waste time trying to game the system. Have respect for the medium, and the rest will follow. Also, if you don’t like to read, then don’t try to write. The best way to learn how to write is by being a careful, attentive reader. Writers who say that they never read fiction are, in my view, out of their minds.