An Interview with Crime Fiction Author Michael Simon
Posted by pumpupyourbookpromotion on November 13, 2007
Born in Levittown, Long Island, the birthplace of mass-produced housing, Michael Simon is a former actor, playwright, and Texas probation officer. He has taught at Brooklyn College and New York University.
In 2004, Viking published his first novel, Dirty Sally, which introduced Dan Reles, a half-Jewish, New York Mafia-born Texas homicide detective. Dirty Sally was lauded by The Chicago Tribune as “A bloody and intriguing delight for noir aficionados.” The Seattle Times called it “the finest crime-novel debut since Dennis Lehane’s A Drink Before the War in 1994.” It was named one of the Top Ten Thrillers and Mysteries of the Year by Amazon.com.
In 2005, the second book in Simon’s Texas series, Body Scissors, was
published, also to critical acclaim. The Rocky Mountain News called it, “Fast paced and suspenseful from start to finish.”
Viking signed on for two more Dan Reles thrillers, Little Faith (2006) and Last Jew Standing (2007).
To date, Simon’s works have appeared in Swedish, French, Italian, Japanese, and on audio tape.
He lives in New York City.
You can read more about him and his books at http://www.michaelsimon.info
Welcome to Beyond the Books, Michael. 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 fourth novel and my fifth significant publication. My novels are Dirty Sally (2004), Body Scissors (2005), Little Faith (2006), and the current book, The Last Jew Standing (2007.)
What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?
Dirty Sally was my first book. It was preceded by my first published play, Murder at Minsing Manor, which I co-authored with my brother Richard. The play was produced Off-Broadway in 1995 and published by Samuel French, Inc. in 1996. Like Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French publishes plays in paperback, in order to make the plays available while they still linger in the theatre-going public’s memory. For me, it meant my first publication, and hence, my immortality.
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’m pleased to say I have no idea how many publishers rejected my book. My agent took it to auction and Viking made a significant offer for the book and the first sequel (then unwritten,) allowing me to quit my day job.
How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?
I’ve had many rejections before and since. I either drop the rejection letters in a file for future reference, or keep a list somewhere on my computer, and never look at it. I figure I need to hear the word “no” a certain number of times before each significant “yes.” Each rejection is one more “no” out of the way. Also, I compare my rejection to that of actors. When an actor is rejected, he’s often standing right there. When my work is rejected, I get word by mail and I’m safely at home hiding under my bed where I belong. I take the blow, sulk for an hour or so if it’s a big one, and get on with my work.
When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?
Viking. They made the best offer, including, as I said, the book and the sequel.
How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?
I experienced a level of excitement so intense it became problematic. I struggled to calm down just to experience the sheer joy. I had been struggling for six years with that one book, and the payoff was, I felt, something I deserved but might not have gotten.
Oddly, I celebrated with my sweetheart the afternoon I got the word that the book had been sold, but went to my proofreading job that night and pretended nothing had happened. I wasn’t really letting loose until the contract was signed. My most purely joyful moment was when my editor called me a year later to tell me the book had come back from the printers. I ran to his office and stared at it, making incoherent exclamations of joy.
What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?
There was a meeting with my editor, my publicist, and the head of marketing before the book came out. They told me I needed to have a web site. I said that was fine, as long as I didn’t have to have anything to do with it. They set me straight. The site was entirely my responsibility. I had to hire a designer and provide content, which I’ve updated annually. Publicity has gotten more and more challenging since then.
If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?
No, but I’d want to know how much the publisher was going to invest in publicity. There’s no substitute for a publisher really getting behind an author.
Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?
Three more books and I like to think I’m better, but all I’m sure of is that the books have changed. The first book had the greatest number of points of view, and the most violence. The fourth book had a single point of view. Whether this makes it a better book, I can’t say. I write what I have to write, and I don’t write what I can’t write. Case in point: a high-concept thriller might do wonders for my bank balance, but so far, it hasn’t come to me.
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 probably would have tried to find a greater number of trustworthy readers, though I found several who helped me through the first 15 drafts before I submitted the book to my agent. Ultimately I wouldn’t have waited a year for notes from any one reader, a mistake I made at the expense of a year of my life.
What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?
Nothing beats getting published, but I’d say the fact that I was able to follow up the book with three more means the publication of the first book wasn’t a fluke, and that I’m really a writer.
If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?
When I was a kid I wanted to be an actor. As an adult, I’ve often wished I’d become a doctor, if only for the steady income and the respect. I’ve yet to come up with a field that balances the magic with the practical concerns but I’m open to suggestions.
Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?
As far as acting, I think I made the right choice. I’m using the parts of my brain I like using. As for medicine, if I’d become a doctor I’d have spent my life in a nice house regretting the dreams I abandoned. Everything is a trade-off.
How do you see yourself in ten years?
The serene, wealthy author of ten more novels.
Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?
The process of writing is reading and writing. Read and write. Read more, write more. Don’t expect your first drafts to be any good. First drafts suck. Quality, even genius, comes in revision.
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