Interview with Literary Fiction Author Aram Schefrin

Aram Schefrin is the author of four novels. He is a pioneer in the new art of podcasting fiction. He practices law in Rhode Island and Florida, and was lyricist and guitarist for Ten Wheel Drive, a rock group which had its moment of fame in the early 1970’s. He lives in Wellington, Florida with his wife, two dogs, four cats and three polo ponies.

You can visit his website at www.aramschefrin.com.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Aram. 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)?

“Marwan” is the first book I have published in print. But I have published three other novels in audio format: “Glorious”, which is the story of General Custer told by Frederick Benteen, who hated him; “Consider the Elephant,” the life and death of John Wilkes Booth as told by his brother Edwin; and “The Tenth Cow.” Those three books (as well as “Marwan”) are online at podiobooks.com, and three of them (excluding “Glorious”) are available from audible.com.

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

“Glorious.” It was circulated by an agent about ten years ago and did not find a buyer.

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?

“Marwan” was circulated in 2003 by a agent, and rejected by about eighteen publishers.

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

I resented the rejections. Then I wrote another book.

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

Leaving out the audio versions, “Marwan” was published by AuthorHouse. I chose them because they were efficient and helpful.

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

I didn’t get a charge from self-publishing. I didn’t celebrate.

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

Sent the book to important people I hoped would read it, gave it to the press and placed it in local bookstores.

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

If I had the option, of course.

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

I plan on putting out “The Tenth Cow” in about three months. It’s the first book I did which I had to plot completely – the others were based on history and were pre-plotted. It turned out pretty good.

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?

If I’d lived in New York and networked there, I think I’d have done better.

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

A review in the Naples Sun Times gave me some very nice validation.

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

I am a lawyer.

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

I would give up the law for writing, if that were possible.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Old.

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

The internet (and the “long tail”) have made it possible to put out a book today and keep it on sale, in focus and fresh for years. On the other hand, access to a publisher has become more and more difficult. My advice would be to get to know everyone you possibly can who has any connection with literature, and if that doesn’t work, put the book out yourself and stay on top of it.

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