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From Linda VandeVrede at Valley Book Blog
Jon Bloch Writes From Personal Experience in Identity Thief Can you take your personal experience and turn it into a psychological thriller? That’s what Jon P. Bloch, a Ph.D. criminologist, has done with his new book, Identity Thief. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States, thanks to the Internet. According to Bloch (pronounced “block”), who teaches criminology at Southern Connecticut State University, there are approximately 10 million new cases of identity theft year. This means that about every 20 minutes, someone’s identity is stolen. For authors, this presents an interesting dilemma. How do you get your name out there and build a platform, yet still protect your identity from being stolen? I asked Jon, who was a victim of identity theft himself, for some tips to pass along to other authors. In the long run, he points out, your personal safety is more important than promoting your work. He had this interesting but realistic perspective: “If you have to close an account on a social media site and lose contacts, it is better than having to live in fear.” So what should you do to be on the safe side? Here are 7 suggestions from Jon:
I liked Jon’s brief acknowledgments at the back of the book, where he thanks Bacon Press and his manuscript editor, as well as thanking “the many people who taught me that their identities were not worth stealing, whereby I was stuck with my own.” It was also nice to see an “About the Author” page that was fun and tongue-in-cheek. In part, “He finally settled in Connecticut, where he is an indentured servant to his dog. JP writes on his king-size bed with the fan on. His hobbies include eating cashews while watching TV and overdosing on film noir favorites.” Read the article on Valley Book Blog
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 Here's an excerpt from an interview with Brian Feinblum on BookMarketingBuzzBlog.
Interview With Michele Orwin, Publisher, Bacon Press Books Michele, what are the rewards and challenges to leading an independent publishing company? The rewards: I love discovering gifted authors who have written good books and making those books available to readers. I’ve been very lucky to have found a group of talented people to work with to make sure the books are done professionally. And the indie community has been very generous about sharing information and helping small publishers like me who are just starting out. The challenges: Almost too many to list. Finding authors with good, finished manuscripts who are ready to try independent publishing and understand the partnership model we’re using. Then finding readers when there are so many books to choose from. Working almost counter to some authors’ fantasies of what being published is going to be like. Sometimes emerging authors hope the book they’ve written is perfect and doesn’t need professional editing. Or that their book will be an immediate success - friends and strangers will rush to buy it and will be eager to write great reviews. That can happen. But more often it doesn’t. And last is the fantasy that the book will somehow sell itself. Maybe the hardest for me and our authors is understanding that it all takes time. Time to build a reputation, time to find the right readers. What are some of your most successful books? In this super competitive publishing world, I think any kind of exposure, sales or reviews for a first-time author are great. I know other people measure success differently. Our nonfiction book, In Search of the Fun-Forever Job by Ellis Chase is the overall most successful. Great reviews from both respected people in the field and readers. Sales every month. Quite a few bulk orders. Ellis is also the only author who does a blog post every week. He’s active on social media, and he has a lot of speaking engagements. Plus it’s nonfiction on a topic of interest. It’s well-written and has a great cover. All those things don’t come together that often. I think our newest book, Identity Thief by JP Bloch, will do really well. It’s a fast-paced, psychological thriller - a popular genre. Early reviews and sales are excellent. The book that’s coming next, Landfall by Joseph Jablonski has a real shot. It’s beautifully written and an unusual story. The debut short story collection, The Man Who Built Boxes by Frank Tavares, has more than one hundred reader reviews. Not all of them great, but at least it means readers are taking notice. Short stories are a tough sell even for seasoned authors. For me, the other books have had some success, considering they’re from first-time authors. They’ve gotten very positive reviews. Man from the Sky by Danny Wynn is a novella. Blues for Beginners by Judith Podell is a collection of funny short stories. And The Clear Blue Line by Al Sprague is an action/adventure story set in Panama in the 1970’s. We thought with a lot of sex and sharks, it was bound to be a best seller but it’s too early to tell. Read the rest of the interview here |