Author Interview with Seumas Gallacher: 7 Questions about Book Publishing Process & Mindset
By far, the best investment over the years, was in the time taken building up my network…it’s priceless, says Seumas
In this exclusive author interview series, “7 questions to ask an aligned author“, Seumas Gallacher—multi-genre author of eight self-published works plus several anthology contributions with over 5-figure eBook downloads will empower us with his book publishing process, success secrets and mindset strategies. Read his preceding interview on the book writing process in case you missed it out.
His first five crime-thrillers, in what has become the ‘Jack Calder‘ series, The Violin Man’s Legacy; Vengeance Wears Black; Savage Payback; Killer City; and Deadly Impasse have more than 100,000 e-Book downloads to date not to mention the paperback counts.
With an enormous and loyal blog following on his networks, he says the novels contain his Author’s Voice, while the blog carries his Author’s Brand.
Here are his seven strategies on book publishing process and mindset you must definitely read.
7 Author Interview Questions about Book Publishing Process & Mindset Answered
#1 What does literary success look like to you?
When even just one person tells me they enjoyed my work, that’s success, but better yet, when my own gut tells me the work is good, especially when I read it after a long time away from it, and think “Wow! Did I actually write this good stuff?”
#2 What’s the best money you have spent so far on book publishing?
Engaging a commercial artist friend in the Philippines to produce professional covers for the crime thrillers was a great investment.
#3 What are the ethics related to book reviews?
As in any other walk of life, DO NOT CHEAT. False or padded reviews will always be transparent to real readers. Also, bear in mind, a review is only an Opinion from someone else. I have more than 500 Amazon kindle reviews in aggregate for my books, the average is around 4.8 out of 5. However, I remind myself, many reviewers who did not like my work would not even bother to leave a rating, so the 4.8 is probably inflated.
#4 What are the considerations you kept in mind when considering the size of your book and why? Any helpful tips you would like to share from experience regarding book sizing?
Much nonsense is aired about how long a book should be—how many words, etc. My Jack Calder crime thrillers are compact, as they are loaded with character focus and action to keep the pace moving. I keep the writing as tight as possible. Each book probably averages around 70,000 words, but the reader gets a full page of writing—no fluff. And, most importantly, the book will be done when it is done, and not before the whole story is told. But once it is told, leave it alone.
#5 What are some of the most effective social media and other marketing tools you’ve used and would recommend?
I use the social networks extensively, but only with a limited number of them, as I only have one pair of hands, one brain, and limited hours in each day. My book, Self-Publishing Steps to Successful Sales outlines several online and off-line methods to push promotional activity.
#6 What’s the best investment you have made in yourself as far as marketing & promotion of your books is concerned?
By far, the best investment over the years, was in the time taken building up my network of authors, readers, publishers, bloggers—all kindred spirits … that network now exceeds over 60,000 people, most of whom have some sort of interest in the writing profession. It’s priceless.
#7 Which platforms are your books available for purchase? Are there any relevant costs, limitations or requirements to upload these platforms?
Online, I use only Amazon Kindle, and, so far, that has proved successful in getting my work ‘out there’. No cost. Locally in Bahrain, I have sold paperback print copies through large retailers of books, on a 50/50 sales share, on a consignment (sell or return) basis.
Answer #1 & #4 have a tie for my personal favorite spot. Help me decide? Have more questions regarding self-publishing? Comment below to get them answered. #thealignedwriter
Follow Seumas
Website https://seumasgallacher.com/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/seumasgallacher/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/Seumas_Gallacher
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/seumasgallacher/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/seumasgallacher
Twitter https://twitter.com/seumasgallacher