Tag: author interviews

Yes, Author Interviews are Worthwhile

InterviewA few weeks ago the Evilest Mastermind of them all had a post about author interviews, questioning whether they are worthwhile. One of the things I do away from Indies Unlimited is run a site called The IndieView. For those who haven’t visited, the content consists of three main things. (Watch me subtly plug the site here. I’ll bet no one even notices.) First, a database of indie friendly book review sites for authors in search of potential reviewers. Second, an index of recent reviews from a slew of different sites which readers can visit and scan looking for books that might appeal to them. And last of all (the only thing I would have mentioned were I not sneaking in a plug) interviews with indie authors and reviewers.

Given The IndieView’s interview content, I almost feel obligated to argue against what the EM had to say about author interviews. The reality is, every point he made (okay, make that almost every point to give me a little wiggle room) was right, for him. However, I’m not sure it is right for everyone. Some of my points were probably made in the comments to the original post, but repetition is good, right? So here’s my rebuttal. Hmm. I think I’ll do this using the same style Joe Konrath uses when fisking the spokesmodels of traditional publishing. That’s bound to be fun. Continue reading “Yes, Author Interviews are Worthwhile”

Are Author Interviews Worthwhile?

Interview ShowWhen we first started Indies Unlimited, one of the regular features here was the author interview. Authors love to be interviewed. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of people love to read author interviews. We like to do stuff that moves the needle, so to speak. Once we realized the interview features were not getting a lot of views and did not seem to be moving books for authors, we discontinued the feature.

Not to say interviews don’t work at all or ever, but the return on investment is often quite small for both the interviewer and the subject of the interview. Continue reading “Are Author Interviews Worthwhile?”

Author Interviews – Using the Tool to Your Best Advantage

There is constant discussion in online forums about how to promote our books, how to get our names out there in front of readers, and there are a zillion ways to do that. One such way is the author interview, a particularly friendly, chatty way to connect with our readers.

I know, I know; many of us authors are introverts and not terribly comfortable talking about ourselves. We’d much rather stand behind our books and talk about them instead of ourselves. But it’s a proven fact that people are much more liable to buy books from an author if they feel they know and like that person, rather than just recognizing a name on a cover. And with social media on the rise, people are coming to expect more of that kind of connection with their favorite authors. Continue reading “Author Interviews – Using the Tool to Your Best Advantage”

Featured Author: William Hertling

William Hertling is the author of the award-winning Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears and A.I. Apocalypse, near-term science-fiction novels about realistic ways strong AI might emerge. His books have been called “frighteningly plausible”, “tremendous”, “must read”.

These technothrillers are based in realistic technology because he’s worked in the tech industry for nearly twenty years, and holds more than a dozen patents in computer programming and network.

He’s also written articles about the future of robotics and artificial intelligence and how to predict the future.

He’s been influenced by writers such as Charles Stross, Cory Doctorow, Walter Jon Williams, and William Gibson.

William Hertling was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up a digital native in the early days of bulletin board systems. His first experiences with net culture occurred when he wired seven phone lines into the back of his Apple //e, creating an online chat system.

He currently resides in Portland, Oregon, and is working on his third novel, The Last Firewall. By day he works on web and social media for HP. Follow him on twitter at @hertling or visit his blog williamhertling.com.

Continue reading “Featured Author: William Hertling”