Author Interview with Steve Lundin w/ his book: The Manipulator
Tell me a little about yourself and your background? What were you like at school? Were you good at English? What are your ambitions for your writing career?
Me was good at English – yeah! I was a vocal and printed talker, founding and running a high school paper, working for the Daily Cardinal and running for student senate while at UW Madison. My father was a psychoanalyst, speaker and author. He wrote “When Smart People Work for Dumb Bosses” with my mother. I illustrated the book, published by McGraw Hill.
In terms of the next stage in my writing, I am going to continue this series with a second book, then I have another character in mind for a new period series. At some point I am probably going to crank out a marketing book. Anyway, it should be a busy decade.
Which writers inspire you?
I was probably first drawn to the glamour before the work. Most writers want to party like Hemingway, but can’t touch his words. Once I got past the Papa Dobles and started real work I found inspiration in satirists: Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Chabon and crime writers Elmore Leonard and the great Mickey Spillane.
What was your life like before becoming an author?
I don’t know – I’m still a writer and have been for 25 years. Writing this particular book has been a variation on my day job as a journalist and a marketer.
Which comes first - the character's story or the idea for the novel?
Everything comes together in one Big Bang. It’s not piecemeal for me – the story appears as a whole and then I start mapping it out.
What’s your writing process?
I start with a general outline – broken into three acts, so that whatever I produce can be made into a movie. When I know where I’m headed – and why – I produce an outline. I usually do this in spurts and can have a whole book shaped up in a week. Then the work begins. I write two chapters at a time – changing the outline as the story changes. My goal is to get a first draft out while the story is writing itself. The real work begins in the rewrite – which begins immediately after the first draft is done. I start by polishing tow chapters, then move forward by working on a following chapter and revisiting a preceding chapter. In this manner I revisit each chapter twice, checking for consistency and continuity. When I have gone through the second draft in this manner I put the book aside for two weeks. I then return with a fresh eye and reproof the whole thing. I then turn it over to a copyeditor. I give the third draft another review then tur it over to a formatter. This fourth iteration gets another review – specifically looking for typos – before heading out the door. If it’s not good by this point, then I probably suck.
Why do you write?
Who the fuck knows. Because I have something to say and need a paycheck!
So, what have you written?
If we leave out all the white papers, magazine articles and stories for newspapers like the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, that leaves the following:
I am a marketing humor columnist for mediapost.com and commpro.biz.
I have written two novels: The Manipulator, A Private Life in Public Relations and Rogue.
I have written one screenplay: Swines of Chicago
I have written a series of one act seven minute plays, which are not collected. One was preformed WAY off Broadway in Chicago.
I have pissed my initials in the snow in five states – does that count as writing?
Where people can buy or see your current book?
My satirical techno noir #thriller,The Manipulator, which was an Amazon Top 100 best seller in satire is available on Amazon. A Kindle promo starts on 10/24 and runs through Halloween – 10/31. You will be able to acquire it for .99 here: tinyurl.com/phjcv2w
Give me an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
Jack Vance, the main character in The Manipulator, represents what every fast paced advertising executive secretly wants to be. He is smart, inspirational, and, like every leading character, can consume mass quantities of substances without suffering too much physical damage. For all his braggadocio and outrageous behavior he has a talent that many real life bosses lack: he recognizes talent in staffers and isn’t intimidated by it. Jack Vance is a rogue, driven by the mission, who will stop at nothing to accomplish a goal if he reward warrants the effort.
What sparked the idea for your book?
Many years of working in the media and in marketing exposed me to more outrageous, unbridled episodes than most writers could imagine. Couple this with dynamic and increasingly data driven and intrusive advertising capabilities and I had the makings of a Vonnegut-esque look at the near future of a media addicted world.
How do you market your book?
This is a vast question and the key to success for any book that is well written and has a clearly defined audience and market. There are many companies, books, “gurus” and websites that will gleefully accept your money to instruct you in the magic voodoo potion that translates into book sales. Having skimmed most of what’s out there, run a marketing firm for 15 years, and put what I think will work into practice, here is what I have been doing and what I would advise you do:
Your marketing process begins 18 months before your book is published.
During the fun period (the time you spend writing – which is not work) you will establish your base. This base should be maintained on many channels including twitter, facebook, youtube, your blog, and the development of an email list.
Your base development should include people who are interested in the same things as you (and the nature of your book) comparable writers, journalists, bloggers and review sites.
Develop your materials. This should include various types of press releases, blurbs, review solicitation letters, chapter excerpts and tweets supported by an editorial calendar.
Once you have published your book it’s time to gather reviews. There are around 600 indie review sites – you can find them with a little google work. These reviewers are typically swamped, but will respond to a well written query letter.
Begin your campaign: get as many reviews as possible online. Tweet relentlessly. Blog weekly, making sure that your posts are keyworded for your audience.
Conduct a kindle promo – and support it with a blog tour.
Drink a glass of wine every night and spend an hour or so engaging in chat rooms and forums to promote your book (OK, two glasses of wine.)
How can readers discover more about you and your work?
• Website: www.bigfrontier.com
• Blog: www.stevelundin.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.lundin
• Twitter: @bigfrontier
• Linkedin: Steve Lundin
• Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Lundin/e/...
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Book Tour Schedule: http://www.elitebookpromotions.com/bo...
Me was good at English – yeah! I was a vocal and printed talker, founding and running a high school paper, working for the Daily Cardinal and running for student senate while at UW Madison. My father was a psychoanalyst, speaker and author. He wrote “When Smart People Work for Dumb Bosses” with my mother. I illustrated the book, published by McGraw Hill.
In terms of the next stage in my writing, I am going to continue this series with a second book, then I have another character in mind for a new period series. At some point I am probably going to crank out a marketing book. Anyway, it should be a busy decade.
Which writers inspire you?
I was probably first drawn to the glamour before the work. Most writers want to party like Hemingway, but can’t touch his words. Once I got past the Papa Dobles and started real work I found inspiration in satirists: Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Chabon and crime writers Elmore Leonard and the great Mickey Spillane.
What was your life like before becoming an author?
I don’t know – I’m still a writer and have been for 25 years. Writing this particular book has been a variation on my day job as a journalist and a marketer.
Which comes first - the character's story or the idea for the novel?
Everything comes together in one Big Bang. It’s not piecemeal for me – the story appears as a whole and then I start mapping it out.
What’s your writing process?
I start with a general outline – broken into three acts, so that whatever I produce can be made into a movie. When I know where I’m headed – and why – I produce an outline. I usually do this in spurts and can have a whole book shaped up in a week. Then the work begins. I write two chapters at a time – changing the outline as the story changes. My goal is to get a first draft out while the story is writing itself. The real work begins in the rewrite – which begins immediately after the first draft is done. I start by polishing tow chapters, then move forward by working on a following chapter and revisiting a preceding chapter. In this manner I revisit each chapter twice, checking for consistency and continuity. When I have gone through the second draft in this manner I put the book aside for two weeks. I then return with a fresh eye and reproof the whole thing. I then turn it over to a copyeditor. I give the third draft another review then tur it over to a formatter. This fourth iteration gets another review – specifically looking for typos – before heading out the door. If it’s not good by this point, then I probably suck.
Why do you write?
Who the fuck knows. Because I have something to say and need a paycheck!
So, what have you written?
If we leave out all the white papers, magazine articles and stories for newspapers like the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, that leaves the following:
I am a marketing humor columnist for mediapost.com and commpro.biz.
I have written two novels: The Manipulator, A Private Life in Public Relations and Rogue.
I have written one screenplay: Swines of Chicago
I have written a series of one act seven minute plays, which are not collected. One was preformed WAY off Broadway in Chicago.
I have pissed my initials in the snow in five states – does that count as writing?
Where people can buy or see your current book?
My satirical techno noir #thriller,The Manipulator, which was an Amazon Top 100 best seller in satire is available on Amazon. A Kindle promo starts on 10/24 and runs through Halloween – 10/31. You will be able to acquire it for .99 here: tinyurl.com/phjcv2w
Give me an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
Jack Vance, the main character in The Manipulator, represents what every fast paced advertising executive secretly wants to be. He is smart, inspirational, and, like every leading character, can consume mass quantities of substances without suffering too much physical damage. For all his braggadocio and outrageous behavior he has a talent that many real life bosses lack: he recognizes talent in staffers and isn’t intimidated by it. Jack Vance is a rogue, driven by the mission, who will stop at nothing to accomplish a goal if he reward warrants the effort.
What sparked the idea for your book?
Many years of working in the media and in marketing exposed me to more outrageous, unbridled episodes than most writers could imagine. Couple this with dynamic and increasingly data driven and intrusive advertising capabilities and I had the makings of a Vonnegut-esque look at the near future of a media addicted world.
How do you market your book?
This is a vast question and the key to success for any book that is well written and has a clearly defined audience and market. There are many companies, books, “gurus” and websites that will gleefully accept your money to instruct you in the magic voodoo potion that translates into book sales. Having skimmed most of what’s out there, run a marketing firm for 15 years, and put what I think will work into practice, here is what I have been doing and what I would advise you do:
Your marketing process begins 18 months before your book is published.
During the fun period (the time you spend writing – which is not work) you will establish your base. This base should be maintained on many channels including twitter, facebook, youtube, your blog, and the development of an email list.
Your base development should include people who are interested in the same things as you (and the nature of your book) comparable writers, journalists, bloggers and review sites.
Develop your materials. This should include various types of press releases, blurbs, review solicitation letters, chapter excerpts and tweets supported by an editorial calendar.
Once you have published your book it’s time to gather reviews. There are around 600 indie review sites – you can find them with a little google work. These reviewers are typically swamped, but will respond to a well written query letter.
Begin your campaign: get as many reviews as possible online. Tweet relentlessly. Blog weekly, making sure that your posts are keyworded for your audience.
Conduct a kindle promo – and support it with a blog tour.
Drink a glass of wine every night and spend an hour or so engaging in chat rooms and forums to promote your book (OK, two glasses of wine.)
How can readers discover more about you and your work?
• Website: www.bigfrontier.com
• Blog: www.stevelundin.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.lundin
• Twitter: @bigfrontier
• Linkedin: Steve Lundin
• Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Lundin/e/...
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Book Tour Schedule: http://www.elitebookpromotions.com/bo...
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