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Interview with Emlyn Chand, Author of the Award Winning Book “Farsighted”
For those of you who recognize the book or the author – both are amazing – it might be because Emlyn has guest posted here and I have also reviewed her excellent YA novel, “Farsighted” (see links for details) which is, yes, now an award winner. But today, Emlyn so kindly joins us for an interiew, a mix between author and publicist questions. This post is a part of the equally awesome, Lightning Book Promotions Farsighted Blog Tour (not the Novel Publicity; that was last month), a new but emerging publicity service run by one of my loyal followers, Stormi Johnson, who has also interviewed here. (Ok, John, cool it with the hyperlinks, will you? 
I know you guys too well.) Without further ado, the interview:
Tell us about yourself.
I’m Emlyn, a 26-almost-27-year old YA author. I am also the president of Novel Publicity and a crazy bird lady too. And, oh yeah, I emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in my left hand (at least that’s what my Twitter bio says).
1. Farsighted’s release has been quite a success. What have you done to promote this release?
Marketing Farsighted has been a full-time job on top of a full-time job. I’ve definitely devoted a great deal of man power into my campaign, because I have no limits. I’ve spent an enormous amount of time and energy recruiting bloggers for my launch, and I have over 200, thank you 
I’m also hiring 6 other blog tour companies to tour my book over the next couple months—getting buzz early on is crucial! I’ve had a good amount of luck with GoodReads pay-per-click advertising and give-aways too. I’m also taking out advertising on targeted websites like Parajunkee.com and Night Owl, which cater to fans of my genre, and Kindle Nation Daily and The Frugal eReader, which cater to a mass of eBook lovers. I’ve even taken it off the web and created some Farsighted-themed swag. I’m most proud of my postcards. Readers can request an autographed postcard by filling out a simple form on my website. It’s a fun way to connect with readers that is memorable and only costs me less than 50 cents.
2. Of the above, what worked the best? What’s one thing you would’ve done differently?
Hmmm. I can’t pick just one. I’ve had great success with my blog tour and with GoodReads. I’ve blogged about the blog tour (that’s here), and I plan on writing some very detailed posts about how authors can use GoodReads effectively. The bottom line is that you should list your book on GoodReads as early as possible and use their pay-per-click advertising program to generate buzz for your book before its release. Once it’s out, switch to running giveaways. Don’t list one for a month either. Run them for just a couple of days, one after another. This rapid fire system really works!
3. What inspired Farsighted? How did the idea develop over time?
Everything started with a single image—my face in these tacky oversized sunglasses reflecting out at me from the car’s side mirror. I was daydreaming while my husband drove us across Michigan for my sister’s wedding. Something about my image really struck me in an almost horrific way. I felt the glasses made me look blind but found it so weird that there was still a clear image within them; it seemed so contradictory. At the time, my book club was reading The Odyssey, which features the blind Theban prophet, Tieresias. I started thinking about what it would be like to have non-visual visions of the future and began forming a modern Tieresias in my mind. Lo and behold, Alex Kosmitoras was born. I didn’t want him to be alone in his psychic subculture, so I found other characters with other powers to keep him company. Thank God for my poor fashion sense.
4. What inspired Alex’s character? How did you build his personality? From someone you know?
You know, it wasn’t as hard to write blind as I initially thought it would be. As I got to know Alex better and better, it became easier to tune into his way of seeing things. I read books about coping with blindness in a school setting and spent a great deal of time pondering how I might behave if I couldn’t see. In the story, Alex has always been blind; he’s always known the world to be a certain way. Not everyone understands that, and they have trouble talking about it with him. I gave Alex a tendency to overcompensate. He knows who he is and what he’s capable of, and he wants the world to know it too, so sometimes he overdoes things a bit.
5. You have an agent. Why did you choose self-publishing over commercial publishing?
I actually wrote a blog post about why I decided to self-publish (that’s here). Basically, the publishing industry is not only changing – it’s changed. I’m not really sure there is any benefit to being traditionally published anymore, especially if you’re an author who has the know-how and financial/time resources to A) professionally edit your books, B) get a stellar cover designed, and C) market your work. Another reason I’m all gaga for the self-pub world is because it’s what I preach through Novel Publicity. I spend all day trying to convince writers that the indie path can work for them. By choosing that route for myself, I am showing my belief in that statement; I am practicing what I preach. Yes, I have a literary agent and a condition of our contract was that I’d be allowed to self-publish Farsighted. I want the hands-on experience. I want the control. If this works out for me; I’m pretty sure I’ll stay indie forever!
6. What is your favorite thing about your books?
I truly believe that stories live or die with the characters who populate them. Plot is important. World-building is important. But a story without strong or relatable characters isn’t going to stay with readers in the same way. To that end, it was incredibly important for me to create characters who would feel real to the story, and they’re my favorite part of my books—how could they not be?! Readers have really identified with Alex and Shapri as feeling extremely authentic. Some people like Simmi too. 
7. You’re also a publicist. Do you think book trailers work? Why or why not?
That is the million dollar question, and it’s a tough one to answer. I think book trailers are like cover design. If you have one that is well-made and accurately represents your story it shows others that you’re professional about your work and have taken the time to present it clearly and effectively. However, unlike the cover, a book trailer is optional. Since fewer people will see it than the cover, a bad one can’t hurt you as much just as a good one can’t help you as much. Bottom line, it’s just too darn soon to tell.
8. What’s the best approach to promoting a new release?
First, write the best book YOU can write and don’t put it out there until it’s ready. Know your brand and how to communicate it to readers. Build some momentum before the official release. Oh, and put in a lot of man (or woman) hours engaging with readers on social media. It’s not going to be easy, but it will be worth it!
9. What do you see in the future for yourself as an author?
Well, obviously, I’ll be a best-selling author with a booming PR business. 
But in all seriousness, I see myself continuing to do what I love and hopefully finding an audience who loves what I do.
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Farsighted on:
Emlyn’s website is : http://www.emlynchand.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/emlynchand
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emlynchand
Be sure to follow the blog tour and check out all of these awesome bloggers!
Dec:
1st – Heather K @ Hezi-D’s Books and Cooks
2nd – John @ The Incessant Droning of a Bored Writer (YOU ARE HERE!)
2nd – Stephanie @ Our Family World
3rd – Amanda @ Letters Inside Out
4th – Alaiel @ Librarian Mouse
5th – Beverly @ The Wormhole
6th – Gina @ Behind a Billion and One Pages
7th – Wendy @ Minding Spot
8th – Cecillia @ Rather Barefoot Than Bookless
9th - Angel @ 909 Reviews
10th – Heather P @ Earth’s Book Nook
11th – Lisa @ The Ultimate Fan Blog
12th – Connie @ Character Connection (interview only)
13th – Andrea @ Dark Readers
14th – Deina @ Pages Hidden In Time
15th – Jen @ A Book and a Latte
Interview With Publicist, Stormi Johnson
I’m very excited to host publicist, Stormi Johnson, for this excellent interview! It’s very insightful and interesting and I definitely recommend reading it. Stormi is the head of Lightning Book Promotions, a new but rapidly growing publicity service. I’m currently a tour host for LBP and I can tell you that she runs a great business there. Don’t forget to check out:
Enjoy!
1. Is it true that there is no such things as bad publicity?
Well, I think when you talk about Hollywood movie stars, then maybe bad publicity could be seen as a good thing because as the motto goes, “bad publicity is still good publicity”, but when it comes to books and authors I think its a little different. Writing isn’t about ratings its about sells, so when a author does something that could be seen as bad publicity it could hinder the sale of their books. Authors need to have tough skin, because they have to take criticism from people who rip their books apart and not say anything back, because word will get around. I have been on the blog reviewing scene for a while before starting my business and I have witnessed reviewers rant about how bad a author treated them after giving them a negative review, and those rants spread like wildfire. This could lead a lot of potential readers (buyers) from ever picking up a copy from the author who lost his/her cool about a bad review. Things like this are bad publicity for authors and could lead to no sells.
As a publicist it is our job to promote the author around the Internet but we are not miracle workers. Bad publicity schemes are always out there and maybe some work and maybe they don’t. I for one would prefer to use good publicity and keep as far away from the bad as possible.
2. In your opinion, what is the most effective media for authors to use to promote their book? Why?
I think the most effective media for authors to use is still word of mouth. When friends suggest books to me, I will usually check it out and see if it’s any good. The same goes for reviewers I trust online. There are a ton of review blogs online and they are daily telling people about the newest book they have read and why they would recommend you read it. Social Networking is on the rise, there are so many different networking sites and it is very important for authors to make themselves known on places like facebook, twitter, and linkedIn, etc. Traditional publishers has seen the usefulness of social networking and have started using it as a word of mouth marketing tool. For traditional publishers use book tours to publicize the latest authors, but its harder for Indie and small press publishers to do this so its up to online marketing techniques to get the word out. I think doing virtual blog tours help authors as it is still a word of mouth concept, but with bloggers picked who enjoy reading the genre the author has written.
I also think that a knew type of media that is on the rise when it comes to book marketing is book trailers. Everyone loves watching movie trailers, so much that now even the video game market has taken to making trailers for new up coming video games. People like visual things, so if you can market a effective book trailer that will grab people, I think it can help be a productive marketing tool. Traditional publishers have started using this marketing tool as well.
3. Can you tell us a little about your company, Lightning Book Promotions? What are your hopes for it in the future?
Lightning Book Promotions is a new publicist business that I started with a goal to help Indie and small press authors. Athough I would love authors from traditional publishing companies I just feel that there is not a lot of people out there to help the little writers. Independent writting has fast become a very popular way of getting books written and out to readers, but without the big name to back them up its harder to get people to give their books a try.
I want to help authors achieve the success that they want by helping them market their books in as many ways as possible. We offer blog tours, editing, book trailers, etc. I would love to work with you in helping you achieve your goals as a author.
4. How difficult is it to get good publicity?
I think good publicity for a novel starts with good editing. Many great indie and small press novels have been thrown by the wayside because reviewers couldn’t get past the bad grammar and spelling mistakes. I know people do not want to spend money on something they think they can do themselves, but if being edited by a professional could be the difference in a successful book and a dud, well I would do the editing.
I think its very difficult for authors to get good publicity when they are independent or small press because they don’t have the big name publishers to back them. How many people read books because they are published by Harper Collins, Revell, Random House, etc. I have been in many conversations where people say all the time that they check to see who the publisher is before they even decide on reading a book. So its very hard for first time writers who don’t go the traditional way to get the publicity they need.
5. Do you see any hot publicity trends that you feel authors should use to get noticed?
I have noticed the rise in social networking as I mentioned before, especially facebook and twitter. I also think book trailers are trending pretty well right now.
6. What is something that you wish more authors knew about your business?
That I am out there!
That compared to a lot of other PR services I think I have fairly low prices compared to some other services, but don’t skimp on the quality and time spent on each author and novel I work with.
7. Every publicist has a method for promoting clients’ books. You obviously don’t need to divulge all details, but what is your basic scheme for publicizing a book?
I make as much use of the internet as possible. Email the right bloggers for each blog tour to ensure that I can get the most optimal response in a review for the current novels I am working on. You don’t want to send a romances enthusiast a horror novel. I like to try and set blog tours up for novels that have came out yet to coincide with the publication date. To do this though I still need at least two months of preperations and would like each author to contact me well before their book comes out. If a book is already out I still need two months to make sure I can find the right bloggers, etc to pull of a successful blog tour.
If they just want a book trailer then I spend a lot of time finding the best photos and music to bring out what the books is about to intrigue readers.
Basically my method is all about just finding what fits for each novel and author and making use of social networking to get the word out about the novels. Plaster the books up all over the Internet!
8. What is a normal day for you as a publicist?
I answer emails from clients or potential clients, answer questions from reviewers if they have any. I work on a press release to send by email to bloggers I think fit the current novels I am working on, make spreadsheets of each tour. When a tour is going on like right now I have two going, I go and visit each blog to see if they are posting like they are suppose to.
Depending on what I have going on depends on what I might be working on. Like right now I have two tours going, two later this month, one next month, three potential clients to captivate and charm, two book trailers to work on, and getting ready for some tours next year. So I have a lot of different things to work on as well as maintaining my website and its blog.
9. Why should authors hire publicists anyway?
Because writing the novel was the easier part, but promoting a novel is extremely time consuming. Most authors go from publishing one novel to writing the next novel and its hard to promote the one you published. Some people find it very hard to promote their own work or just don’t know how or the most effective ways of doing so. Hiring a publicist sort of eases the pain of promoting and allows the author to concentrate on their next novel.
10. What are some basic techniques that authors can use to promote their books (on their own)?
First thing a author need to do is make a website. You don’t have to spend a ton of money to make a effective website, there are many free websites out there. If you are not tech savvy and have no clue what to do contact me I can help make websites too. Social networks, get on them and learn how to use them. It doesn’t take much to learn how to tweet or post on facebook, but you need to get your face out there. Put you book on Goodreads.com, countless people use Goodreads as sort of a word of mouth site. I know a ton of people that will not read a book if it doesn’t have a rating on Goodreads of at least 3.5 stars or higher. Get your friends to review your book and post on goodreads and amazon.com.
You basically need to have a web presence so that people can have a way to contact you or find out more information about you.
11. Anything else you’d like to add?
I welcome everyone to check out my website at http://lightningbookpromotions.com and fill free to contact me at booklady2007@gmail.com for a no obligations consultation.
