It is not often that BubbleCow get involved with blog tours, but when Russell Brooks asked if we would host his tour I had to say yes. The reason? Russell is an Independent Writer. He has a dream of securing an agent and traditional publishing deal, but he is not afraid to use whatever route that is open to him to develop the fan base that will allow him to move onto bigger dreams.
Tell us something about you, your book and how you came to write it…
I’m a former Canadian track team member. My novel, Pandora’s Succession, is an action/thriller in the style of The Bourne Identity. Subject matter for this novel came about when I was doing my BS in Biology at Indiana University.
You are self-publishing your book, any advice for writers considering this option?
It’s very important to do your research. I would definitely recommend reading: The Fine Print of Self-Publishing (3rd edition) by Mark Levine if you are self-publishing a print book. Getting your manuscript copywritten is also recommended. In the US, I was told that once your manuscript is put onto paper it is automatically copywritten, however I’ve been advised that may not be true in other countries for intellectual copyright laws. So I got Pandora’s Succession registered with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. You can never be too safe.
Why did you choose the self-publishing route?
I chose to self-publish Pandora’s Succession as an ebook because I’ve exhausted every means of getting it traditionally published. I had close to fifty agents request excerpts for Pandora’s Succession but in the end they all passed. I then queried Pandora’s Succession as a graphic novel. I hired an artist to draw the first five pages. Again, a few dozen agents requested it. That was last June. As of now, some still haven’t replied. One took an interest and asked for a 30-day exclusive. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to get anything yet. I still keep in touch with him. My publishing associates, Jeff Rivera of Gumbowriters.com and Jerry Simmons of the Indi Publishing Group, suggested that I self-publish my novel as an ebook. It’s much less expensive to self-publish an ebook than a print book; and as long as the marketing and distribution are done right, it’ll be much easier for a first-time author to break into the industry. From that point, if Pandora’s Succession becomes popular, then agents and publishers will be more interested in me.
If you could offer a writer just one piece of advice what would it be?
Never be afraid to ask questions to professionals that work in the publishing industry as well as published authors. Some of them are a lot more approachable than you think, however be mindful of their time. Authors in particular are not obliged to answer questions because they have deadlines to meet. Bestselling author, Joseph Finder, told me the importance “To keep writing.” I took his advice and came up with a blog (russellparkway.blogspot.com) As a result, one of my essays Why does Vancouver not deserve to host the 2010 Winter Olympics was featured as an Op-Ed in Canada’s National Post online edition. I became an enemy of the state within a few hours, but the publicity was good. (lol).
You can read more about Pandora’s Succession at Russell’s website russellparkway.blogspot.com