Interview with Christopher Divver

Briefly describe your journey in writing your first book.

I began writing Time in a Bottle, in September of 2009 and finished in December. I wanted to write a story that, while a suspense/thriller wasn't a "cookie cutter" of the genre and offer something different that the reader may not have expected or read before.

Did you query agents or traditional publishers before publishing on Amazon? Yes, perhaps far too many, but who hasn't? I attended a writer's conference, and queried over 100 agents and publishers.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish?

I guess I felt that my book was good enough to sell and all the agents who passed on me had made a mistake. In a way I still feel that way, but I have a much better understanding of the business now and the penance that needs to be paid to those who control the business. I certainly have a better understanding of what the traditional publisher wants to see in a novel written by an unpublished author, but with the amount of indie authors pounding on the traditional publisher's door the industry is due for a major revolution.

Did you design your cover art?  If not, would you care to share your graphic designer’s information? How involved were you during the creative process for your cover?

I paid Ronnell D. Porter to design my cover art. I gave him as much info about the book as I could, what I had in mind for a cover and just let him use his creative genius. I think he came up with a great cover that really compliments the story and gives the reader, at first glance, a sense of the suspense that the story holds. I found him on the Kindle Boards and he was very reasonable in his rates.

How did you feel when you got your first sale?  Are you pleased with sales so far?

I was ecstatic when I sold my first copy and I think my sales thus far have exceeded my expectations.

What is the biggest thing you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey? To be patient!!  Nothing is going to happen overnight, what you think of the book means nothing! You need to garner a fan base that will leave reviews of your book and use word-of-mouth to tell others about it.

What kinds of social media [twitter, facebook, webpage, blog, writing forums] are you involved with trying to garner attention for your book(s)?

I have done a couple of guest blogs and I have a Facebook fan page that I stay fairly active with. I am very active on the KindleBoards, NookBoards, and venture into the Kindle Community on Amazon.com occasionally.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?

I recently uploaded the book to Barnes and Noble's Nook site and I am on Smashwords.

What’s next for you? 

I have a few projects in the works but nothing that is near ready for publication. I may do a compilation of short stories but we'll see. I have been spending most of my time marketing Time in a Bottle to boost sales.