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Debut Nonfiction
Author Roundtable
AuthorsOnTheWeb.com assembled a roundtable discussion featuring
5 up-and-coming nonfiction writers who discuss the writing process,
research practices, publishing/marketing support for debut authors,
and their responses to first-time reviews from readers and critics.
The participants include Mona Golabek, Maria Rosa Menocal, Tony
Perrottet, Lynn Schooler, and Emma Sweeney.
Meet
the Authors:
Questions
1. AOTW: How do you decide what topic to write about? Do you undertake a certain amount of research before committing to a project? Do you complete your research prior to starting the book, or is research a continuous process while writing?
—Answers
2. AOTW: Describe your editing process. Do you write and then go back to edit later, or do you revise a page until it is right, then proceed to the next page, and so on?
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3. AOTW:Who is your "first reader" or "readers" when you finish your work? For those of you writing biographies, are there legal issues you have to deal with prior to publication?
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4. AOTW: The dread of all writers, from novelists to columnists to college students at exam time is writer's block. What methods, or tricks, if you will, have you utilized to overcome the blank stare at the blank page?
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5. AOTW: Do you have a "day job," in addition to being a published author? How do you balance your "day job" with writing books?
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6. AOTW: In Stephen King's On Writing, he prescribed two things, which every aspiring writer must do: 1) read a lot and 2) write a lot. Do you agree with him? And if so, how do you balance reading and writing?
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7. AOTW: Where do you write? What do you envision as your "perfect" writing room?
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8. AOTW: Was there promotion/marketing done for your first book? If so, what was it? What might you have done differently? Did you or your publisher use the web to promote your book? Do you have a website? How are you using your website?
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9. AOTW: It has been said that nonfiction has a marketing/publicity advantage over fiction because there's often an existing target audience. Are there any disadvantages of writing a nonfiction book instead of a novel?
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10. AOTW: Do you monitor your Amazon ranking, or sales numbers vigilantly? If so, what do you find the best driver of them to be?
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11. AOTW: How did you feel and how did you react the first time you saw your book on a shelf in a bookstore?
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12. AOTW: What was it like to have your book reviewed by critics and others in your field? Or to hear from readers?
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13. AOTW: What inspired you to write your first nonfiction book? Have you considered writing fiction? Why or why not?
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14. AOTW: Tell us about your next book and what you have in the works for the future.
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