tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post2666050671900469240..comments2023-11-18T03:15:19.102-06:00Comments on Straight From Hel: Featured Author -- DOUG M. CUMMINGSHelen Gingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-45306005981848746942008-06-25T08:13:00.000-05:002008-06-25T08:13:00.000-05:00Thank you for the great information. Your side lik...Thank you for the great information. Your side likes to me much, makes fun here reading.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-57860741697727146472008-06-21T13:37:00.000-05:002008-06-21T13:37:00.000-05:00What an interesting interview. I was happy to see ...What an interesting interview. I was happy to see how Doug moved from self published to Five Star. We hear so many no-nos about beginning by self publishing, it's good to see a successful author start that way. Thanks for the tips as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-58288036221327621622008-06-21T00:12:00.000-05:002008-06-21T00:12:00.000-05:00Nice interview, you two! Doug, are there more sto...Nice interview, you two! Doug, are there more stops on this blog book tour? Give us a link to the schedule.<BR/><BR/>Dani<BR/>http://blogbooktours.blogspot.comDanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-53883901028894398512008-06-20T20:32:00.000-05:002008-06-20T20:32:00.000-05:00Helen...it appears YOU have also won an Every Secr...Helen...it appears YOU have also won an Every Secret Crime t-shirt!<BR/>Please email me your preferred size (L,XL, 2XL) and address and I will ship it out next week!<BR/>And thanks again for the visit!Doug M.Cummingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12273845184875910504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-15996586459016682332008-06-20T20:31:00.000-05:002008-06-20T20:31:00.000-05:00Kenna...you have won a t-shirt. Please email me yo...Kenna...you have won a t-shirt. Please email me your preferred size (M,L,XL, 2XL)and address and I'll ship it out next week!Doug M.Cummingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12273845184875910504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-53362143112067108802008-06-19T20:37:00.000-05:002008-06-19T20:37:00.000-05:00Thanks, Doug! It's great to hear a success story. ...Thanks, Doug! It's great to hear a success story. Publishing seems to be a tough business, particularly on the author.<BR/><BR/>I wish you the best of luck into the future - though I don't think you'll need it!!Kenna Coltmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03686484701164499438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-75435476376613089092008-06-19T20:27:00.000-05:002008-06-19T20:27:00.000-05:00Doug! A hundred people at your launch signing? Tha...Doug! A hundred people at your launch signing? That's fabulous. You either had a ton of fans or a big family. I'm betting loyal fans.<BR/><BR/>And thanks for telling us about the process leading up to the publication (editing, classes, etc.). I thought that was very interesting. And thanks to Kenna for thinking to ask that.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-12670735828735981282008-06-19T18:12:00.000-05:002008-06-19T18:12:00.000-05:00Hey Doug & Helen - Great interview. What Doug was...Hey Doug & Helen - Great interview. What Doug was too modest to mention was that "Deader" did very well in bookstores and 100 people (me included) attended his launch signing at B&N. He sold a lot of books. His success was also the booksellers success so why they wouldn't want to support him again is a mystery. (Pun intended.) Same with the reviewers. They loved the first book - what made them think the second wouldn't be just as good? <BR/><BR/>Ah, the publishing business. As a mystery writer myself, I am sympathetic with the obstacles Doug faced and the decisions he had to make.<BR/><BR/>Every Secret Crime will continue Doug's winning ways, I'm sure.Linda Mickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06553511100114310777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-38224035833833003992008-06-19T17:48:00.000-05:002008-06-19T17:48:00.000-05:00Helen...Thanks again for having me today.I really ...Helen...<BR/>Thanks again for having me today.<BR/><BR/>I really have had no formal marketing training. I produced and anchored a talk show when I first came to Chicago and when I interviewed a bunch of authors, I also got to look at their marketing packages. I got some ideas there and some others just seemed to come to me...like the really cool bookmarks that are a piece of crime scene tape on one side and my book info on the other.<BR/>I also know when to hand it over to the professionals which is why I hired a publicist for both books.Doug M.Cummingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12273845184875910504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-12640924692053788192008-06-19T17:45:00.000-05:002008-06-19T17:45:00.000-05:00Hi Kenna, Thanks for stopping by! You are in the r...Hi Kenna, <BR/>Thanks for stopping by! You are in the running for a t-shirt by the way, so I hope you'll check in on my blog tomorrow and see if you are the lucky winner.<BR/>To answer your questions, yes I did look for a traditional publisher for Deader by the Lake before I self-published. In fact,I hired and fired two agents who really didn't do much for me.<BR/>I was attracted to self-publishing for a couple of reasons. One is the independence it affords and the other is the control...of everything from the artwork on the cover to the entire contents.<BR/>I belonged to several critique groups and even took two- monthlong summer writing workshops at the University of Iowa back in the early eighties. But immediately prior to submitting for publication, I handed the book over to an editor and we spent several months working on it. She also edited Every Secret Crime.<BR/>I suppose my formal training was all the writing classes I took in college and even an awful one-semester post-grad course from a terrible fiend of an instructor at the University of Chicago. She was a maniac who browbeat some students to tears. She called mystery and suspense "those awful drug store books" once too often so I waited til the last short story was due and killed her . . .on paper, of course. Only writing class I ever failed to pass. I remember she kept touting the work of a Chicago Police detective who she thought was just terrific. I met him many years later and he told me he hated every minute of class...and that the woman in the story he wrote was based on her. She never noticed!Doug M.Cummingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12273845184875910504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-35378575373037818202008-06-19T15:18:00.000-05:002008-06-19T15:18:00.000-05:00Hey Doug. Kenna's questions made me think of one t...Hey Doug. Kenna's questions made me think of one that I should have asked in the interview. What kind of training have you had in marketing? Did you learn through your reporting days or are you learning now as you promote your books?Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-16915136635509718892008-06-19T06:53:00.000-05:002008-06-19T06:53:00.000-05:00Doug - thanks for the great info. Did you look for...Doug - thanks for the great info. Did you look for a traditional publisher before you self-published? Did you hire an editor for your first book, or join a critique group, or some other method to determine it was ready for publication? <BR/><BR/>What formal training, if any, did you have for beginning a writing career? <BR/><BR/>Thanks, again!Kenna Coltmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03686484701164499438noreply@blogger.com