The First Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYxT5N6bVfE

This is a recent interview I did with a guy named Matt Kissane. He has a fairly popular local webisode show and featured this interview with me a week or so ago. I
know it’s not the most timely posting, but I’ve been away on holiday for the
last few weeks and I vowed not to be on-line very much, nor do very much work,
while my wifey and kids and I enjoyed some serious family time together. We had
a great time too, going on a couple of road trips, working together to make our
abode more livable (painting, new furniture, deep cleaning) and otherwise just
enjoying one another’s company. For the last week my mother has been in town
from Arkansas
and that’s always a happy occasion. My wifey and mother get along great, my mom
thinks of my wife as truly one of her own, they’re very close. Mom left on
Saturday (7/3) taking with her our 13 year old boy for the month and for the
next four weeks, while he’s at Nana’s Boot Camp, we’ll be fixing up his room,
spending time with our little girl (she’s 9) and missing him very much.

Today is my first day “back at work” and we’re getting ready to rev-up the promotions for the book. I have six readings, two seminars and another interview on tap for July and in August
we’re having a book release event that will feature live music, a reading
performance, some good food and free booze. The party will be held at the
estate of a patron of mine in Long Grove (a quaint little tourist village not
far from here) and in September, if our funding works out well enough, I’ll be
embarking on a book tour to promote “SCHLEP” along the
route the book follows (basically along Old Route 66 between Chicago and LA). I
am trying to get Dutch to accompany me on this little tour, being a
multi-instrumentalist and a very dear friend, I would love to have his company
on this month long trek to Hollywood and back. But that tour is in the planning
and funding stages, so it’s not a sure deal yet.

The Intrepid Editor Press, the micro-publishing company that is working with “SCHLEP”, has been undergoing some changes which have had an impact on me and my project; some of
them good, some of them not so good. Firstly, and sadly, the girl who was
working with me as an editor has had to leave the project for personal reasons.
It’s not really our business, but she’s returned to California to care for a family member and
she’s not sure when or if she’s coming back. This sets me back a person, we
don’t have anyone for me to work with as a sounding board/copy editor type for
the next two books (“The Girl with The Golden Voice” and my non-fiction book on
managing bipolar disorder). I wish her well, and hope her family member makes a
quick recovery, but in the meanwhile I sort of feel left hanging.

On the other hand, a very positive change has been a recent growing interest in the company and potential funding opportunities for the book tour, for the next two books and other Intrepid Editor Press business. I
am happy about this news and feel confident that the money end of things, which
I have little ability to deal with, is being handled well. Another change in
the company is that we’re getting closer to closing a deal with a big box
retailer to maybe carry the book in some key locations come late summer/early
autumn. “That’s great!” I say but I really don’t understand how it works. It
has to do with the volume of sales we make now and the impending book tour;
business is just not my forte, I’m just the dumb writer. We’re also getting
close to closing a deal with a public relations firm, something that I have
been involved with because I’m concerned about my image. I am favoring this PR
company from Virginia because they really have an on-line system that looks
like it would work well; my lawyer has another firm locally that works more
personally with me, but they don’t do a lot of on-line promotion. Ideally it
would be great to have both firms working with us, but that’s not going to
happen because of the money thing. It’s those kinds of decisions that we’re
working with presently, this is on my agenda for the next ten days.

Lastly, about the book, the sales of “SCHLEP” have been slow but steady. About 70% of our sales have been from direct person to person sales at the reading, in the few bookstores we have in it placed in and from
family/friends. The other 30% have been through my website (www.dphilipchalmers.net), amazon.com
and Facebook. We have only distributed 3 units through blogster, 2 units
through linkedin and 5 units through all the other blogging/social networking
sites where I participate and contribute my work. I think either I’m not doing
something right or it’s not had enough time to catch on or, perhaps, the Social
Media Marketing (SMM) model is more a myth than a truth. At any rate, it’s
still worth it to me to participate in a place like blogster because I find value in the
experience of reading the work of others; I really dig the friends I’m making
around this site, it’s such a unique group, a diverse mix and though at times
the drama gets quite high, don’t we all from time to time?

So that’s what’s going on presently, which is where I am most comfortable these days; the present. Perhaps later in the week I might post some vacation pictures or write another update about the crazy shit that’s
been going on around me (we have some weird neighbors and strange friends), but
for the now…I have to go. I have a ton of catching up to do here in
blogster-ville, I have several other tasks to complete and today is the first
day back at work for me…I trust everybody had a happy and safe holiday? Did you
give thanks for our founding father’s foresight and celebrate America’s 234^th
birthday in style? We shared the fourth with my father, viewing the fireworks
from his fifth floor penthouse overlooking downtown Palatine
and it was great fun! Truthfully, however, I must admit I’m glad the holiday
and vacation is over so I can get back to my regular routines and get some
business done. As always, I thank you for reading my little blog, take care, be
well and stay cool!