Author Interview–Elisa Lorello, author of the novel “Faking It”
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Elisa Lorello, a local author and friend from the Write2Publish Meetup group, has recently published a Kindle Edition of her novel “Faking It,” and I thought it would be a good idea to have her provide a guest post today and talk about her book. Publishing and marketing activities, especially for first-time authors, involve some trial and error, and Elisa’s experience is no different. You’ll see, however, that Elisa’s community-building investment through Facebook and her personal involvement with independent bookstores is paying off. It can for you, too!
She’s also giving out a free PDF version of her book to the first three people who comment about it, so comment away!
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Henry, thanks so much for allowing me to be a guest on your site. You’ve been an excellent consultant these last few months, and I look forward to continued success thanks to your help.
Tell us a little about FAKING IT.
FAKING IT is a romantic comedy set mostly in New York City (think *When Harry M
et Sally* meets *Sex and the City*). Andi, a thirty-something writing professor, meets Devin, a handsome, charming escort, and proposes an unusual arrangement: lessons in writing in exchange for lessons on how to be a better lover. When Andi and Devin break the rules of their contract that forbids them from seeing each other socially and become friends, complications ensue. FAKING IT is witty and fun, yet also has some poignant moments. If you like Jennifer Weiner’s books, you’ll love FAKING IT.
In fact, it’s the perfect summer read!
What made you decide to self-publish?
FAKING IT is my first novel. Prior to writing it, I was solely engrossed in the academic world, and didn’t know anything about querying agents or any other aspect of the publishing world of publishing. When I relocated to North Carolina, Stacey Cochran was one of the first people I met, and he mentored me through the process, as well as introduced me to the Write2Publish group. I am indebted to Stacey!
I queried at least sixty agents and got some 
encouraging rejections, but rejections nonetheless. So, I decided to look at self-publishing, namely print-on-demand (POD) sites. After a bit of research, I chose Lulu.com and the rest is history. I got in on it at the right time. With social networking and digital media, getting the word out about FAKING IT is much easier than it would have been five years ago, when I first wrote the book.
What has been the most successful method of promotion for you?
Facebook, without a doubt. I’ve always been a fan of networking, no matter what profession I’m in. Facebook has connected me to all kinds of people, including readers. Like any other kind of networking situation, you’ve got to put your name out there, but not do it in a self-serving way. Just get involved in the groups you’re interested in and have fun with it.
I recently joined Twitter, too, but I’m not having as much fun there. It’s also important not to spread yourself too thin. If you’re having success in one or two specific areas, then keep your attention there.
Can you give some examples of specific successes as the result of Facebook?
A friend of mine started the Faking It Fans page, and I think it’s up to 120 members now. I also post regularly on the forum of someone of whom I am a fan, and as a result have come into contact with some great people and new friends. And never once did I say, “Hey, you gotta read my book.” By getting to know me, and enjoying my posts, they bought my book.
In another case, I commented on a link posted by best-selling author Jennifer Weiner (Good in Bed, Certain Girls), whose writing style and books are quite similar to mine. A fan on her site contacted me and asked if she could review my book. She bought it and is enjoying it.
And on the same day that I released the Kindle version of FAKING IT, one of my new Facebook friends announced it on her profile page. By the end of the night, my sales total doubled. And one of her friends recommended it to *his* friend just after reading the first page!!
Have you made any mistakes that proved to be valuable lessons?
I think the reason why I got so many rejections from literary agents was because of my query letters. I made a lot of mistakes during that process. For one thing, I didn’t research these agents carefully enough. For another thing, I crafted one letter and used it as a “one size fits all.” Not good.
The irony is that I’ve taught business communication—I should’ve known better! Writing a query letter really isn’t all that different from writing a cover letter to request a job interview. In a cover letter, you emphasize how you are a good fit for the company, what skills you have that set you apart from the rest. You do your homework on that company, and you think carefully about your audience. In a cover letter, you ask for the interview, not the job. In a query letter, you ask the agent to look at your manuscript, not for the book deal.
Everything I’m doing with this novel in terms of publishing, sales, and promotion – from start to finish – is a lesson, really. By the time I’m ready to publish and sell the second book, I’ll know what worked and didn’t work. One thing I didn’t realize was how time-consuming promoting and selling is. You have to constantly keep up, keep your name fresh in people’s minds, keep finding new ways to spread the word.
I have no regrets, however. In fact, I’m more confident than ever in my ability to be a successful commercial fiction author, no matter which route I take.
Can you tell us what’s next?
I’ve just released FAKING IT on the Amazon Kindle for under two dollars, and I’m so glad I did it! I’ll be spending a lot of time promoting that.
After this blog tour, I’m planning to release the sequel to FAKING IT, called ORDINARY WORLD. Another thing I’ve learned is how important it is to get some buzz going before the book’s release, so I’ll be seeking previewers for that book to read and post reviews. I’m also in the process of getting FAKING IT into a few more independent bookstores in Massachusetts and New York as well as North Carolina.
And I’m currently co-writing my third novel with my good friend S.R. Paquette, which has been a blast. I teach at NC State U as well, so I make the most of my summer vacation to get as much done as possible. It’s really hard when school is in session.
FAKING IT is currently available at Lulu.com, Amazon.com (Kindle version), Quail Ridge Books and Music in Raleigh, NC, and Baker Books in North Dartmouth, MA. Also, be sure to join the group Faking It Fans on Facebook, and follow Elisa’s blog, “I’ll Have What She’s Having.”
Thanks again, Henry! And I’d like to know some of your readers’ promotional successes. In fact, I’ll give away a FREE download of FAKING IT (PDF) to the first three readers to post a comment!
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June 11th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Elisa,
I am really enjoying following you on your blog tour, this one is especially appreciated as you are so honest and great about sharing your expereinces with other budding writers. I am still working on that review for our local paper although I still don’t know if they will accept a novice reviewer! I won’t give up though! Learning about what you do and has helped me explore some creativities of my own. I also like that you pay attention to the readers because after all that’s what readers do, we read!
June 11th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Thank you, Henry! Keep up the good work!
June 11th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Thanks, Sheila! PDF book comin’ your way! And I’ve decided to open this offer to ALL who post a comment today.
Don’t forget that your only limitation is YOU. Even if your paper decided not to print your review, you will have gained practice and experience for the next review and the next paper. My mistakes were strengths, not weaknesses. And I’ve gotten lots of rejections from agents. Everyone starts as a beginner.
June 11th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Hi Elisa, can I ask a couple more questions?
1) How did you decide on your Kindle ebook pricing strategy–both short term (promotion) and long-term. And isn’t it true that Amazon can lower the list price of your Kindle title, yet you receive the same royalty as always? I like that.
2) Also, can you talk more about how you are arranging to have your book sold in independent bookstores? I think a lot of us are unclear regarding how we should approach that, and it looks like you’ve made it happen.
Thanks!
June 11th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Thanks for all the information. I’ve been considering self-publishing for some time now, and reading blog articles like this are invaluable. I’d also love to hear more about marketing your book to independent booksellers.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
1. I took a risk with my Kindle price. My main goal was not to make money, but to get my book into as many hands as possible and make it tempting enough to make them want to buy it and give it a try. I also knew that Stacey Cochran was having tremendous success with his Kindle sales, and he also set at a low price. Of course, the risk was that people would think that a cheap price = a cheap book (and perhaps there are some who do).
So far, the risk is paying off, and I’m very pleased with my sales numbers for the first week. But I’ve learned a couple of things. One is that chick lit doesn’t sell well on the Kindle no matter what — Stacey’s genre appeals to the types of readers who would buy Kindles in the first place. Second, promotion is just as important as price. I participated in several Kindle discussion forums, not to mention Twitter, FB, etc.
I make 35% of the list price, not the price that Amazon sets. That is always the case.
2. As for the bookstores, well, it’s not something I would recommend unless you have some connections to the bookstore or the community. My involvement in the Write2Publish group, as well as other things associated w/ Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, made me a good candidate to approach them (but it wasn’t a “given” — I had to submit a letter and my book for consideration). I also had connections to the indy store in MA because I lived there for 11 years (the town, not the bookstore…). Also, like Kindle, I didn’t do it w/ the intention of making a profit. Most independent bookstores take the book on consignment: that means that *I* buy the books for them, and when they sell, I get 60% of the sale (some stores do 80%). For me, it was about exposure and a way to maintain connections to those communities of which I was already a part.
The major chains wouldn’t take it no matter how strong my ties were.
My advice is to work on establishing your online presence first and foremost.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Kristin, good luck with your book no matter what you decide! Do all the research you can before making a decision. Self-publishing is not for everyone. My twin brother, for example, is a writer and is taking the traditional route of querying agents, journals, etc. It’s worked out well for me so far, however, and has its advantages. The more you know, the better off you’ll be!
Please email to elisa@elisalorello.com and I’ll send you that free PDF!
June 11th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Elisa,
Would you say then that the hurdles to self publishing are less then? or just somewhat easier to overcome than tradtional routes? Will you continue to self publish or are you thinking that you will transition to more common routes in the future? What was the best and worst thing about the route you went??
June 11th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Great questions, Ande (love the name, too)!
The hurdles of self-publishing are not the same as traditional, but difficult to overcome nonetheless. Perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to self-publishing is the STIGMA that comes w/ it. There was a guy on one of the Kindle forums who called all self-published authors hacks. Another one said that self-published authors should be treated “separate but equal,” then went on to say that they’re “less than” — can you believe that?? Sadly, those folks are not alone. And although I concede that there are A LOT of poorly written and edited books by self-published authors, there are also some very talented writers who self-published. But for various reasons (competition being one of them), they weren’t able to get an agent. Like the music business, rejection by agents and editors isn’t always about talent. Stephen King and others got tons of rejections before finally getting an agent and a publishing deal.
Now, thanks to digital technology, the playing field has expanded significantly. Here’s the best and worst thing about self-publishing: Anyone can self-publish!
In other words, more and more people with very little talent can self-publish, which makes it harder for readers to sift through all the sand to find the diamonds, and for those diamonds to move to the top to be seen. It also makes it easier for those mean people to say stupid things like all self-published authors are hacks.
The other obstacle is that I have to wear many hats: author, agent, editor, graphic designer, marketing and publicity director, and so on. That can get overwhelming sometimes, and I’m not as good at some things than others. Traditional publishers and agents can reach a lot more people with a lot more resources than I do. And they have a much bigger budget than I do.
I have no regrets about self-publishing. For the most part, it’s been fun and exciting. It’s also giving me exposure and experience, and that can only help me when I query agents. And I will continue to seek a literary agent while I self-publish.
Hope that answers all your questions! Email elisa@elisalorello.com to get your free PDF!
June 11th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I should also add that authors who once had traditional publishing deals are also self-publishing. (I don’t have direct evidence on this, so don’t quote me w/out doing some digging.) The traditional publishing industry is hurting economically like others, and they don’t have the resources to promote authors the way they used to. So, authors are still responsible for promoting themselves their books.
June 11th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Hi Elisa,
Thanks for the valuable advice. Can you give additional reasons why Twitter didn’t work as well for you as Facebook did? I’ve found Twitter to be much more effective than Facebook, at the very least for networking for a particular cause or interest.
Also, can you give examples of particular elements of cover letters that you thought worked best? Thanks again and all the best to you!
June 11th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Hi Niki-
I’m just not finding Twitter as interesting or fun, and I’ve not accumulated as many followers despite my Twitter profile being more public and accesible than my FB profile (and most of my followers are already on FB). I’m not quite sure how to attract more Twitter followers other than just announcing that I’m there. Twitter also seems to have its own jargon and abbreviations, not to mention forums, and I haven’t figured that out yet either
The other day I did a little bribery tactic in which I invited my Twitter followers to post one tweet about me and the book– in return, they’d get a cameo in a future novel (that I’m still writing). I think about four people responded. But that little effort did help me sell books, and it was fun for both them and me to figure out what their cameo would be.
As for my cover letters, I think what worked well was my synopsis of FAKING IT, and it’s only gotten better since I talk about it so much now — I’ve learned how to pitch it and make it sound appealing and fun. I’m in an even better position now to query because I’m much more confident, not only about my novels but about the query process itself. My current manuscript isn’t ready for show yet (agents want to see a finished manuscript, so querying now doesn’t make sense), but I’m looking forward to doing so because I’ve learned so much. Overall, I think you have to be as authentic as possible when writing a query letter. That’s my gut saying that.
Thanks so much for the comments and questions! Email elisa@elisalorello.com for your free PDF!
June 11th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
One more thing to add about Kindle pricing: people have just shelled out a lot of money for their Kindles and they’re itching to use it. But they don’t want to spend even more money on books that cost around ten bucks. So they scout for bargain books and freebies.
My hope is that they’ll buy my book based on price (or recommendations/reviews), read it, and enjoy it so much that they’ll 1) recommend it to others, and 2) be willing to buy the next book no matter what it costs.
The one thing I don’t have enough of is reviews. I’m hoping that the reviews will start coming in now that more and more people are reading it, and that they’ll be favorable!
These comments and discussion has been terrific!! Keep it comin’!
June 13th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Elisa, I am a perfect example of your success on Facebook. I became aware of your book from your postings on FB and then joined your Faking It fan page on FB. Keep up the good promotion work and the great writing.
I’m bummed that I’m not in the first three comments but so pleased that your BLOG tour is garnering such response!
All the best,
Brenda
June 14th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Brenda, send an email to elisa@elisalorello.com and I’ll send you the free PDF!