E.A. Barker interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

When did your love of books begin?

I was a space and science junky by the age of nine thanks to a mini-encyclopedia created for young people given to me by my aunt. It would probably be wildly collectible today. There were about six or eight mini-books per box and they were designed in such a way as to appear like drawers with a brass pull. I had those three drawers stacked on my bookshelf until I moved out of my parent’s house. I remember looking at them one last time before donating them and laughing at how wrong some of it was proven to be just sixteen years later.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I’m not sure I ever wished for it. There was a sequence of events that led to it. It began with an injury which left me unable to do much of anything. Convalescing created too much time for me to contemplate a bleak future so I began writing again after a friend of a friend raved about some old magazine articles I had written. I thought I would write a collection of my relationship experiences as a pastime for my two nephews who were both entering into serious relationships. My hairdresser then got all excited about it and asked to read my manuscript. She insisted I flesh it out and pursue getting it published. The rest, as they say, is history. Years later, Ms. Creant: The Wrong Doers! came about.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Painful. Don’t get me wrong, there has been both good and bad in my journey. The good comes primarily from readers who reach out with positive comments and/or who post reviews. The bad is a bigger list encompassing: all the red created by editors who sometimes make you feel like you write at a fifth grade level; the many rejections from agents and publishers; piracy; the costs in both time and quatloos; plagiarism; exploitation. . . .

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

You have given me no choice but to self-promote with this question. Read The $1.99 Author! I wrote it ostensibly for the writers of the world who are considering rolling the dice to take their shot at crossing over into the dark world of book publishing. It’s anything but glamorous; nothing like how authors are portrayed on TV; and there probably won’t be any cocktail parties thrown in your honour. You may end up drinking more at home alone though.

Tell us about your book/books:

All my books have a humorous component because books are about life, and what is life without laughter?

 

My latest, The $1.99 Author, is a publishing industry manifesto which will make thinking readers, a.k.a. writers, see the big picture before deciding if, where, and for how long they want to continue wagering.

 

The elevator pitch:

The $1.99 Author is an informative and fun book for those who write books and people who think they might want to.

 

The short blurb:

The $1.99 Author offers a pragmatic look at today’s publishing options for both budding and previously published authors. Almost every conceivable publishing path is touched upon with the pros and cons of each laid bare. This book is free of sugar-coated empty promises of success. Instead, readers will be made to understand there is a ladder awaiting them, and The 1.99 Author shows us how to climb it safely without going broke, without getting taken, and without too many heartbreaks.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

The support. People like you, Fraser, who reached out pitching something like this. I think I have been more fortunate than most in this regard. I’ve always kept data on shared posts across my social media sites, both past and present, and I’m humbled by the number of caring individuals who saw fit to lend a helping hand － however insignificant this action may have seemed to them at the time, and regardless of social media’s dubious ability to sell books － these are random acts of kindness which do not go unnoticed.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

Thank you, and don’t accept career advice from your hairdresser.

Where can people connect with you?

My books are on nearly all of the most notable sites, but for my current project, the best place to start would be the web-page I created for The $1.99 Author. It is frequently updated with news and has many links to take readers to the things that interest them most.

 

https://eabarker.wordpress.com/the-1-99-author/

 

To actually get a response from me in a timely manner, there are only a few places I would recommend.

 

I try to check twitter notifications daily @EABarker1.

 

For time-sensitive business matters, like requesting an advance reader copy before December first, my e-mail address is: eabarkerauthor@gmail.com. You should receive a reply within twenty-four hours. Monetized book review sites need not apply.

 

Additionally, I am usually on LinkedIn for a short time each Thursday.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/e-a-barker