Interview with Cary Smith, author of 'Four Corners, Or A Book That Will Tickle Your Intellectual Nipple
His latest book is Four Corners, Or a Book That Will Tickle Your Intellectual Nipple.
Visit him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tickleintellectual.
Q: Welcome
to The Writer's Life, Cary. Can you tell us how long you’ve been
writing and how your journey led to
I started writing just after high school, so almost
ten years. This was my first project, work, so I’ve been working on it on and
off again for a while.
Q: How did
you choose your title and was it your first choice?
I chose the title after finally being myself,
writing in a voice that was truly mine. It was not my first choice. The
original title was just “Four Corners.” I was trying to be
this ultra serious, literary person, but that is not who I am at all. I’m more
of a blend of the two, and I’m not smart enough to remember the terminology for
those two terms combined, but am not dumb enough to not know there is
terminology which would have made all of this a lot shorter and more concise.
Q: We all
know that publishers can’t do all of the publicity and that some lies on the
author. What has your publisher done so
far to publicize the book and what have you done?
Well, I hired a publicist, Charlie Barrett, and
he’s been nothing but help. I’m not the publicity, marketing type and I wanted
to give the book a chance to succeed, so I felt some one like Charlie would
help with those chances greatly, especially since I don’t know very many
people, and didn’t go to a very good school. I’m a big believer in letting
people do their jobs, and that philosophy also stems from me being a bit lazy.
I turned to Facebook, which in turn got me a lot of thumbs up and likes, but
that was all, so I stopped with that.
Q: Open to
a random page in your book. Can you tell
us what is happening?
Probably not.
Q: Do you
plan subsequent books?
Maybe. The process is really exhausting, and I’m
not one of those people who say they write for themselves, so they don’t care
if they have no fans, etc. I’m the exact opposite. If I have no fans, what is
the point, really? So, given the current state of my writing career, it might
not be worth it to pour all that effort on the page. Although, I do have
various works that have been started or have an outline for a bigger work, but
I don’t want them to be just for me and my mom, and fiancée, especially since
my mom and fiancée don’t even read.
Q: What is
the one thing you learned about your book AFTER it was published?
It’s probably not that good.
Q: What is
your most favorite time of the day or night to write?
Night. The day makes me more sleepy, which is
odd.
Q: What is
usually better – the book or the movie?
50/50, sometimes the book, sometimes the movie,
but these days…almost always the book, but movies always make way more
money…so…
Q: You’re about to write your next book. What did you learn from your previous book to
help you write your next book?
Wait to see if it’s worth it, because what’s the
point if it’s all in vain.
Q:
Finally, what’s your best tip you can give to writers who want to be published?
Who cares what agents and publishers say. Most
of the time their wrong, and nowadays they only want you if you’ve already been
successful or went to some boring MFA school, so don’t give up.
Q: Do you
have any final words?
Thank you.
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