murder.booklocker.com

Quite a while ago, early February in fact, I had an email from Lew Weinstein. He wrote: “I am an author, both published and seeking publication, and I am thinking of starting a blog. I’m quite impressed with your site. Could you tell me who the host is, and how you got started, including any problems you had to overcome?” We had some exchanges, you know how it goes. And then just recently it occurred to me to return to his website. When you take your first peek, remember that it’s a work in progress! Lew’s blog, I’m happy to say, looks great.

This visit I took some time reading what his website had to say. Down near the bottom I saw this:

“You can read a serialized version of A Good Conviction for no charge. Receive Segment 1 by clicking the link below and requesting it.

“Subsequent Segments (there are 9 in all) will be emailed to you upon request.”

I decided to ask him if he would submit to an interview on the subject. Happily, he agreed.

Cheryl: I find the whole idea of giving anything away absolutely fascinating. Thanks for agreeing to the interview which I’m thinking of calling, “Giving your novel away in bite size pieces.”

What made you decide to offer A Good Conviction in a serialized version?

Lew: I wanted to get reader reaction to my book prior to publication. I selected a list of friends and acquaintances, and offered them the opportunity to read the book in serial form.

Cheryl: What kind of feedback have you gotten? Anything helpful?

Lew: These are the kinds of comments I got back from readers …

… I am really into this story! I feel so bad for Josh. I love to read books that I feel close to the characters and that’s how I feel with this one!

… I love crime novels and this one doesn’t disappoint. The stark contrast in the opening chapters between Joshua Blake’s, until then, seemingly charmed life and the brutal reality of Sing Sing prison is chilling. You can’t help but think ‘What if that were me?’

… The story is gripping. It keeps you turning the pages with twists and turns to the plot. [Ed., there are a zillion more of these at the end of the article.]

Cheryl: Have you received/read books that way yourself? Or someone you admired had done that?

Lew: No to both.

Cheryl: Were you aware of Cory Doctorow’s venture? Or Joe Konrath’s? They’re giving their ebooks away free. [So is Randy Richardson]

Lew: No, I wasn’t.

Cheryl: I assume that you are harvesting email addresses and creating a mailing list. True? Lew: Not for the moment. My plans now are to seek a traditional publisher. I am also planning to produce a POD edition, and make this available via traditional distribution channels. Cheryl: Can you do that? I mean, have it published by someone else AND self-publish via POD? The only way I could understand this is if the traditional publisher does a hardcover and you reserve the rights to the paperback. If that’s not it, please explain. Lew: When a traditional publisher takes up A Good Conviction, I will stop sales on a POD basis.

Cheryl: Anything special about how a reader “opts in” other than sending you an email?

Lew: All readers were either selected by me, or by those I had selected. I did not seek general population readers.

Cheryl: I’m very surprised that you are restricting readers — the website is in the public domain. Has no one else come by to visit except those that you selected?

Lew: There are no restrictions. I simply haven’t marketed it. There have been unexpected visits by people who found the site, and I have sent them the serialized segments when requested.

Actually, most of my time now is dedicated to research and writing a novel set in Renaissance Florence, with Lorenzo de Medici, one of history’s most fascinating and little-known characters, at the center of the story.

Cheryl: Why nine installments? How many chapters in your book? How did you decide where to break them?

Lew: I tried to develop roughly equal segments which could be read easily in a single sitting, each approximately 40 pages and each ending at a point in the story that achieved high tension. There are 42 chapters.

Cheryl: How soon after the first installment do you mail the next?

Lew: There was no automatic mailing. Each reader, on finishing a segment, sent an email requesting the next. Many readers also sent comments, which I encouraged. I’m using those comments, which were terrific, as well as blurbs I have received, in my efforts to find a traditional publisher.

Cheryl: So these really were hand-picked readers. Why not just email the whole thing at once?

Lew: The files were too large, and it was more fun for me to get the feedback after each segment. You read the comments above [Ed., and more below]. That was tremendously gratifying for me as an author.

Cheryl: What format are the files in?

Lew: The files are Word documents.

Cheryl: A Good Conviction is your second novel. May I ask why the first was not serialized and made available, or is that in your plans for the future? Lew: The Heretic was self-published in hardcover format. We sold over 3500 copies and then sold paperback rights to The University of Wisconsin Press. Cheryl: I’m impressed. Lew: Thank you. It took a lot of hard work, but it was also fun to do. I made over 60 appearances nationwide. Serialization was never considered and there are no current plans to serialize The Heretic.

[Lew and I had several rounds of back-and-forth emails; I asked the following in ignorance as part of the first set of questions I sent him]
Cheryl: Why can’t I find A Good Conviction at Amazon?

Lew: It’s not published yet. The POD edition should be available within the next 2-3 months, after which it will be available on amazon, bn.com, and elsewhere.

Cheryl: Does this mean you’ve given up on a traditional publisher? Or are you hoping to follow the same plan as you did with The Heretic: hardcover POD, paperback traditional. I realize as I write this that earlier I had assumed YOU were doing the paperback. It seems like a curious thing to do, assume the bigger expense of producing the hardcover.

Lew: I am pursuing a traditional publisher; actually I’m pursuing an agent, the first step in reaching a traditional publisher. The process is gruesome, as I guess you know. The POD will be in trade paper format. A traditional publisher will decide on format.

I will not be self-publishing a hardcover edition. With The Heretic, I took a huge financial risk and it paid off. By the way, I have re-purchased the paperback and all other rights, including foreign and film, while giving The University of Wisconsin Press the right to continue to sell what they have in stock. If I subsequently sell rights to The Heretic, I (or the new publisher) will probably purchase the then-existing stock.

Cheryl: My thanks to Lew Weinstein for giving us so much to consider.

Lew: I forgot to add that I would be pleased, for the moment at least, to send segments to anybody who reads about it on your site and requests a copy by emailing me at lmwkwhome@comcast.net.

Cheryl: Thanks again.

… The characters engage you. Watch them develop – not just Josh as he is forced to face unimaginable challenges just to survive in jail, but those who take up the challenge of trying to prove his innocence. What motivates them? Why does NYPD Lieutenant Kerrigan put himself on the line? What drives Darleen to stand by Josh? And look out for Josh’s defence lawyer – he may not inspire confidence to begin with but develops as a quiet force.

… You’ve got me hooked me now! I started reading the 2nd segment last night, and couldn’t put it down until I was done. Are you going to let that poor guy out of jail, or what? (please, don’t answer that) Please send me the next segment !

… More, more, send me more, please. What a teaser this first segment was.

… Well, you’ve got me hook, line and sinker after Segment 1. So…..would you please send me Segment 2 so I can continue this adventure. Thanks for the opportunity!

… I like the style, the way you change back and forth from Joshua being at Sing Sing to his free days and then to his time at Rikers Island. Makes for interesting reading that way.

… I absolutely love this book. I read a lot of mysteries by Michael Connelly (all he has written so far) and James Patterson and Len Deighton and just finished last week a book by Nicholas Evans called The Divide. This book of yours is right up there. I am intrigued by it and once I begin reading, I remain until I have read the final word of the segments you have sent. This should definitely be on the NY Times best reads. I anxiously await more. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.

… I finished the book a few days ago. I very much enjoyed A Good Conviction. You made Josh and Darlene very sympathetic yet real characters. I liked them. You also did a good job of manipulating the tension level in the book so that I was extremely worried that Darlene would get hurt and was quite pleased when she was rescued by Detective Watson. That alone should indicate how well you reached this reader. I abhor ADA Claiborne. You made him into a villain but did it in a way that did not make him a caricature. I cannot think of a character in your book who was not drawn well. The best thing I can say about any book is that I am sorry to see it end. I was sorry to reach the end of your book.

… I am ready for Segment 3! I read Segment 2 the same day I got it.

… Having anxiously awaited this novel after reading The Heretic with our book club in South Jersey, I have been gripped by the story’s reality and intensity. We’d like to think such injustices don’t happen, but recent advances in forensics have proven that many innocents are incarcerated. The old saw about everybody in jail professing innocence is not so humorous today. What’s scary about Josh Blake’s situation is that as it unfolds it strikes you as being entirely plausible. Loved the attention to detail about the story’s New York locations - provided a reality foundation which made the story more startling. I am thoroughly enjoying this serialized email format - keeps the reader on the edge of his/her seat - or should I say, at the edge of his/her keyboard.

… Every page forces me to confront the very real issue in our society of someone who lives the horror of a wrongful conviction and life in the realities of prison.

… Your attention to detail is great — I feel I am in New York with Josh! Next segment please !

… I liked the court room scene and thought it moved quickly in a compelling manner.

… I am ready for the next segment of A Good Conviction. I read it all in one swoop - I could not stop. I found it thoroughly readable with all the “parts” in the right places. Thank you so much; I look forward to my next read.

… I am really enjoying this book. Please send the next part ASAP.

… I just finished Segment 2 and I’m really looking forward to receiving the next segment. Nothing like being kept in suspense. Poor Joshua Blake, he can’t get a break I just know there has to be a point where this poor guy’s luck, or lack of it, has to change! Please send along the next segment as soon as you can. Thank you very much!

… Just want you to know that my eyes were riveted to each sentence in your book. I can’t get to each segment fast enough; my other emails can wait, the book I was reading can wait, I just want to read your story. It just grabs your attention and compels you to read on and on. Thank you so much - I look forward to reading more.

… Wow! That’s some story. I am ready for segment 3.

… Can you send me #3. It’s really good and so scary that this could actually happen!

… I’m back again in search of Segment 5 this time. I really am enjoying the story and all the suspense that it holds.

… It’s scary to think how many like Josh are trapped in our legal system. I’m ready for Segment 5.

… Quick, send me Segment 2, I’m on the edge of my seat.

… Finished segment 2. I am loving it. The poor kid. I feel like I am watching Law & Order where you recognize so many of the places. Can you forward the next installment??

… Time for segment 6. You do tell a good story.

… The tension is increasing. Send me Segment 8.

… My heart is breaking for this kid, but I’m ready for more.