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Hello there my awesome readers!
Today I have a fun and inspiring interview from CJ Peterson, a young writer who recently self-published his very first book, titled In the Sight of Sound! ✨
Growing up, CJ was deeply inspired by all of the stories he read and movies he saw, and always wanted to create his own that made him feel that magic a special story gave him.
In this detailed interview, you’ll learn:
- How CJ got into writing and his writing routine
- What it “takes” to be a writer and how to expand your imagination and creativity
- Costs behind self-publishing a book on Amazon
- …and more!
Tell me your story. What inspired you to become a self-published author?
Being a storyteller is something that has always been close to my identity. I fell in love with movies at a very young age. It not only gave me this explosive imagination that I still have to this day, but it also allowed me to gain lifelong passions of creativity. Such as writing!
I’ve always come up with quick ideas that I would jot down in my “cool ideas for a story” list. I’m approaching my 30’s and one day realized that I had a notebook full of ideas and absolutely nothing to account for them.
I made a promise to myself that I would pick the very best idea I had out of them all and finally write my first book. Which is exactly what happened! So to directly answer the original question: My imagination, getting older, and getting tired of sitting on so many potentially wonderful stories that never came to be.
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Tell me more about the process behind writing your first book, In the Sight of Sound? How long did that take and how did it go? Where did your idea come from?
The process was much different than I expected. Because it was my very first book, I had a lot of misconceptions of what it would be like. I went in with the idea of finishing the book in about a month.
As I started to actually write, I realized the absolute mountain it actually is. On top of that I was working a pretty mentally exhausting full-time job that sucked the creativity out of me by the end of the day.
I had to figure out what worked best for me and how I could cross the finish line realistically. Which turned into staying up most Saturday nights writing until the sun came up.
The process was far from the fun creative journey I originally thought it would be. It’s intense work and really put it into true perspective for me on why so many writers start their book but never finish. The entire process from coming up with the story idea to publishing was two years.
The idea came out of thin air. Much like all of my other story ideas. I wish I could remember the very moment I thought of it.
But it was actually years before I decided that it would end up being the story I would develop into a full novel. Which part of me thinks it’s pretty neat I was sitting on something for so long unaware it would one day become what it became. But another more critical side of me can only think that this story could have come out a long time ago.
Tell us more about In the Sight of Sound and what it is about.
The story revolves around a mysterious black hole that appears above the earth’s sky but causes no direct repercussions. It instantly causes world leaders and scientists to fall into a frenzy attempting to figure out this phenomenon.
In the Sight of Sound begins three months after this black hole appears, where you meet the main character FBI agent James Maddox preparing to head to Carnegie Hall to see the last performance of world renowned blind composer Sergio Frances.
As James sits in the audience, he realizes the music Sergio is playing on stage matches identically to radio signals coming from the black hole.
How is Sergio connected and could he hold the key to answering the black hole mystery before it’s too late? Only one way to find out…
What is your routine as a writer, if you have one?
Great question! I’m someone who has to write in isolation. So I often find myself writing throughout the night when it’s completely quiet throughout the house and no outside distractions passing by. It’s also less distracting for me because my phone doesn’t become a temptation to constantly pick up.
No one is texting me at 3am. No one is updating their social media at 2am (generally speaking.) So it’s easy for me to throw my phone on the counter and not feel a draw to it. Which unfortunately is a pretty big challenge most days for me.
As a side note, something I found myself doing that may seem a little odd that I suppose to can chalk up as me having a writing routine…I usually grow my fingernails a little longer than usual whenever I am in the process of writing something long. Such as a book. Which may sound strange on the surface. But I find it much easier to type on a keyboard with a little longer nails. So if you ever want to know if I’m secretly writing a new book, now you know a good way of finding that out if you saw me.
Since publishing, what are some ways you have brought traffic to your book?
As a self published author, I’m responsible for 100% of everything. Including the marketing. Which is a pretty epic battle some times. I’ve brought traffic to the book in three main ways: Leaning into my past and current professional/personal network, podcast/interviews, and a marketing campaign.
I’m very grateful to have been able to surround myself with wonderful people throughout the last handful of years. When I announced I was writing a book, I had a wave of support shown to me. Luckily, they were still excited by the time it was ready to purchase two years later.
One of the more fun ways I’ve been driving traffic is doing things like this interview right here. I’ve been the guest of a few podcast recently and scheduled for more. Theres sometimes a running joke online about so many people having podcasts and blogs. But for someone like me, that’s a massive advantage! I find a lot of joy being able to tell my story and talk about one of the things I’m the most proud of in my entire life!
Lastly, I’ve sat aside a budget for a marketing campaign. Running ads on websites like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram have gotten a lot of new eyes on my work. I’ve always had a bit of a grassroots approach by printing off business cards and putting them around my local area.
In the coming weeks I plan on doing a few giveaways. Which I think is a win-win since someone gets to win my book and I also can grow my brand a bit more.
What do you love and appreciate about being a writer?
I love that writing goes back thousands and thousands of years in history and it’s still appreciated by millions today. Along with that, I’m excited to live during a time where it’s the absolute easiest time to become a writer! That’s a reoccurring thought I had many times after the book was finished. Since this is my first book, there’s so much I’ve had to search online. Everything from book formatting to marketing tips. I was able to figure everything out because of the answers I found in only a few clicks. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to do the exact process even as short as twenty years ago. This has opened the doors for so many wonderful features to share their work on a mass scale. Which is always a huge positive not only in this space. But for the entire world.
Any tips for expanding our vocabularies?
I wish I could answer this with question with authority. But unfortunately, I can’t. There are so many cool words and phrases that I hear that make me smile so big. But I’m never the one saying them! Reading more makes the most sense to me. But also staying curious. If you see a word you’ve never seen before, look it up!
This is also advice I think I need to follow more myself.
Tell me more about the business elements of being a self-published author. What are the costs associated with it?
The neat (and equally terrifying) thing about being a self-published author is having complete control of the cost. You can technically write a book, create a cover, and publish it without spending a penny. But obviously for the most success possible, you will need to spend some cost.
The money I’ve put into my book have gone to two main places: Hiring an artist to create my cover and ads.
Again, however much you want to spend is entirely up to you as the author. My best advice is to understand how much you’re willing to spend. If the budget is $10 or $10,000…you can self-publish your book. Guaranteed.
Do you have a target audience, and did you have any expectations regarding the potential revenue of this book?
When I wrote the book and started to figure out where it would land in the many genre options, the one that stood out the most to me is “commercial thriller.” Even though this genre is a bit more of an industry term compared to a section you’d see in your local library, it’s the one that made the most sense.
The word “commercial” in the genre basically means it has a wide range of readers. Which is exactly what In the Sight of Sound is. Its readable if you’re an adult of any age, background, location, and interest.
I’m fortunate enough to have a full-time job outside of being an author. Because of that, there wasn’t a lot that rode on the financial success. My mentality was, “if someone buys it, they buy it. If someone’s doesn’t, they don’t.” Obviously I want everyone in the world to read my book.
But I didn’t need to sell a single copy to put food on my table and also had very low expectations considering my name doesn’t have the same automatic value to it as say Stephen King. It’s currently moving into three weeks since the book was officially released and I’m blown away by the reception.
I’ve sold about three times the amount of what I originally believed I would have sold over its lifetime. Even if it’s not entirely about the money, it’s still very rewarding and exciting for me.
A lot of people say writing takes a long time, and most people do not succeed in finishing a story. What helped you stick to it to the very end?
A lot of people say that because it’s true! It’s very challenging regardless of how seasoned of a writer you may be. It’s an absolute beast.
I got to the end because I made it my only option. There’s so many times in my life I told myself I would make a movie or write a book or something similar. I realized all I did was talk about it. If simply talking about made it come true, then I would have a million books on the shelf with my name on them.
As I’m getting a bit older, I became frustrated that I had so many stories to tell and never told a single one of them. So I made it my only option to succeed. Once I got in the right mentality, I never slowed down. Even when I wanted to. I pushed through and I’m so grateful I did.
When having a full-time job and other daily life things I couldn’t step away from to write, I was forced to figure out what made works best for me. Early on, I was determined to write every single night. But that’s sometimes not realistic.
I found myself very quickly getting burnt out and writing lazily. It became a chore. When I recognized this and decided to only write on the weekends, I was excited to write again and also my writing was higher quality because it wasn’t forced.
My biggest tip for maintaining your daily life while also tackling a big creative task like writing a book is to find what works best for you and stick with it. Additionally, accept when something doesn’t work. I learned more about myself as a creator during the process of writing In the Sight of Sound than anything I ever learned in the twenty years of creating leading up to it.
Understanding how I’m in my element didn’t come to me right away. But if you keep with it and make adjustments where they need to be made, then everything should work itself out.
What are some tools, apps, and tech you used to write this book from start to end?
I used three tools to make this book come alive: Microsoft Word, Kindle Create, and (SO MUCH) Google.
There’s so many resources out there available right now to help you along your journey as a writer. That should excite you if you’re wanting to write a book!
Luckily for me, I didn’t have to search long to figure out what works best. I wrote my entire book in Word, formatted in Kindle Create since I was releasing on Amazon, and Googled nightly like my life depended on it.
What have been the most influential stories that inspired you into becoming a writer yourself, if any?
Funny enough, I’ve never been a big reader until this year. I’ve always been drawn to the wonderful world of Hollywood. My book wasn’t directly inspired by any particular work of art. But instead was indirectly inspired by the love I have for movies that are very close to me.
In many ways, In the Sight of Sound became what it became because the magic I felt when watching movies such as Inception, Heat, Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Arrival, Jurassic Park, Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather and hundreds more.
A great story leaves you floating away from it. The movies engrained in my DNA shaped who I am today as a storyteller which helped mold my book into what it became.
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors who are just starting out?
If a story you have excites you, then go with your gut. It’s not easy. It’s not exactly fun. But holding a book you wrote in your hands is a surreal feeling that’s hard to compare to. As simply as it may be…JUST DO IT!
What are your future plans? Any „sequels“ we should watch out for?
In the Sight of Sound was created to be fully wrapped up by the last page. So no sequels! But as an author, I’m beyond thrilled to have a few things planned for the next coming years.
I plan on starting my second book as early as the start of next year. It’s a story that I have been developing for the last years and once things slow down from In the Sight of Sound I’m going to take a bit of a mental break and dive right into starting it all over again with my second planned release.
No official announcements just yet! But keep an eye on my official social media accounts for the title reveal early 2023.
To connect with CJ, follow him on his Twitter account or check out the official In the Sight of Sound website!
Have you enjoyed this Q&A? Let me know in the comments below! ❤️