Saturday, July 23, 2011

Sunday Interview


Hello,
Today at bluebell books we have the pleasure of interviewing Christopher Jones on his newest work
And what he has accomplished so far. So without further ado here is our interview with Chrishopher Jones.


Why do you decide to get published?

I decided to pursue publishing as a number of my writing mentors pushed me to do so. I had never originally started writing to get published. I was told by a couple of editors to pursue it as they thought my work had marketability....


What kind of book you have there?

My book Waterboarded is a novella (short form novel) of literary fiction. It is essentially a coming of age novel. To be more technical, I followed the form of a Roman-a-clef (novel with a key).


How long have you been writing?

I first started writing poetry and short stories at the age of nine. I have been writing ever since. I have had numerous poems published in different journals and also self publish my own chap books on Amazon.com and scribd.com. I wrote my first novel three years ago. I am current working on my next novel plus have just recently been accepted into the 2011 Utah Screenwriters Project and will be work shopping a screenplay with them this year.


Do you have previous publishing experiences?

As I mentioned I had pursued publishing my poems in journals as a young writer, but tired of the wait, turn around and lack of payment for poetry. When the ebook craze started I jumped on that band wagon and it has served me well. I average between 50 to 500 downloads of my poetry books a day now through Amazon and scribd. As far as poetry is concerned I have no intention of pursuing any publishing beyond that a it seems pointless as a small press publisher would not be able to compare to my own download rates. My other writing is a different matter though...


What is the reason you choose the host of your publishing?

I had good advice from an editor early on who told me that the key to getting your manuscript published is finding a publisher who wants that type of manuscript. I searched far and wide and finally was recommended to the publisher I am with now. The focus on publishing books that have a mental health aspect to them and my novel was about someone struggling with bi-polar disorder and it seemed a perfect fit, which it turned out, was. Also, overseas publishing companies are MUCH MORE ACCEPTIVE of un-known authors.


What is the cost of getting everything done?

For me, the only cost was time and patience. It doesn't really cost anything to sit down, plot out an outline and write a story. I could say my costs were my laptop, college education, life's experiences, etc. but those doen't really count. A reputable publisher will not charge you for anything...


which part of the book you believe most charming to readers? please include 2 or 3 poems in your book.... for fiction, please pick out a paragraph to share.

That is a hard one for me, I had to step away from the story and characters for my sanity... I have gotten a wide array of responses on the novel from "I couldn't put it down" to "shocking language!" But below is an accessible excerpt:

I relished it. I felt like a maggot drawn to a corpse. Perhaps it was just the utter atmosphere of death and dead bodies that drew me to want to do my summer internship in New York. I am still not sure. I had always been fascinated with dead bodies and cadavers ever since my older sister was in medical college. She had taken me one afternoon with her to one of her labs. It was there, at that lab, that I got to see my first real dead body. I mean, I had seen a couple of friend’s dead parents in a casket and that type of thing, but not like that. I not only got to see a whole naked dead man lifted up out of a vat of formaldehyde, but got to watch my sister remove his spleen for her class assignment. I became so fascinated with the body after that. I spent hours copying the illustrations out of Grey’s Anatomy. Not that I was really a very good illustrator, but at the time back then in high school in that depressing southwestern American town there was little else to do.

Do you have any hints on how to get published?

Do your homework on publishers. Don't waste their time. Don't send manuscripts unsolicited. Learn the art of the query letter and the PITCH. Be as professional, courteous and thankful as possible.


Do you have a favorite author?

I have had a crush on Sylvia Plath since middle school. I still read her at least once a year.


What are your major inspirations?

My major inspirations are my daughter. I do everything for her. As far as who inspired me to write, lots of people. I was one of those kids who grew up wearing all black, listening to jazz, and reading the beats.


What’s your writing plan for the future?

I am half way through my next novel and will be shopping it around to agents soon. I was just accepted into the 2011 Utah Screenwriters Project and am writing and work shopping a full feature length screenplay with them this year. I am also leading a poetry workshop for the Utah Poetry Society this year. I have also promised my daughter to compile all of my kid friendly material into a book for her as it isn't fair I write stuff for only adults...


Wow congratulations on all that you have done! Other than your books how can we read more of your work


My website: http://www.jonesing.com

2 comments:

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

Christopher write amazing stories.

best wishes, Glad to learn about his agendas and writing motivations.

Thanks for the incredible interview, Luna.

Unknown said...

beautiful responses ...


Best Wishes, both of you.