By day, a self-professed professional unpaid people watcher and evidence gatherer, and by night, an insomniac dot connector, Pamela Capone lives in Southern California with her husband, John. They have two fabulous adult children together, Joey and Cassie.
Tell us something about your book. The basics: what’s it about? Is there a particular highlight in this whole process?
My book is a collection of essays–real life, sometimes hard-to-believe-but-are-true stories. I think sometimes we watch for the flashing Vegas marquis sort of thing—or a booming voice from the heavens—but I’ve found epiphanies happen in the most unexpected ways, like the morning I woke up and found that I had punched myself in the eye in my sleep. I took one look and asked myself, huh, so I wonder how many other ways I beat myself up subconsciously.
What drove you to write this particular book?
There’re always stories begging to be told from everyday life. If I’m listening and watching, there are lessons in front of me all the time—sometimes they appear in a funny situation, sometimes anything but funny, but always revelatory.
What’s your writing regimen? Where do you do your writing?
Writing happens when a story plants itself in front of me and says, Here you go, write this down, NOW. And then I’m in a mad panic to get to my laptop. Inspiration comes at random times but most consistently when I am outside with the big blue sky overheard.
Who are your greatest writing influences?
There several but the most inspirational contemporary writer is Anne Lamott. Anne is the bomb.
Is the book in any one particular genre? Is it a genre that’s familiar to you?
Personal essays. I call my essays, “messays” because when life is messy and you write essays, you get “messays.”
How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?
No, I made a conscious decision to not traditionally publish my book. I really like having freedom and control over my work. In theory, I’m not opposed to traditionally publish but for now, this really works!
What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service? Would you self-publish again?
I used Amazon’s CreateSpace. I’ve had an excellent experience and would do it again in a heartbeat. The customer service has been phenomenal. That said, I only used CreateSpace to print my book, I did not use any of their other services. I hired my own outside editor, artist, interior designer, etc. I loved all the pros I’ve used.
Any words of advice for those looking to self-publish? Any big missteps/successes?
Don’t let the naysayers win. Don’t let fear win. Go with your gut, write it down, choose a method of self-publishing that works for you and go for it.
What’s next on the horizon for you as an author?
I plan to begin writing my next book in the series of personal messays within the next three months. I want to feel like I’ve given I Punched Myself in the Eye a proper kick-in-the-pants launch before I shift my focus. That said, when a story plants itself in front of me, I’m going to write it down.
Is there a particular highlight in this whole process?
Getting across the board positive industry reviews has been very fulfilling, but a definite highlight was when I read my SPR review—when I was compared to “I Love Lucy.” Lucy was a comedic inspiration and in-general joy for me. I so “got” her humor and maybe a little teensy bit of her rubbed off on little ol’ me.
Where is your book sold and how can someone reach you?
My book is sold on Amazon and on my personal website.
Links
Author Site
Twitter
Amazon
Goodreads
Get an Editorial Review | Get Amazon Sales & Reviews | Get Edited | Get Beta Readers | Enter the SPR Book Awards | Other Marketing Services
Leave A Comment