To Self-Publish or Not--Guest Blog and Author Spotlight by Cesar

 Author Bio

 Cesar has a very experienced background in the spiritual world. He was brought up in a Christian family, but branched out from that base as he got older, seeking answers about the world around him, and the spiritual world around him.  In his mid-twenties dramatic events occurred in his life which challenged his very existence, but he learned from these experienced and most of learned that how that life is not just in our own hands.  Now Cesar is a firm believer that everyone has their own path to walk in life, and part of that walk is all about the choices that you make. Some people choose a good life and some a wicked life, but most of us live the life in the middle, influenced by the world around us and our own upbringing, Cesar understands that life is simply not black and white.

Self Publishing

I think that the whole area of publishing will be changing dramatically over the next few years, a slow move away from traditional publishers and with my Book of Prophecies I chose to self-publish.  The traditional route would be to send off manuscripts to find a publisher, however, this process can be costly and time consuming and can also be very tough when you face letters of rejection.  However, I chose self-publishing only because of the time restraints which would be obvious by the content of my book, a book will not sell after all the things it foretells have come true!

There are many hurdles when you chose to self-publish however, you have to do a lot of work yourself concerning the editing and cover design but this can be an enjoyable process too.  Another issue would be how to promote your book, and I have found the single most influential thing to be joining online networks to talk with other authors.  Here you can pick up tips on writing, tips on editing and marketing and even people who might be interested in looking over your work to review it.

But the simple fact is that traditional publishers hugely control book stores and self-published books can only really hope to make a market on the online bookstores.  Yet as we move from paper books to ebook readers, there will also be a change in the control of publishing.  You can see it happening already, for example Amazon, a huge online book seller now offers publishing deals to writers and offers a free option for new writers to publish their books.  When I consider how more and more music stores disappear from shopping centers because of customers now buying online, the same will eventually happen to book stores.  I have to admit though that I will always prefer a paper book!

Up Close with Cesar 

 

1.                  What inspires you as a writer?

I have to say that there have always been two things that have influenced my writing, the first being life experience, the relationships and failures and achievements that we all face, the second big influence has been dreams, for this book it is solely reliant upon dreams but even when I write fiction stories, part of it will have been influenced by a dream I had, I think dreams can be a resource of ideas and of truths.

2.  When did you have that ah ha moment when you knew you were a writer?

I think that even now my mind struggles to take in the fact that I have written a book, sometimes it feels like an alternative universe, but in the same sense I am still proud of myself that I managed to complete a book, and not only that, but a book that readers are enjoying.

3.  What is your writing process?

My writing process for this book was very strange, it involved a lot of meditation and a lot of study as regards dream interpretation, but it was something that I very much enjoyed and hopefully I will get the chance again to write a further book on the subject.

4.  Tell us about your favorite character and why you chose to write about them?

Well that's the thing about  my Book of Prophecies, it has no characters as such because its a brand new collection of prophecies which no one has examined or studied before, but instead of characters you will find cryptic messages and images that have a depth of secrets of the future ahead.

5.  What are you currently working on?

Well I have another two books which are nearing completion, one is a book of poetry and the other is a YA fiction which could be described as a mix between Harry Potter and the Da Vinci Code.

6.  Any upcoming events?

Yes there are number of events that are ongoing including reviews interviews and giveaways, the best place to follow the events would be through my website http://www.cesarprophecies.com

7.  If you could be anyone you like, who would you be?

That's a tough question as I'm content at being just myself, so I think I will chose a character that’s fictional, Frodo out of Lord of the Rings.

8.  Do you have any advice for new writers and something that a seasoned vet can learn?

Well I remember the day that I started to write, I had put off writing for many years although I always wanted to write a book at some point in my life, and so, I would say to any new writer to have faith in themselves and to keep at it, and to any who hasn't started yet, stop putting it off and get writing!!

9.   Where can your followers find you?

They can find me at my website above, also at my blog > cesarprophecies2012.blogspot.com or alternatively follow me on twitter @cesarprophecies

10.              Any last words?

Yes I would like to thank you for the opportunity for the interview.