Interview with Adam
D. Shandler
Interview by Jenna Glatzer
Adam
D. Shandler published his book, Coaching Ira, with a vanity press last
May. But what makes Adam noteworthy is that he's actually achieved some
success-- landing radio and TV interviews, speaking engagements, book signings,
and many reviews. Here's how.
I really wanted this interview to be like VH-1's
Behind the Music, but I'm disappointed to learn that your life has not been
riddled with drug abuse, sexual deviancy, corruption, scandal, or tragedy.
I guess this means we're stuck talking about writing. So tell me, when did
you know you were a writer?
I've been writing ever since I was a wee tot. I used to improvise little short
stories into a tape recorder when I was kid. Listening to them now, I wonder how
I ever got out of childhood without therapy. It's kind of like watching Speed
Racer when you're younger, a cartoon we all thought was the coolest thing at the
time, and realizing later in life that it was the cheesiest thing ever produced.
In my collegiate and professional endeavors, writing had always been the
byproduct of something bigger. I wrote scripts for TV and radio shows, and even
won an award for a radio commercial. When I was with a recruiting firm, I wrote
a lot of the position specification forms for the jobs we were looking to fill.
But it wasn't until later that I had the epiphany to write a novel.
Tell me about your book, Coaching Ira, and why
you decided to take a leap of faith by taking a year off of work to write it.
Coaching Ira is the story of Ira Korbman, the coach of a Jewish youth
league basketball team. Way back in 1979, Ira missed the two free throws that
would have won his own youth league team the state championship. It changes his
life considerably for the next twenty years. He takes the paths of least
resistance -- instead of going to Yale, he goes to a local state school. Instead
of becoming a surgeon, he opts for dentistry -- all because he thinks he's going
to choke, much in the way he did at the foul line.
Twenty years later, the coaching job opens for his local Jewish youth league
team. Ira, now a forty-something bachelor, reluctantly accepts, not realizing
his team is filled with freaks, geeks and overachievers. But the team and his
assistant coach help Ira rekindle his love affair with basketball and teach him
what's important in life.
I decided to take the year off to write Ira primarily because I was tired of
corporate work -- well, any work actually. I don't do very well reporting to
people and I had a tough time buying into "corporate family" and
"for the company" philosophies. So I invested wisely, sold at the
right time and lived off my stock portfolio while I wrote this story that was
taking up a lot of space in my head. It also doesn't hurt to have an awesome,
understanding girlfriend (now my wife) with a good job.
It seems like such an unlikely combination -- Judaism
and basketball. In fact, we rarely hear about Jews in sports at all.
Does your book have a "message," or is it purely a work of
comedy?
I'm going for comedy first and foremost, but Judaism does play an underlying
part in this novel. In fact, in some instances, the tenets of Judaism affect the
way some of the basketball games are played. For instance, in orthodox Judaism,
there is a law called shomer nagiya, which essentially means "hands
off" or "no touching" the opposite sex-- until you're married
anyway. A problem arises when Ira's team, whose best player is a girl, squares
off with an orthodox team that refuses to play if she is in the lineup. I won't
give away how that plays out.
As for why I decided to write a Jewish basketball novel, I always find the
juxtaposition of sports and religion pretty fascinating. You have sports, which
is a centerpiece of our culture, but it's not life and death, married with
religion, which is the guiding force, the be all and end all, in many people's
lives. And as you alluded to, Jews and sports is an unlikely combination, so I
thought this book would be a novelty.
What made you decide to self-publish this book?
Well, I would have loved to have had a dozen agents tying up my phone lines with
overtures to represent me. But that didn't happen. Instead, I got a ton of
rejection letters saying something to the effect of "We like the way you
write, but we can't take a chance on a novel with a nebulous premise."
What, a Jewish basketball novel is a nebulous premise?
But, in all seriousness, I understand what they were saying. I sent out my query
letters just days after 9-11, and the book industry, like so many others, had to
tighten its belt. We as writers have to realize that when a publishing house
takes on a book, it is an investment, which costs a lot of money in production,
design, and promotion. When times are tough, and you're not really sure about
something, you just don't go with it.
So I started warming up to the idea of self-publishing. This company, Xlibris,
had some pretty good deals going and offered the author a lot of flexibility in
design, layout and pricing. And their strategic partnership with Random House
was also attractive. At least I know Xlibris will be around a while.
You say that things started slowly with this book --
that you couldn't even get anyone to review it in the beginning. What
changed that?
All it takes is one event to change your luck. I began sending out emails to
JCCs, synagogues, Jewish and Israel-cause organizations and Hillels (Jewish
student unions on college campuses) and told them I was available for readings,
speaking engagements and signings. A few Hillels took a chance on me, then an
organization, then a synagogue. I got out of the gate slowly, but next thing I
knew, I was in the middle of a book tour. The papers and magazines started
respecting that, and now they're contacting me for review copies!
I hear you're going to be on FOX 5 NY's 11:30 newscast
on Feb. 21. How did you score that interview?
Never underestimate the power of a good friendship, especially if you're a
writer looking for big-time publicity. One of my best friends from college is
John Discepolo, a ridiculously talented sportscaster on FOX 5's 10 PM newscasts
and on FOX's national NFL broadcasts. He got in the afternoon news producer's
face until she booked me on her show. Now John has his pick of any restaurant in
the city, my treat. You just can't put a price on this kind of publicity and so
I owe him big time.
My media friends and I have been supporting and looking out for one another
since college, so my advice to your readers is "never burn bridges and
never lose touch."
Can you give some advice for our self-published
authors: how can they find their audiences?
After you've come up with a book idea, do some research on how you're going to
market your book. Do this before you even write your first word. Find magazines,
newspapers, websites that deal specifically with your subject matter-- media
that might want to do a story on you or review your book. Look for
organizations, clubs, associations that pertain to the subject of your book.
Find out who's running things, and when you're book comes off the presses,
contact that person and inquire about a speaking engagement or book signing.
You'll make money and connect with your target audience-- which could be
your target audience for life.
What are your tips for being an effective speaker and
landing speaking engagements?
Be flexible with what you can talk about. I am the writer of a Jewish basketball
novel; but let's face it, nobody knows from Adam D. Shandler. (Although
sometimes people come to events hoping to hear Adam Sandler, which has
its pros and cons.) Ideally, I want to push my book, talk about why I wrote it
and read from it. But as a no-name author, it's a tough sell. So I do a
presentation on "Jews in Sports Culture" with a little history and
some observations. Then I segue into the origins of Coaching Ira and a
reading. My audience leaves the event feeling like they've got an education as
well as some entertainment.
I recommend finding a topic that is tangential to your book's subject and
finding a clever way of sliding from that topic into your book promotion.
When you do speaking engagements and book signings, do
you bring your own copies of the books to sell? On average, how many books
do you sell at these events-- and is it worth it compared to your travel
expenses and time?
I often order the books myself and have them sent to the address of the event. I
get a considerable author discount through Xlibris, then recoup a bit of a
profit at the signings. Most of the money goes into my own pocket, but as a
rookie author, sometimes you can make yourself more marketable by having a small
portion of the proceeds go to a charity or related organization. Charity always
loosens people up-- and their purse strings for that matter. This way, you're
selling your book, but doing some good in the world, too.
I've done speaking engagements for as little as ten people and as many as fifty,
and when I go out to San Francisco for the United Jewish Communities conference
next month, I may be speaking in front of close to 400 people. So far, half the
people at every speaking event I've done have bought books. The sell is key, but
just doing the event, no matter how small or big, will make you a better and
more experienced speaker.
I've done a lot of local events, so I haven't racked up too many travel
expenses. But there have been events only attainable by a plane ride. Usually,
the organizer foots the bill for these, but if they don't offer to do that it's
best to work something out. This April I have a wedding in Phoenix, but I
have also booked a speaking event at one of the local synagogues for that
weekend. If you're a new author looking to reach more people, it may be worth
taking one day out of your pleasure trip to promote your book.
Has your website been an effective tool for book sales?
It has been the most effective sales and promotional tool. I'm not on a
lot of bookstore shelves around the country, so people look for my book at
events or online. There's a storefront section on my site that allows visitors
to buy the book from the online store they're most comfortable with-- Amazon,
B&N, Borders or my publisher's site, Xlibris.com. Readers like to know who
their author is, so I put my bio and info about the book up on the site. I also
treat my visitors to some free short stories, just to give them a taste of how I
write before they commit to buying. Most importantly, I have a "Contact
Adam" email mechanism that allows visitors to contact me directly. And I
make a point of responding to everyone. You never know, you might meet some of
these people at an event one day.
Looking back now, are you glad to have self-published,
or do you wish you had gone with a traditional publisher? What are some of
the perks and pitfalls of self-publishing?
I would have loved for a publishing company to have taken a chance on Coaching
Ira, but when that didn't happen, I needed to find other options.
Self-publishing, and in turn, self-promoting, self-marketing and self-booking,
has given me a greater appreciation for all that goes into the selling of a
book. And it's also helping me build a good track record, so that when I finish
my second novel, I'll have some cache when presenting to agents and publishers
again. It's been a ton of hard work, and it's required a lot more salesmanship
than I imagined, but it has all been worth it because it's been so much fun...
and it's getting me closer to my dream as a full-time author.
Anything else you'd like to add?
Don't quit your day job the day your self-published book rolls off the presses.
It's taken me about ten months to create a buzz about my book and I still hold
down other employment. But do make promoting your book a career priority even if
that means giving up a few vacation days at work. If your future goal is to
become a full-time author, sometimes you've got to roll out of that warm, snugly
bed we all know as the comfort zone.
CLICK
HERE TO ORDER THE BOOK.
Visit Adam's website at http://www.adamdshandler.com/.
