Interview With
Michael Webb
Interview by Jenna Glatzer
Michael is the best-selling
author of The RoMANtic’s Guide: Hundreds of Creative Tips for a Lifetime of
Love (Hyperion), a book full of creative romantic tips. In
addition, he is a syndicated columnist and runs an e-zine dedicated to helping
men become more romantic. He
is widely regarded in the media as one of the nation’s top experts on romance.
Did you plan to become a writer?
No. That never was a plan or goal of mine. I still have a difficult time considering myself a "writer." When my book came out and became a best-seller, then I decided that perhaps I could finally call myself a writer. However, to me, I'm just talking on paper.
How did you establish yourself as an expert in the "romance" field?
When deciding to start a business giving romance advice and tips a little over five years ago, the field was practically wide open. There were only a couple of people who were writing on the subject and most of what I read was pretty lame. So when the media learned of what I was doing, they were very grateful to have someone to interview, especially around Valentine's Day. My job was to make sure the media knew about me which I did mainly with press releases. After 50 or so interviews under my belt, it was easy to have the media consider me an expert on the subject.
After all, I'm the only person (that I know of) that does this as a full-time job.
But most importantly, I'm a romance expert because I practice what I preach. I do romantic things on a nearly daily basis for my wife Athena.
You are wonderful at publicity. What are some of the ways you've gotten the press' attention?
Never underestimate the power of a good press release. I created a national holiday, Resurrect Romance Week, just to get media attention. It is listed in calendar directories and I get calls every year from the media because I am the founder. Just recently I launched a contest, The RoMANtic's Guide to Popping the Question. The contest is to highlight my first book, The RoMANtic's Guide and to gather material for my next book which shares the same name as the contest. I've gotten huge amount of free media coverage from the contest. I try to send out three or four press releases a year, all with a different angle. After newspaper and magazine editors see my name come across their desk three or four times, they remember me and eventually most of them do a feature story on me or use me as a source for a story they are working on.
Before you wrote your book, The RoMANtic's Guide, you already had a nationally syndicated column, a self-published "newsletter" of romantic tips, and a few e-zines. How did you come up with this much fresh material all the time?
Since my business was successful almost immediately, it gave me the opportunity to work on it full-time. I do come up with hundreds of romantic tips but they all get recycled. They started out in the newsletter, then become material for the syndicated column and eventually several years worth of material was accumulated for the book. It's wise use of my time and resources.
Now I'm in the business of collecting other people's romantic tips for future books.
You've done hundreds of radio and television interviews. Any tips for authors who are
camera/microphone shy?
During college, I was in a professional speaking club for four years. If I didn't have that experience, I doubt I would have such confidence in front of television cameras or on radio interviews. I'd highly recommend anyone to enroll in a public speaking course, even if it is just one semester at a community college.
How did you sell your book to Hyperion?
I wasn't planning on writing a book so soon. But with all the national publicity I was getting, publishers and agents began contacting me. I eventually decided to let one of those agents represent me and they sold the book immediately to Hyperion. I didn't realize how rare that was until much later when I began talking with other authors.
Does your wife mind that hundreds of thousands of people are
privy to the details of your romantic life?
I make a very clear distinction between romance and sex. I only write about romantic things I have done, nothing that is
ever overtly intimate in nature. She doesn't mind at all that I share stories from our life because she knows it is helping so many people.
What kinds of resources have you used in your writing career? Classes, books, websites?
In college I did take a few writing courses. But the absolute best resource is reading and writing. The more you read and the more you write, the easier writing becomes. If you desire to write professionally, then write as often as you can. Write in a journal, write stories or articles just for the fun of it. Create an internet newsletter that will force you to write on a regular basis. I used to dread writing. Now it is almost as easy as taking out the garbage (I don't always WANT to do it, but it is not a difficult thing to do.)
How did you syndicate your column?
As news of my newsletter began hitting newspapers across the country, some of the newspaper editors asked if they could run some of my articles from time to time. So, in exchange for a nice end of story credit, I began giving my column away for free. I send out two columns a month to nearly 100 outlets. Many more buy a weekly version from me. Everything is done electronically.
What's something you wished you'd learned earlier about the publishing world?
No matter what your book publisher tells you, don't trust them. Hyperion had promised me all sorts of marketing bells and whistles. They said they had wonderful ideas for promoting the book, The RoMANtic's Guide. They told me they would handle all the publicity for my book and that I should step aside. They insisted that they were the professionals and had all sorts of wonderful contacts.
A few weeks before the book was to hit the shelves, they gotten me practically zero publicity. As a result, bookstores weren't stocking the book like they should have for the Valentine's season. When I heard the news I immediately put my own publicity experience to work. In a very short time I got some AMAZING publicity, including AP and Knight Ridder wire stories and a national feature piece on the FOX News network. Many of the bookstores didn't have enough books and sadly we lost a lot of sales because of it.
So, the biggest moral is that you are your book's number one fan. Don't expect the publisher to get you publicity. If they do, that's great. And even if they do, they will only do so when your book if first released and then they are on to new projects.
Was self-publishing your newsletter all you hoped it would be?
It was hard work. I would never encourage someone to put out a 12 page bi-monthly newsletter like I did for nearly five years (it is now a weekly email newsletter, go to
www.TheRomantic.com). Putting out a print newsletter takes a lot of different skills and can cost a lot to produce and mail. I was one of the few successful print newsletters. So many people lose money on the venture. However, that newsletter got me a lot of publicity that led to a great book deal. So I certainly have no regrets. However, I'm very relieved to be all electronic now -- which wasn't really that possible five years ago.
Do you have a favorite tip from the Romantic's Guide?
It is hard to choose just one. I like how I created a tropical spa for Athena using duct tape and a dust pan.
Any further advice for writers?
Above all, enjoy what you do. To me, I have the best job in the whole world.
Michael Webb's book, The RoMANtic's Guide, is now in its fourth printing. He has thousands of creative tips on his website,
http://www.TheRomantic.com.
