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David Lyons is a “case” that I’ve been studying for years. He’s a member of the Puerto Vallarta Writers Group, which I attend weekly whenever I’m at my second home there. And I’ve watched David travel from his struggles with his first novel through to publication of his third title, along with his fascination with the emerging opportunities with self-publication. He’s recently been writing columns for the Banderas News, sharing what he’s learned along the way — and that’s a lot, I might add. And he’s recently written about what he’s learned about e-books, a column that is the best summary of what the e-book offers to writers that I’ve yet come across.
Let me tell you a little bit more about David’s journey to authorship. He arrived in mid-life in Puerto Vallarta, retiring there after a successful career as an attorney. He had a book in him, he thought, and he was looking for a place condusive to writing. He found it in Vallarta, and he’s never left [except to market his books here and there].
He shared his early chapters with members of the PV Writers Group, where he met both helpful criticism and some scorn. He had dreams of a major book deal, with the help of a prominent publishing executive that frequented our meetings during her holidays. But the exec didn’t particularly like his work, and nothing came of it. Rather than becoming downcast and giving up, David turned to the self-publishing route, and he cheerfully shared his discoveries about that avenue to publication with the group. Many criticized him sharply, thinking that self-publishing was an admission of failure as a writer. Nor did they like it when David started aggressively promoting his first book. Self-promotion, they poopoo’ed, was unbecoming. Some of the criticism became very harsh in the gossip-mongering atmosphere of the PV expat enclave. Undeterred, David kept on smiling, and kept on writing.
Now David has three published titles to his credit. He can even boast of sales, usually a result of his own promotional efforts. Meanwhile his PV critics sit and continue to grumble, with nothing of their own to show the world.
Personally, I look upon David as a modern-day model for writers. He has clearly understood the trends in publishing, and he’s embraced them. And now that’s he’s got his Banderas Bay column, he’s sharing his discoveries. What an out-of-the-way place for such wisdom: the Banderas Bay News is essentially a local effort to provide news online to an expat community in Mexico. But it has grown into something quite remarkable, with accomplishments well beyond what any of us expected. And with the power of the internet, anyone anywhere can dip into it. If you’ve gotten this far in my post, I strongly recommend that you look at the catalog of David’s columns, and read the ones that appeal to you. You’ll be glad you did. And while you are at it, mix up a Margarita in true Mexican spirits; your reading will be very happy indeed.
Oh, and by the way, David is an excellent singer of jazz standards — and a self-taught guitar who’s sharpened those skills dramatically by lots of beachside practice. And, of course, he’s released his own self-produced CD.
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Sorry, comments are closed.
Comment by
Heather Wilson
7 Nov 2009
Actually, the publishing executive referred to was, and still is, very much taken with David's writing and continues to work towards getting a book deal for him.
Comment by
tomcolvin
7 Nov 2009
I'm really glad to know that Heather, and you are in a better position to know. David deserves a book deal for sure.
Comment by
morris rosenthal
26 Jan 2010
Tom,
I published a full multi-year eBook case study this morning:
http://www.fonerbooks.com/2010/01/ebook-case-stud...
It's for one of my self published titles that has also sold well as a POD book over the years.
Comment by
tomcolvin
28 Jan 2010
Hello, Morris. Thanks for commenting. Your comment sent me right to my bookshelf where I pulled down your excellent book "Print-On-Demand Book Publishing," which I bought soon after it first came out. I just thumbed through it again and found that it still contains very useful info.
By the way, I'm planning to blog about your new post, your blog and your books later this week. Important enough to get on my blog's front-page for a few days.