An Interview with Charles Justiz: Specific Impulse

By Amy Day on Feb, 17 2012

When I describe Charles Justiz, there are few adjectives I feel are better fitting than “brilliant.” A former NASA examiner pilot and corporate aviation safety consultant, Justiz has most recently also added “best-selling author” to his resume.

Specific Impulse is a Sci-Fi thriller about two strangers whose paths cross only after a mysterious explosion forces them together in a fight for their lives. The book has received the coveted Clarion Five Star Review, making it that much more difficult to resist the temptation to see how these protagonists survive.

I jumped at the opportunity to interview Justiz, excited about the possibility of learning some of his secrets.

-Your book is captivating. Where did your inspiration come from?

Thank you very much. The main idea for the book came from a question I asked my neurologist-brother: “Why don’t we all exhibit the splinter skills of savants?” His answer was interesting, but it got me thinking that these folks exhibit super-human mental feats, but they are considered damaged by our society. What would it take for a “normal” person to achieve these skills and how would these people be treated by our society?

-Very cool. So, what prompted you to turn those wonderings into a book?

I kept thinking that someone should write a science-based thriller. I have seen precious few of these recently. I am very techno-optimist in my outlook. Finally, I wrote the book because it didn’t seem like anyone else was going to write it and I really wanted to read it.

-How long did it take you to get it ready for a publisher?

It took about a year to go from a blank page to a published book in my hand. After the writing and never-ending editing process, I got an agent. She was great and submitted my book to several houses. We got turned down by some and got some encouragement from others, but the whole process felt stilted to me. An author loses control of their work once it goes over to a publisher. The horror stories were everywhere. I looked at the main functions of a publishing house and considered what needed to be done. Editing and consulting had already been done on the book, the book design was finalized, the copyediting needed to be done, but that could be outsourced as could the production, and the author is always responsible for their own marketing and promotion.

My wife is a best-selling author of business books and has 10^th Degree Black Belt in marketing. With Internet-based distribution, why would I want to go with a brick-and-mortar publishing house? I discussed it with my agent and she recommended that I self-publish. This was a brave move for her. We chose iUniverse because of the ability to publish physical books and place them with the major bookstores as well as being able to produce Kindle and Nook versions. I have been very happy with the relationship. Shortly after my decision, best-selling author Seth Godin followed suit by dropping his long-term relationship with his publishing house for the self-publishing option. I’m sure he got the idea from me. Ha!

-I think that’s going to encourage a lot of hopeful-authors. For those who are interested in still going the traditional route, what all did you submit to those publishers who received your submissions?

Each publisher is different. You have to go to their individual websites to understand their particular submission process. Since my work was a novel, I ended up sending a query letter followed by the entire manuscript in most cases.

-And, how did you choose which publishers would receive a submission?

I looked at the books they were currently publishing and tried to make a decision as to whether they had the correct skills to produce and market my book. As I mentioned before, in the end I decided to do it myself and liked the iUniverse capabilities.

-You talked about the marketing responsibilities being on the shoulders of the author. What did this include for you?

I gave all the marketing to my wife since she is in the business. She is incredible and comes up with ideas that are so off the charts, I would never have conceived them. In a nutshell, the author is always responsible for their own marketing. The promotions are backed by the publishing houses, but they come out of the profits from the sales. So essentially, the author always pays for their own marketing. An author should never rely solely on a publisher to market their book.

-Was social media marketing on that list and how was it leveraged?

It is huge. Approximately 800 books are published in the U.S. every day. Rising out of that slurry is next to impossible unless you identify a niche for your book and let potential readers know that you are out there. Social networking is the best way of getting your message out to the readers, fans, and followers.

-I read that Rainmaker Films is interested in turning Specific Impulse into a major motion picture. Congratulations! How did that opportunity come about?

Did I mention that my wife is a 10^th Degree Black Belt in marketing? One of the producers worked with her years ago in Rock radio. She keeps in touch with everyone and asked if he would read the book. He did and liked it so much that he picked up the movie option. We are now finalizing the screenplay. That woman can promote anything. I give her total credit for all the marketing success that the book has enjoyed. It also helps that the book has been very well received by both the readers and the critics.

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An Interview with Charles Justiz: Specific Impulse

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