Interview with Pete Byer

Author of Executive Target

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I am from West Orange, New Jersey. I now live down the Jersey shore.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

I spent most of my life in the West Orange area, except for a few years in NYC after law school. I spent many summers at the Jersey shore. I sold the house I lived in for 29 years this year and am now living at the beach.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

I practiced law 30 years. I was working at a small firm with my best friend. He had a heart attack in a hotel on a business trip and didn’t wake up for breakfast. A year or two later another attorney in the office, who was also a friend, had a heart attack in the office and died. The first guy was two years older than me; the second two years younger. I didn’t want to practice law anymore. I started writing the book.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

The book is a political satire. It takes place in the very near future and pokes fun at politicians and the media. The characters are different races, religions and ethnicity. One reviewer on Amazon says the satire leans one way; that may be so but I tried to work in digs at both ends of the political spectrum. There are many references to places and people in New Jersey; Jersey readers will recognize many of the places the book references.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

Politically moderate to conservative leaning people will enjoy the book. Also, anyone fed up with politicians and/or government in general will find the book appealing.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

I found that I had to be very careful with details in the book. For instance, if I discussed a meeting among a group in Chapter 5, and that meeting was referenced again in Chapter 19, I had to make sure the characters, the settings, etc., matched. The description of a character in Chapter 10 had to match the character when that character appeared in a later chapter. The “action” in the book takes place over the course of a year. I had to make sure that references to events, the president’s daughter starting a summer internship or school, etc., matched a consistent timeline.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

I would take more time in putting together a detailed outline of the book. I believe most how-to-write-a-novel guides say that most writers outline their book before writing the text. In my book, there are many characters, a number of which are minor. In the next book I will make a more detailed outline at the outset so I can more easily go back and check the spelling of names, description of individuals, who appeared in what chapter with whom, etc.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

Thousands upon thousands.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

I chose to “self-publish.” That meant I sent the book in a Word document to the company that would do the actual publishing of hard copies and formatting and generating the electronic version. As part of this process, as virtually everyone in the business suggests as necessary, I hired a professional editor to edit the book. I loved the editor’s comments and suggestions and accepted most of his/her comments. The editor made it a much better book. HOWEVER, after the book was published one of my kids pointed out a few typos. I found a few more. I thought that was the editor’s job (as well as mine). I was just surprised to see that.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I have been writing since college, through law school and in my profession. When I decided to write a novel, I read several books on the craft of writing by novelists, like Stephen King, which were very helpful. I have a much greater appreciation for novel writing and that will hopefully carry over to the next book.

As far as publishing and marketing, my strengths are minimal at best. I have recently hired a marketing company to help with that aspect of the book.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I am not as structured or focused enough on writing so that I can spend 6, 7 or more hours a day writing. I need to get more disciplined in that regard.

Same thing with marketing – which is why I hired a company to help out with that.

When do you think you will write your next book?

In the next year I will start a new one.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

As described above, I used a company which published the hard copy and ebook.