Do what makes sense for you, your book, and most importantly, your audience. Find where your potential readers are and go there.
Sam Chiarelli – 2 January 2019
The Back Flap
Sam Chiarelli’s Dig: A Personal Prehistoric Journey explores why we’re so fascinated with dinosaurs and why some people–dinophiles–never outgrow their Mesozoic obsession.
Dig follows Sam on a cross-country Amtrak trip with a final destination of a fossil dig in Colorado. Buried within these pages are encounters in museums big and small, prep labs, robotic dinosaur parks, and prehistoric themed hotels–and interviews with many of Sam’s childhood heroes: paleontologists, artists, and others who’ve dedicated their lives to revealing the distant past.
Part science and nature adventure and part memoir, this book is all dinosaur.
About the book
What is the book about?
Dig is about a cross-country train adventure to discover why people love dinosaurs so much and why some people, like me, continue to have a lifelong fascination with them.
When did you start writing the book?
Summer, 2011.
How long did it take you to write it?
About 7 years start to finish.
Where did you get the idea from?
After exploring my dino-filled childhood in Creative Nonfiction writing exercises, I realized I might be able to share my love for our prehistoric past in a way I’d never imagined. The early writing exercises struck a chord with my mentors and peers so I knew I was on to something.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
I’m not a traveler by nature, but this dinosaur pilgrimage to Colorado was one I needed to make. Apart from the physical act of traveling, it was difficult to get the first-person experiences, interviews, memoir elements, historical anecdotes, science, and travelogue pieces to work together.
What came easily?
Writing about how amazing the world is and how fantastic dinosaurs are. I enjoyed creating new connections between science and the literary world.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
It’s nonfiction, but getting to meet some of my childhood heroes like Mark Norell, Paul Sereno, ‘Dino Don’ Lessem, and Karen Chin was like a dream!
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I have many authors in both the scientific and literary camps that have influenced me, in both form and style. This book was particularly influenced by writers like Katie Fallon, Helen Scales, Brian Switek, James Prosek, Elizabeth Kolbert, Thor Hanson, and Michael Pollan. Overall, I think Carl Sagan is also hugely important to how I think and write because he has a very clear, scientific style of communication interspersed with wonderful flourishes of literary abandon.
Do you have a target reader?
I try to write what I want to read, but cannot find already in print. So, I guess my target reader is me.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I don’t have a formalized day-to-day process, but I usually identify a topic or theme, find some experience or interview that will illuminate that topic, and then take research and take extensive notes on that subject. I also try to take a lot of photos and audio recordings so I can reconstruct the experience in my mind.
Once I’ve completed the interview or the trip, I usually take some distance and let my subconscious work on the problem of putting it all together. Once I’m ready, usually a few weeks after the event, I’ll start outlining how I think all the elements might fit together. I’ll draft to this outline, though usually some of the parts are moved around and edited during this phase.
I’ll let the draft age a little before returning to it and finding the holes in it. Distance helps to see what isn’t working. I’ll edit to make sure there’s clarity and energy in the writing. Then wait a bit and polish it more. I might let my writing mentor or an editor see the piece at this point once I’m comfortable with it.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I outline for theme. I might have a column with words like interview section, science of [particular species], childhood reflection. I’m trying to outline why something is important, both scientifically and personally.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I always edit after I draft. Editing has become one of my favorite parts of the process.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I am a musician and music affects me far too much to be able to write with it in the background. I can barely carry a conversation with music playing, so writing with it is next to impossible.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I submitted my work directly to my publisher, Books by Hippocampus.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I felt like I had found a partner I could trust with this project that had taken me many years to complete. I wanted someone who was just as passionate about the book as I was and would honor the spirit of the entire journey. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have found that.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
The cover of Dig was created by artist Lindsay Smuck and it was inspired by conversations with my publisher. The image perfectly sums up the spirit and the adventure of the words.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
A marketing plan is in place with many phases. So far, so good!
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Firstly, choose your partnerships wisely. You are only as good as the team around you. Also, don’t just read marketing articles and follow their advice blindly. Do what makes sense for you, your book, and most importantly, your audience. Find where your potential readers are and go there. Your friends and family are a great starting point, but most authors struggle with getting the book out to the wider world. Don’t rely on some influential person or platform to “discover” you. Get out there and the opportunities will come. Lastly, be relentlessly kind and optimistic. Negativity is easy to cultivate, but will cripple you.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Where do you live now?
I live in Pittston, PA.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I believe that our sense of wonder coupled with a healthy awe and appreciation for the natural world is what we need in this divided time. Wonder is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Not toolmaking, not conscious thought, but the ability to imagine what the world was like 150 million years ago. I want to help amplify that most human of qualities through my writing. I hope after reading Dig, you’ll want to learn more about your own childhood passions.
What are you working on now?
2019 will largely be focused on promoting Dig and finishing some essays. I’ll also start the preliminary research for the next book!
End of Interview:
For more from Sam, visit his website, follow him on Twitter, and like his Facebook page.