Interview with Author Amy Plummer

 

  

1. What inspired you to write this book? The need to expose the truth about how everyday New Yorkers must live and get around via the Subway System. I wanted to show, in full color, how little choice most of us have and what we are forced to accept as acceptable became a driving force in her life.

 

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for?  It is a book of photography, all taken by me, of all the deficiencies you encounter every day in NYC, if you ride the subway. It is for anyone who loves (or hates) New York City, subway enthusiasts, photographers, social justice activists, or anyone with a bit of a twisted sense of humor.

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? A glimpse of what living in NYC is really like, meaning the 90% of us who don't have a private car and driver.

 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design?  For years I joked with my friends that I was going to make a coffee table book of all the disgusting hilarity of the MTA system and call it A Sewer Runs Through It. I always knew it would be a blank canvas cover so the photos could be the real stars.

 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? Decide if this is meant to be a revenue stream or passion project. That can make a huge difference in your overall expectations and experience.

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? There are still plenty of avid readers who love to hold, smell, and experience a printed book, and there are lots of folks who want the convenience of tablet reading. The latter will probably continue to dominate as the costs continue to outpace the profit of physical production, sadly.

 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? I have always been an amateur photographer. I love displaying my original artwork and photographs around my home, especially of New York and my kitten, Gracie.

 

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? No text in my book, just photos. I would love to have my photos hang in a gallery one day, next to well-known photographers or urban artists, but one step at a time.

 

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Not pursuing a book agent was probably the biggest obstacle. I decided to self-publish since I had already left NYC by the time I took the next step (mostly because as long as I lived there, I would always be taking more pictures and the book would have never been finished) and San Diego isn't really known as a power player in the publishing world. I am still open to being formally represented and having a second edition get produced on a higher quality of photo paper.

 

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? My hope would be that someone would pick it up, find it really interesting and that this peek behind the curtain somehow influences a rebellion against rising prices of low-quality infrastructure and our society takes a turn for the better. 

 

About The Author: After growing up all over the US and continuing that nomadic pattern as an adult, I decided it was time that I actualized my dream of living in New York City. I had recently earned a Master’s degree in Colorado, gotten a job with The City of New York in their Department of Homeless Services, and landed a rent stabilized apartment in Washington Heights, Manhattan. In my time there, I took in all the city had to offer. Along the way, I developed a love of photography; capturing some of the more interesting things I saw as I explored. Finding adventure in everything I do, I memorialized things that most New Yorkers may not have even noticed. These oddities and curiosities were interesting, at least to me, so I started collecting images of them. After seven years, I decided to opt out of the grind of big city life and she is now back in colorful Colorado.

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.