Meet Liz Dubelman

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Liz Dubelman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with LIZ below.

Hi LIZ, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?

Someone once told me that true wealth is not measured by how much you have, but by how much you give. I live by those words. If I can offer a helping hand to those in need, I will. Generosity comes from the heart. It is the purest form of love we can give to one another. These words have stayed with me, guiding me in times of plenty and in times of scarcity. I’m a community advocate. We all need to help each other when we can.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

The process of crafting a book is an immensely fulfilling and enlightening experience. It enriches the mind and sharpens one’s thoughts, bringing clarity to even the most complex ideas. Each page turned solidifies one’s credibility and establishes one as an authority on their chosen subject. Like a powerful engine, it drives forward the dissemination of ideas and serves as a vital tool in marketing oneself or one’s message. If you have not yet undertaken this journey, I highly recommend you embark on it. It will surely be one of the most rewarding endeavors of your life.

Navigating the world of book marketing can feel like a daunting task. As an author, you’ve dedicated countless hours to crafting your manuscript and now it’s time to share it with readers everywhere. The process from writing to publishing to marketing can be overwhelming, but with the right approach and attitude, you can conquer this journey with assurance and triumph.

I have been marketing books for many years because it’s not enough to write a book, someone has to read it. Because if a tree falls in your apartment and no one sees it, did it happen? I market over 100 books a year. A few years ago I realised I had to productize myself. That was when I began working on The Write Kit, We’re about to launch before the new year. (thewritekit.com). It’s been a long road. I had to think like someone new to marketing and technology. That was hard, but I had some great help. Jesse Kanner, CTO, is amazing. In the meantime you can check us out here: https://thewritekit.substack.com/.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

How to Find the Answer To Anything:
The key to asking a good question is being able to find the answer. If you can’t find the answer, then you may have asked the wrong question or phrased it incorrectly.

Kindness
I practice kindness and generosity because I recognize the importance of empathy and compassion in a world that often lacks them. I believe in the interconnectedness of all beings, and by showing kindness to others, I am also benefiting myself.

Embrace the Journey and Celebrate

Marketing your book requires dedication, creativity, and resilience. Remember that every effort you put into marketing brings you one step closer to reaching your readers and sharing your story with the world. Stay positive, believe in your work, and keep pushing forward. Your book deserves to be read, and with the right marketing strategies, it will find its way into the hearts of readers everywhere. Marketing your book is not a one-time effort but an ongoing journey. Be patient, stay consistent, and keep experimenting with different strategies. Celebrate small victories along the way and learn from any setbacks. Remember that every effort you put into marketing brings you one step closer to reaching your readers and sharing your story with the world. Stay positive, believe in your work, and keep pushing forward. Happy marketing!

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I discovered John Fante when I was in college. I would bet most of you don’t know John Fante and I have reason to believe he’s not in fashion anymore. I never met him, but I imagine him as an irascible drunk who wrote how I felt. He made me think that writing was possible.

Many of his characters were unlikable in a likable sort of way. They were narcissistic with an edge of self-doubt. They were ambitious and self-deprecating. They were bar-fight tough and emotionally fragile. They were me in my twenties.

In 1938, Fante’s first book, “Wait Until Spring, Bandini,” introduced the largely self-inspired character of Los Angeleno Arturo Bandini, who would appear in most of his subsequent books. His publisher, Stackpole and Sons, gave him an $800 advance (around $14,000 today) for his second novel, “Ask the Dust.” According to the internet, Fante, not yet thirty and with a lifetime of poverty behind him, was developing a reputation as a sort of West Coast Fitzgerald. His editor told him his future was bright. He was so close to having his dream of being a successful author come true. Then, of all people, Hitler intervened.

Hitler’s 1925 autobiography/Nazi manifesto, “Mein Kampf,” was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1933. Though it was a best seller in Germany, the American market for a book by a rising Austrian politician was small during the Great Depression, and sales were poor. By late 1938, though, Hitler’s growing domination of Europe spiked interest in the book. Houghton Mifflin put out a mass-market edition and promoted it heavily.

Meanwhile, Hitler had renounced his Austrian citizenship and called himself a “stateless German.” This, according to one interpretation of U.S. copyright law, put “Mein Kampf” into the public domain, and prompted Stackpole and Sons to publish its own version, with the tagline, “This Edition Pays No Royalty to Adolf Hitler.” (The New Yorker objected to this.)

Both versions sold well, but from 1939-1941 the copyright case was in the courts. In the end, Houghton Mifflin (and Hitler) won, and Stackpole ended up paying a great deal in court fees and damages. Despite their having gotten Fante’s hopes up about the prospects for “Ask the Dust,” they had no time or money to spend promoting it, and its fate was collateral damage. Its initial print run of 2,200 copies made no cultural impression, and Fante turned to screenwriting to make a dependable living.

As legend has it, Charles Bukowski discovered “Ask the Dust” in the late ’70s. He set about reading all the novels in the Los Angeles public library. When he got to “F” he read “Ask the Dust” and loved it. He brought it to his publisher, Black Sparrow Press, and John Fante was rediscovered.

I don’t think we can really blame the publisher or even Hitler (as much as I want to) for the initial failure of “Ask the Dust.” When writers feel that their publisher has failed them – an all-too-common complaint – they need to consider that publishers are often thinking about other things and they don’t have time to think about you. It’s nothing personal.

The truth is, Fante was probably decades ahead of his time. As Bukowski said, “I never said it was important to rescue Fante. I only know of the effect he had on me, even my chances to go on living. He was the spiritual shot in the arm to me where the churches, the accepted writers, and all else had failed. I’m not saying I would have sunk without him. But he was a force. He gave me some heart. He made me smile a bit. I even liked the name: FANTE. What the hell, I was very lucky when I picked his first book out of the shelves of the downtown L.A. Public Library. Couldn’t have been a better place to do it.”

My point is that you deserve a creative voice and someone needs to hear it. I want to help you. It’s just at the early stages, but take a look at TheWriteKit and let me know if we can be of service to you.

I think the last word is best left to John Fante. “I think the one thing that a writer must avoid is bitterness,” he said in a 1979 interview. “I think it’s the one fault that can destroy him. It can shrivel him up… I’ve fought it all my life.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thewritekit.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vidlitliz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dubelman
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-dubelman/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/vidlit
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/vidlit
• Other: https://www.vidlit.com/