Performing artist and writer Matthew Gonder.
A year ago, Matthew was an enthusiastic first time author whose (quite charming) memoir Christmas on the Move Out West had just appeared. Though self-published, Christmas was nicely displayed in Paris bookshops like Shakespeare & Co and WH Smith and delighting readers.
Now Matthew has written the sequel, Music on the Move Out West. A professional entertainer and natural communicator, Matthew agreed to share his insights into writing, self-publishing and marketing books with Paris Writers News readers.
Matthew Gonder, author of Music on the Move Out West
a Paris Writers News interview
Laurel Zuckerman: What brought you to Paris?
Matthew Gonder : In 1979, Patrick Hernandez' disco hit "Born To Be Alive" brought his producers to New York seeking singer/dancers for a US promo tour. After auditioning over 600 artists, the producers decided to audition other singers in New York, seeking new talent. That's when I entered the scene. I sang for them and was hired soon after they signed Madonna to a recording contract.
At the time, Madonna was in Europe while I remained in New York, working in recording studios to learn microphone techniques and how to modulate my voice without belting out the Broadway style I had been weaned on in the US. Then, after a number of months, Madonna left our producers and returned to the US to begin her career on her own terms while I was shipped over to Belgium in November, 1979 and began my amazing European adventure. The first song I recorded was in French for the Eurovision song contest, for Luxembourg.
I was selected to represent that country until they discovered I couldn't speak a word of French!
I lived in a small village near the border called Mouscron, where I made many friends and loved every minute, learning their culture. Almost nobody spoke English in the village, so I was forced to learn the language, although I spoke French with a Belgian accent! As time passed, I recorded a couple of other songs and finally the first English version of Der Kommissar, a disco hit that took me all throughout Europe.
By that time, I was in Paris working as a singer/dancer at the Theatre de la Porte St. Martin, in a musical called "Envoyez la Musique" with Annie Cordy, and found my first apartment in the 20th arrondissement.
That was in 1982 and I've been here ever since, except for a few jaunts back to the US for shows or other gigs.
Does performing impact your writing? If so, how?
Absolutely. When we perform Theater songs we tell a story that is written in the text, so yes, writing stories as an author is, to me, the same kind of thing.
All art is expression of the human experience and I think every artistic medium is related in that respect.
I had studied 'writing the musical' in New York at the New School for Social Research through Columbia University and have taken script writing courses over the years.
However, my two memoirs "Christmas On The Move Out West" and the second one that begins where "Christmas..." ended, "Music On The Move Out West", both were easy for me to write as they are slices of my own life.
I remember the events in the books as if they happened yesterday and so the writing came very easily. I can see the houses we lived in, our neighborhoods, and as I wrote, it all just funneled back into my conscious mind, and the music was a connecting factor to my memory...I remember the songs of the era so well that trigger memories instantaneously for me.
When did you start writing - and why?
Whenever I was invited to someone's home for Christmas, I would inevitably be asked to share my favorite Christmas memory. I would tell a shortened version of "Christmas On The Move Out West" and people loved how my recollection told a complete story in terms of structure, with a beginning, middle and end. Anyway, I'd tell this story whenever asked, and my wife Pamela finally said "You MUST write this down one day".
In December 2011 I lost my singing voice to laryngitis, so instead of doing nothing, I sat down and decided to give it a shot. As soon as I began, the images flooded my head and poured out faster than I could type the words. I would wake up at 4 a.m. every morning and write for hours in the calm of the morning, before the phone would start ringing (I wasn't allowed to speak at all) and write until I was too tired to continue. I only wanted to honor my wife, Pamela, and her desire to be able to share my story with our family and friends. I didn't fathom it would mushroom out as it has in one year and begin causing a local buzz in Washington and Oregon States, not to mention in Paris.
How did you hone your skills?
I honestly didn't give it much analytical thought...I wrote from my heart and I didn't judge myself at all. I just let it pour out as it came to me, as I lived it, staying true to the moment. I wasn't trying to create or fabricate anything, I only wanted to re-live and recount those moments, and they all just came pouring out until I had 21,000 words completed. I allowed the piece to become what it was meant to be. Then I contacted my brothers Mark and John to verify their takes on my memories, and since we're so used to re-telling the stories to each other, they concurred that I had the facts straight.
Christmas on the Move Out West was your first book. What was the editing and publication process like?
First, I hired my friend, Carroll Saint Paul, a professional proof reader and corrector here in Paris to look at my manuscript. She liked what she read and encouraged me to continue, correcting my punctuation errors and verifying that what I wanted to say was correctly written on the page.
Then I researched like a madman, talking to everyone and combing the internet for information. At first, I considered sending out manuscripts to agents and publishing houses. Then, I learned how the world of publishing is changing with POD and self-publishing taking over.
Ultimately, I opted to self-publish my story, so that I could get real books out to my family members and friends immediately as opposed to "hoping" a publisher would sign me up in God knows how many years, while the manuscript gathered dust on the shelf.
After many hours comparing the different companies offering self-publishing solutions, I chose Createspace and Amazon, whose site and process proved very user-friendly.
Did you take any special steps to market the book?
Boy, did I! I followed any and all leads anyone was willing to offer, ha ha! As a resident of Paris, I decided to run after the local English markets. Terry Craven at Shakespeare and Co. Bookstore liked the book and took it on consignment, selling 50 copies during the first Christmas season. We developed a great working relationship and he's now taken on my second book. I also rented a table at the American Church for their Christmas market and sold 35 copies that day, and many local friends bought copies and then copies for their English speaking friends. WHSmith bought a few copies, but received them too late for the season, but I'm proud to be on their shelf!
Back in the US, my relatives all bought copies (I come from a very large family) and the same phenomenon happened in that they, in turn, bought more copies to spread throughout their circles of friends. I called newspapers and journalists and lucked into a few articles; called bookstores who took my book on consignment.
Long story short, I sold a thousand copies in the first year, not bad for a novella with Christmas in the title.
I paid for an ad in the Publishers Weekly magazine, which brought a few more clients, and signed my book up on Goodreads.com, offering five copies in a giveaway contest. I was happy to see close to 700 people sign up for the contest, which lasted a month; people from Australia to England and all over the United States and Canada. I figured if they hear about my book, although they won't necessarily purchase a copy today, they might if they ran across the title again somewhere. I sent the winners their copies and received nice comments. I'll do the same this year. I also had posters, PVC banners, postcards and business cards made to distribute all over, that I use during my book signing events.
Any way I can, I'm spreading the word!
What lessons did you learn?
People love to meet the author and talk about the process and the story.
The more book signing events I do, the more I sell once I can connect with the buyer. It makes sense, in that you can't judge a book by its cover, but you can decide whether or not you might like reading the book once you connect with the creator.
I enjoy meeting people, and I figure the more I'm out there, the more chances I'll have to make a sale. I signed up for the Christmas market this November again, and was thrilled when three buyers from last year approached me to tell me they enjoyed reading my first book, and all three eagerly bought my second one.
I created Facebook pages for both books and am slowly building an audience there who follow my advancements. However, I took a chance and paid for Facebook ads, which I do not recommend. I targeted my audience, baby-boomers in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. Now I have many friends on Facebook in those states so I asked them to keep an eye out for my ads. Being good friends, they checked often but NOBODY I know saw the ads. I felt like I threw my money away. When I filled out their questionnaire after the ad campaign was over, one question I was asked was: "Would you recommend our services to others?"....I responded "Are you crazy?"
And yet, all in all, writing and publishing has been a wonderful experience for me, and most people are very happy to help out and give encouraging advice.
What made you want to write a sequel?
Sure! I received many comments from people asking "what happened next to this crazy family?" or "Christmas" was great but too short, so what happened afterwards"....questions like that. So, I pondered on the idea and tried to figure out if I even HAD another real story in me about our family, one that would contain a good structure AND tell another true story about my family. I thought about my music education, and remembered the punch line, but realized it would be telling four years of our lives instead of the one month inclusive in "Christmas On The Move Out West"...I figured "what the hell", it does tell a story. So I got to work and wrote whenever I wasn't on another gig. It took over a year to write but again, I didn't judge my work while I was in the process; I only wrote out the stories as the memories and images came to me, researching addresses and street names to make sure my memory wasn't failing me.
"Music On The Move Out West" begins where "Christmas On The Move Out West" ends, and spans four years in the lives of our crazy family, as we blunder through many attempts to find our home in the Pacific Northwest. The music element comes into play in this story as I discover a talent I have for singing along with a desire to learn the language of music and the mentors who I encounter along the road who help develop my skills against my will!
Who, for you, are the ideal readers?
Baby boomers for sure, and anyone interested in reading about how life was in the late 60s and early 70s. Single parent families will also enjoy reading about my widower father and how he made do raising five children back in our days, reminding them that they can pull through. My stories are full of references that will entice readers to walk down memory lane in their own lives, or so I'm told.
How are the books being distributed?
Shakespeare & Company and WH Smith here in Paris. Local book and gift stores throughout Washington and Oregon including: Barnes and Noble in Federal Way, Hastings in Wenatchee and Spokane Valley, A Book for All Seasons in Leavenworth, Auntie's Bookshop in Spokane.
As we were paperboys for the Oregonian newspaper in "Christmas", I'm so proud that the Pittock Mansion museum gift shop in Portland also stock my books. Henry Pittock was the founder of the Oregonian and they love having souvenirs to sell that tell of Portland newboy history. My books are also available online everywhere through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powell's etc...
Are you submitting the books for any awards?
Funny you should ask. Again, I hadn't initially given the matter any thought, but I just received notice from a friend to submit my two books to the Washington State Book Awards. My wife and I will be in Washington and Oregon this winter for 6 book signing events and interviews, and during that time, we will be submitting both books to the award competition for 2014.
If you had one bit of advice for other writers just starting out, what would that be?
Follow your heart and tell your stories. There is nothing to fear in the publishing world. It's just another swimming pool so dive in, the water is fine!
What makes you really happy?
Golly, so many things. My wife, our kids and grandkids, my family and friends worldwide, living in Paris, my career, traveling to discover new places and people, and just LAUGHING through the whole adventure!
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Matthew Gonder's books:
ISBN 9780985200213
Christmas On The Move Out West
ISBN 9780985200206
I've got you under my skin Matthew Gonder and Didier Goret Big Band
Laurel Zuckerman is the author of Sorbonne Confidential and Les Rêves Barbares du Professeur Collie. An HEC graduate and long-time resident of France, Laurel's wickedly humorous account of her attempt to pass an elite exam for English teachers caused an uproar among educators in France. Her essays and interviews have appeared in Hommes et Commerces, Cahiers Pédagogiques, The Paris Times, Le Point, Le Monde, Le Monde de l'Education, The Guardian, The Times, as well as on France 24, TF1, RFI, and the BBC. A former e-procurement systems specialist, Laurel is working on an FAQ for writers interested in ebooks, called EBOOKFAQ.