Robert Charles Lee is a retired risk scientist with over twenty-five years of academic and applied risk analysis, decision analysis, and risk management experience in a wide variety of contexts. He has authored over one hundred peer-reviewed scientific works, as well as over one hundred technical reports for industry and government agencies. Prior to the professional risk work he worked in laboratories a bit, but otherwise was a manual laborer until he reckoned that he could use his brain for a living.
Robert has a BS in Botany, a BS in Science Education, an MS in Environmental Health, and a Certificate in Integrated Business Administration. He is ABD (all but dissertation) in a Toxicology PhD program. He is an ordained Minister and has an honorary Doctorate of Metaphysics from the Universal Life Church and is a Member of the Nova Scotia L’Ordre du Bon Temps, or Order of the Good Time.
He was born in North Carolina and lived there for over twenty years, but has since lived in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Alberta. He was also homeless for a time while a laborer in the Western United States. He currently resides in Colorado.
Robert and his wife Linda have climbed hundreds of technical and non-technical mountain, rock, ice, and canyon routes, hiked thousands of miles in several countries, and skied many miles of vertical feet at resorts and in the backcountry.
Robert is an avid amateur photographer, largely of outdoor subjects. He is a musician who plays hand, stick, and mallet percussion, and who can sing, but rarely does for unclear reasons. He is an amateur sound engineer and producer and has recorded more than a thousand written and improvisational instrumental pieces with other musicians to date. He was trying to learn to relax in retirement, but then he discovered non-technical writing. He has written a memoir and a poetry collection and is working on short stories.
Through Dangerous Doors is his latest book.
Visit his website at https://robertcharleslee.com or follow him on Goodreads.
After your book was released, what was the first thing you did when getting ready for your book launch?
I sent out a mass email, ‘bcc’, with addresses hidden, to about 150 friends and former colleagues (I’m retired from a long career as a risk scientist) who I thought might read and enjoy the book. I included links to the publisher website, Amazon, and my webpage. I encouraged those who frequent local bookshops to ask the shops to order copies. I also encouraged those who use social media to spread the digital word.
Note that I sent this email only to people who I surmised read books, and read nonfiction books. A lot of people don’t read books at all, or they only read books in narrow genres.
After that, what was your next step?
See below.
Did you do anything different to spice up your website in lieu of your upcoming book release?
I cleaned up my website (https://robertcharleslee.com), and made sure all the links and buttons worked. I also included a link to a Flickr photo album (https://www.flickr.com/photos/42300223@N05/albums/72157719410486739) containing most of the book’s photos. The Kindle version of the book has grayscale photos, so this was mainly for Kindle buyers who might enjoy seeing the color photos.
Did you ever consider using a PR agency to help you promote your book or did you prefer the DIY route?
This is my first non-technical prose book, so the entire publication and marketing process was new to me. The book is published by a small company, so they don’t have and extensive marketing department. I thought about using a PR agency, but was unsure of the bang-for-buck. I think I would have been more likely to use such a firm, for example, if I had self-published a novel or other fictional work. However, I expect that hiring an effective PR firm is not cheap.
Additionally, I’m not trying to make a living as a writer. I’m retired from a reasonably successful career, and my wife still works. From a financial standpoint, I don’t care about sales, because I doubt my book will ever become a bestseller. I would like the book to sell for other reasons. I think many people will find it interesting, enlightening, and entertaining. Sales also amount to a sort-of affirmation of literary ‘worth’, although there are best sellers out there that have limited literary worth beyond income for the authors and their publishers. So, I’m more focused on reviews.
Were finding reviews a top priority for you and, if yes, how did you approach that?
Yes. The first task was finding advance copy reviewers. I sent out an email (a much smaller list than above) to select friends and colleagues who I thought might be interested in writing reviews; especially those who had published popular, non-technical books. About half agreed to do so, and I was gratified the reviews were all positive. These reviews appear in the front matter of the book.
After the book was released, I sent out a follow-up mass bcc’ed email to the 150 or so folks I mentioned above, requesting reviews. A few provided reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, but I hadn’t considered that most people (or most people I know) may read books, but they just don’t review books. For example, they may not have the time, or writing and posting reviews might make them uncomfortable in some respect. In retrospect I should have pointed out that one can use a pseudonym on Amazon, for example, but I don’t know if this would have increased the number of reviews. Perhaps some didn’t enjoy the book, and didn’t want to insult or depress me. Regardless, I obviously couldn’t force anybody to write reviews, so this is why I started investigating book blogs and tours. Some readers love to review books, so it became a matter of finding them.
It baffles me that some books, particularly ones that aren’t best-sellers or award winners, have thousands of posted reviews. I suspect this is due to the authors being active on social media.
What are your views on social media for marketing your book?
For most authors, I understand that social media are major mechanisms for marketing. However, I haven’t used social media aside from LinkedIn (when I was basically told to do so by my employers), and don’t plan to. I have no problem with other people’s individual choice in using social media.
As a former risk scientist, however, I think civil society itself is at risk from social media. Massive corporations such as Facebook produce products that are intentionally addictive, spread misinformation and outright lies, and warp many people’s perception of reality. This is likely to get worse before it gets better. So, I walk-the-walk and just don’t use social media. I also don’t have the time to spend on these media. I have too many other things going on - like writing! I recognize that this stance has likely adversely affected sales. I note, for example, many other mountain-climber authors are all over Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and so on; and they likely sell a lot more books than me.
Did you write a press release and do you think it worked for you?
The publisher wrote a press release. I don’t know whether it worked or not, in terms of generating interest.
Did you revamp your author’s page at Amazon in any way to prepare for the launch (https://authorcentral.amazon.com/)?
I did this, but a little late in the game. I’m unsure whether most readers investigate Amazon author pages. I think an author probably has to have an established ‘name’ for readers to care.
Did you have other books you offered for free in order to help sell your present book?
No, this was my first prose book. I self-published a poetry collection, but few of the memoir readers would likely be interested in this.
Did you set up book signings and, if so, how did that work for you?
No, because I published in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, which of course is ongoing. I’m not sure any authors are conducting in-person tours or signings at present. The benefits don’t counter the risk.
Did you create a book trailer?
No. I just use my website in lieu of this.
Did you time your book launch around a certain holiday?
No. I was just glad to get it published and launched at all!
What was the best money you ever spent on your book launch?
I signed up for a previous blog tour, which was well worth the money. I received some good exposure, and a few great reviews.
Any tips for those authors wanting to set up a successful book launch?
I’m not an expert, as this is my first popular book. There’s a wealth of good information online. It also depends on how the book is published. If it’s published by a major company, I’m not sure the author has to worry about a launch that much, although I get the impression that even major houses are expecting authors to market themselves via social media. If the book is self-published, then an effective launch is likely more important.
Title: THROUGH DANGEROUS DOORS
Author: Robert Charles Lee
Publisher: Wido / E.L. Marker
Pages: 212
Genre: Memoir
BOOK BLURB:
In a life defined by risk, Robert Charles Lee experiences a poor and free-ranging childhood in the racist South of the 1960s. After his father dies, the family grows dysfunctional. As a result, teen-age Robert seeks sanity and solace by rock climbing solo and driving cars fast. He wins a scholarship and graduates from university, but still seeks to escape the South.
Moving to Alaska and the Western US, Robert works in a series of dangerous and brutal jobs. He meets and marries Linda, who enjoys climbing and skiing difficult mountains as much as he does. Simultaneously, Robert trains in the science of risk to become a respected professional risk scientist.
Robert shares his remarkable story as he guides the reader through a series of dangerous but rewarding doors, culminating in a vivid journey of adventure and risk.
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