An Interview with Jo Linsdell
Or…The Dragon takes you to Italy…sort of

International Author Extraordinaire Jo Linsdell joins us at The Dragon as part of her online promotion for her newest release Italian for Tourists: Pocket Edition, which is available from Lulu.com.

What’s your personal background?
Jo Linsdell: I came to Rome Italy from the UK in June 2001. I originally came for 3 days but fell in love with the city and decided to stay. After all these years I’m still here, married to an Italian (with whom I have a son) and have no plans to leave any time soon.

Who is your intended readership?
Jo Linsdell: I created this book for tourists. There are a lot of phrasebooks out there but they all seem to want to give as much information as possible, a lot of it irrelevant to a tourist who just wants to get by for the couple of days or weeks that he‘s in Italy. This book is designed to be a basic guide to the Italian language covering phrases and words most needed by tourists.

Why did you write this book?
Jo Linsdell: I came to Italy with the plan of staying for 3 days and figured I could get by for such a short stay using English. With this in mind I hadn’t prepared for the fact that Italians might not speak English. In fact a lot of them don’t or if they do it’s very limited. I felt rude not being able to thank or greet people in Italian, after all I was in Italy. If an Italian came to England not being able to speak English how far would he get? I got myself a phrasebook to help me but a lot of the information was irrelevant and it took ages to find what I needed. I wrote this book bearing all this in mind. A tourist doesn’t need to know everything about Italian grammar and the in’s and out’s of renting an apartment. They want to have an easy to use reference book of the language they will need to use and understand during their stay.

How did you research your book?
Jo Linsdell: I’ve been living here for 7 years now and from my own experience I know the sort s of things that are useful to know when you first come here. I also worked in hostels and as a tour guide and know what information people used to ask me for.

The Dragon: How do you enjoy working through lulu.com? Is it difficult tracking all the accounting/bookkeeping/financial aspects without an agent or publisher in the mix or is it refreshing to have everything in your control?

Jo Linsdell: I've found lulu.com to be great for publishing my books. The on site account they give you when you sign up makes it easy to check your book sales and see how much you've earned. Royalty payments are sent automatically. I get mine sent via paypal.It's nice to be in control of everything. It also means you don't have to give up a percentage of your earnings to someone else.

The Dragon: What marketing avenues do you use that you would recommend to other authors visiting the site today?
Jo Linsdell: I'm a member of some great networking sites including http://bookmarket.ning.com, facebook, myspace and several yahoo groups. These are good for learning more about the writing industry too.I also manage several blogs including the multi award winning http://writersandauthors.blogspot.com. This is a great way to create a following and therefore spread the word about yourself and your writing. On each of my blogs I have links to my books and my other sites.Other peoples blogs are a great way to reach a new audience, so I highly recommend doing interviews and online tours.I also organise an annual online international event called PROMO DAY. It's a whole day dedicated to promoting, networking and learning. This years event will take place on Saturday 9th May at http://jolinsdell.tripod.com/promoday. It's free to attend and everyone is welcome.

The Dragon: Thank you for sharing your experience with us today, Jo. It’s always a pleasure to see you here at The Dragon, and we wish you great success with your Italian for Tourists guide!
“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”
Tags: Jo Linsdell, Italian for Tourists, online book tour, book promotion, Italy