We were lucky to catch up with Dominic Pistritto recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dominic, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

When I had published my first two books, “The Marksman: A Knight’s Tale” and “Project: Apex One” in 2021 and 2023, I had cold called many local cafes around Hampton Roads in search for a venue to display my works and I was met with nothing but warm smiles and open arms from many managers and venues. Growing up, we’re told that bigger business owners are these big, cold and corporate suits that don’t care about the little guy. However, that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Norfolk, Virginia is where most of my venues are nowadays simply because of the larger artistic community it provides. Everybody is accepting and super fascinated by the books I’ve written. With the release of my third book, “Writers Block: A Very Small Novella of Stories,” it’s been received with nothing but positive reactions and great support.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Dominic Pistritto. I’m a local author from Chesapeake, Virginia specializing in the science fiction genre. I have written three novels which all can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and wherever online retailers are sold. I’ve been writing stories since I was ten years old and have been inspired by science fiction movies since as long as I can remember. I attend many book signings and vendor shows around my area, reaching new audiences and developing deeper connections with my readers. I believe what sets me apart from others is the fact that my medium of art is literary, not visual. Many of my peers use visual art to express how they feel at a certain point in time. In comparison, I specialize in using words to properly articulate the emotions I feel and the story which is almost always stuck in my head. In addition, I haven’t met many other younger authors who are my age except for a select few. I would like my readers to know that while my books are an extension of myself, the secondary purpose of the books is to inspire others to become the person they’ve always wanted to be. Life has a lovely way of beating us down with a crowbar and demanding that we conform and get a “real job.” I’m living proof that while I still have a “real job,” I also follow my dreams on the side until it becomes a full time gig. I’m most proud of discovering within myself that I cant give up. Regret is such a powerful emotion I strive to avoid and so my life is a direct reflection of that. The books I publish are meant to be a testament to not only my will to risk the idea being out there in the world, but also to show others that they too can dare to follow the dreams within themselves.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My social media presence has significantly shrunken and grown within the past couple of years. Starting out, I truly had no idea what I was doing and hoped for the best. I’d just post here and there and cross my fingers that somebody saw them. I’d follow this seemingly hopeless cycle of ignorance until a friend of mine began to grow her own visual artistic business. She showed me how to properly utilize trending audio to boost viewership and engage with audiences in a new way. Maintaining this consistent program gradually began to grow my author business tenfold. My primary social media outlets are Facebook and Instagram. Each post has a different kind of engagement on each platform. What’ll get one like on Facebook will get fifty on Instagram. Once I understood that a healthy cycle of posting once a day helped my audience interaction, I began to witness results. What I’d say to somebody starting out on social media is to post, try new ideas and never stop creating. While the world already has millions of content creators out there, it has yet to meet you. So give it all you got! You’ll be so glad you did.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’m always in a state of competition within myself. My whole life I always felt like I was comparing myself to others which blinded me to the gifts that I already possessed. My driving goal is to write as many books as I can and experiment with as many fellow creatives as I can. My father always stressed the importance of taking risks. An attribute I count myself very blessed to have. Always raising the bar higher within myself is as integral as breathing. Risk is the name of the game when you are a creative. As the ideas flow within the imagination, I firmly believe we have a responsibility to give it back to the world and let new fans read them and appreciate them for the piece of art the books are.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dominicpistritto.wixsite.com/author-website/contact
• Instagram: dominic_pistritto_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dominic.pistritto/?_rdr

Image Credits

Author Headshot by Steven Griffin
Green screen photo by Duke White