Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vincent Cava. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Vincent, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost every entrepreneur we know has considered donating a portion of their sales to an organization or cause – how did you make the decision of whether to donate? We’d love to hear the backstory if you’re open to sharing the details.

This May, Shortwave Publishing will be releasing a horror anthology I co-edited along with James Sabata and Jared Sage called Shadows in the Stacks. The book will feature some of the genre’s best up and coming authors as well as NYT bestsellers as they explore literary themes that are being banned from libraries around the country. The goal is to provide awareness about the censorship of ideas that is occurring today in America. Themes like gun control, LGBTQ representation, feminism, and others will be discussed in this anthology through the lens of narrative prose. Each story is special, each story has a lot to say, and each story has enough of blood, guts, and gore to make any horror fan happy.

We have partnered with the San Diego Central Library for the book. 50% of the pre-order sales and 100% of the proceeds after the release will go to the Library Foundation SD, where the money will be re-invested in children’s reading and adult literacy programs.

I’m happy to be a part of this project and to have the opportunity to help raise money for such a wonderful cause.

Vincent, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I write scary stories. It’s something I’ve always done, but for the past ten years I’ve somehow conned my way into getting people to pay me for it. I’ve written for multiple forms of media. Last summer, a film I co-produced (Creepypasta) hit streaming services. It was cool to cross that one off my bucket list, but by far, my biggest passion is books. It’s the medium I prefer to write in. They say print is dead, so I guess I must be crazy, but there’s just nothing else I’d rather do than tell stories through prose.

I broke into books accidentally (probably before I deserved to) by developing a modest but loyal following online. Once I saw it was something I could do for a living, there was no turning back. It’s hard work though. The industry is constantly changing. Marketing is just as important as writing if you want to get paid for this.

That doesn’t mean writing good fiction isn’t important. I’m proud of everything I’ve done so far, and I’m excited about what’s to come. In 2024, I’ll be launching a book series with co-author James Sabata called Midnight Monster Madness, Like Tales from the Crypt but in a book, these pulpy, creature double-features are quick, fun reads for people who don’t take their horror too seriously. Along with that, I’ll also be releasing a horror-comedy short story collection called “Laugh Now Die Later”. Those combined with the anthology I co-edited means I have a lot on my plate this year.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

I started putting my writing online for fun. It felt good to share my stories and receive feedback from them. Posting dumb stories on internet forums about monsters under the bed and axe murderers in the backseat of a car just seemed like it would always be a hobby. Then my stories started getting picked up by YouTubers who would find them in forums and narrate them on their channels. Suddenly, my little hobby was getting traction. That’s when the idea hit me. I looked at the music industry. At the time, even though you could listen to any artist’s album on YouTube, people were still buying them anyway. I was starting to develop a substantial little following and I wondered if I released a book and audio book of the stuff already out if people would buy it. Well, it turned out they did. The book shot up Amazon’s rankings upon release and the audio book hit number five in all fiction on iTunes (did I say it was a long time ago?). The audio book was self-published too. I don’t think many people in my genre were self-publishing through audible back then, so it helped me really grow fast.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

What worked yesterday doesn’t work today. The industry has caught up. There are so many authors who are hungry to get eyeballs on their books. They watch what you do and will figure out how to do it better if you don’t stay motivated. Social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Tik Tok are unreliable. Algorithms change, traffic declines. Using them is imperative to your business, but you can’t expect them to be useful forever. Part of the job of writing books is to figure out how to market yourself effectively. Publishers only have a finite amount of time and money to invest in you. The rest has to be on the author. Writing books is only half the job. Marketing is the other half. You have to keep up with what’s hot, and think outside the box. How can you promote your book differently than everyone else?

Contact Info:

• Website: vincentvenacava.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vincentvenacava/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vincentvenacava/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/vincentvenacava
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/vincentvenacava