Interview with Ángel Delgado, author of several self-published books

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From Actualidad Literatura we have echoed from time to time the "problem" that some authors have when publishing their books and the enormous courage they run when it comes to self-publishing. That is why today we have Ángel Delgado, an author who has been self-publishing for a few years and already has several books on the market.
If you want to know the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing, we offer it first-hand.


Actualidad Literatura: First of all Ángel, we wanted to thank you on behalf of the entire team at Actualidad Literatura that you have gladly agreed to this interview. It is a pleasure for all of us.

For me too, I thank you for thinking that opening a drawer on my desk would be interesting for your readers. I am delighted to spend this little time with you.


AL: Ángel, am I addressing you during this interview with your own first name or do you have a pseudonym with which you feel more comfortable?

A: I never thought of pseudonyms, with the name is fine, I respect all those people who choose 'artistic names' because they have very common names and surnames but I never thought of changing mine to try to make myself known in this adventure that is to try publish books. Although now that you mention it, I think if one day I write something really horrible and disastrous, then yes. Do you think I should be thinking about changing my name now, or even my city? (laughs)


AL: I haven't thought about it at any time, I promise (laughs). How is your passion for writing born in you? Was it something that you started to like from a young age or perhaps you have studied Literature and that's where a large part of the hobby comes from?

A: Well, since I can remember I liked to draw letters much more than numbers in those Rubio notebooks that they forced us to fill out. By the way, the other day by chance I saw new editions of those notebooks and they have nothing to do with those from the 80s, they have lost all their essence. My first real story (because I had a lot of hints as a teenager) was one titled Blood drops, with which I participated in a literary contest of the institute. Since I used to play role-playing games as a child, with fantastic tints, I was always creating stories or scripts on paper, which did not necessarily turn into stories. Later I graduated in Art, and yes, it has everything to do with letters, but hey, that really has little to do with the hobby of writing, I had already bitten the bug before stepping on the faculty.


AL: By informing me a little about you, I have learned that you are from Cádiz. Could it be said that beautiful Cádiz, its beaches, its streets, its people, have sometimes served as your inspiration?

A: Of course, and whoever says that their city or their origins have not influenced what they write, lies in a vile way (laughs). Seriously, this is all that you say, I would not say much more about Cádiz, since its streets are also the smells of the land, its songs and its poetry. And the beaches its light, its winds. I am lucky to be from a coastal place, and to live in it, where clean horizons are a unique opportunity to unleash and unleash those 'blockages' that I sometimes suffer from, you know, those in which no matter how much you want write a good story, do not go out, neither sitting, nor standing, nor walking. But, in my case, walking on an empty beach is opening a door to an opportunity to start something anew, in all respects.


AL: You've been writing for many years on your literary blog Scriptoria (http://scriptoria.blogspot.com.es/), truth? How was it born and why did you decide to call it that? The name of your website has reminded me a lot of the weirdest book that Auster has written, "Travels through the Scriptorium."

A: It's true, that blog has been open for more than 7 years, and the truth is that I used to write more on it before. With the fashion of social networks, this success in blogging has been a little relegated to the good dissemination that each one has on their profiles, on Facebook and on Twitter above all. I can not complain about it, I still have hundreds of visits when I publish something, although the comments on the blog itself have dropped. Paul Auster's book would certainly be a good title for my blog. But scriptoria It began its journey because in it I wanted to expose the problems and inconveniences that arose at the time of finishing a novel that I was writing that year. Little by little I put the novel aside and started writing articles and new stories on the blog, just when I realized the acceptance I was having. I called it scriptoria because I wanted to choose a word, a single word, that contained many things and would attract attention in some way. Being the Latin plural of desk it seemed perfect to me.


AL: I have seen that your love of writing is not only reflected in your literary blog, but that you have also dared with the laborious world of self-publishing. Tell us a little about what books you have for sale and what each one of them is about.

A: It's just that, self-publishing is a daring, and an absolute and despicable egocentricity (laughs). In my case, I first tried a very short print run of a collection of poems of which I no longer have copies. But I still have copies of Scriptoria, first drawer, which collects the stories of several years of the blog and quite a few unpublished, also from All the broken clocks, an anthology of stories and tales of all kinds in which the passage of time or losses are the main plot line, and The unfortunate descent of Henry Norton, the humorous mystery novel that I published this year and with which I have had a lot of fun writing, since it had nothing to do with the stories that I usually put on the blog or in other publications. Also in digital format it can be found on Amazon All the broken clocks, The man without accents, which is a very special story for me, and Morning prayer of the just persecuted, a long story of medieval mystery that I wrote more than 20 years ago. I hope to have the Henry Norton ebook version available by 2015.

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AL: Ángel, is it so difficult today to get a publisher to notice someone's novel and decide to publish it? Try to do a little rough mental calculation and tell us how many publishers you have gone to with your works under your arm.

A: A few years ago I went through the list of publishers registered on the page of the Ministry of Culture. And well, let's say I became a 'spam man' by sending proposals and cover letters to those who I thought might be interested in what I wrote, after a few months the 'excited spam man' already smelled like 'corpse spam '(laughs). Some publishers did offer me to publish with them in exchange for paying copies, I have always rejected that. However, I have heard stories of people who with very little effort in searching or submitting the manuscript to a couple of publishers have had better luck than me. Which makes one think about a couple of things: either I'm not good at writing and my stubbornness can (laughs), or those emails that I usually receive indicating that what I write does not fit into any editorial line will be true. Right now I have given up sending originals, I publish my books on my own.


AL: What are the steps in the desktop publishing process that you are least and most excited about?

A: The least: when you have to make small adjustments in the layout and they don't end up squaring. I'm not a layout professional and I spend too much time making those adjustments. A nuisance, wow. Also add the distribution, I would have to use effort and desire to distribute the copies through bookstores or sales services, something that I am not good at.
Those who most: write. And especially the moments immediately after finishing writing a book, of being aware that it is finished and you are wanting people to read it and tell you that they are hooked on the story, or that they hate it and that I have to pay them a psychoanalyst to forget my book (laughs).


AL: If today some of our readers decide to trust you and your literature, where do they have to go to buy a copy?

A: Trust me? Are you serious? (laughs) No, let's see ... it is easy for you, you just have to write me an email (angel.delgado@gmail.com) asking me for copies. Do you see what I was saying? A zero in distribution (laughs). They can also access the link Buy my books on the blog scriptoria, where I have enabled a small virtual store with purchase buttons. Of course, some can be purchased on Amazon in its digital edition. But, for example, Scriptoria, first drawer y The unfortunate descent of Henry Norton they are only on paper.


AL: Ángel, we like to ask all of our interviewees one last question in common to see the difference in the answers you give us. There it goes: What literary genre are you most comfortable in, what are your three favorite books, and what famous writer do you think should have never been a writer? And we add an extra: E-book or paper?

A: Well, although what I have published would lead to think that I enjoy stories and stories more, I have to tell you that I have a better time writing novels, although the wear is greater, but you feel bigger when you put an end to it. to a story of more than two hundred pages. I don't have just three favorite books, you know… But if I have to pick three right now, right now, they are: Essay on blindness, Firmin y The frozen heart. Oh, and without a doubt, Dan Brown should have signed up for paddle tennis classes or whatever he wanted instead of picking up a pen and paper. To always take a paper book on a trip and the rest in an ebook, at home always, always, always ... paper.


AL: Well, as I told you at the beginning, it has been a pleasure to have you for this, Ángel. I would also like to thank you for the personal gift of your latest book “The Regrettable Descent of Henry Norton.” I'm convinced I'll love it. Be very attentive to the review that from Actualidad Literatura we will make of it. Thank you very much for everything and see you always.

A: Thanks to you. If you consider the descent of Norton really, very regrettable, you are always in time to discard the review and pound on my door with the butt of a cut-out to ask me for explanations (laughs), to prevent that from happening I better ask you to meet my psychoanalyst. See you soon.


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  1.   Jaime Gil de Viedma said

    All the luck in the world to Ángel Delgado in this magical world of telling and telling stories. I will start my adventure with you and I am going to read, Morning prayer of the just persecuted