Interview with CT Liotta, author of NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE

 

I am so pumped to be interviewing CT Liotta!! I read his book, No Good About Goodbye, back in 2021 and I absolutely loved it! I am so excited to get to speak with Liotta about his book! Thank you so much CT Liotta for being willing to do this interview with me!

In this interview we talk about the publication process for NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE, the cover redesign, and the hopes and disappointments. Links to purchase the book and follow Liotta on his socials are included at the bottom of the interview!      

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What was the publishing process for NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE like?

Thanks for interviewing me, Evren! NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE is my first full-length novel, and the publishing experience was new to me. I could write an entire book about the process, which became ever-more complicated and expensive when I went indie through a micropress rather than seeking traditional representation.
I queried, absorbed feedback, and reached a point when I had to decide whether to continue querying, shelve the project, or find a different path forward. I hired a developmental and copy editor even before querying to present the best possible product to agents. Having that step out of the way made the decision easier. Still, when I went indie, I had to make sure the book was well-designed, pick an auspicious release date, and learn how to promote and market to compete with traditionally published mid-list books. Doing it right isn't cheap.
So, If I had to pick a moment that defined the journey, it was the moment I stopped seeking representation and traditional publication.
There's a myth if you query five hundred agents and just keep going, someone will like your book and you'll find publication and fame. I learned that an agent liking a book has little to do with whether it fits current and predicted marketplace trends.
I queried about 45 agents, all-told, and got about 3 partial and 3 full manuscript requests. Not bad! The rejections all sailed in the same direction, though: whether agents liked or hated my book—and I had some of both—they didn't know where it might fit in today’s market and felt it would be a hard sell to traditional publishers.
NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE was never like other young adult books in tone or voice. I wrote it in third omni, and many pros feel YA “voice” almost always has to be first-person or close third. Moreover, spy adventures with male protagonists—"boy adventures" if you want to gender it—are not popular right now. YA readers are mostly women and girls between ages 12-30. They like SFF adventures, and seek characters and authors less male, pale and stale. Boys tend not to read at all. When they do, 90% of them don’t want an LGBT narrative. So, who’s the audience?
The industry professionals were right: there’s no instant readership for NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE. I don’t care. I’d write it all over again.

I appreciate your honesty about the feedback you had received and how the process went for you! It is beyond amazing to have that much detail about what you went through. I also love how you ended your answer. That you'd write it all over again! I'm glad you feel that way about your book, that's such an important thing when writing and publishing a book!
Did you do anything to celebrate the release and/or the 1-year publishing anniversary of this book?

I’d love to say I mixed an old fashioned and smoked a cigar, but in fact the anniversary made me uneasy. It’s been over a year already? That’s horrific! Why am I so far from finishing another book? Time is fleeting, and there aren’t enough days I’m focused enough to write.

That's a fair reaction too. I expect I'd be much the same.
I know there was a cover redesign. What inspired that and what was the process of getting a new cover like?

There WAS a cover redesign! At about the four-month mark, I considered feedback I received from both professionals and readers. The original cover was always on the “weakness” list. The YA market prefers illustrated covers.
I found Muhammad Al-Hafiz, an illustrator from Indonesia who specializes in vintage and retro comic book art befitting works of pulp, like mine. We became instant friends, and he knew right away what the book needed. I hired him within a day. By happenstance, I visited Indonesia a few months after the redesign. While I was there, I mailed him a copy of the new book with his art on the cover. He seldom gets to see the result of his labor when he draws for people living in the Americas, and I think he enjoyed the gift.

I'm surprised that the original cover was on the weakness list. I've always loved it! But I do know I've heard a lot about illustrated covers recently.
I'm glad that you found someone who worked perfectly with your book! And with you! I loved the original cover, but I do also quite love the new cover as well. It's absolutely stunning and I'm thrilled that you were able to get him a copy of the book!
Did you have any initial hopes when publishing this book? Were these hopes fulfilled?

Everybody wants to be famous, make enough money to quit their day job, and have an adoring public that tells them their creativity is genius, right? There are always big dreams: that my book will catch fire on Twitter and become a surprise hit, or the right eyes will read it and turn it into a Hulu series.
Reality always brings me back down to earth. People don’t read chapter fiction as much as they used to. Many people prefer audiobooks, but it isn’t in my budget. At 46, I'm without a young, influential following. Few people care who I am or what my opinions are on social media. If I join a trending YA conversation, I’m usually the out-of-touch GenXer who needs to die so the younger generation can finally rule the world. And, I’ve only written one book. Famous authors rarely get famous off one book, and seldom off their first.
One dream did come true: hundreds of people other than my friends and family bought NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE and liked it. I’ll take that as a win.

I'm still gonna try and keep out hope that your book will catch fire and a tv show will be created based off it. Seriously. But I also get what you mean about reality. It's a cruel mistress sometimes.
I'm glad that dream came true though! I'm so, very glad that other people bought and liked your book. It deserves it. What was the hardest thing to deal with after releasing this book? Were there disappointments?

There were many disappointments, but of all the disappointments, not finding representation or a traditional publishing deal was never one of them. I really did write the book I wanted to write in the style I wanted, and I love the result. I’m confident it’s a fun book, and it’s exactly what I wanted it to be. I honestly don’t think I could have done that working with a big five publisher. I have no bitterness toward agents and editors. I met more than a few in the past few years, and some of them I now consider my friends. They were helpful beyond measure in counseling how best to bring NGAG to market. The most disappointing reality is the sheer cost of getting the book in front of readers and serious reviewers. It can cost thousands. I know how capitalism works, but a lot of young authors don't. There's a cottage industry built around making writers think the problem is a deficiency with their book description on Amazon, or the search keywords they pick. You can now print-on-demand and distribute a book every bit as good as one from a traditional publishing house. What you're really seeking in traditional publishing is marketplace influence, quality publicity, and the hope of shelf space. The truth is, if most new authors want to get reviewed on the most famous podcasts or publications, they’ll need to pay out of pocket for an expensive publicist, or have a connected publishing house that wants to spend money and time on them. That, or look cute and be able to dance to Meghan Trainor on Tik Tok.

I'm very glad about how you started this answer. That might sound strange but I do think it's very important and amazing that that's not a disappointment for you.
It's unfortunate how much it costs to get books out in front of readers and reviewers. Like it makes sense, but it also becomes a hinderance that stops books from finding their readers. Even I've not exactly considered how much it costs exactly to get your book out in front of people.
Have you tried the TikTok method yet?
How did/do you feel about the reception this book received after its release?

I’m ecstatic. It’s connecting with the right audience, and it’s well-reviewed. It won an IndieBRAG medallion and got good reviews from IndieReader and Booklife.
NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE is a diverse book. I have characters who are Asian, black, Mexican, trans, and gay. One of my protagonists is mixed race, the other an undocumented DREAMer. I wrote so far out of my lane, I’m in a field somewhere. I was worried readers would skewer it, but reality has been quite the opposite. Many readers have said they’d like to be friends with my characters. That makes me feel good.

That is so amazing!!! I don't know how but I think I missed the news about it winning an IndieBRAG medallion. Congratulations!!!
I am so glad that this book has found it's readers and connected with people. That's amazing!!
I would also like to be friends with your characters. Not like best friends because they get into some serious situations, but like acquaintances. It's been a bit over a year since NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE was released. What's the biggest thing you've learned since publishing this book?

Eric Hoel wrote a tremendous essay about publishing a book, and he says it all better than I ever could. My experience amounts to the fact that having a well-edited, quality manuscript is only one small piece of a book’s success. Who you are, who you know, being connected, and having money to spend on professional services, while no guarantee of success, gives some authors an edge over others. It’s tough to compete for market share.
Another thing, though this is a non sequitur: I’m gobsmacked at the number of neurodiverse readers who have connected with me on social media or read my book. So many, I wonder if‌ they will someday save chapter books, if not fiction publishing, from extinction.
My bachelor’s degree is in biology and I work in health sciences, so I’m always interested in what makes humans tick. What pulls certain humans toward certain concepts, activities, and interests? I’d love to hypothesize about what draws so many neurodiverse people into reading and writing fiction. Is it hardwired? Does it have to do with a specific type of concentration or focus? If someone has the answer, tell me, please!

Ooh, I'm gonna have to read his essay soon to see what he said.
I'm glad you learned that during the experience, but I do also wish that those weren't factors in authors publishing books. Because it can be difficult for authors and readers to be able to connect.
Also, that sounds really interesting. If you ever get an answer for why that happens and such, please pass it my way. I'll admit that I'm very curious now.
What have you been working on since the release of this book? Writing and non-writing related.

It’s been a tough couple of years, and I haven’t been in the best headspace to write. My husband got a French Bulldog that is taking up vast amounts of writing time. My mom had a health emergency. She’s fine now, but I’m planning an expensive move early next year to be closer to her. And, some opportunities have come up in my real-world career: I can make money much faster if I work a Saturday, for example, than I can if I spend that Saturday writing. I’m also keeping a busy travel schedule.
That said, I feel there’s more to the story of Ian and Will. I toss it around while I drive here and there. I just don’t want to write fast and write garbage, you know? I’ll tease my idea: Maybe more characters than Ian need a coming-out story. And maybe the villains will construct a lair in a building that used to be a Pizza Hut. Maybe I need a neurodiverse character? Working on it.
Separately, I’m kicking around an idea about a romance set in Ocean City, Maryland in 1987. That has taken hold of me now. We’ll see where it goes. I’m writing it in second-person, so no publisher will want it.
Finally, my very first short story, set in the universe of NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE, is now free for your e-Reader. You can pick up Relic of the Damned! at no cost. See if you like my style.

I need pictures of the French Bulldog now because...I love dogs! Also, I'm glad to hear that your mom is fine now and I hope your move goes well when it comes up. It's unfortunate that the real world takes away from writing time, but it makes sense.
And just yes to everything else! To more coming-out stories and a lair in an old Pizza Hut and to a neurodiverse character. It all sounds absolutely amazing and it would be so cool to get to read another book with these characters and in this universe.
Also, I'm intrigued by the romance book. I don't know if I'll enjoy a second-person pov book, but I am intrigued by the idea.

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You can find CT Liotta on his Substack (The Bag May Not Inflate), website, Instagram, TikTok, and Mastodon.

You can buy CT Liotta's books from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.

If you can't buy his books but you still want to read them, consider requesting them to your local library or suggesting them on Overdrive!