Paul Levinson

@EmilyCharlotteCooledge Publishing has been a mixed bag for me, as far as difficulty.  My very first publication about the Beatles - in the Village Voice (a New York City) - was easy: I sent in a Letter to the Editor, and the next thing I knew the letter was published as an article, and I got a check for $65 in the mail!   But it took me five years of going to conventions and meeting editors to get my first science fiction novel published - The Silk Code.
            
            I got an agent to negotiate a better deal for me on that first novel.  But I had already made the connection with the editor on my own.   In retrospect, although the agent did get me a better deal, he didn't do much for my other contracts.  Meanwhile, he happily collected his 15% - and 20% for translations.  I left him after 10 years, and, in retrospect, I should have done that much sooner.
            
            I love biology!  For a while, when I first got to the City College in New York, I wanted to be a bio-chemist.  But I didn't enjoy getting into class at 8am in the morning to dissect a fetal pig in alcohol :)  
            
            But I studied evolution and DNA for my doctoral dissertation, "Human Replay: A Theory of the Evolution of Media," and that knowledge served me in good stead when I was writing The Silk Code, which has the tagline "DNA is the ultimate dossier".
            
            You can have a really good life being both an author working in another profession - whether teaching, research, etc.  So I'd recommend that you continue your writing as well as your university degree,
            
            "The Heist" already caught my eye, and that's indeed the next story of yours that I'll be reading!
            
            -Paul

Wow, you have a pretty impressive set of skills then! You're very lucky to have been published, was it difficult publishing without an agent? And when you did get an agent, what was your opinion on them?
            
            Physics and forensics I have knowledge in but not to a degree standard, I'm leaning more towards biomedicine or pathology as my university degree but I'm still undecided yet so who knows. 
            
            Thank you! As am I with yours, it's very original and a breath of fresh air to Wattpad. Some of my most oldest works, most notably the Madman trilogy, are very rough and poorly written but I'm currently in the process of rewriting my oldest ones to bring it up to the same standard as the rest. 
            Another you might be interested in: "The Heist", a new crime / action new project of mine I've just begun. 
            
            Hahaha, well you must be interesting enough to have something to write in your wiki! 
            
            All the best,
            -E.C.Cooledge :) x

@EmilyCharlotteCooledge I've probably been to almost a hundred book signings by now.  I'm also a professor, but as I much as I love teaching, I love writing even more! :)
            
            My very first publications were articles about the Beatles, back in the 1970s, which I sold to local newspapers - a real thrill! Then I went on to scholarly articles and books - this was classic traditional publishing, without even an agent.  I just got my books to editors after meeting them at conferences, etc.  Then I began to publish science fiction - by sending them to paper magazines (and now online magazines).  I've had almost fifty stories published so far.  My first novel was published in 1999 - The Silk Code - and for that I did get an agent, for the first time.  But after having five novels published by a traditional publisher, I left both the publisher and my agent, and made a deal with a small independent press in Texas.  And that's where I happily am now for my science fiction :)  I do think that self-publishing is likely the best way to go for someone starting now - I would do that myself, if I was just starting out now.  For my nonfiction books, I deal with big publishers directly (no agent).
            
            I actually have a PhD in media theory and history - not forensics and physics, in which I'm a self-taught amateur :)
            
            I'm very much enjoying your novel, and will keep on reading it, as well as your other works.  You have real talent as writer - breadth of imagination, and a good sense of character.  Keep up the good work!
            
            PS - Here's a Wikipedia article about me, for more boring details about my professional life :)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Levinson

Thank you! It means a lot! 
            I hope you enjoy 'Half-life', the next chapter for it should come out sometime soon, either tomorrow or Monday.
            Wow, it must be amazing to go to a book signing, something I can only dream off. You must be a fine writer. :)
            Is CPC available as a paperback too? 
            All the best,
            -E.C.Cooledge :) x

Ha - absolutely - that little bout with Thompson was aired live at 6 in the morning.  Probably 3 people saw it.  But the second life it's had on YouTube made it all worthwhile and then some!