Read Meet Author: Greg Santos

"If you make a difference, people will gravitate to you. They want to engage, to interact and to get you more involved." - Seth Godin (blogger)

The idea is the more respect and attention you give to others the more attention you draw to yourself. Soon we may have to called it the Mel Bosworth factor, but it a principle that I have tried to implement for the last three years. Writer and blogger Greg Santos clearly believes this as well, and when you read through his blog Moondoggy's Pad, you find him talking more about the quality work his friends and fellow writers are putting out then his own work. I firmly believes this makes a difference and it is what brought me to enjoy Greg's work and reach out to him for an interview.

Orange Alert (OA): I really enjoyed your collection for Pangur Ban Party, Thinking Things Through. Do you like the format that it was presented? When you wrote it did you visualize it print rather than a the web presentation?
Greg Santos (GS): Thanks, Jason. It gives me the warm-fuzzies knowing that you enjoyed Thinking Things Through. I really love the e-books DJ Berndt has published through Pangur Ban Party, so I was happy he selected mine to join their great lineup. I like that the collection is web-based because anyone can read it at the click of a mouse.

Many of the poems in my e-book were originally written at different times and as standalone pieces. It was only afterwards when I began putting my manuscript together that I felt the voices in those poems worked well together.

I rarely ever write poems with a specific publishing medium in mind. Honestly, I just write them down and hope that they’ll find a home one day.

OA: It seems writing these days is just as much about promtion as it is about anything else? How much time and thought do you put into promoting yourself?
GS: Unless you’re a household name with a publicity machine backing you up like, say, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, or Lauren Conrad, one has to be a shameless self-promoter. That being said, I don’t think I put in too much effort into promoting myself – mostly because I’m too lazy. I do make a point of posting on my blog when I have something new published. Did I mention my blog address is http://moondoggy.blogspot.com? I also Tweet and update my Facebook status with new works. Actually, on second thought, I do spend a lot of time putting myself out there. Thanks a lot, Jason. Now I feel dirty.

OA: When looking to submit your work what type of sites or journals do you look at?
GS: I look for websites or journals that feature writing I actually enjoy reading. That sounds like a no-brainer but when I first started out, I made the mistake of submitting to as many magazines as I could without doing any research. Needless to say, that meant many rejections followed by epic junk food benders. I’m a lot more choosey with where I submit now and my waistline couldn’t be happier.

I might discover a new journal and have no clue who some of the writers are, but if I connect with the majority of the work and I feel like I’m on similar wavelengths, then there’s a good chance I’ll consider submitting my own stuff.

OA: What do you think about the title expiremental? Some writers wear it proudly and others shy away, where do you fall?
GS: I don’t like labeling myself an “experimental” poet or a “traditional” poet because sometimes I’m both.

OA: Do you think performance and delivery are important to your pieces? I've really enjoyed the videos that you have put out there.
GS: I have a background in theatre so I like to perform my poems out loud if I have a chance, but I find I’m never thinking about performance or delivery when I’m writing them. Some of my poems benefit from being read out loud, which is why I really enjoy doing poetry readings and making my own video poems.

I have always found it interesting to hear someone else (other than the author) read a work. Mel Bosworth has an appropriately-named project called Mel Bosworth Reads Things where he reads short excerpt from other writers on YouTube. I really got a kick out of hearing him read my poem “Employees Must Always Wash Their Hands Thoroughly Before Serving the Customer.” Mel brings his own pauses and inflections to the piece, whereas I probably would have read it very differently.

OA: What's next for Greg Santos?
GS: I have a full-length poetry manuscript that I’m shopping around, if there are any takers. Right now I have a poem up on Poems About Expiring, run by Ana Carrete. Check it out while you still can, because the website is literally set to expire on 2/19/2010. I also have some stuff forthcoming in Pangur Ban Party print #2, My Name is Mud, The Feathertale Review #6, and a Britney Spears-inspired “poetry remix” coming out in A Blog of Remixes of Exceptional Quality. I’m an editor for pax americana, along with Ben Mirov and B.C. Edwards. I definitely urge readers to be on the lookout for issue #13 of pax; it’s going to be a doozy!

Bonus Questions:
OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be?
GS: Jesus or maybe Einstein. Ok, everyone says that. I would really love to have a chat with Tom Waits. He seems like a crazy guy, but he’s also probably really nice.

OA: What type of music do you enjoy and who are a few or your favorites?
GS: My current guilty pleasure is Lady GaGa. Her music is ridiculously catchy. I also like The Figments and The Silver Jews. But really, I’m so behind on music these days. I don’t know what the kids are listening to anymore. Is Roy Orbison still cool?

For more information on Greg Santos please visit website.