Sarasota author stirs up his own personal 'mob'

So I was tipped about a local author, East County's Mike Sisti, who has written a series of novels and developed an impressive following along the way.

Well, la...de...da...de...da.

I often talk to local self-published authors, who are basically in the pay-to-play system.

If you have the bucks, you, too, can be an author.

Even so, I respect the dedication it takes to put together any book, so I figured I would check out Sisti's story.

What I found was not so much a story about novels, but a story of inspiration.

You see, Sisti is a very young 84 years old.

That is not the clincher, though. I have met many of those late-chapter-in-life authors, who finally have time on their hands, so they sit in their living rooms typing instead of watching Perry Mason reruns. I might be there myself one day.

No, Sisti's story is different. It's about innovation.

And that's why inspires me. Whether your are 8 or 80, you can tap an area heretofore untouched. But it takes daring, and perseverance.

Sisti's idea was to recruit a legion of followers — he calls them "mobsters" — who care enough about his writing to spend their precious time reviewing his work, and giving him tips about his writing, book titles, or even art for the book covers.

His "Flash Mob" has grown to more than 550, what social media would probably call "followers," and continues to grow even though none of his nine novels, although heralded with awards, haven't made their way to a best-sellers list as of yet. The mob has become a bigger story than the story.

It could be argued that his process is more rewarding than the outcome.

"I started with six friends who loved to read," Sisti said. "They were fascinated by my writing process. They became immersed in what I was working on and they became a group of advisors. I am the author, and they submit ideas. They read my early drafts, and they don't sugarcoat anything.

"They will tell me, 'The book starts great, then drops dead.' But they always are encouraging."

In general, being an author is a solitary pursuit. Why would Sisti want to involve the masses?

"It's much more fun," Sisti said. "Writing is a lonely business. When I start writing, the story starts to write itself and I just know what is going to happen. I do it myself in my office at 6 a.m., and I don't know whether it is any good. Other people start looking over my shoulder. It's great. Some authors have a mentor or an advisor, or two. Nobody has a group like this."

Rhode Island's Lucy Svagan is a proud mobster. She met Sisti when he ran the marketing department at Blue Cross Rhode Island.

"In essence, this is his own focus group study," Svagan said. "And creative people jump at the chance to be creative. It's nice to know we are part of something."

When they worked together at Blue Cross, Svagan said Sisti would send out emails to his employees that were business related, and yet they always included some humorous story he had made up.

"He always entertained us," she said. "And we liked him, so that goes a long way."

Now he sends newsletters about his work to his "mobsters" and besides asking their opinions on his writing, he includes other bits of humor. She said she looks forward to the newsletters that come about once a month along with checking out his blog.

Has he taken any of her suggestions?

She said she voted on the best design for the cover of his newest book, "On the Brink," and also nixed a couple other titles that she considered kind of silly before he settled on "On the Brink."

While many of Sisti's original members of his "Flash Mob" were former coworkers, the group grew as they contacted their friends and word spread across social media. He has members all over the U.S. and one in Bordeaux, France.

"They all read, and they love getting involved," Sisti said. "My open rate (for his newsletter) is 70%."

Sisti's current publisher, John Koehler, posted this on his site.

"My firm has published nearly a thousand books for 940 authors with sales of over 900,000 books. While most authors have a fan base, Michael Sisti has a large, dedicated organization. Sisti’s first book with us is the product of this synergetic collaboration, and why we signed him."

As far as his writing, Sisti bases his topics on actual events, but strays from the facts so they are considered fiction and thus not open to lawsuits. He is publishing "On the Brink," through Koehler Books of Virginia Beach, Virginia. It already has won the International Firebird Award.

His first book was "Crumple Zone," published in 2008. To find out more on his books, go to MichaelSisti.com.

It involved his experience at Blue Cross Rhode Island, which began in 1996 when he was hired to be a consultant and then later hired full time, which lured him away from a marketing company he owned in Bergen County, New Jersey. He wouldn't have left his company, but he said his wife, Sara, had breast cancer at the time, and he liked the benefits that Blue Cross would provide.

Changes in upper management caused him to leave the company and in 2002 he and Sara moved to Sarasota.

In 2004 he decided to write a "little tribute" to his staff at Blue Cross.

"They were amazing people," he said. "I still had my company laptop."

He started looking back at some of the "zingers" he sent to his coworkers in the internal email account. "The department didn't like the water in our water fountains so we — 25 of us — all paid for a water color, about $2.75 each a month. I wrote to them that I had been in meetings all month and had only two sips, so I only owed 25 cents."

Eventually, he wrote his first book using emails to tell the story, another innovation. The story was loosely based on the true story of a state senator going to prison for his dealings with Blue Cross, and with Sisti, who was indirectly involved.

Sisti said he has been writing — "mostly essays and stuff" — since he was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, New York. 

His mother, Mary, was a disciplinarian and his dad, Michael, ran a printing plant. He was first generation American and his mom wanted him to become "a perfect kid," sending him to Catholic grammar and high schools with nuns and priests.

He said more books are on the way.

"Writing is my drug habit," he said. "And I need to support my habit."