Frequently asked Questions

 

1. How many books had you written before you wrote A Scattered Life?

In my early twenties I wrote two chapter books for children, neither of which were (thankfully!) ever published. When my three kids became school-aged, I returned to writing. A Scattered Life was my first adult novel.

2. Were your books always self-published and for sale on Amazon?

All of them were self-published as e-books first. I wrote several novels over the course of nearly a decade, and after each was completed, I tried to get it published. I worked with two different literary agents over the years, but despite some close calls, nothing panned out. In 2009, I read about another writer, Boyd Morrison, who'd uploaded his unpublished novels so they'd be available as e-books on Amazon's Kindle. He sold thousands of e-books and went on to get a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster. Reading his story made something click in my brain. I was intrigued by the idea of reaching readers directly, and the thought of making a little money also suited me just fine. In July of 2009, I uploaded two of my manuscripts to Amazon's Kindle, and over the next several months I did the same for four more of my books.

3. How did you decide on a publisher for your books?

Once my novels had been up for awhile, I started to get good reviews on Amazon and positive emails from readers who enjoyed my books. A few months of this and I was no longer looking for a publisher, in fact, oddly enough, I'd stopped caring. I was making money and people were reading my books--I was in writer heaven. Of course, that's when I got an offer out of the blue. Amazon.com had started their own publishing division in early 2009, and they were looking for books to publish under their AmazonEncore imprint. The senior editor, Terry Goodman, sent me an email saying they wanted to talk to me about publishing A Scattered Life. I spoke on the phone with Terry and with their marketing director, and was impressed with their plans for the book. Ironically enough, while we were in discussions I received an offer from another publisher, but by then I was sold on AmazonEncore.

Since then, both Easily Amused and A Scattered Life have been picked up by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for release in trade paperback under the Mariner Books imprint. My four other books are AmazonEncore titles.

4. How did you go about marketing your self-published books?

My marketing strategy involved using Amazon's internal structure to my advantage. Amazon uses "Keywords," "Categories," and "Tags," to help readers search for books. I made full use of these options. Additionally, I made sure my covers looked professional and priced the books low--less than $2.00 at the start. All of that helped to set things up. Then I became part of the Kindle message forum on Amazon and made others aware of my books on threads designed for that purpose. All of my marketing was free and done online.

For more details on what I did to promote my books, read the interview I did for J.A. Konrath's blog.

5. When you self-published how did you make your book covers?

I covered that on two different blog posts. You can find the information here and here.

6. How did A Scattered Life get optioned for film?

After A Scattered Life had been out for a short time, a lovely woman named Alice started conversing with me on the message boards. Alice loved A Scattered Life and talked it up to everyone else on the forum. Soon others read it and reported back that they too had loved it. I would turn on my computer in the morning and read whole conversations about my book, the novel no one had wanted to publish. It was unreal. There were times I could barely read the words through the tears. I honestly think the posters on the Kindle message forum started things for me because when the producer contacted me about the film rights he said he'd looked on Amazon to see which books were getting buzz, and came across their posts.

7. What does "optioned" for a movie really mean?

It's like calling dibs on a project. In my case, the production company who optioned the rights to my book is looking to partner with a studio. When they get studio interest, our contract has a provision for them to purchase the rights to the story and we'll go from there.

8. How much of a dream come true was getting a book published?

Being a published author was something I'd dreamed of since childhood. By the time I was offered a publishing contract, I had nearly given up hope it would ever happen. Sometimes it's still hard for me to believe all that's happened since July, 2009. I'm not sure I deserve all this good fortune, but I'll take it.

9. How long have you been writing?

I've been writing nearly my whole life, but I've been seriously writing fiction with the goal of publication for the last ten years.

10. Where did you get your inspiration for A Scattered Life?

A Scattered Life is the story of a friendship triangle. I've always been intrigued by the idea of feeling like an outsider in your own family, and in telling the story of the three women in this book I was able to explore that idea more fully. Some readers have said they laughed and cried while they read the book, which was gratifying to hear.

11. Any more advice for self-published authors?

Funny you should ask! At one time, I gave a workshop on self-publishing. I no longer do that, but I wanted to share the information so I've posted the handouts on my blog. You can find them here:

My Method for Writing a Book Description

Publishing a Book Using CreateSpace (for those interested in creating a paperback version of their book)

Helpful Sites for Self-Publishers

Published a book? A promotional to-do list

Help a book out: 10 things you can do to spread the word

Another opportunity for writers -- ACX -- Audiobook Creation Exchange

Want to sell books on Kindle? Keywords are your friends!

This is a great time to be a writer. Keep the faith and embrace the opportunities!