In honor of Read-A-Romance Month and Romance Awareness Month, this August we’ll be sharing the insights of romance authors who have been navigating the world of the genre and writing all about love in their latest novels. For this month’s issue, we took a look at the entire romance bookish community and what makes it so special in this article, and interviewed internationally best-selling romance author TL Swan to learn more about her writing approach and widespread impact in this article. Here, you can read the full interview with Nicole Abrams. For her website and social media, see below!
How would you define your specific writing genre and niche? What first got you interested in this writing style and how did you decide to pursue this niche in your authorial approach?
I don’t know if I have a specific niche, or genre really. I started out with contemporary small town romance. That was my first book and the series that kind of developed from that. But I also like dark romance, but not pitch black dark romance, more of a grayish. So, I just write what I want to write, whatever story just kinda pops into my head, and how it develops. I will say that there are certain things that I don’t like to write about, like miscommunication, third act breakups.
I mean, I’ve even considered doing fantasy. So I think that it’s just whatever fancies me at that moment, and whatever characters are speaking to me, because I was in the middle of writing a completely different series last year, and the last couple just, I couldn’t get into the mindset. And then the last two books that I published were completely different. But they were the ones that were speaking to me at the moment.
How did you first get into writing romance novels – why romance? Also, how did you get into the darker aspects of this genre? Do you have any stories you’d like to share about your initial experiences in this particular genre and how they have influenced your journey going forward?
Well, so writing romance novels, I’ve wanted to be a writer, so okay, I’m 43. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was 13. And my favorite book of all time is The Outsiders. So that’s kind of where, I mean, that was a long time ago. But, that’s where I started and then I don’t know I just, I like love. The main thing that I like about romance novels, the majority of them, is it’s not based in reality. I mean, there are some men out there that are just, you know, top notch, but my husband doesn’t act like any of the book boyfriends. I think that I like that because I know what reality is, and then there are times where when I write, and like, it’s a specific scenario where I wish my husband had acted a certain way. And so I can make these guys act how I want them to. So I just, I like love, but I also am not really a huge fan of books without a plot. So while I like spice and steamy, it won’t hold my attention if that’s all there is.
And, let’s see, the darker aspects of the genre. So I love thrillers, I love Criminal Minds, I love mysteries. And my first foray into dark romance—but way before booktok—was with Penelope Douglas and the “mask” series that she has. Anyway, it’s corrupt and I just liked the thrill of it. I did not really care for how the guys treated the women, though. I’m not a huge bully person. So I don’t mind the dark part of it, but he can be mean to everyone else, but her.
And that’s kind of why I started writing these last books—because I wanted someone that would burn the world down for her, always choose her, and even if it was someone that you put on a pedestal, that he was willing to give them up for her. And I think, it’s what we all want a little bit. So yeah, that’s why I started writing. And then, my initial experiences. With this past release, it’s gotten a lot of good feedback. With my first few books, you know, it’s kind of up in the air. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea, but darker romance is more popular. So, as far as I know everybody likes them.
What does your writing process typically look like? Where do you gain inspiration from, especially because there is a depth and complexity to these stories that set them apart from traditional conceptions of romance novels?
So, I’m not a plotter, which kind of hits me. It can stump me sometimes, I guess, because I’ll have lots of plot holes at the end of the book. And so I have to go back and fix that.
But I really just—and it’s gonna sound crazy. A story comes to me usually when I’m about to fall asleep. When I was a kid, I did this. I don’t know if this is like a normal thing. I’ve heard of other people doing this. But I tell myself stories to help me fall asleep, in my mind, and it helps me quiet other thoughts that’s happened during the day or whatever. So that’s where it starts. And I’ll do it every night. Like, I’ll get on one, and if I can’t let it go, I’ll be about halfway through, I can see it in my head, and then I’ll start actually writing. I usually know about where the story’s gonna go before I actually start writing it. But sometimes, when I start writing, it takes a completely different turn.
I use Pinterest a lot and music. Music really helps me, and TV shows. That’s why when I was writing this last book, I watched Ozark a little bit. I didn’t really like that show. So, it was such a big thing, and I don’t know, it just didn’t capture my attention. But yeah, I mean, I’ll watch things that’s kind of what I’m writing on so it seems realistic. I mean, everything’s gonna have kind of a flair to it since it’s entertainment. I get my inspiration from a lot of different things and other people’s books. I’ll read a book, and a specific scene will stick out to me, and I can write a whole thing just around that scene. So I don’t know if I have, like, one specific thing where I get my inspiration from. It comes from a lot of different areas.
Do you read other authors? Can you read other authors while you’re writing? Do you draw inspiration from your contemporaries or other authors in your genre? Do you listen to audiobooks?
I do read other authors. I don’t just read romance. I read thrillers and mystery. Usually, I’ll read those while I’m writing. I do have a hard time reading and writing at the same time. So I usually read in breaks, or if I have writer’s block, so if I’m having a hard time, and I just need to step away, I’ll read to get the creative juices flowing again. There’s this one author that I follow, where she’s actually the one where I got this idea from where she says, “Go and read another book, and then a scene in that book, rewrite it.” I don’t do that—but like rewrite it in your own words, and that will help like get things flowing. But that actually happened, because last year, I really struggled the last half of the year, just with creativity.
So, everyone was talking about Fourth Wing, so I read Fourth Wing. Her writing style really helped me develop mine for these last two books that I’ve written. I realized the mistakes I was making in my first few books, and so it really helped me become more of a shower and not a teller. I like to watch old shows, so, I Love Lucy, there’s a show where she’s writing a play, and she’s acting out the scenes. And I do that so I can figure out, “Okay, how would they act?” And then describe that.
And do I draw inspiration? I do, yes. Very much. I use other people’s examples of how they do their formatting in their books. And even their websites. I go on there and see if there’s something. I know that’s not really writing, but. There are times where I’ll go and look at other people’s Instagram pages to see how they have theirs and if I like it. So yeah, I do draw inspiration from a lot of other authors. And I do listen to audiobooks. I usually do listen to audiobooks when I’m doing housework. Because I hate doing housework and it helps me get things done.
How much of yourself – if any – do you put into your books? Have your experiences and interests as a reader influenced what or how you write?
Yeah, so the very first book I wrote was actually for that reason. It was kind of my way of healing I guess, and even some of the characters after that, I put a little bit of myself in all of them. But the very first character, she came out of a really bad relationship and was healing. I wasn’t in a bad relationship, but I had a hard childhood. And so I use that, and then also had a lot of authority figures in my life who have not treated me well. And my husband really helped me see how husbands are supposed to treat their wives, how fathers are supposed to treat their kids. So I really drew from that.
And then in that book, she was training for a half marathon, and I used to be an avid runner. You don’t really see a lot of books with runners, and the books that I’ve read with runners, it’s not right, like the training program, and “there’s no way that this person can go run 13 miles and eat lettuce.” I’m sorry, but! I wanted to write about that because that was such a big part of my life for so long.
Each character, even the men, like things that my husband has dealt with, or things I’ve seen, I put little pieces in there. Because, I mean, write what you know. Well, usually. Not everyone does that. But I feel like a lot of authors put themselves into their characters a little bit.
How do you come up with the names for your characters? What about the titles of your books?
Okay, funny story about character names. I have a full time job that I work in the day. And I work with fraternities and sororities, so a lot of my character names come from, if I’m helping a certain fraternity, on their roster one of them sticks out to me, I’ll pick their name, and then I’ll choose a last name from another. So I don’t use baby name books, but I use fraternity and sorority rosters. A lot of the characters that I write are younger, so those are the popular names right now. So that’s how I come up with my character names. And then, there are certain names that I just love. So this last one, Mackenzie: if I was ever to have a girl that would be—but I’m not, I wouldn’t have any more children. So I’ll just name her Mackenzie.
The titles for the last few books were very easy. They just came to me. For a couple of my books, I actually let my Facebook reader group [help], because in my first series, it’s Finding Caroline, Losing Ansley, and Becoming Bailey. So I just needed them to come up with the first word and I’ll give them, like, an excerpt of what was going on. So they came up with Becoming Bailey and Claiming Becca. And this last one, I knew what it was a long time ago, so. It just depends. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with titles and other times it just comes to you.
How do you approach determining the nature of the plot or the trope(s) that you pursue in a given novel? Do you tend to stick with what is popular among readers or what is trending at the moment? Are there other key decisions at any point in the writing process that you tend to struggle with?
For the first book, I didn’t care. I really did write that book for me. I’ve been a reader for a long time. But I didn’t really join booktok until I became an author. I knew that that was how I was going to get people to read my book. So I knew of all these popular authors, just because that’s the kind of books I read; I knew what I liked. But I really didn’t know what was popular until recently. So the first book I wrote for me. It was only supposed to be just one book. It wasn’t supposed to be a series, but there were people that were like, “Oh, are they going to have their own story?” and so it fed off of that.
I think I just let it develop. And then there are certain things, like forced proximity, I love that. So I put that in a lot of my books. And I love angst, but I don’t like miscommunication. So it has to be angst from without, not between the two, or it can be but not because of miscommunication. It’s just something that they have to work out together.
One of the things I struggled with the most in the first book is that she gets pregnant in it, and I realized that a lot of people don’t like that. It wasn’t a main focus of the book. It was just: these are the consequences of your actions. And really, the child was not even born in that book. So I struggled with that when people gave me that feedback and I almost took it out, but it would have changed her story. So sometimes you just have to go with your gut and write what you want. There’s also an alpha reader, and she is very vocal about some opinions, and we’ve actually argued, but I love her, because she’s honest with me. There’s one particular character that she’s like, “I just don’t think that she would talk about that, or whatever circumstances she was going through,” and I was like, “Well, you’re wrong. That’s her personality. She’s very bold and out there. And there are some people that wouldn’t talk about that. But she would.”
You know your characters better than other people. I do sometimes go with what’s trending at the moment. So, in this last book that’s gonna come out next week—there’s this video going around where this girl’s got strappy heels on and she puts her heel on the guy’s chest, and he does it up for her. I love that so much, so I put it in my book. I go with what I want, what readers want, what’s popular. It just depends on the style of the book, too.
Would you consider branching out into a different niche? Do you fear pushback or the loss of an audience from doing so?
Yes and no. I don’t fear the pushback, I do fear losing readers. I’ve considered writing a thriller that doesn’t have romance in it. And I’ve considered writing fantasy. Someone may not like that particular book. But they’ll like the other books. Every book is not going to speak to every reader, even if they followed you for forever. I use this example a lot; with Penelope Douglas, I have followed her since she started. And everybody loves that book Credence. I couldn’t stand it. It was my least favorite book by her. But I love everything else that she’s put out. Even though she’s one of my favorites, not every book you’re gonna like. I try to look at that from a reader’s perspective, because I was a reader longer than I’ve been an author.
A lot of authors—I’ve seen this so much—if they do branch out to different niches, they’ll use a different pen name. It’s already hard enough dealing with that pen name. I’m not gonna deal with other pen names—too much work. And then also having to come up with your brand, a different website.
When writing a novel, how do you decide whether or not it will become a series? Is it sometimes difficult to envision a future for a narrative or characters, or do subsequent books come naturally? Do you plan to write a series in advance/prior to starting the process, or is that a decision that comes later?
With the first book, it was inspired by the feedback I got. Because there was another character, Ansley, that was in there that other people wanted to know her story. It just kind of developed from there. And then what’s funny is, going back and doing rewrites and everything, originally, Caroline was going to be an only child, and then she wound up having a sister. The sister was not even in when I sent it to my beta readers. Then to add more depth to Caroline’s character, I gave her a sister and then the sister ended up having a book. That one just kind of developed.
With this last one that I have, I knew it was going to be a duet. I knew that the first book was going to end on a cliffhanger. But, I’ve kind of created this world now that I don’t want to leave. So, there will be spin offs from it. They’ll be in those books.
I loved it when authors would do this—they would have crossovers from other characters. So I always knew that I would at least do that. And a lot of my books have that found family aspect. It’s not just about the couple, but it’s about developing these lifelong friendships and people that will be there for you no matter what. It just never crossed my mind that that’s how it would happen. I already have my plan for next year, and the first book that I will probably publish next year will be a spin off from the duet that I just had. So a little bit of both, sometimes planned, sometimes not.
To what extent would you say that writing in this genre is a group effort? Or how does having a greater network of writers and collaborators benefit your work and help you grow as a writer?
I will say, I’m a very introverted person, so I have a hard time approaching people. Now, if they adopt me and want to be my friend, then I’m all for it. And a lot of the relationships that I’ve developed have been because of that. I feel like I’m still in the middle of this, because I don’t really have a lot of author friends. I do have alpha readers and beta readers that I’m very close with, and then there’s a few readers that I’m close with. But my alpha reader, she’s a very close friend. I met her because she wanted to be a beta reader for Finding Caroline. And she also likes to write as well, she hasn’t published anything, but she likes to write. So there have been things I’ve gone back and rewrote because she said it just doesn’t make sense, or she suggested rewording a sentence.
There’s another group that I have that helps, [asking] “Why did they do this?” and it helps me add more depth to maybe that scene or that character. And then, with this last book, they helped me come up with the tropes, and they helped me come up with the trigger warnings. I’m not very good at coming up with teasers and quotes, because something that may stick out to me may not stick out to people. So one of the things I asked them to do when they were doing the beta read is to highlight anything that really stuck out to them. So, the majority of the teasers I’ve done have been because of them. So, it definitely helps, especially getting other people’s perspective, because you may have gone through the same thing, but everyone approaches situations differently. And you can’t have characters that are the same over and over again. So you have to do your research.
What is your experience with newsletters and the impact of participating in newsletter swaps for increasing visibility?
I do have a newsletter. I try my best to try to grow it. Because if, God forbid, all social media were to go tomorrow, at least I still have the newsletter. I do not like participating in newsletter swaps. I tried that last year. And one, I’m not organized enough to commit to sending out a newsletter every month. So there were times where I would miss a month and I’m like, “Oh, crap, I was supposed to put their book in my newsletter that month,” and I just felt awful. So I just stopped. I felt bad for not holding up my end of the deal, but then also having to send them what book to promote that month or whatever.
I do have a PA, and maybe eventually, I can get into that with her and she can handle that. But right now, I don’t want to do newsletter swaps. And then I do newsletters, mainly when I’m having a release or giveaway. I don’t send them out monthly. I try to be very aware, too, of when a release is happening, how often I send out information because, you know, there was one newsletter that I subscribed to and they sent out like six or seven a day. I was just like, no, I unsubscribed. I just don’t have time for that. I don’t want to do that to other people either. So that’s my experience with newsletters. I feel like it’s one of those things where it’s a necessary evil. I hate them, but I need to do it.
Tell me about events and conventions in the romance writer community. How have these shaped your time as a writer? What has your personal experience/take-away been from attending as an author or even as a fan/participant?
I haven’t. I never went to one as a reader or writer. Now, I would love to. But one of the things that I promised my husband when I first started this is I would stay within our budget, and that is not in our budget. We don’t get to go on a lot of vacations and things like that. So if I’m gonna spend money to go somewhere, I’m gonna spend it so we can go somewhere. I understand like getting your name out there, and I will do that one day, but that’s not the top priority for me.
Social media, particularly TikTok in recent years, has played a huge role in book promotion with the advent of “booktok” and the progression of online fandom activities that have existed for decades. How has social media provided a platform for promoting/marketing your books and creating a fandom space for your novels? Do you have any notable stories in mind about your works going viral or skyrocketing in other ways through TikTok, etc.?
This is very controversial in the author world. So yes, I’ve had a lot of success with TikTok. I have a Facebook group, I have a Facebook page, I have Instagram. But I have the most successful TikTok. I have my own author TikTok but I rarely post to that. I also have multiple other accounts that I post to daily. Last year around this time, it was like May of last year, somebody else asked a question on one of the author groups, “How do you promote your books?” and somebody recommended this guy.
So I went and I joined his Facebook group, and I watched all of his videos, and I started implementing the things that he said. And they worked. It was a lot of work. I also attribute it to when I was having writer’s block last year, because I spent so much time on TikToks that I didn’t spend as much time writing. I try to find a balance.
But, as far as success goes, in April of last year, I made $500 the whole month. In May—I found him around mid-May—I made almost $2,000. In June, I made $6,000. All last year, until December, I made between $3,000 and $5,000 a month. And then I just got really burnt out and I stopped. I was still making more than I did last year because my name was starting to get out there. I would have TikToks that I posted that would go viral. I have one right now that I posted in September. That was at like 200,000 views. And now it’s almost at a million views. I’ve had very good success with TikTok, but I had to find the balance. And I feel like I have. I started back again, and I can tell the difference. But, I had like 12 accounts I was doing myself. So I cut back on how many accounts I have, and I’m only posting once a day on each account. And then I’ll go from there. The reason it’s such a controversial topic is because they don’t agree with that specific marketing, but I feel like you know what’s best for you. I mean, if you don’t like that, then don’t do it. But I do, so I’m going to. That’s my story around TikTok. It’s really helped me a lot.
And their algorithm changes every couple of weeks. So that’s why I follow that guy, because that’s his whole business. And he stays on top of that. I mean, why not use him? He’s gonna give his information out for free.
Readers are more connected to authors than ever through social media and independent publishing. How do you feel about this sense of connection and attainability? How do fans and their feedback (i.e., reviews) impact your writing process, whether directly or indirectly? Describe what it’s like having an ARC team, beta team, etc. and being able to receive trusted feedback from your readers.
I love it. I love the relationship I have with my alpha and beta readers. And even with my ARC readers, I love it when they make mood boards. I just sent out ARCs for this past book, and I think I get more nervous about sending out ARCs than I do about the release. Because these are the people that follow you, and I really care about what they think and how they receive it. So when that feedback starts coming, and they’re just like, “Oh my gosh, I love it,” it really helps with that imposter syndrome. And the, “Oh, this sucks, I should have done this differently” or whatever. So it really helps boost your spirits. And then I save those. I’m having a rough day or whatever, I’ll go and I’ll look at it or watch it, read the reviews. So it really does help a lot. And then there are certain readers that you just kind of connect with on even just “life stuff.” So I have developed some friends that I never would have met otherwise.
And then it’s just funny, too, because there’s other readers who are like, “Oh, your brain is so different.” And I’m like, it’s really not that different. I’m very boring, actually I don’t ever leave the house. So a lot of my ideas come from TV and other books. It’s just funny how they have this perception of you, too. I’m like, “If you could live a day in my life, you would want to go back home probably.” But yeah, I love it. I really enjoyed the feedback. And even if it’s constructive feedback. Some people are just being mean. But I like any kind of feedback, as long as they’re not trying to intentionally hurt my feelings.
What impact do book influencers have on your own marketing and writer experiences? Are there particular influencers whose presence is particularly notable? Is it inspiring to have mood boards and other content made about your books? What about being included in “to be read” lists or “currently reading” lists?
I can’t say that I’ve really had a lot of interactions with book influencers, but my PA, it’s two girls that have their own Facebook groups. I met one of them because I did a party in her Facebook group. And she was just so sweet and nice. When I first started, I didn’t know how to do Facebook parties. So, she helped me and we just kind of developed a relationship. And the PA that I had, she just wasn’t doing what she promised she would do, and so I let her go. And I did things on my own for a while, but I just needed somebody. I reached out to her and I was like, “Would you be interested in PAing, I just need somebody that’s in my corner that will maybe not necessarily do all the things but just somebody that can help me with Facebook parties if I wanted to do with them and we can just figure it out as we go.”
She was with me for my last release, and this release that’s coming up. For a long time, I just had an alpha reader. I did try beta readers in the beginning, but they didn’t really give me a lot of feedback. Like it would be, “Oh, it’s good.” And no, I need more in-depth feedback. My alpha reader is having a lot of life changes right now, so she wasn’t able to alpha read for this last one. I needed somebody, and she [my PA] helped put a group together to do that for me, and they really helped me. She’s not a book influencer, but her Facebook group is very large. And so I feel like because of that, because of the connections she has, it’s helped me get ARC readers that I wouldn’t have had. And then I realized how great she is with keeping up with ARC readers, so she took that over. That’s really the only experience I have with that.
I love mood boards. And I love it when people share with me that they started a Pinterest just for my book. I’m just like, “Please share it with me, I want to go see.” Because a lot of the things that they see, and I see, it’s completely different. I’m like, “Oh, wow.” And sometimes, the thing that you put in there is not received the same way, which could be good or bad. It’s just nice to see how somebody else envisions your characters. And so I love that. I love it when they post stuff like that on Instagram and tag me. And then if somebody that I don’t even know says they’re currently reading it, I love that too. I love stuff like that.
Do you feel a sense of pressure having a dedicated fanbase who cares about your stories? Discuss any concerns you might have that come with this, especially since sharing your narratives with the world can be an extremely vulnerable exercise.
This last book, or this book that’s about to come out, is probably the most I’ve ever felt that pressure. Because the last one did end on a cliffhanger. And to me, it wasn’t a huge cliffhanger. But to the readers, it was huge. I’ve gotten good feedback on the other ones, but my writing style really changed this year. And so the first book, they loved it. So, that book came out in February. I release a book every four months, and originally, the second part of the book was going to be released in October. And the last book of my other series was going to be released this month. But because of the chatter, and they wanted to know, I switched the release dates, and I made that one up and pushed this one back.
I did feel a lot of pressure with this one. And I think that’s why I couldn’t sleep the night that the ARCs went out, because I was just so nervous that it wasn’t gonna end the way they wanted it to end. And they weren’t gonna get all the answers, or the questions answered that they wanted answered. I was really worried about that. I thought the first book was better, but people have liked this one, so it made me feel better. With this last book for the Coming Home series, a lot of people have waited for this couple. And so I do feel a little bit of pressure delivering. I think introducing new characters is easier than building on characters that have already been established. There’s some pressure there. I’m my own worst critic. I think we all are, so yeah, I want to live up to their expectations. It is kind of nerve wracking.
Although social media has definitely helped to dismantle negative perceptions of romance novels (i.e. views that “they’re not real books”), what is your stance on these sorts of beliefs? How do you navigate the ”taboo” perceptions surrounding your darker niche? Furthermore, how do you think the genre more generally, or your particular niche of romance novels, disproves popular stigmas?
The whole reason I started with a pen name, and I didn’t publish under my real name, is because I have religious trauma in my past, and my dad was a big part of that. And so, I’ve always loved romance books, but because of their view, and things like that, I just never told anybody that I read those. I was asked what kind of book I was reading, I would say, I don’t know, girl trying to find herself or I’d just be very general.
It really bothers me if I see on these Facebook groups where husbands don’t support their wives. He’s [my husband’s] never going to be one of my book boyfriends, but he’s not threatened by them, you know? He’s the one that really encouraged me to do this. So I did, and then my mom and my sister. Those are my three people. And they support me. My mom, I know a lot of people that are like “I couldn’t let my mom read my books.” My mom has read every single one of my books. I warn her, you know, “There’s things in here that you may not like.” And she told me, “If it gets too much, I just skip over that part and go to the next part.” Their support has helped me overcome a lot of those things.
I understand that there’s a general view about romance books, but it’s the best-selling genre for a reason. I think those perceptions are more vocal than people that actually accept it. That’s why I’m grateful for a booktok, because I feel like it’s become more acceptable. If there’s taboo or whatever, dark elements, it’s not real, you know. It’s entertainment. The same people that get upset about that are the same people that watch John Wick, or Die Hard, or whatever. It’s the same. But we’re reading it instead of watching it.
In what ways do you think romance novels are significant for readers to engage with or have access to, whether this be in terms empowerment, gender dynamics, representation (i.e. for BIPOC or the LGBTQ+ community), exploration of sexuality, or otherwise? What power do you think these stories can have for readers and communities at large?
The only thing that I personally could speak to is mental health. I write a lot about that in my books. They all deal with something inside that they need to overcome, or how they view themselves. And I feel like people can connect with that on a level. With the first book, with Finding Caroline, because she came out of an abusive relationship, a lot of people did connect with that, because they have been through that themselves.
Especially with people of color, my husband is Vietnamese. The whole reason I started reading Ana Huang’s Twisted series is because her characters in her book were Asian. I liked that because my husband is Asian, and now I can picture him in the book. I just think it depends on the person’s background, and a lot of people can relate to characters and what they’re going through. And I think too, sometimes there are things that you’re going through that you don’t want to say out loud. And you’re scared to tell somebody or scared to be that honest with somebody. It helps them—somebody wrote this, they realize that other people have been through this, and maybe it gives them an avenue to help heal whatever that is or help them identify with that.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s. Back then, a lot of things you didn’t talk about. Now it’s becoming more acceptable to talk about these things. But a lot of people are not who you think they are. That’s one of the things with one of my characters, that the way she portrayed herself and the way she really was were two completely different people. She was who she thought everyone else wanted her to be, but inside, she wasn’t like that. And a lot of people put on a face for everyone else, and then are completely different on the inside. So, I like to put realism into my books, too, because I want people to connect with them.
How do you curate a cohesive aesthetic and visuals for your stories and series? What about the creation of merchandise that pairs with your stories? What sorts of artists and creatives do you normally have to consult for your vision to be realized? Going off of this, explain the process of seeking out and attaining cover photos/art for your books. What is it like to choose designs and models that best fit your story? Do you find it troublesome finding real people that align with the characters in your mind? Do you pick the model(s) before or after writing the character or couple? What about illustrated/discreet covers and special edition covers?
I have several different approaches. A lot of times, I’ll just start writing, and then if there’s something I need help describing—I’ve never lived in a million dollar mansion. So if I need help describing what that would look like, I use Pinterest a lot.
I create my own covers. I did my own website. I created my own logo. I did all of that. One of my favorite authors is Meagan Brandy. On her books, it doesn’t matter what kind of book it is, it’s always the same colors. I thought that I wanted to do that in the beginning, but I kind of switched. It took me a little while to develop my brand and exactly what I wanted. It just kind of took some finagling and changing. And I really feel like this year, as far as my website, my logo, and all of that, it’s finally where I want it to be. It just took some time, looking at other people’s websites, figuring out what colors I wanted, as far as that goes.
I don’t have any merchandise for my books. I have ideas, but I just haven’t gone that far yet. I think with beginner authors, I feel like sometimes they just take on too much. And that’s how you become burnt out. We’re on a very fixed budget. I have a lot of medical bills, I had breast cancer. So those things come first. So it’s like, I know graphic design, all that kind of stuff. So I create my own website, I can do all of that. Those things are expensive, they can be very expensive. So I was like, “I’ll just do it myself.” I have a subscription where you can go and get pictures, so I use that a lot. You get so many pictures a month. I use that a lot for teasers. And I use the pictures of couples or whatever, from there as well because with my specific subscription, you get royalty rights so you can print on books and inside books. These last two books I’ve put pictures on the inside. Eventually, maybe I will hire somebody to do more covers, but that’s one of the parts that I enjoy doing, so I probably will continue to do that. I do find it troublesome finding real people to align with the characters in my mind. Sometimes it takes me a long time. I’ll find a character and they don’t have the right hair color or the right eye color. Like this last book, he was everything I envisioned, but his eye color wasn’t right. So I just cut his head off, from here up. You just make adjustments as you can.
Describe what it’s like to be an independently published novelist. What obstacles have you encountered with this approach? Advantages? How do you handle the “business” aspect of being not only the author, but the publisher and promoter of your stories?
I used to be a project manager in my daytime job. Every book I have, that’s how I look at it, it’s a project. In project management, a lot of the way they do things is they have the project, and then they have the list of all the things that they have to do. How far in advance it has to be done before the project is wrapped up, or before the due date. So that’s kind of how I approach every single release: “Okay, this is how many words I have to write every day in order to meet my editor’s deadline, or my alpha reader’s deadline.” So if I fall behind, then I know okay, well, this is what I have to do tomorrow. So, there’s no guessing on my end, because I also work a full time job. I have to make sure that I’m organized, and I’m not super organized, but I know about pretty much everything that needs to be done.
As soon as I write the end, and I give it to my editor, while she’s editing I do all of the other things. I make the cover. But usually while I’m writing, I will be looking for characters that are similar. That way I have a basis on where to start. And then when I’m getting feedback from my beta readers and alpha reader, even my editor, she’ll say, “This would be a great teaser.” Because I’ve done this so many times, I’m a lot better now than I was. I’ve even considered making a program and giving it to new or even like, established authors. Because I know it’s hard.
I like the fact that I can create my own schedule. And I can say, “Okay, I’m not going to meet this deadline, so I’ll have to push back the due date, or the publish date, a week.” Now, if I was publishing with somebody else, and wasn’t a self publisher, I don’t think you really have that ability. But they also do a lot of things for you that you don’t have to worry about. I like being in control, I have a hard time letting go of things. And there are certain things that I want. With my first PA, we butted heads a lot, because she wanted to make my graphics, which was fine, but she just didn’t make them the way I wanted them to look. I think I’m just more picky because I’ve done that in the past, graphics stuff. Anyway, I took that back over. I just don’t think that I could ever let that go, but maybe I could.
As long as I could make enough to cover certain subscriptions on things when I first started, that was really my first goal, my first six months. Then I wanted to start making money. But that’s why I refused to do all of the extras before I got established, because a lot of people lose money, before you even make money. That’s their choice, but we didn’t have any money to lose. So I was like, “This is what I have to work with.” That’s why I did a lot of those things.
I think one of the biggest problems is I’m in Kindle Unlimited. And I feel kind of limited to that, because I can’t put my ebooks on any other platform. But with the paperbacks, I can, but I’ve just now gotten to the point where I can buy the ISBN. So, that took me a little while, but I think that’s probably one of my biggest frustrations as being self published, is getting it out there besides just on Amazon. And it really frustrates me as an indie author, when people come at Amazon. It’s like one of those necessary evils. I know they’re not the best, but they’ve made it possible for indie authors. And so I appreciate that. It’s a conundrum.
Do you work with a PR company? If so, how have you navigated that relationship in order to get your books promoted?
I don’t use a PR company. I would love to but I just can’t afford that right now. But with my PA, because she has a Facebook group—it’s actually two girls that do it together. And they each have their own Facebook group and then they have their business, and they really just started that together in the past few months. But I really have to attribute some of the getting my name out there—it is because of them. Them sharing my stuff on Instagram and things like that.
Then, I do TikToks but with that my face is not showing. My face doesn’t really show on Facebook groups either, but because there’s so many people in their groups, I really think that their connection with readers has helped me a lot. I have such a hard time approaching people. I don’t know how to start those networks. I really struggle with that. So I really appreciate them introducing me to different people, introducing me to the other beta readers, because I never would have met them otherwise.
What has your experience been as an indie author encountering pirating and copyright issues with companies like Amazon or Apple Books?
I’m not really a big drama person. I get there are people that have been shut down on Amazon because of those issues. And I really think that Amazon should go after the pirates, not the authors. It’s not our fault, or make it more secure on their website, so they can’t pull it from their website. So I have encountered that.
I always put my book up on a website called Muso, that will scan every day to see if it’s on any websites, and they’ll pull it off. There are mixed reviews out there for it, but I’ve always had success with it. That did not happen to me until my second book, and so the girl that was my PA at the time, she actually texted me at midnight, she was like, “Are you up? I need you to call me.” And I was like, “Oh my gosh,” you know, I knew it was an emergency. So I called her and she told me. And I was gonna sign up for this, so I went out there and signed up right then. It takes like 48 hours for it to do all of that. It was on six or seven different websites, and they pulled it all down. I think one of the most discouraging things is if it’s an ARC reader. The majority of the ARC readers that I have right now, I trust them. But when you know it’s an ARC reader, because I haven’t been published yet and it’s already up on websites. I think that bothers me more than them getting it from Amazon.
I remember when Barnes and Noble first came out with Nook, the e-reader. The job I was working at before, I had just gotten it. And there was a guy there. And he’s like, “Oh, there’s this website where you can go, you can download all those books.” I worked at a hat and t-shirt company, we made hats and t-shirts. I was like, “Oh, really? That’s cool. I’m gonna go back into the warehouse and grab like five hats and t-shirts.” He said, “Oh, I can write you an invoice.” I was like, “Oh, I thought we just got things for free.” Like it’s the same thing. He was like, “Oh.” Those people that wrote those books deserve to be paid, just like this company deserves to be paid for their stuff. It’s the same thing.
I’ve had issues. I don’t think I’ve had any copyright issues with companies. I was thinking like, plagiarism. I don’t think I’ve had any issues. I’m gonna step on my little soapbox here. I can’t stand it, when readers will say, “Oh, that that was in this book. She copied that from this book.” We all get ideas. You can have the same theme and have it still be different. I have a library scene in this book, and I 100% got that idea of watching Bridgerton. But it’s different, it’s just where it takes place. We all get ideas from the same places.
Are you publishing your books in audiobook form? If yes, what has this process been like?
I haven’t had any books on audiobook yet. I do want to because I like to listen to audiobooks. I was going to start that process last year, but I quickly learned how expensive it is. and so I’m just not ready to take that on right now. Eventually, I will do them in audio books. And eventually, I hope to get to the point where I can release the paperback, the ebook, and the audiobook all at the same time. That would be great.
So I mean, I don’t really know what the process is like. I have relationships with a couple of narrators, but I don’t know if they would be the ones that did it or not. I do know that you have to go through ACX or whatever that website is. And there are narrators that will go out there and bid on your book or something like that. My goal is next year to start on my Coming Home series. Another thing that has stopped me from doing that is I really want to go back and rewrite those books a little bit and get them edited because my first two books were not edited. I went through Grammarly and ProWrite. And so when I got my one book, I thought, “Gosh, I really needed an editor.” So I want to go back and fix those issues before I get them published in audiobook. Because once you do audiobook, you can’t go back and fix it.
Is there anything else you’d like to share that hasn’t been covered in the questions?
For potential authors, like newbie authors or people that are in the middle of writing their first book, I would like to offer advice. Listen to your gut. It can be as expensive as you want it to be. If you have the money then yeah, go all out, get a cover designer. This was me when I first started—they think that they have to have all of the things in order before they begin. But Amazon has made it easy, you just start and you put yourself out there, it will happen. And don’t get discouraged. There’s some people that will just take off. And then there are other people where it takes a while.
The thing that got me to really start writing, is I listened to a podcast. And he was like, a lot of people don’t start doing whatever their dream is, because they think they have to have everything in order before they can start. Just start it and it will grow as you go. And so that’s just kind of the take I’ve had on everything: I knew what I could afford. And as I get more income, I just add to it, like with formatting. I format my own books, too. But I was able to purchase a program this year to help me with that. So just start. And don’t let the voices stop you, whether it’s your own or other people.
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