Today, we are talking with Bestselling Indie Author of the Collapse series Summer Lane. Find out why this Indie rocks!
What made you decide to go Indie and self-publish?
I wanted to get my books out there already! I've been writing all my life - I wrote my first book when I was just seven years old - and I knew that the books in The Collapse Series were the best novels I had penned yet. So I published them. I did a TON of work getting ready for the release and keeping up with the tidal wave of reader responses that rolled in as the series progressed. It's been a marvelous blessing no matter how you slice it.
What do you think is the benefit of going Indie and self-publishing your own work?
The ability to stay true to the heart of your creative ingenuity. By staying indie, you have more of a say in the direction that you want to take your story - and your characters. They remain solely and completely yours. Plus, you have enormous control over the cover design and the marketing plans.
What do you think is the biggest challenge an Indie author faces?
Getting their books into the hands of potential readers.
Obtaining the right exposure and publicity for your book as an indie author can be an enormous challenge at first. You do not have the luxury of working with a PR team - you must the bear the brunt of the heavy duty publicity work on your own. It takes years of trial and error to discover what works, and what doesn't. It's a learning process. Besides that, I think an indie author shares the same editing difficulties, writing hardships and obstacles as someone who is traditionally published.
What are you working on right now?
I'm working on the fifth installment in The Collapse Series, even though I just released book four, State of Pursuit, on June 6th. I'm also penning a novel that explores the adventures of another character in The Collapse Series as a companion novel, in addition to gearing up to release my creative writing curriculum for children, The Art of Storytelling, for the upcoming Fall 2014 semester.
What advice can you share with other Indie and aspiring Indie authors?
Don't be afraid to fail. Failure brings about education, which brings knowledge, which ultimately brings success. Stick with it!
Great interview! You gals rock!
ReplyDeleteThanks E! :)
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