And now for the news!
Some highlights from this month in the world of self-publishing, specifically interviews with or articles written by self-publishing authors and experts!
“Heather Day Gilbert has had a busy few years,” begins this profile by Register-Herald features editor Michelle James. The author in question, Heather Day Gilbert, is what you might call dedicated, with nine books out and self-published in just four years. (Her latest is Guilt by Association.) Her path to publication begins in grade school, with writing competitions, and continued through her years in college at Bob Jones University and married life. But it wasn’t until a friend challenged her to participate in NaNoWriMo–an event and nonprofit we’re huge fans of here on Self Publishing Advisor–that Gilbert began the process of publishing her writing. Her first published novel centered on Viking Eric the Red’s ward, and the first recorded European child to be born in North America; later novels were also Viking-themed, before Gilbert moved on into writing crime fiction. Central to her own experience has been the necessity for self-publishing and self promotion; writes James, “even though not having a publisher was disappointing at first and life as a self-publisher has been busy, Gilbert says it’s turned out for the best. j’I have control over all the books,’ she says. I have three audiobooks. I pick my own narrator. It worked out the way it was supposed to.'” That said, Gilbert acknowledges the challenges set before self-publishing authors. You can read more by clicking the link to read the original article, here.
It’s the age-old question, isn’t it: How does a successful author make the magic happen? In this interview for the Rocky Mountain Outlook, Jordan Small questions Danielle Arsenault about her experiences self-publishing a zine (and later, cookbooks) while living abroad in South Korea. Says Arsenault of her zine, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose. These recipes have the power to heal the body and ignite the spirit. This is worth all the stress and uncertainty that being an entrepreneur comes with.” Inspiring, to say the least. But what about the practical details? Small also interviews Jamey Glasnovic (traditionally published) and Nancy O’Hare (self-published), both of whom discuss their separate paths to publication and their reasoning for making the choices that they did. Says O’Hare: “I self-published my book. Self-publishing gives the author complete flexibility over timing, pricing, marketing and hiring support such as editors, photography and design. I wanted to keep costs down, but deliver a high-quality product that I hoped readers would value.” We couldn’t sympathize more; O’Hare’s reasoning is more or less the guiding ethic of Self Publishing Advisor. We highly recommend you check out the rest of Small’s interviews at the link!