Describe your journey to becoming a self-published author.
When I first decided to publish my debut novel, I thought I wanted to be a traditionally published author, but I quickly learned that there is so much more freedom being self-published. After doing all the research in 2012, I decided my stories were better suited for self-publishing. Every author must make that decision for herself.
I launched my debut romance novel into the world in February of 2013. I wasn’t sure what to expect and was quite honestly hopeful that a couple of my friends and family members would indulge me and buy a copy of my e-book. To my surprise, the launch was wildly successful. I sold over 1,000 copies in the first month, hitting worldwide bestseller lists over the course of 2013 and beyond. By the second quarter of 2013, I had a small group of raging fans who wanted more.
My dream was to start up a small publishing company to assist other authors with reaching their self-publishing dreams. Fast forward to today, and that is exactly what I am doing with my small business, Black Widow Publishing.
I have now written ten books and successfully published eight of them, ranging from contemporary romance to dark psychological thrillers, with two more publications planned for the near term. I have assisted countless authors with editorial and other author services across Canada, the US, Italy, Australia and everywhere in between!
How do you define success as an author?
To me, to be a successful author means to write for myself and entertain my readers. If I can do that, and make some money in the process, I am happy.
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