Other Writing

An Interview with Hettie: The Main Character of the Echoes of the Great War Trilogy

Creating Hettie Steward for the Echoes of the Great War Trilogy meant stepping into a world shaped by conflict. Today, I’m sitting down with her to talk about her life on the brink of the Great War. Some questions may be uncomfortable — but that’s part of the story.

Here’s a closer look inside the pages.

An exclusive interview with Lisa McLemore.

Lisa stopped by Confessions of an Indie Author to discuss her poetry.

“I wanted to write a book,” she says, “that combined poetry with stream-of-consciousness with dried flowers with short stories with hermit crab essays with photography and with memoir (and more!) To incorporate 3D things, it will probably be a one off or two off copy that I will sell or give away. What I’m after is absolute freedom to tell the story I want to tell through collected...

Are you an author trying to make it on volume?

In my latest Substack post, Why More Books Isn’t Always Better, I explore how the industry’s instance on produce, produce, produce isn’t healthy.

Highlights:

• Just how many books does it take to replace the average yearly salary in the United States?
• How many books do you need to publish to reach that goal?
• Burn out is real.

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.

Are you an author seeking business advice on how to grow?

In my latest Substack post, Most Indie Author Advice Is Misleading (Even When It’s True), I explain how common advice works in theory but not so well in practice.

Highlights:

• Many methods rely on having high traffic to your website
• Many methods are outdated

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.

Do you think authors should stick to one genre?

In my latest Substack post, Looking Back: Why I Rebranded as an Author, I explain why I made the switch from historical fiction to steamy women’s fiction.

Highlights:

• It wasn’t a decision I took lightly. It took several months to decide it was the right move, and I did it for multiple reasons.

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.

Do you know the difference between romance, steamy women’s fiction and erotica?

In my latest Substack post, Steamy Women’s Fiction: Romance, Heat, and Women’s Stories, I explain the difference between these three similar genres.

Highlights:

• Women’s fiction is defined as a plot that focuses on the protagonist’s emotional journey and generally is trope free
• Romance relies heavily on tropes
• Erotica often revolves around experiences more than plot

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you...

Do you use free promotional tools?

In my latest Substack post, The Real Cost of Free Book Promotion: Your Time, I discuss two common, free promotional tools.

Highlights:

• How much time experts say needs spent on each social media site to make an impact
• How many blog posts you should be writing and how lengthy

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.

Reviews rule the world.

In my latest Substack post, Do Authors Need Reviews Before Sales or the Other Way Around?, I explore the importance of book reviews.

Highlights:

• Most readers don’t leave reviews
• I’ve been burned by book PR companies
• The experts dole out conflicting advice
• A 3 star review is a bad review on Amazon

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.

The rock and roll lifestyle is a myth!

In my latest Substack post, Breaking the Mold: Rock Star Romances Without the Stereotypes, I discuss how most rock star romances are grossly inaccurate.

Highlights:

• The rock and roll lifestyle is a stereotype
• I refuse to cater to stereotypes in my rock star romances or write cookie-cutter plots
• Many other authors don’t bother to research the music industry
• What life on tour is actually like
• Most musicians are middle class at best
• The paparazzi isn’t...

Should you quit your day job?

In my latest Substack post, How Publishing Really Pays (Or Doesn’t), I shatter the myth that authors are rich.

Highlights:

• The average annual income for writers is depressingly low
• Authors must sell hundreds, if not thousands, of copies to replace an employer’s salary
• It’s becoming more difficult to be traditionally published

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.

Is there a difference between a reader and a fan?

In my latest Substack post, Readers vs. Fans: The Difference Between Hobby and Career, I discuss the difference between readers and fans.

Highlights:

• Readers are abundant
• Fans look out for you
• How I sadly discovered I have many of one, but none of the other

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.

I thought it was a terrible mistake.

In my latest Substack post, How Amazon Burned Me as an Indie Author, I reflect on what on what a major retailer removing one of my books taught me about the realities of writing and publishing.

Highlights:

• One day was book was there, the next it was gone
• It made me feel like a piece of dirt
• I nearly ended my publishing career that day

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.

Are you self published or an indie author?

In my latest Substack post, Self-Published? Indie? Clarifying Author Labels, I explain the difference between these similar labels.

Highlights:

• An explanation of self-published, indie, traditional and hybrid
• A warning about vanity presses

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.

In my first Substack post, Self-Publishing Pros and Cons Every Aspiring Author Needs to Know, I discuss why aspiring authors may, or may not, want to pursue self publishing.

Highlights:

• I clearly define self publishing
• I examine the common reasons indie author self publish
• We also explore the drawbacks by the numbers

Join me over on Substack, and let me know what you think.