September 2014 – Symphony From The Couch

Welcome to September! I hope everyone is having a wonderful labor day. I am looking forward to getting back in the swing of things – blogging and revisions all September long. To kick things off, I’m chatting with independent author Elaine Jeremiah.

1. Give us the Reader’s Digest condensed version of your writer’s journey so far.

I’ve written stories for as long as I can remember but it’s only in the last ten years or so that I’ve been writing novels. I first finished one about five years ago – it’ll never see the light of day however because it’s pretty bad! Then a couple of years ago my husband suggested I self-publish – that thought had never occurred to me because I didn’t know (as he did) that I could publish digitally on Amazon. So about a year ago I published my first novel ‘The Inheritance’ and I’ve never looked back.

2. What lessons have you learned from writing and publishing this book?

I think I learned most from my beta readers really. ‘Reunion of the Heart’ is a romance and they told me I needed to make it more romantic! So that was a lesson learnt. Also to ensure that I pay attention to time passing in my story and be consistent with that – that was something I struggled with when writing ‘The Inheritance’ too so it’s something I definitely need to work on. As far as publishing goes, I would say don’t publish in the summer! People are away and your novel can take a while to sell as I found!

3. What is your writing routine?

I try to write every day though I don’t always succeed. I write straight into the computer; I find that a lot easier than trying to type up written notes. In terms of my writing process I’m in between a pantser and a plotter. I do make fairly detailed plans to begin with, and I stick to some of them but veer off on my own tangent if I suddenly have a great idea I want to explore. Usually though the ending is pretty much the same as I planned initially.

4. What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

I hope the readers will love the characters as much as I do and enjoy being able to escape into the story.

5. What advice do you have for those embarking on their writing journey?

Practice! I think as with anything in life we get better at something the more we practice it. I think (and hope!) I’m improving all the time as a writer. Also I’m finding it’s important to keep persevering and not give up at the first slump in sales! Think about how much you want to achieve this dream of being a successful writer. If it’s something you really, really want then you’ve got to keep plugging away at it. Being a self-published author is hard work – but when you realise that lots of people are reading and enjoying your book, that’s a great feeling.

Writer Bio:

I live in the city of Bristol (UK) with my husband and our daft dog Dug. When I’m not writing or working I can usually be found curled up with a book or taking Dug for a walk, trying my best to avoid doing dreaded housework! I also enjoy trips to cafes to meet friends for a chat over a drink and to update them on my writing progress.