From blog to bestseller #wwwblogs

It only seems like a few weeks ago that I did my closing down ceremony on an old year and embraced the new, and yet here we are in June! I vowed back in January to create an uplifting year with plenty of opportunities and a perfect balance between health, life, and writing.

So far I haven’t listened to a word I said, and I’ve thrown myself into 2016 like the Tasmanian devil!

Over on my motivational blog I wrote a post about starting a happiness jar – I’m pleased to say that I’m still doing this, and my little jar is filling up steadily with all the wonderful things that I’ve done and achieved so far this year.

One of the main highlights of my year has to be my author interview in the Writers’ Forum Magazine (June Issue).

Back in January, I received an email from author and journalist, Douglas McPherson, asking if he could interview me for a piece in the magazine. As a long time subscriber, I was thrilled and jumped at the chance, arranging our telephone call for the following week. Then I flicked through my latest copy to see what kind of thing Douglas might ask me.

I’ve read Writers’ Forum for many years, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading all he interviews with a huge variety of authors. The double page spread gets pride of place at the start of the magazine. As I looked at the latest interview, a wonderful piece about the bestselling author, Rachel Abbott, I realised that I must be mistaken. Douglas couldn’t have meant for me to be in that feature. So I flicked through the magazine in search of a smaller, more intimate feature, near the back. But no, the only author interview article was the big spread with the glossy photos.

As I realised that my face (crow’s feet and all) would be displayed in full colour at a 5-inch by 7-inch size, I began to feel a mix of excitement and nerves. This was ‘real’ writer stuff.

Recently, I’ve read articles about self-doubt and how it can plague a writer. Author, Samantha Tonge, wrote a wonderful post about it that you can read HERE. I knew that I had to overcome these feelings if I was going to come across as a professional in my interview.

Unfortunately, when I’m nervous, I have a tendency to babble, and my mouth runs away with itself while tripping over a string of girlie giggles. I was incredibly lucky that Douglas, being a true professional, could filter the important aspects of my interview from the verbal diarrhoea. The end result was a fabulous article about my writing journey; from starting my motivational blog, turning this experience into a book, right through to reaching the number one spot on Amazon’s bestseller list – twice!  

As a self-published writer, I am always very vocal about the support that I receive. This encouragement comes in the form of my editor, publishing partner, online writing community and of course, my friends and family. It also includes the unsung heroes of the writing world – the book reviewers/bloggers. It was so easy to talk about the incredible influence our book reviewers have on the industry when Douglas asked me about book promotion. In fact, it was top reviewer, Rosie Amber who came across my book through a twitter post just after it was released. She read and reviewed it, and then tagged me in on her post. The book was catapulted in front of a huge audience and sales soared.

I run a feature on my blog called the Reader Spot where I interview a book blogger every week to hear about their genre preferences and where they read, buy and review the books they receive. It’s one of my most popular features – you can find all the past interviews HERE.

So, thanks to the beautiful glossy magazine article, the happiness jar received another offering, and I got my five minutes of fame – in full-colour HD might I add!

I’ve received a huge amount of feedback since the interview was published, not just from my family and friends, but from Writers’ Forum readers across the globe. My honest and open manner (babble!) resonated with everyone and the messages of support have been inspiring.

What started as a mission to create an uplifting year full of exciting opportunities and happiness, has manifested in ways I could only ever dream of. Let’s hope that the remainder of the year is just as fabulous.

Take a look at the Writers’ Forum Magazine website HERE. Why not consider signing up for a subscription – get tons of writing advice through your letterbox every month.