Today we're doing a different type of interview, and it should be
enlightening to both writers and readers following the blog.
My guest today is S. A. Soule. Hello! Welcome to
Writing in the Modern Age! It’s such a pleasure to have you here.
Hi, Marie and fellow readers and writers! Thank you for letting me visit. It's an honor to chat with you guys today.
Of course!
Can you tell us a little bit about your company, and how Writing in the Modern Age readers can benefit from it?
It would be my pleasure. I’m a huge supporter of the Indie
author community, I am a developmental editor, and the bestselling author of
the Fiction Writing
Tools series, a collection of guidebooks on self-editing, plotting, blurb
writing, and marketing.
I have over fifteen years of experience on all sides
of the publishing business. I was a Creative Writing major in
college, and I once owned an eBook publishing company where I edited over a
hundred manuscripts, and then I worked as a developmental editor for another
publisher.
In the last five years, I started my
own editing company, Creativity Coaching
Services, and I’ve had the honor of editing
books for a number of successful authors.
Wow, that's great! I had the same major in college. ;)
Sherry, I see you're also a writer. What genre or genres should we
expect to see you in? Do you use a pseudonym?
I
write both nonfiction and fiction. Currently, I’ve
written eleven fiction novels and eight nonfiction titles, and the road to
success has been a long journey.
For fiction, I enjoy writing exciting tales of passionate
romance, epic drama, and thrilling suspense with kick-butt heroines and
drool-worthy heroes. I’m published in a wide range of genres and age groups
from New Adult Romance, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy to light Sci-Fi
Romance for both teens and adults. Many of my books have been on the Amazon
bestseller lists and nominated as top picks in the “Best Paranormal Romance”
categories on numerous review sites.
And no, I don’t write with a pseudonym. I write fiction
under Sherry Soule and nonfiction under S. A. Soule.
Awesome!
So, how was SwoonWorthy Book Covers launched?
Well, I’m a control freak, so I
started learning graphic design a few years ago, and now I create most of my
own covers.
To help indie authors on a
budget, I started offering inexpensive premade covers on my site, SwoonWorthy Book Covers. Right
now, my premades range from $14.99 to $29.99. Occasionally, I also do custom
designs.
I just published a new guide, The Writer’s Guide to Book Cover Secrets, which has a lot of amazing
advice for self-publishers by some of the top design professionals in the publishing
industry.
A common problem is that most writers get confused on the cover's main
job, which is to primarily be 'genre-specific'. If your book isn’t selling and you’ve been
promoting it for months and the reviews are decent, but sales are still dragging,
then it might be time to replace your cover. Even with something standard that
resembles the genre that you write. Or if you’re not sure if your book
cover fits your genre, I suggest studying the design trends on the bestsellers
lists, and visit Goodreads and browse through the book covers in whichever genre and
sub-genres that you write in.
Great! Thanks for the tip!
I can certainly understand wanting to have more of a hand in different parts of the publishing process. It's hard for me to give up control too. ;)
All right. I have another question.
What is a 'Creativity Coach'? How do you intend to expand your services or company in the future?
It’s just a fancy way of saying 'developmental editor', but I call myself a creativity coach because I often do
much more than just editing a manuscript. I help a lot of self-published
writers publish their work through editing, manuscript conversion, cover
design, blurb writing, and promotion.
Next month, I will start
offering manuscript conversions for indie authors who need help converting
their finished work into a professional-looking eBooks and print.
Nice!
And can you
tell us what sets your company apart from other services?
I think I offer reasonable and
flexible rates for my clients. And I’m very passionate about helping other
writers find success.
That is definitely admirable!
What is the one thing that you truly love about your job?
As a writer, I find it very
rewarding and exciting when someone enjoys my brand of storytelling.
And as a service provider, I
find satisfaction in guiding other authors on their writing journey.
I know what you mean!
Let's try some general
questions.
Do you have any favorite authors?
Too many favorites to name, but
Kresley Cole is one of my top favs. Most of my favorite writers are
self-published.
Since I’m currently rewriting
and re-branding an Urban Fantasy series, I’m reading a ton of great UF.
Kresley Cole is talented!
So, how about a different question?
When reading, do you prefer traditional printed books
or ebooks? And why?
No preference. Sometimes if I
love a story, I’ll buy both.
That makes sense! :)
Are
there any words you'd like to impart to writers? Any advice you can give us?
Never stop studying the craft or being open to advice. I’ve
been writing most of my life, and even though I’ve studied the craft for years,
I still love developing my skills as
a writer and learning new ways to improve my storytelling abilities.
My goal as an editor is always for
writers to come away with stronger writing and editing abilities and give their
audience a more personal reading experience.
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| picjumbo, pexels.com |
Sounds good to me!
How can writers obtain a book cover from SwoonWorthy Book Covers, or discuss the possibility of working together on editing their manuscript?
Please visit any of the sites
listed below. My contact info is listed on each site.
S. A. Soule
(Nonfiction) Amazon Profile: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B017Y1KM2I
Creativity
Coaching Services: http://fiction-editing-services.blogspot.com
SwoonWorthy Book
Covers: http://bookcover-designs.blogspot.com
Awesome! Sherry has a really cool job and she sounds like a talented author too!
And both SwoonWorthy and Creativity Coach look like great
places for writers of all stages to check out, which is just about perfect for Writing in
the Modern Age, isn't it?
Thank you for stopping by the blog to tell us all about what you offer to writers and a little about your own work, Sherry!
My pleasure! Thanks for having me!
About S.A. Soule
S. A. Soule is a Creativity Coach, who has years of
experience working with successful novelists. Many of her fiction and
non-fiction books have spent time on the bestseller lists.
Her handbooks in the “Fiction Writing Tools” series are a
great resource for writers at any stage in their career, and they each offer
helpful advice on how to instantly take your writing skills to the next level
and successfully promote your books.
Please feel free to browse her
blog, which has some great tips on creative writing online at: Fiction Writing Tools and visit
her Creativity Coaching Services
site for help with writing book blurbs, fiction editing, and revising your
stories with Deep POV. And don’t forget to browse around SwoonWorthy Book Covers, which
has a large selection of designs in every genre.
Service
Links
Author Links:
Website/Blog: www.sherrysoule.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SherrySouleWriter/Website/Blog: www.sherrysoule.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SherrySoule
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Soule/e/B0104Y33KK/
https://www.amazon.com/S.-A.-Soule/e/B017Y1KM2I/
Publisher: http://disenchantedpublishing.blogspot.com/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+SherrySoule
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sherry_soule/
Publisher: http://disenchantedpublishing.blogspot.com/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+SherrySoule
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sherry_soule/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sherry.soule/
Books:
Writing as Sherry Soule:
Thanks again for letting my stop by!
ReplyDeleteYour site is great, Marie, and I love how you support the indie author community.
My pleasure! Thanks, hon!
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