Visit her blog at www.gretabondieumaitre.blogspot.com.
Thanks for letting
us interrogate interview you! Can you give us a
go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?
I love to tell stories and how could I resist seeing my name on one of those glossy books I love so much!
Tell us (we won’t
tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be?
I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?
Not half as easy as I thought it would be! Writing is a lot of work, personal prohibitions, keeping to schedules… but it is very rewarding when someone walks up to you at a book signing event and thanks you for writing your own book.
Which route did you
take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low
down on what’s that like?
I went self-publishing because I didn’t have the patience it took to find a traditional publisher. And yes! It is hard when you care about what you put out there. We’re talking about days, sometimes months of reading your own book and correcting your own errors before sending it off to be professionally edited. Then all the “little” details of finding a suitable title and book cover‒whew! But as I said before, when all that is done and over with, it’s worth every bead of sweat.
What’s the
snarkiest thing you can say about the publishing industry (e.g. rejections, the
long wait, etc.)
The infinite wait when it comes to traditional publishers…
Tell us for real
what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book
written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?
My mom wonders if it’s possible to be more patient. My son doesn’t understand why I spend so much time on my computer (until he sees the printed book) and my partner wonders what he has done to deserve this.
What was the
craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing process?
Sending off the wrong version of the manuscript and having to go through the whole process twice!
How about the
social networks? Which ones do you
believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?
I’m not big on social networks but I think Facebook and Twitter help a lot. I’m not sure about which ones to avoid though.
Book sales. Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)? How are you making the sales happen for you?
That’s a touchy subject for most self‐published authors. Lots of advertising is required to get books noticed and advertising costs a lot. But there are cheaper ways to advertise such as interviews with newspapers, book magazines, local radio and television which doesn’t cost a thing but is aired only once. Creating book signing events or using established events to create buzz about your work is also very helpful and the sales are normally easier to make there as people prefer to buy a book directly from the author. Besides book events, I try to sell at least one novel per day on a face‐to‐face basis.
What is one thing
you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?
“I love Life!” Too often we like to scream about the bad things in life whereas we have all it takes to make it enjoyable.
Okay, too much
sugar for you today! Here’s a nice cup
of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves
roll in. Now…can you tell us what you
love about being a published author and how all those things above doesn’t
matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t
have it any other way?
(lol) You’re right about that. Being self-published is really hard work but in the end it makes me feel like I’ve achieved something on my own. Hearing my son say how much he is proud of his mommy for having the audacity to write and publish her own book fills me with joy like no other.
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