Today I’m super excited to share an interview I had with fellow indie fantasy author Kristen S. Walker! Kristen was one of the first indie authors I connected with back when I was preparing to publish my first novel, Blue Rabbit, and she was preparing to publish her first novel, Small Town Witch. We supported each other, enjoyed each other’s work, and connected over our passion for portraying LGBTQ characters in our novels. Kristen is an awesome member of the indie author community and a fantastic writer.

When Kristen began to gain more momentum with her books a few months ago, I was super excited for her. I’m so happy for more people to read her stories and meet her characters!

Authors who make it big right away get all the attention, but authors who stick it out and slowly build towards success deserve the spotlight just as much. I hope you find Kristen’s story as inspiring as I did!

Jimena: Why did you decide to self-publish initially? Did you consider traditional publishing?

Kristen: When I was younger, I dreamed about becoming an author, and I thought the only way was traditional publishing, so I always assumed I’d try that. But as technology changed, I heard about self-publishing and the idea appealed to me. I knew that I wanted the freedom to write the stories that I loved, the ones I wished I could read but never found from traditional publishers. And once I tried it, I never looked back.

J: What was your first experience with self-publishing? What went well and what would you do differently now?

K: I spent a lot of time researching about writing a book and formatting a novel, but I didn’t actually know much about publishing itself when I first started. The first book I published, Small Town Witch, was edited by family members and had a cover that I made myself. I didn’t know anything about advertising or writing the blurb. I just threw it up on Amazon and waited to see what happened. It had a little bit of success when I made it free but it was slow to sell and some people gave it negative reviews. I don’t think the right people were finding it, readers who liked teen witch books. So I played around with different things. I gave away review copies, paid for some promotions, tinkered with things like the blurb and the keywords, and I gradually saw the sales increase, especially as I followed it up with more books in the series.

The thing that surprises me is how much positive response I got even with that first amateur book. Six years later, I’ve polished it up a little with a professionally-made cover, professional editing, and a better blurb, but the basic book is still the same. I think my writing has grown a lot, but my first book is still my best-selling work, even when I don’t advertise it. Something that I did made people love it. So I think no matter how hard you work on the packaging, it has to be a story that people enjoy or the book won’t sell well. I try to keep focusing on telling a good story and having fun with the process like I did with my first book so I can keep readers coming back for more.

J: How has your writing, editing, and marketing process changed over the years since your first published book?

K: Almost everything has changed. I’ve gotten a lot faster and more efficient with a lot of things by planning out what I’m going to do, setting aside time to work every day, and using what I’ve learned. I also hire people to do some of the work for me, like editing and making the cover. That frees me up to spend more time on writing. For marketing, I try to keep a balance so I’m not constantly worrying about it. I try to find specific times to focus on it, like when I’m starting a new series or when there’s a particular event that relates with one of my novels, like I just did a Halloween promotion for Small Town Witch. Witches are always popular at Halloween and the story also reaches its climax on the holiday, so it’s a good fit. But now I’ll take a few months off from marketing so I can spend time writing.

J: What has been your experience switching between three different series? How have the process and outcomes varied between writing and publishing the different series?

K: My first series, the Fae of Calaveras, continues to be popular years after I’ve finished it. I had a lot of fun writing it. It felt like the books almost wrote themselves! I know YA Urban fantasy is popular, but that also makes it competitive, so I’m surprised that my books haven’t gotten lost among the many other great series out there. But I also put a lot of personal stuff in those books, so maybe it’s a little different from other books out there. I’ve always thought about going back to this world, so I’m actually about to release a fourth series which is a spin-off. It’s about the main character’s daughter, and it’s going to a location that I’ve always wanted to write about: Santa Cruz! I’ll be launching Santa Cruz Witch Academy in January next year.

On the other hand, my second series, Wyld Magic, has been almost a total opposite. I really wanted to write Epic Fantasy, but it’s a tough genre because it usually has detailed world-building, lots of characters, longer books, and complex issues like politics. The first book in that series, A Flight of Marewings, took twice as long to write as Small Town Witch, and it hasn’t gotten easier with time. Worse, it hasn’t had the same response from readers. Some people like it, but they don’t love it, and it mostly gets ignored. I thought it would take a second book to take off, but A Pride of Gryphons did even worse. This is really disappointing because I’d planned on making it a huge series with lots of spin-offs. But you can’t guarantee that readers will want something even if you work really hard on it. I’ve put it on the back-burner. I still want to tie up the loose ends, so I’ll eventually write a third book to end the series, but I’m not very motivated to put in the extra effort for a book that probably won’t have a lot of readers. From this series, I’ve learned that I was too ambitious and my writing isn’t very popular with adults.

So I went back to YA for my third series, Divine Warriors, and felt a lot happier writing for teens. That book, Riwenne & the Mechanical Beasts, is actually a story that I started writing when I was thirteen! I’d been re-writing and tinkering with it for twenty years but I finally decided to take the plunge and finish it for publication. I also decided to change the genre a little and make it steampunk, something I’ve always wanted to play with. The first book didn’t catch on, but with the second (and some new covers), it really took off. It’s actually been outselling my witch books this year which is a first.

Each series has taught me something different. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that I should write what’s fun for me—not trying to follow a cool trend or trying to impress people by writing more “serious” books. I think my enthusiasm, and writing from the heart, is what appeals to readers. For me, that means writing queer teen girls with magic. I’m happier now that I know where my comfort zone is and it’s helped my sales, so it’s a win-win!

J: You’ve recently had your most successful book launch ever. Congratulations! Share a bit about it. What was different from previous books and book launches you’ve done? What was the same?

K: Some things came together for me, like I got my best set of covers ever, I was writing the second book in a series (Riwenne & the Bionic Witches), I was really enthusiastic about the story, and I was drawing on previous experience. I’d also launched a new mailing list that I was building through a new site called Story Origin so I had a whole new audience of readers, and I leveraged that by swapping book mentions with other authors. But probably the biggest thing I did was I actually hired someone else to do the heaviest work of the launch, which was arranging lots of promos with sites like BookBarbarians and The Fussy Librarian. (I’m still waiting to be accepted for the legendary BookBub.) The service is called Book-Rank.com and it really helped because they organized the promos six weeks in advance. When my book launched, I was actually sort of on summer vacation, visiting with family. But I could relax because I knew everything had been handled and it would just run automatically. I will definitely be using this service the next time I want a big push.

J: If you could give one piece of advice to authors about to self-publish their first book, what would it be?

K: Don’t be afraid if things don’t work out the first time. You can always keep learning and trying new things, as long as you don’t give up. Books last forever, so even if they don’t take off when you first release them, it can always find its way to new readers.

J: If you could give one piece of advice to authors who have been self-publishing for a while but haven’t yet encountered as much success as they want, what would it be?

K: Join an author community and ask for help! There is so much information available and a lot of it is free. You can also just observe in a community and see what other people are doing. These are different from writing communities, where people will just give you feedback on your writing. I mean you should find a group of other authors who are actively self-publishing and talking about it. There are some public ones, like the Writers Cafe on Kboards, and others you might need to request to join on Facebook or somewhere else. But it’s helpful to see how other people are working because there’s lots of different paths to success and you can get ideas of what might work for you. You might also find out about opportunities to work with other authors, like anthologies you can submit to or cross-promotions. I think we all do better when we work together, not try to compete against each other. I’m grateful for all the others who have helped me so I try to pay it forward.

J: Anything else you want to mention regarding your self-publishing journey that I haven’t asked about?

K: Writing has been my lifelong dream and I’m grateful that there are so many opportunities for me to share my stories with others while also receiving money for my work. It’s been hard to find a balance between the art and the business sides, but I think that I keep learning and growing all the time. I’m proud of every book I’ve put out, whether it sold hundreds of copies or less than ten. Even when I’ve gotten bad reviews or had other setbacks, I haven’t stopped trying because I love what I do. And I know that books are perennial with a huge market so there is always room for more authors to succeed. It makes me happy to see other authors succeeding, too, and loving their work. I also love to read and there’s a never-ending supply of great books at my fingertips!

Check out all of Kristen’s series!

The Fae of Calaveras Trilogy (YA Urban Fantasy)

Small Town Witch

She wanted her freedom. Her mother wanted to keep her safe. But if her mother is the more powerful witch, how can Rosa ever break free?

Teen witch Rosa thought she had a happy family. But after her mother convinces her that sixteen is too young to start dating, she’s not so sure. Why does Mom win every argument when Rosa fights for her independence? Why do her father and sister listen to Mom’s opinions on everything? Maybe they give up too easily, or there’s something more sinister at work.

As she investigates her own house, Rosa finds hidden spells everywhere, each one with creepy powers. Her mother sees nothing wrong with invading their privacy, from tracking their movements to reading private diaries. That’s dangerous when Rosa has a secret she’s afraid to tell—she’s bisexual. But when Rosa tries to confront her mother, her own mind betrays her.

To break the spells, Rosa will need help from her friends, both magical and human, along with her strange Fae mentor. But if she learns the truth, will her mother’s dark secrets tear her family apart?

Santa Cruz Witch Academy (YA Urban Fantasy/Magic Academy)

The Reluctant Witch: Year One

A girl who just wants to be invisible. A threat only she can stop. Will she leave the shadows to save her school? 

Brie doesn’t want to be a witch. Her grandma is infamous for almost destroying her small town in Calaveras County, and her mom is famous for saving it. Growing up in the shadows of two powerful witches, she knows that everyone is going to judge her for her family’s reputation. How can a girl just have a normal life? 

Maybe getting away from the small town gossip will help. Brie agreed to try out witch school for two years if she can go somewhere else. In Santa Cruz, the only person she knows is her best friend, Damian. She plans to fade into the background and just graduate so she can go to the art school of her dreams. 

But then Brie notices suspicious activity by the Boardwalk. Mermaids are plotting to attack Santa Cruz Witch Academy, yet no one listens to her warnings. If she tries to be a hero, she can kiss her obscurity goodbye. 

She must embrace her magical legacy—or watch her school wash out to sea.

Divine Warriors (YA Steampunk Fantasy)

Riwenne & the Mechanical Beasts

A clumsy school girl with the magic of a goddess. Mechanical beasts attacking her friends. Can she become a divine warrior and save the floating city?

Fifteen-year-old Riwenne is bad at school, chronically late, and lost in a daydream, but she has help from her best friend, Nexita—until the two of them get separated. During the mysterious test on Choosing Day, they both wanted to become priestesses, an important job in the sky city. But only Riwenne became a novice, and Nexita was chosen by the engineers. Now she’s on her own for the first time in her life.

When a talking bird tells her that her best friend is under attack, Riwenne faces her worst fear. She must become a divine warrior and save her best friend from mechanical beasts!

As she juggles warrior training and priestess duties, Riwenne can’t let herself get distracted. She must recruit other warriors and lead the quest to find out the mystery behind the mechanical beasts, but most of all, she must follow her heart.

If she fails, the gods will judge her.

Wyld Magic (Epic Fantasy)

A Flight of Marewings

Marewings: part horse, part demon, all monster. Only the bravest riders dare to catch and tame them, and most die in the attempt. Not the best choice for a young woman who only knows how to run a farm.

But Korinna is running out of options. Her father, the duke of Kyratia City, danced himself to death in a strange madness. He wanted her to marry his warlord, Galenos, and inherit his titles. But the power-hungry Council seized control of the city and left her with nothing. Her father’s ghost haunts her, demanding more.

The duke’s mage warns that the dancing madness is spreading while the usurping Council does nothing. Galenos promises to take the city back by force, but then he won’t need Korinna. She’s not strong enough to fight alongside him—unless she becomes a marewing rider.

One chance to catch a marewing and learn to fly. Or her father’s spirit could haunt her forever.