Indie Author Interview with Joshua C. Chadd
One of the goals of my blog is to provide helpful information to writers and aspiring authors, and who better to share insight into the writing and self-publishing process than the authors themselves? I’m excited to share my first author interview with you. I talked with Joshua C. Chadd about his experiences with self-publishing, the tools he uses in the process, and the advice he has for writers. Links to his website, books, and Facebook page are at the bottom of the interview.
When did you start writing, and what inspires you to write the stories you do?
I started writing way back in middle school and still have those very rough stories. Some of those old works might be resuscitated now with the skills I’ve gained, but most need to stay dead.
I have a lot of inspiration for writing, but mainly I like to write the things that fascinate me that I can’t do in real life. Ex: Shoot zombies or cast magic from my fingertips. So with that I gravitate towards science fiction and fantasy stories. Some authors that have inspired me have been R.A. Salvatore, Christopher Paolini, and Brandon Sanderson.
Did you choose to self-publish from the start, or did you seek traditional publishing first?
After finishing my first manuscript I decided, with the encouragement of my wife, to look into getting it published. But I didn’t like the idea of the traditional publishers and losing my creative freedom and taking such a small royalty cut. I began to research self-publishing after talking with a bush pilot friend in Alaska. I found Joanna Penn’s website, The Creative Penn, and downloaded her free ebook about self-publishing. It was exactly what I needed and opened my mind to the possibilities.
How many books have you self-published and in what genre(s)?
I have one series of five books published that are post-apocalyptic. Plus I’m published in four anthologies. I am working on a fantasy trilogy next.
On what platforms do you publish and why did you choose these?
Amazon all the way, baby! I feel like there can be a benefit to going wide, but when getting started Amazon is the easiest and best way to go. Mainly because of their KDP Select program (called Kindle Unlimited on the reader side), which is like Netflix or Spotify for books. People pay a monthly fee and can read any books within the program and then Amazon pays the author for the amount of page reads their books got within that month. 70-80% of my income is through this program with the other being direct sales. And you have to be exclusive to Amazon to be in the program.
What is your process for feedback and editing before you publish?
I have listened, read, watched, and discussed many tactics on writing and a few have stuck with me and work well. My first draft I write fast and furious with “the door closed” as Stephen King says. The first draft is for me, not others. Then I let it set for a few days to a couple weeks to let the “ink cool,” then I go back through on a story pass, looking for character and plot issues. After that I will send it to my beta readers/critique group to get some other opinions and views.
While they’re reading it, I’m lucky enough to have an amazing wife and we sit down together and go through it line by line as I read the whole manuscript out loud. Here we look for more story issues and also grammar and spelling. After we are done and I get the notes from my beta readers, it is ready for my editor. She goes through it a couple times, then I have some proofreaders after we have the final version to hunt down those pesky typos. It’s a long process, but one that has worked well for me!
How do you market your books?
I use AMS (Amazon Marketing Services) ads a lot, but I also do newsletter swaps and other promos with authors and Facebook groups. I plan to dig into Facebook ads soon as they can work very well.
How do you like to engage your readers?
I have my newsletter that keeps my readers up to date, as well as a Facebook page, Facebook group, and Instagram. That is one of the bonuses of being a self-published author—it is easy stay in touch with your readers and they love it when you respond to them personally. I’ve gotten to know quite a few of my readers and some are even friends now and I love that about this industry!
What do you feel are the biggest advantages of self-publishing?
You as the author have ALL the control—pricing, marketing, cover design, editing, and everything else. You also get 100% of the royalties, granted your expenses are quite a bit higher. Being able to be in touch with your readers personally (as mentioned above) is a huge bonus!
I also consider this next one an advantage but others I know don’t like it: being self-published is like running a small business. It takes a lot of work, but it pays off in the end and I love it!
What do you feel are the biggest challenges of self-publishing?
You have all the control AND all the responsibilities. There are some ways to delegate, but you will be required to know the ins and outs of the industry, how to publish, research your keywords, and all the rest. It’s a lot of work and for some that is either not an option or not something they want to do. And I cannot stress this enough: if you do not put the hard work into it, you will not be successful. It takes a lot of work and somewhat of a business mind. But if done right it’s very rewarding and a crazy ride!
What are the most valuable lessons you've learned as a writer?
It’s hard to put anything specific down as I’ve learned so much from so many different sources that it’s hard to repeat here, but I’ll try. First and foremost, no matter how many tips and tricks you learn and implement the only way to hone your craft is to write. Even more important is FINISHING a book and then going through the editing and critique group process. I’ve learned more lessons from what I did wrong in my first few books than anything anyone has ever told me.
Also, I’ve heard this said by both Stephen King and Terry Brooks: only take the writing advice that resonates with you. Yes, there are hard rules when talking about grammar and just writing a good story, but be careful when someone tells you how to do it a certain way. We are all different people and we all write in a slightly different way. Embrace it and it will make life so much easier for you.
What tools or programs do you feel are the most useful in writing or publishing?
I do all my formatting in Microsoft Word, but I have heard Draft2Digital has some good formatting tools. I also use a program called Calibre to turn my doc file into an ebook. It is easy to use and works well. I also know a lot of people like Scrivener but I travel too much so having things that I can do on my phone was a necessity (I upload my doc to Google Drive while away from the desk).
I also think having somewhere online to keep your notes and, especially with sci-fi and fantasy, your world-building details. For that I use OneNote and an awesome new website called World Anvil, which makes the world-building process even more amazing!
It can be discouraging when a writer publishes a novel that doesn't have commercial success. What advice do you have for writers who get discouraged?
Keep writing! Seriously though, your book wasn’t as successful as you wanted it to be, so what? Unless you are a one trick pony you have more ideas, so get them down on paper. AND while you continue to hone your craft by practice also hone your business mind and learn what else you can do to be more successful the next time. Two sites have been the most beneficial to me: Kindlepreneur and The Creative Penn. So start doing some research as you write your next book on how to self-publish better.
Any additional thoughts?
I said it before and I’ll say it again: self-publishing can be very rewarding and successful, but you have to put the work into it. It is like running a small business. You have to learn to better your craft with writing AND stay updated and continue to learn where the industry is going. It can be overwhelming at times, but stick with it and you will reap the rewards.
And finally, what are you like outside of writing?
I am a Jesus Freak and follower of the Way. As an adventurous nerd, I love the outdoors and when I’m not found high in the mountains of Alaska, I can be observed living on the rolling plains of eastern Montana with my wife, guns and two katanas. I have a passion for all things imaginary and find inspiration in the wilderness, away from all the distractions of life. Some of my other passions include hunting, shooting, board and video games, hard rock, movies, reading and The Walking Dead.
