Author Spotlight - Talli Roland

What is your writing process?

I usually have a spark of an idea, then I sit down and sketch out the major turning points for my main character – what do I want her to learn by the end of the novel? I connect the dots as I write the first draft, and then the hard work begins when I have to make sense of it all!

Everyone who writes knows it's not easy - what methods do you use to keep at it on days when it would be so much easier to go shoe shopping?

Oh, sigh. It would be so much easier to go shoe shopping! Well, I have a very strict writing regime – it’s the only thing that works for me. I sit down at my desk at eight in the morning, and I write at least three-thousand words a day.

Keeping fit: Do you have an exercise regime to counterbalance all those hours sitting at a computer?

Er . . . sort of! I tend to go in fits and starts. I love jogging, and I’ll have a few weeks when I go religiously. Then something will get in the way, and I’ll be right back to ground zero.

Do you believe in writer's block?

This is a contentious issue, but no, I don’t. There are times when writing is harder than others, but I treat it like a job. I sit down at the desk and pound away at the keyboard, fervently hoping something usable comes out! Giving myself permission to write rubbish has been really helpful to push me through those tough times.

Have you ever used an incident from real life in a book? If so, did it get you into trouble?

Oh, yes. In fact, there are a few incidents in Build A Man, my latest novel, that are loosely based on things I experienced during my time working at a five-star spa in central London. I’ve changed details significantly, though, so I haven’t got in trouble.

In what way is being a published writer different to how you thought it would be?

I had dream that published writers are confident, secure, and able to write exactly what they want. Ha! The reality is that nothing in the publishing world is secure, and confidence is hard to come by when you’re putting a product out to the public. I have learned that you can’t please everyone.

Promotion is no longer a dirty word. In what ways do you strive to reach more readers?

Social media has been the key for me to reach my readers and spread the word about my novels. Twitter, Facebook, blogging . . . they’ve all been critical for my promotional campaigns.

What is your top promo tip for other authors?

Make it fun – and have fun doing it. The less work you make it for people to spread the word and the more innovative and interesting you make your promotional efforts, the more likely people are to remember you and your novels.

What did you learn while writing this book?

I learned that I LOVE writing in first person. My previous novels were penned in third person, so this was a new thing for me.

What was the most fun part of writing this book?

I had a lot of fun writing Build A Man, mainly because my main character, Serenity, gets to say to the wealthy clinic clients many of the things I’d have liked to when I was working in a similar environment!

And just for fun: what would your hero’s honeymoon destination of choice be?

He’s a fairly down to earth bloke who enjoys nature, so I’m going to say Wales. Great question!

Slave to the rich and the rude, cosmetic surgery receptionist Serenity Holland longs for the day she's a high-flying tabloid reporter. When she meets Jeremy Ritchie -- the hang-dog man determined to be Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor by making himself over from head to toe and everything in between -- Serenity knows she's got a story no editor could resist. With London's biggest tabloid on board and her very own column tracking Jeremy's progress from dud to dude, Serenity is determined to be a success. But when Jeremy's surgery goes drastically wrong and she's ordered to cover all the car-crash goriness, Serenity must decide how far she really will go for her dream job.


Buy Links: Amazon, Amazon UK

No Magic Bullet: Promoting Your Book

Today we have a guest blogger, Talli Roland, who made a splash with her debut novel on 1st December by taking on Amazon for a day. We've invited her here today to talk about, unsurprisingly, book promotion.

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A big thank you to the Minxes for inviting me back to discuss book promotion! This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart, after I launched a successful web campaign that propelled my debut novel The Hating Game into the top 100 on Amazon UK Kindle for over eighty days.

I wish I could provide three easy steps to guarantee a book’s success. But the fact of the matter is, what works for one book might not work for another; and what one author is comfortable with, another might not be. One thing is for certain, though: promotion takes a lot of time and effort; it must begin well before the book is launched; and it must be done consistently.

These days, every author is aware of the importance of Twitter, Facebook and blogging. But there’s no point to any of it without using the media consistently. Take, for example, my Web Splash, where I was able to get over 500 people signed up on social media to talk about my novel on its launch day. This didn’t happen overnight. It happened over months and months of interacting with people and time spent building relationships, well before my novel was due out.

Every day, I visit and comment on more than fifty blogs, getting to know people on a personal level. Every day, I’m on Twitter and Facebook. It doesn’t need to take masses of energy and you don’t have to sink endless amounts of time into it, but showing interest and talking to writers and readers is critical to get people on board to help spread the word. And more than that – it’s fun!

Once your book is out in the wild, there are a few things you can do to help get it noticed. On Amazon, make use of tags. By adding tags, you can ensure your book turns up in product searches. The more people who tag you in that category, the higher it will appear in the search. If you can, buy your book with a similar best-selling product, so the two are linked and will show up in ‘customers who bought this, also bought…’. Complete your Amazon author profile and make sure all your books are listed. If your book is on Kindle, you should also consider posting about it in the relevant sections of the Kindle Users Forum (UK) or Kindleboards (US) to let Kindle users know it’s out there.

If sales have slowed and you want to get your book noticed again, I’ve found giveaways a great way to do so. Goodreads allows authors to offer up free books, and giveaways there often attract hundreds of potential readers. While you might be limited to the number of copies you can offer, think of all the potential readers who will hear about your book and may go out and buy it, even if they don’t win. And don’t forget to promote your giveaway on Facebook, Twitter and blogs, too. The more opportunities you can create to get people talking about your book, the better.

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to book promotion. But by using social media effectively and building relationships, you’ll have a ready-made platform to help spread the word when the time comes.

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Talli Roland has three loves in her life: rom coms, coffee and wine. Born and raised in Canada, Talli now lives in London, where she savors the great cultural life (coffee and wine). Despite training as a journalist, Talli soon found she preferred making up her own stories – complete with happy endings. The Hating Game is her first novel and she is currently working on her second, Watching Willow Watts. Talli blogs here and can be found on Twitter here.

Author Spotlight - Talli Roland

Very exciting guest here today, it's Talli Roland! At the time of writing, Talli's debut novel, The Hating Game is still flying high on Amazon in the top 100, and she's currently hogging the number one spot for Women's Literary Fiction and Literary Fiction, and the number two spot for Humour. I wish I could tell you that even though she's a fantastic writer and an e-book sensation, she's horrid, but alas, the very opposite is true! Anyway, we put Talli under the spotlight, and here are her answers to the minxy questions...

1. Where were you in your writing career 5 years ago?

Five years ago, I wasn’t even writing! I had a very demanding job in recruitment, and I was working almost 10 hours days. By the time I got home, it was all I could do to crack open the bottle of wine and drown my corporate sorrows. It was only after I stopped working full-time that I finally got down to writing seriously.

2. Where did you get the idea from for this particular book?

I love reality shows – they’re kind of like a modern-day Coliseum – so I already had plenty of ‘research’ under my belt. I knew I wanted to write a novel featuring the phenomenon of reality TV, but the show in my book had to be something different than what was out there. I conducted more research (yay!), and finally the idea of having my main character date her way through her exes came to mind. It had such great possibilities for conflict as well as character growth. Originally, I wanted to call it The Ex Factor (in homage to the lovely Simon Cowell) but sadly that title had been taken. I’m really happy with the title we did come up with, though; I love that it plays off The Dating Game.

3. Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?

Hopefully, still writing fun, humorous romantic fiction, with a few more published novels under my belt. I try to write at least two drafts a year to keep the creative juices – and the sense of discipline – going.

4. Which was the last book you read that you wish you'd written?
Oh, there are so many. I really enjoyed Katy Carter Wants a Hero by Ruth Saberton, because it deals with some serious issues in a very warm, comical way. I also fell in love with The Time Traveller’s Wife – I’m in awe of the serious plotting that must have gone on there!

5. Was there any particular author or book that made you want to be a writer?

I don’t remembering ever not wanting to write. But if there is one very influential character who gave my creative impulses validity, it’s Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. I loved that she was always scribbling things down, like me. Since the whole Anne series took place very close to where I grew up in Canada, it had an added impact.

6. Do you find writing love scenes giggle-worthy or cringe-worthy?

Oh, definitely cringe-worthy. I’ve never written a very detailed one, but I’m always conscious of sounding too cheesy or over-the-top. Every time I contemplate going into more detail, I feel like I’m a naughty schoolgirl about to be rapped on the knuckles for doing something inappropriate.

7. What's the most romantic moment of your life so far?

I’m going to have to say when my husband proposed – I had absolutely no idea it was even in the works! It was the night of our fifth anniversary together, and he took me back to the same concert hall then the same restaurant on London’s South Bank. Afterwards, we walked over to the spot by the Thames where we’d had our first kiss, and he popped the question. I was so surprised that I laughed (not so romantic) and asked him if he was serious! And then, of course, I said yes.

8. What do you wish you'd known about being an author before you were pubbed?

I wish I’d known how stressful it is to put your work out there for public judgment! Sure, I heard authors talk about it, but it never really hit home until my first novel was about to be published. Still, every little bit of stress is totally worth it when you hear someone say how much they enjoyed your novel.

9. What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

The best piece of advice I’ve heard is from Nicola Morgan, who runs a wonderful website called Help! I Need a Publisher. She said it’s not enough to be persistent – you need to be able to learn from your mistakes as a writer to get better! It sounds obvious, but that was a light-bulb moment for me. I’d written a few novels without really taking the time to assess what I was doing wrong and how to improve.

10. Tell us about your latest release.

The Hating Game features Mattie Johns, a man-eating woman who decides to go on a dating game-show to win the prize money she desperately needs to save her recruitment business. She thinks she’ll sail through the show no problem… but little does she know the male contestants aren’t just anonymous strangers, they’re her very unhappy exes. Add in an ambitious executive producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end, and you have the recipe for lots of on- and off-screen drama!

11. What’s next for you?

Up next is Watching Willow Watts, about a country girl whose small English village is overrun when she becomes a YouTube sensation overnight. It’s due out in November as a paperback and the e-book will be released a couple months before.

Thank you for joining us on the Minxes today, Talli. The Hating Game can be found here.