Self-Publishing Resources

Posted By Sue Collier on August 29, 2011

Your name: Julie Achterhoff

Your website/blog: http://julieachterhoff.tk /  http://earthwalker.tk

Your bibliography: Native Vengeance, Quantum Earth, Deadly Lucidity, and Earthwalker

1. What is your background? I was brought up in San Francisco during the 60s, which I think must’ve made quite an impression on me because I ended up having five great kids, most of them at home with a midwife, went organic way back in ’80 in Chicago, and have been into alternative health for the most part. I was a homebirth midwife myself for 17 years, then went back to college to get my RN degree. Unfortunately, my back started giving me problems, so I had to give that up and started doing what I really love: writing.

2. What led you to self-publishing? I met a friend on Facebook who had self-published two books with the help of his “team” as he called it. He said for $500 I could get my latest book published within a week. His team would do all the work, making sure it got on all the right sites, such as Amazon and Smashwords in the correct format and in e-book or print form. I was sold, especially when he broke down the numbers for me about how I would make more money selling my book in e-form for $2.99 than I had previously made with my now ex-publisher for a print book at $16.99.

3. What have you found to be the biggest challenge in self-publishing? Frankly, I haven’t found a one. I’ll let you know if something comes up!

4. What has been the biggest surprise about self-publishing? The biggest surprise was how much more of the income goes to the one who actually did the lion’s share of the work: the author.

5. What inspires you? My dreams, especially my nightmares. I’ve had some doozies! Anyone who reads my books will quickly find that out.

6. Describe your writing process. Once I get an idea in my head I let it cook a bit until I can’t stand but to put it down on paper. (I actually use a laptop, but you get my drift.) Then I write like the dickens. The imagination I’ve been endowed with creates a landslide in my brain, and I can sometimes hardly write fast enough to keep up with it. Then there are the wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-sessions. Those I could do without, believe me. It’s like when an idea hits me I have to write it down for fear it will be lost forever. I could never write the same book over again. It would come out completely different.

7. How do you stay disciplined? That’s a tough one for me. I’ve never been very disciplined in any area of my life, including writing. Luckily, I love doing it or it wouldn’t get done. I don’t stick to any particular schedule. I had enough of that in school. I would not do well in the armed services! I write pretty much what I want when I want, which is usually a lot.

8. What is your favorite self-marketing idea? I guess doing radio shows is my favorite, but only if the host(s) has some halfway decent questions, instead of just saying, “So… you’re a writer?” And I say, “Um, yeah.” Then dead air for several eons or so. That’s just unbearable. But really, I’ve mostly had good experiences with radio, and it reaches a pretty large audience who actually get to hear your voice and feel like they get to know you a bit and might like to read your stuff.

9. What advice do you have for burgeoning self-publishers? I would have to say find a good mentor who has had success with it themselves by getting all those little ducks in a row. Then educate yourself as much as you can about the process. That makes it so much easier. Make friends with other self-published authors, including J.A. Konrath, who is really a great guy and very approachable.

10. When you’re not writing what do you do for fun?Well, for the past six months my boyfriend and I have had a goal to watch every single Stargate: SG-1 from start to finish. It’s the best! I also love spending time with my kids and their kids. Yup. I’m that old. Me and my guy are usually up to something, too. He’s into flying trick kites and model airplanes, and I pretend to try, but I don’t think I have the gene for that kinda stuff. We live way up on the north coast of California between the Pacific Ocean and the amazing redwood trees, so there are plenty of places to wander around in awe. Now that summer is here we’ll be having the yearly festivals, which are always a lot of fun. The people here are really great, and know how to have a good time.

11. What project are you currently working on? I woke up in the middle of the night after this particularly bizarre dream and knew it was a keeper. I wrote down everything while it was fresh in my mind, and even started writing the first chapter. Right now it’s in there percolating away until it’s ripe for the perfect story. I don’t have a title yet, but it’s about a reporter assigned to do a story on the latest drug craze, which transports the user to other planes of existence. It’s extremely addictive, like opium. There are special places one goes to experience this drug. It was accidentally discovered by scientists trying to find a way to put the human body in stasis for long periods of time, such as for space travel to distant planets. But it’s still very new and has a few interesting glitches that haven’t quite been worked out yet. I was immediately very psyched about the whole idea because I haven’t heard of anything like it before, and I’m excited about writing it.

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