Author Interview: Jamie DeBree

It's with great pleasure that I welcome author, Jamie DeBree to Write Outside The Box. She was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to share with us some details in regards to self publishing. She has successfully done this with her newest novella, 'Tempest'.

R- Can you tell us about your latest release 'Tempest'? What inspired you to write 'Tempest'?

J- Tempest is a novella (30k) that follows Professor Charlotte "Charlie" Reynolds and mystery man Jake Nelson on a fast-paced, steamy romantic adventure through the wilderness. My favorite comment people make about it is that they can’t put it down. Believe it or not, the only "inspiration" I had was that I needed another serial novel idea for the blog, one that would be far better than the first one I attempted. So I sat down one afternoon with Holly Lisle's free "Create-A-Plot" mini-course, and literally developed the characters and plot for Tempest out of...nothing. It was very cool, actually, and I still employ those methods whenever I can't figure out a plot structure.

R- Real self publishing, that which is not with a vanity publisher takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Can you describe the process and what led you to make that choice?

J- With Tempest there wasn't really a choice - because I posted the draft as a serial novel in it's entirety on my blog, most publishers would consider "first rights" used up as far as publication goes. So I knew I'd have to self-publish Tempest if I wanted to put it up for sale, and I'd gotten enough good feedback for it that I decided it was worth the effort. I revised it to make it flow as a novella rather than a serialized story and had a friend edit it for me. I bought professional cover art from another friend and formatted the files for print and ebook. It took me longer to figure out *how* to do most things than it did to actually do them. After that was done, it was just a matter of uploading files here and there, proofreading, and that's pretty much it. The actual process really isn't as hard as you might think, with all the tools, templates, and print-on-demand companies available for low or no-cost. The hardest parts for me are the revisions, and marketing. But I’ll admit, self-publishing Tempest was like getting my first tattoo…I want more. It’s a heady feeling being in complete control of your work all the way through publication. ;-)

R- What are your future writing goals? And what are you currently working on?

J- My ultimate goal is to make enough money to quit my day job and write full-time. I'd prefer to do that with my own self-publishing company, but I'll evaluate opportunities as they come my way. Currently I'm preparing another romantic suspense, Desert Heat, for release in January. It's a full novel-length work in the same basic style as Tempest. I'm also working on a series called The Fantasy Ranch series. I'm drafting the first book, The Biker's Wench as a serial on my blog at the moment, and I'll draft the second book, The Minister's Maid during National Novel Writing Month this year. I have a series of short erotic stories planned and started to publish under a pen name, and I'm plotting a suspense/thriller novel to serialize under another pen name after the first of the year. I like variety, and I think the key to making money as a writer is to write well, and write prolifically. The pen names are just a means of categorizing my work so readers don't get confused.

R- What makes Jamie DeBree, Jamie DeBree? (feel free to plug all your blogs and interests!)

J- Um...let's see. Aside from all the writing, I work full-time as a web developer for local county government. Most recently every second of free time I have is taken up by the huge Halloween party my husband and I hold each year. We have a Scaryview Scrapbook blog for Halloween stuff if you care to take a peek (http://scaryview.blogspot.com). I also love nail art, and do weekly manicures that are posted at Nail Art Tuesday (http://nailarttues.blogspot.com).

I adore my husband and my two dogs, Gabriel (a Doberman/lab mix) and Lucy (a German Shepherd/lab mix), I like to crochet though I haven't in a long time, and I'm quite introverted for as social as I am online. I love social networking, and can normally be found on Twitter, Facebook or both on any given evening. I’m also a night person, and even when I have to get up early (6am) for work, I’m generally up until 1am or so.

I love crime dramas on TV, and have recently discovered Dr. Who - fascinating show. I like to watch the same sort of movies as the genres I read - everything from romantic comedies to action/thrillers to a little horror and everything in between. My tastes are quite eclectic.

R- Last but not least, what advice would you give a fellow writer thinking about going the self publishing route?

J- Don't rush it. Take your time, and make sure that not only is your writing the best it can be, but your presentation (cover art and formatting) are as good as you can make them too. There is, sadly, still a stigma attached to self-publishing, and making your work look as professional as possible goes a long way toward convincing people to take a chance on a self-published book. The quality of your writing is what will bring them back for more.

R- That sounds like great advice to me. And thank you Jamie once again for taking the time to do this interview. It was very informative.

J- Tempest is available on Amazon, Smashwords and most other online retailers in ebook form, and in print on Amazon or directly from my web site. Order links can be found at http://jamiedebree.com/orders.html.

For more information on my current projects and links to my blogs, newsletters and social networks, visit my web site at http://jamiedebree.com.

Thanks so much for having me, Rhaina! It was a fun and thoughtful interview, and I really enjoyed it.