As is typical with New Year, we like to look back and recap on what we did. We have to say that 2022 was an exciting time for us here at MindBody Publishing. We stepped into our own and really committed to our aspiration to set up a website that supports and facilitates others to realise their dream of self-publication. To that end, we began a ‘MindBody Interviews’ series and posted our video interviews with authors who had already taken that step and were willing to talk about their journey to publication. Each author was so generous with their time and tips, we really wanted to take a look back at what they said. Below is a whistle stop tour highlighting their genuine advice to all you would be authors out there.
Allison Parkinson was our very first interview. We really like what she had to say about her decision to self publish.
“I decided to go down the route of self-publishing my books after doing a course run by a lady called Melissa Addey – the writer in residence at the British Library. I had been thinking that if I don't get my books traditionally published, it means that they're not good enough and they'll never see the light of day. But I went along to that course, and she changed my opinion on self-publishing. She said to think of it almost as a way of opening the publishing world to everybody. Your stories do still have to be good quality, but we can do it ourselves now, we don't have to rely on the traditional route. You can publish it and let the world decide whether they like it or not.”
We absolutely love that. So many of us are worried about being good enough if we take the self-publishing route but, as Allison found out, there is absolutely no need. Allison has now published six books and recently started a podcast.
Next in our series was the dynamic duo Rhyme and Reason, also known as Richard Stevens and Mandy Walker. These fantastic poets came together during lockdown to support themselves and others during that experience. We were mighty impressed to hear how their book, Rhyme and Reason – A Poetic Journey came out of their impromptu podcast series.
“We started to jam and recite our different poems and that's how our podcast came about. We put the podcast onto a platform, and it received some good reviews and exposure. From that, we decided to collaborate and ‘A Poetic Journey’ resulted, covering different themes exploring romance, politics, music and education. It was a veritable pleasure when it came out in eBook form. I think that it's a wonderful thing, to put that book out in the universe.”
So funny how this echoes what Allison had to say. But it also demonstrates how not being afraid to put yourself out there in different forms can pay off. Richard and Mandy are currently collaborating on their second book and we can’t wait to see it!
MindBody Publishing founders Karen and Devon Burke were next in line. These power houses of the MindBody Group already have a lot of achievements under their belts. Karen is a Coach, Mentor and Speaker and Devon has been a qualified Advanced Massage Therapist and Reiki Master for over 25 years. They truly show that you don’t have to be a lifelong writer in order to publish. Simply bring your interests and experience to the page and people will want to read it. Together they have co-authored The Calming Book of Healing Hugs and Building Life Muscles. It was great to hear how MindBody Publishing came about.
“The reason why we launched MindBody publishing was to help people understand that there is always a way to publish a book. Even just to write the story, because we all have a story in us. It’s about the confidence, or the lack of confidence, whether that book will come out or not. So don't be shy. Don't be afraid that you can’t do it. MindBody Publishing is about trying to help people and pointing them in the right direction or creating something with them.”
This was pretty inspirational. Once again we are told not to let that voice in our head tell us we can’t do something. All it takes is a little confidence and support. You’ll definitely find that at MindBody.
Finally, we were truly honoured to have award winning author of Loving the Brothers, Pamela R Haynes come and chat with us. Pamela gave us some really insightful tips, one of which was about being part of a writing community.
“I am part of a two writing communities. They offer real-time support and feedback, and it doesn't feel as isolating as writing by yourself and you can bounce ideas off people. I urge anybody out there, that wants to be an author, to make sure that they're plugged into a writing community.
What was a great tip! Community is what gets us through so many things. We are a community on MindBody Publishing so we do hope you will join us.
We are so glad we did this recap as it has reminded us of the excellent advice generously given by these authors. Do go back and take a look yourselves and stay tuned for more interviews and tips to come in 2023.