Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Nelson.
Hi Megan, I am so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story? How did you get to where you are today?
After my mother passed in June 2023, I needed a project to take my mind off things. I travel a lot for work, and my most lonely times were in hotel rooms while on the road. Those are the times when Mom and I would talk on the phone, sometimes for 5 minutes, sometimes for hours. I started thinking about how it would be interesting to write a book, and I had an idea in my head already about a couple of characters. One night, while on the road, I decided to try it, and 5 short weeks later, I had a full draft of my novel (before editing, etc). I sent it to Missy and Christine, my two best friends, to get their feedback. I never expected it to turn into anything other than a project in my downtime. They both loved it and through their encouragement, I decided to send it to a professional editor and then a few publishers. I went through my favorite novels, looked at all the pages nobody does, and found who they were using. I went with Archway, a part of Simon & Schuster, and have learned a lot. Everyone kept saying, “Writing the book is the easy part,” I didn’t understand that before, but I sure do now. The amount of time it takes to publish, promote on social media, and manage my sales is staggering, but I’m enjoying it. Just yesterday (Feb 13), I submitted the sequel to Archway for publishing, which will be available soon. I am also working on a third book, which is a standalone story. As I find my voice and style, I’m finding my writing is progressing, and I’m spending more and more time writing and coming up with new ideas.
Let’s dig deeper into the story – has it been an easy path, and if not, what challenges have you overcome?
First, trying to figure out where to start. Having an idea in your head and putting it on paper so that it makes sense to say the reader has been an enormous learning curve. Second, there are a lot of ins and outs of publishing, as well as marketing your final product. It’s an everyday task to keep up with, and the amount of time it takes is amazing. Though in the end, I am enjoying it.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I will put my spin on this – everyone asks me if I’ll “quit my day job” if I’m successful. I would not. I am a Regional Business Manager at a large MN-based food manufacturer and love my day job. It allows me to travel and meet new people, which is very satisfying. My work as an author (as weird as it is to call myself that now) is a perfect side gig for me. It allows me to do it on my own free will and gives me something to do while on the road. You can ask anyone, and they will tell you I always like to be busy. I have also had a custom cake business for many years, doing wedding cakes, birthday cakes, and anything else people ask for. Doing things like writing books and making cakes allows me to be creative, and it’s exciting that there is no limit to what that can bring.
What can you tell me about publishing a book?
There are two ways to publish a book – traditional or self-publish. Through my publisher, it is a hybrid of sorts, which allows them to take the printing side and set my books up through 38,000 retailers – while I can focus on writing and not have to worry about managing all of that as a self-publisher. This still allows me to make money on each book and do my own promoting and social media, which has been fun. This is a popular way to go as I research what people do with their books. Although, if I find continued success with more novels, I might pursue more traditional publishing, but we will see as time goes on.
Pricing:
- $24.99 softcover
- $3.99 eBook
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.authormegansena.com
- Instagram: @author.megansena
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554016940037&mibextid=ZbWKwL
- TikTok: @authormegansena
