5 Questions About Writing With . . . Victoria Walker
Victoria Walker has been writing romantic fiction since a visit to Iceland in 2014 inspired her first novel. 
As well as writing, she spends her free time dressmaking, knitting and reading an inordinate amount of contemporary romance. She lives in the Malvern Hills.
How do you discipline/motivate yourself to write and do you set daily targets?
When I start a new book, I set myself a deadline for completing the first draft and use Pacemaker.press to work out how many words per day I need to write. Typically, this ends up being around 1200 words per day, but if I do fewer or extra, it changes the total for the subsequent days. Because I have a day job, I need the discipline of knowing I have this target to meet every day, otherwise it won’t get done. Also, it stops me from being overwhelmed by thinking of the total word count as a target.
What are the most important qualities required by a writer? Do you have them?
I think discipline is one of the most important things, and I have that quality, although it doesn’t come easily! Belief in yourself and what you’re writing is also important, especially if you’re indie published, or a debut novelist and don’t yet have the validation of a publisher or readers to know you’re on the right track. I’ve always loved the saying – ‘the only difference between someone who’s published and someone who isn’t, is persistence’. That’s definitely true.
How do you market yourself and your books?
I started out doing everything but have narrowed it down over the past year, concentrating on what’s working for me. I have an author Facebook page, which came to life when I started doing Facebook ads. People who see the ads follow my page, so the ads have had that unintended consequence as well as generating sales. After three years, I have stopped doing Amazon ads because the Facebook ads work so much better for me. They’ve boosted sales of my Icelandic Romance series by at least 100% since I started using them in July. It’s trial and error to find what works, but they’ve been a game changer for me. I also offer a bonus epilogue in the back of most of my books in return for a newsletter sign-up. This has been very successful, and I get a lot of engagement from my subscribers. For my latest release, I had a huge (for me) number of pre-orders just off the back of the newsletter.
Which writing resources have you found useful, e.g., books, courses, organisations, websites etc.?
Most of my knowledge of the writing craft has come from attending the Romantic Novelists’ Association annual conference. I’ve been to six. There is such a wealth of knowledge and experience amongst their members, it’s been invaluable to me.
A top tip for other writers?
Write as much as you can. The more you write, the better you’ll become at recognising what is good and what isn’t. And reading in your genre helps enormously with this too.
About Ignited in Iceland – published November 2024
Iris, an English volcanologist, arrives in Iceland focused solely on her research. But she meets Siggi, a charismatic local with a complicated past, and a passion for showing her Iceland’s geological wonders.
Set in the land of ice and fire, this is a compelling tale of love, risk, and finding the courage to trust again.
