Interview with J.L. Bryan

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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Can you
give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My newest book is <i>Fairyvision</i>, the fifth book in my
Songs of Magic series, which is basically a series of fun fantasy books
appropriate for young readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>In
this installment, leprechaun newspaper magnate Aonghus Mac Lobhar introduces an
exciting new magic mirror into Faerie, one that will enable Folk all over the
realm to watch the same concerts, plays, and news criers at the same time.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Have you ever
had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the direction of
the novel at all?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Sure, and I love it whenever a character comes to life with
a strong personality. It makes my job so much easier!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>A good example from the current series is Grizlemor, a
cranky goblin who was originally supposed to be a minor character, but his
constant complaining and disgusting personal habits made him a favorite
character for both me and a number of readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>He’s stuck around for all five books.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What
factors influenced your decision to self-publish your book(s)?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It was a fairy easy decision that I made a few years ago,
when I first read about other writers doing well by self-publishing on the
Kindle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I already knew that the
vast majority of authors didn’t get much from publishers, anyway—for a midlist
genre novel, the author might get a small advance, a few months of bookstore
distribution, and that was about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 
</span>Not many authors could make a decent living before ebooks.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If you
used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the
creative process for your cover?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I typically hire Claudia from Phatpuppy Art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>She’s done the covers for ten of my
books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>If we’re creating something
from scratch, it’s a very fun back-and-forth process, and I really enjoy
working with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Sometimes I’ll
see a piece she’s already made that happens to be a great fit for my story, and
I’ll just buy that instead.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What is
your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It depends on what I’m writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I will play different songs that I feel reflect a certain
scene or character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>That helps me “tune
in” a little bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Sometimes I put
these together as playlists and add them alongside the books on my
website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Music can be a vital part
of the creative process for me.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The older I get, the more I outline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The outline is flexible and evolves as
I write—it may start as a sketchy list of scene ideas and random-looking notes,
but it fleshes out as I write the first draft.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Did you
hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Yes, I typically have a story editor, several beta readers,
and a separate proofreader for the final draft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>You can never have too many eyeballs or too much feedback
before publishing a book!</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Besides
Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I publish on Nook, Apple, Sony, Kobo, and Smashwords.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I like my books to be convenient and
available to as many readers as possible.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What kinds
of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for
promoting your book(s)?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I spent a lot of time on Twitter, though very little of it
promoting my books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I keep a
Facebook fan page and a blog so readers can connect with me if they like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>For promotions, I’ll usually provide
material like guest blogs and review copies to book bloggers. I really enjoy
guest blogs when I’m inspired to write fun ones.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and
writing your next book?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I spent most of my time writing and probably too little time
marketing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I have a toddler who’s
not quite two years old, so the real challenge is finding time to work at all!</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What
advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing
arena?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Make sure you know your craft, and also be aware that books
need extensive editing and proofing before being published.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Be open to feedback of all kinds, and
never stop challenging yourself to improve your craft and push against your
limits.</span><br />
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