Authors Tales

Sally Asling : Appreciating Angels

By thebookwright, on January 6th, 2012

It’s well over a year since Sally Asling published her first book, Appreciating Angels. Since then the book has really taken off and Sally is about to publish her second fiction book. In the intervening time, she also published a non-fiction business book too to promote her property rental business !!

Here’s her tale of how she made the transition from non-author to author (and up into the Top 100 books in the Kindle store too !!!)

Q: When we first spoke, you had written your story and published it in a password protected blog. Why was that?

Gosh that brings back memories! The day I first called you.

Well, I wrote it as a blog because I had got to know a young woman, called Sarah, who had a fascinating story to tell, and everytime I met her she told me more and I wrote it up. I wrote in mostly because she wanted to know if her story would ever be able to help others. For me writing comes naturally so this was the most obvious way for me to store data. Some of her past has parallels to mine and I was utterly fascinated by her story. I password protected it because it was my account – no one else’s. But then I shared it will some people because I genuinely thought her story could help others. I was amazed by the response I got. It was Sarah’s dream that her story could help others and was pleased when I said I was going to turn it into a book.

Q: What was the process you went through to get it in print?

I didn’t have a process in mind initially because I had no idea if writing a book was achievable or not. I was very much in awe of authors and believed being an author was something I would never become. However with your encouraging and guiding hand, I met a lady who introduced me to someone who could design the “book book” and she then used that design to get me printing quotes and a few months later the book was born. It really did feel akin to giving birth!

Q: What barriers did you encounter and overcome as a result

Marketing the book was problematic. No one is interested in giving you promotion for the sake of it, and I guess this is where a main publisher would really be helpful. However, once the book was on sale via Amazon and getting reviews then book sales started to take off.

Q: The book is now available for the Kindle – is this really the future for authors and for publishing?

I think so as each month I regularly sell 1500 plus and get approx £350 – £500 a month in royalties. I personally love reading and download lots of books for under £2.00 each and for me reading on the iPad or Kindle is now common place. I think this is a hugely growing market and in time books will really lose their importance in novel format.

Q: And what would you put your incredible monthly sales down to?

I am not sure! Good price (currently £1.10), good reviews and recommended reads, and I guess it’s a good book! However I have done very little marketing for kindle.

Q: Knowing what you know now, what would you do that is different if you were starting from scratch. And indeed, you are publishing a new book shortly – what it’s about and how are you going about it?

Well, my next book, which is Sarah’s Journey that follows on from Angels is to go live as a Kindle book on 30th November this year. I am not going to be producing it as a “book book” formally at first, although it will be available as a book from 15th December, but I will be ordering a lesser stock. I am also working with a very talented illustrator for Weightless. I think the only thing I would do differently is put less emphasis on the book being a wonderfully designed book via professional book printers and more effort into making a stunning e-book.

Q : If there are any budding authors reading this interview, what advice would you give them?

Well, I would have to send them in your direction in all honesty! The thing is, there are so many ways to get a book in front of a reader now, and its important for an author to understand them. A book really does need a good edit and some external critique. However I think if there is passion, a good story and if you truly want to write, then go for it!

Q :Can you envisage a time when you will give up your day job and write full time?

My dream, Tom, my dream. I fantasise about this day.