About Shelby K. Morrison:
Shelby K. Morrison is the author of Shattered, devout member of the Pointless Research Addicts support group, and was voted Most Likely to Be President in high school. She believes fiction should be an escape and any great escape involves a world of wonder, characters you wish you knew, and good food. She can usually be found in three places; her office, the couch or….well just those two unless an overcast day calls her out of doors. She has a particular weakness for animals, Studio Ghibli movies, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (resulting in a frequently stained keyboard). She is not opposed to tokens of appreciation, particularly edible ones. But if you really want to make her smile, drop her a line!
What inspires you to write?
What inspires me to write is the idea of readers falling in love with my characters, my words and my ideas. It’s as simple as that. A good book takes you places, introduces you to amazing people, and transports you from your everyday life. I want to be the person that does that.
Tell us about your writing process.
I have a very strict writing process. I’m an outliner to the extreme. I give myself a month of brainstorming followed by another month of outlining. I have an outline board in my office where I use good old fashioned index cards. Then I move my work to Scrivener to finish it up, flesh out some details and rearrange scenes. I create character and world sketches before I get started so I have my character ready to lead me. It doesn’t matter where I want a story to go, ultimately my characters decide the path.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Well I don’t…talk to them necessarily. I feel more like I’m always peeking into their journal to see how they really feel, to listen to them tell me what they truly desire. Sometimes it’s as easy to simply listen for what they want to ensure your story is on the right track and your characters are true to themselves.
What advice would you give other writers?
Don’t give up. When you first start out, it’s exciting, it’s an adventure. But then when you get your first poor review, your book sales don’t climb like you expected and you just can’t get the word out, you can easily get bogged down. On top of all that when your family or friends don’t read your work, it can feel like you’re doing it all for nothing. But don’t give up. Ask yourself why you’re writing, why you want to be an author. And hold onto it. It gets easier. I’m not a professional by any means and I don’t have a slew of books under my belt. So I can’t promise it will get better. But I like to think so. Your attitude is always something you have control over. And a good attitude helps everything. So ignore the haters and the doubters. Do what you want to do and ignore the critics who think they know better.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
For years I planned on publishing traditional. But buy the time I had a work I was ready to go the distance with, self-publishing was a truly viable option. After some heavy research, the better path was clear. By self-publishing, I only had my timeline to worry about. I controlled my book, my advertising, my pricing, everything. Not to mention, more royalties. I wanted my book out there for readers. And I wasn’t willing to let some big publishing house tell me it “wasn’t what they were looking for” because they stick with what’s trending and not what’s good reading. Now my books are out there and I couldn’t be happier. You must truly examine why you want to publish and how you see your book. Is it all about saying you’re with a top 5 publisher or is it about getting your book to the readers?
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think the doors are only opening wider for writers. I think more and more people will be able to realize their dream of publishing a book and having their words written. I like to think Indie authors will gain a little more respect as our numbers climb.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Speculative fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Shelby K. Morrison Home Page Link
Link To Shelby K. Morrison Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
