About Brenda Kearns:
Brenda Kearns lives in Ontario, Canada, with her seven kids, two cats, and a fat, three-legged Great Dane. Brenda worked as a science teacher until she realized that writing was a lot more fun—and having a home office meant she could work in her pajamas. You can visit her at brendakearns.com.
What inspires you to write?
My kids and my total lack of maturity inspire me. I just can’t imagine having to grow up and get a “real” job, so I sit here in my pj’s and write for a living!
Tell us about your writing process.
I’m definitely an outliner. I’ve just purchased Scrivener, and so now I’m traumatizing myself by trying to write with that. Since I’m old enough to remember, quite clearly, when the internet was invented, a high-tech program like Scrivener is definitely out of my comfort zone. Everyone tells me I’ll LOVE IT when I learn how to use it. I’m hoping “everyone” is right!
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Yes. I’ll listen to and talk to anyone. In fact, I’m talking to myself right now…
What advice would you give other writers?
Start pitching to smaller, local publications. I currently write for Woman’s World and First for Women (that’s my day job). But I got rejected 365 times before I was able to publish my first story – and that one appeared in a small, local newspaper. Early on, I wasted a lot of time pitching stories to bigger magazines – I would have had more success if I’d started with the places that don’t pay well (or don’t pay at all) in order to build up a collection of clips. There are loads of small publishers looking for stories — start there if you want to see early progress.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I decided to self-publish because then I would have more control over the whole process – that really appealed to me. If a new author isn’t sure about self-publishing, take a course to learn how to do it, or read a few books about the process (that’s what I did – courses AND books). You’ll build up your confidence and gain lots of good info that will help you out!
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
People love to read. There may be shifts [insert all the usual angst about ebooks vs. paper books] but I think the bottom line is that people love to read, so as long as we produce quality stories, we’ll be able to find an audience for them.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Humor, Romantic Comedy, Middle Grade and Early Teen
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Brenda Kearns Home Page Link
Link To Brenda Kearns Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
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.
