About Ivanka Di Felice:
Ivanka Di Felice is a writer living in Tuscany. She will assure you that it’s far less pretentious than it sounds. She was born in Toronto, Canada. She is 39 years and 94 months old. In her quest for happiness, she followed Nora Ephron’s advice: “Secret to life, marry an Italian.” She loves writing humorous stories and enjoys reading.
What inspires you to write?
I think one reviewer summed it up perfectly:
“Italy hands Mrs Di Felice some lemons so she makes lemonade and had enough left over for a big slice of lemon pie! So much better than what she was expecting, and good thing, for if she got what she expected, there would be no book to write or at least not such a jolly one!” So basically, living in Italy inspired me to write! Turning a difficult situation into a humorous story kept me sane!
Tell us about your writing process.
As I go for my afternoon walk (through the lovely and inspiring Italian countryside) I carry a notebook and jot down rough notes regarding any quirky situation or people I have encountered in the past day or so. The following morning I make a large pot of coffee, sit down on my comfy couch with my laptop (the computer is literally sitting on my lap) and start elaborating on the stories. I appear rather maniacal as I usually have a large smile on my face while typing and sometimes talk to myself as well.
What advice would you give other writers?
Hire an editor. They provide an invaluable service to us writers (and thus ultimately the readers also!) Since we are the ones that have come up with an idea, naturally it fascinates us and even close friends and family members may exhibit our enthusiasm. Regardless, I suggest getting a professional, unbiased opinion and professional editing. I sent out a sample of one of my chapters and asked five different editors for a sample edit. They all gladly provided me with one and then I compared the samples. While the other four were good, one stood out as my favorite; the editor obviously got my sense of humor and complimented it with her editing.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I had a wonderful agent who was trying to place my book but in the meantime I started reading about a lot of self published success stories and decided to go on my own. My agent was wonderful and totally supportive of my choice. This allowed me total freedom with its content, the title and the cover art. I love having the final say and being able to make the type of book that I want. In the end if it is not successful I also only have myself to blame!
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think it will get easier and that many good writers who in the past got overlooked will have a chance to self publish their books. Good news for writers and for readers!
What do you use?: Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers, Professional Editor
What genres do you write?: memoir, travel, humor, essays
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To Ivanka Di Felice Page On Amazon
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