Read My Mind says hello to Rachel Thompson today. She's the author of A WALK IN THE SNARK, a non-fiction account of some of her time spent in the OC (that's Orange County, CA) living, laughing and being ginger. Not only does she decode men with her Mancode, but she's devoted much time to her own blog, Twitter and Facebook, helping herself and others figure out the complexities of social media and marketing. Today I'm featuring her to help promote A WALK IN THE SNARK for Bestseller for a Day. This is a 24-hour drive to help push Rachel's book up on the bestseller charts at Amazon. Best part: the book is only $.99 for the whole day. So, go forth and buy!
RT: I’m a WAHM (Write At Home Mom), I’ve been married for almost nineteen years, have two children, ages eleven and five (a girl and a boy). Because of that, I have lots of material for my blog and books. Being a redhead in a sea of blondes (I live in Orange County, where they film the “Real Housewives” show) who doesn’t drive an SUV and has all real parts, writing has become the perfect outlet for my many observations of life.
RMM: Who is one person that helped to inspire you to write A Walk In The Snark?
RT: My husband JP, really. I wrote my initial Mancode essay, Men are from Seinfeld, Women are from Friends, about one year ago after I just got really tired of having to change the toilet paper roll – for eighteen years. Why do men want to change the world but are completely unable to change a TP roll? The response was huge and immediate. I knew I was onto something.
We have a very good marriage and laugh a lot, but he is, along with many of the other Mancode topics I write about, definitely my muse for all things dude.
RT: I actually cofounded the IBC w/ Carolyn McCray, author of 30 Pieces of Silver, HeartsBlood, Plain Jane. We met last year on Twitter and started teaching free social media workshops together to folks wanting to understand more about Twitter. We formed the IBC as a result of wanting to share that information as well as rounding out a platform to provide info on self-publishing, platform-building, blogging, as well as ePublishing.
We created BestSeller For A Day as a way to give indie authors the opportunity to put the power of wonderful readers behind them who can purchase their work for only 99 cents, the author’s efforts (including Google Ad Words), as well as all of our promotional power to help push them onto the Amazon Top 100 chart. It truly is a unique and amazing program for any author!RMM: What is one of the hardest parts of the self-publishing process?
RT: I’ve found the writing itself to be incredibly rewarding, and though many authors find the hustle of marketing exhausting at times, I personally enjoy it. I’ve built up my social media presence significantly this past year on Facebook, Goodreads, my blog, and especially on Twitter, and that requires seemingly constant interaction. I say seemingly because I’ve learned ways to find time to market and time to write, but it’s definitely a challenge.
The publishing industry is changing so radically – self-publishing no longer has as much of the old stigma attached to it and is a valid business model for many authors. That said, there is definitely a bias that lingers; which is why I worked very hard to be sure I released a professionally-edited, clean book with some rockin’ cover art. Of course, it’s the guts that matter.
RMM: What is one of the best parts about self-publishing?
RT: I love that because I’m exclusively ePublished, I’ve been able to keep my costs low. My eBook is normally priced everyday at only $2.99 on Amazon. Whether you have a Kindle or not (simply download the free Kindle app to your smartphone or computer), you can purchase my book and enjoy hours of entertainment for a reasonable amount of money. Of course, for BestSeller For A Day the price is even lower—just 99 cents!
I also love that the book is my vision—though I worked with wonderful editors and a terrific graphic artist to achieve a quality product (and I’d recommend any indie author do the same), being an indie author allows you the freedom to release the book you want. You have more control. And I get to keep the publishing rights!
RMM: Are you working on anything new right now? Can you tell me anything about your current project?
RT: Of course I am! I’ve been working on The Mancode: A Survivor’s Tale, most of this past winter, and plan for a summer release. These Mancode essays are by far the most popular on my blog and in my current book, so taking that theme and expanding on it is something I’ve wanted to do for awhile.
I also frequently write short stories and poetry that I self-publish on my blog, though IndieInk has published several pieces of mine—it’s a great place for indie writers to submit their work.
I’m also working on some magazine pieces as well that should be out in the next few months.
RMM: Wow, sounds like you are very busy. Good luck with it all!
Tidbits:
Coffee or tea?
Good Lord, coffee.
Early riser or night owl?
Out of necessity, night owl. I enjoy the quiet when my family goes to sleep and I can write in complete peace.
Audi sedan, Toyota Prius, Honda minivan, or Ford 4x4?
I often joke that I’m the only non-SUV Mazda-driving redhead in all of the OC (Orange County, CA) and I have a bumper sticker that says MY OTHER CAR IS A TOYOTA. Which it is! It’s a RAV4. So I’d probably go for the Prius.
Summer at the beach, or winter in a cozy cabin?
I abhor the cold. I lived in NYC for four years back in the early nineties and while I loved the city, I did not love the icy winters. I even spent a few weekends in Vermont over the holidays and froze things off that should never have been frozen. So yea, give me summer at the beach (and tons of sunscreen) anytime, baby.
“Sometimes I think I’m too jaded. But then I think no, it’s just the lighting.”
Thanks to Lillie for this wonderful opportunity to share my writing and life with you!
Don’t forget: Bestseller For A Day is Wednesday April 6th and my book A Walk In The Snark will be just 99 cents!
As our Bonus Buy (2 for the price of 1), you can also purchase a fabulous collection of short stories and poems by fab fellow author Kimberly Kinrade. Her book Bits of You and Pieces of Me is also just 99 cents BUT if you return to the site and fill out our fairly painless form, Kimberly will rebate the purchase price. #Woot! Also, you get five entries into my contest to win up to FIVE $10 Amazon Gift Cards!!
Please email me if you have any questions or comments at RachelintheOC@gmail.com or come visit my blog anytime Rachel In The OC or Twitter or Facebook or Good Reads. I’m everywhere (except, ya know, the kitchen). I also teach writers ePublishing, social media and other cool stuff over at the Indie Book Collective so find me there as well.
It's a great book, very funny. I'm glad I got my copy. Great review.
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