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Let’s Meet the Author

Let’s Get Started

Welcome to my Spotlight, Naomi. Tell us a little about yourself and how you began your writing journey.

I don’t remember when, exactly, I started writing my first book. It was in 2018, but the details elude me. I’ve slept since then. The whole thing began when I was driving to work one day. I thought, I wonder if I could write a book? So, I did. And then, as often happens, I developed a taste for it.

What or who was your biggest inspiration, your favorite author. Perhaps you can share your favorite books.

I think everything I’ve ever read is part of the inspiration behind my creativity. Reading was my escape in childhood, I spent more time in books than the real world whenever I could. Reading saved my life in a lot of ways.

By nature, I am a person who loves to learn – on my own terms. If I am interested in a topic, I will absorb as much as I can. It’s given me a deep well to dive into when coming up with story ideas. And because I spent so much time using my imagination as a kid, nearly anything can spark an idea now.

There’s no one favorite author for me. There are so many good books, and just not enough time to read them all!

You write in multiple genres under various pen names. I imagine that allows you to wear many creative hats and let your imagination soar. But what are the practical reasons to designate pen names, and what is your advice to authors in that regard?

Originally, I didn’t intend to write under multiple pen names; and you can see this when you look at my Naomi Valkyrie catalog. I’ve got Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy Romance, Contemporary Romance, and an Alien romance in there.

But, I still wanted to write in those other romance sub-genres. The answer was creating new pen names. When I did that, it got overwhelming real fast. Social media platforms for each one. Newsletters for each one. No, thank you! I am one person. I can only manage so much. This overwhelm led me to create the Kaleidoscope Romance umbrella where I run all the pen names in one place.

If there is advice in this area I would give, it would be to start the umbrella from the beginning so you can spend more time on writing than management. Since I streamlined it, I’ve been much more productive.

Do you write full-time? What is your writing schedule like, and how do you balance writing–your creative time–with day-to-day life? Do you have favorite techniques you use to get your creative juices flowing?

I write full time. That is, I write when my brain lets me. Being neurodivergent, sometimes it can get tricky corralling my brain to stay on task. So, unlike a lot of authors, I don’t have a firm schedule. I write when the hyperfocus comes on, and knock out big chunks at a time.

Not only am I neurodivergent, my family is as well. Our daily life looks different than it would in a neurotypical household. Every day can look different from the day before. It just depends on where everyone is with what they can tolerate at any given time. Most of the time, we flow pretty well. And when we hit a hiccup, we pivot until we get back on track.

As for creative techniques, I don’t have any specific ones. An idea pops into my head and I sit down and write. Ideas are never my problem. Wrangling my brain to stay focused is my biggest hurdle.

What are your top writing resources to help with productivity (applications, services, websites, etc.) and favorite methods you’ve gathered along the way? Are you a pantser or plotter?

I go about my writing process a little differently. All of my first drafts are handwritten. It’s the way my brain works best. So, the most important tools for me are pencils and paper. And I have a hoard of them! Oh, and erasers. Because the ones on pencils never last as long as the lead.

My next most important tool, from a writing standpoint, is Atticus. It does everything I need all in one. The first step in my editing process is transcribing my draft into Atticus to create the manuscript. Then, once all my editing steps are finished, I can format it in there for eBook or paperback! 

Since I have nearly abandoned social media – seriously, it is virtually impossible to get visibility on any of the platforms without paying now – my primary tools for marketing are FloDesk for my newsletter (the most important piece of marketing), BookFunnel for group promos and swaps, and StoryKeepr, a robust author management platform where I have my to-do list, release calendar, tracking links, landing pages, more swaps, etc.

At this time, the only two social media platforms I still use on a regular basis are BlueSky and Mastodon. After tracking the numbers, I observed these two platforms are the ones that give me the most traffic. I’m not wasting valuable writing time posting anywhere else. So, you’ll probably find my pages on Facebook, but I am rarely ever on there. And most of those pages have a pinned post to direct people to find me elsewhere. It’s unfortunate, but social media sites have become cesspools and a time suck that’s robbing us of both productivity and attention spans.

Community building is where it’s at now, and most social media isn’t doing that anymore. For community building, I lean on my newsletter, and on my Discord server. There’s no feed to keep me side-tracked with scrolling. I am there having productive conversations with other authors and with readers. 

Oh, yes. I must mention my website. Having a website is a key tool. If something happens to your account on a publishing platform, you want people to still be able to find you! (This is also why building a newsletter list is important). Yes, maintaining a website can be tedious, but it keeps you available to readers!

Pantser or Plotter? I hinted at this earlier. I am, and always will be, a pantser. I have to let my brain go where it’s going to go. If I try to organize any of it, it freezes me up. I’ve learned to just sit with the pencil and paper and let my brain download whatever is in there. You can fix anything in edits!

Any advice on publishing?

This is a BIG subject, and a lot of it depends on the person.

I think the most important thing is, before you even publish your first book, decide on your path and stick with it for several years. Things take time to ramp up. Publishing is a slow build. It’s not a get-rich-quick scenario. I know a lot of people don’t want to hear that, but them’s the facts.

If you decide you want to publish wide, then stick with it for several years. Give it time to take root. If you decide you want to publish in KU, stick with it. Don’t bail after six months. That’s not enough time to get any real data. Again – slow build.

Another important thing, you have to get used to change in the overall industry. When I first began, Amazon was the king of indie publishing. Nowadays, more and more authors are going wide, and even setting up direct sales to sell their own books (look into Fourthwall for this).

There’s a lot of advice out there. It can be like trying to drink through a firehose. STOP. BREATHE.

Now, what do YOU want to get out of this? What are you ABLE to do? What is in alignment with your goals and values?

Looking back on my author journey, I can see how I burned out hard several times. I was trying to do too many things that were not in alignment with my values. And, I was trying to do things from a neurotypical framing. But, I’m not neurotypical. Those ways don’t work for me.

People are going to give you a lot of advice. It’s your job to figure out what is actually viable for you, and what you can throw out.

At the end of last year, I did a re-evaluation of my authoring. I realized, with their overwhelming lean into AI, Amazon was no longer in alignment with my values. I’ve taken all my eBooks down from that platform. I wish I could opt out of that platform for my paperbacks, but alas! D2D doesn’t have granular opt out options for that.

Sometimes you’re going to have to make hard decisions to stay true to yourself. But in the long run, you’ll feel better about where you’re headed. Did I take a hit in my sales? Yep. But, it’s temporary. I’m just getting into a new groove. I had to pivot for the greater good of my business. Because if my mental state about my writing isn’t good, I can’t put out quality work.

What have you found to be your best marketing path?

This is another one of those areas where the way you market is dependent on who you are and what you can tolerate.

As mentioned above, after looking at the data, social media turned out to be a complete waste of time and an attention span saboteur. A lot of marketing tips out there are social media tips. Not applicable to me. You’re going to have to weed through all the noise to see what is in alignment with your values, and what allows you to maximize writing time. You need to study the hard data to see where you’re leaking time.

What I’ve leaned into is building my newsletter list. Your newsletter list is the only thing you own. A social media platform can tank your account without notice. A sales platform might close your account without warning. But if you have a newsletter list, you have a way to let your readers know what’s going on.

I build my list through group promos and newsletter swaps. Yes, this requires giving away something free (a reader magnet). I know some of you are probably cringing at that. But, a free book (or chapter sample if you just can’t stomach the idea of a whole free book) is a time-tested part of marketing strategy. Now, you don’t want to give away just any free book. You want something that represents your catalog. For instance, if you write sweet romance, this is not the time to try a dark romance freebie. That sets readers up for disappointment.

I put my free books/chapter previews in group promos that match the sub-genre or theme of my book. Niching down this way adds to the chances I’m going to get readers that are actually interested in what I’m writing. I also swap in matching sub-genres or tropes.

My newsletter is weekly. But that works for me. If you can only send something out monthly, do it. Your strategy has to work for you. Otherwise, you won’t keep up with it.

When I do post on social media, I post and run. I’m talking roadrunner speed with dust flying. As long as I’ve got the right hashtags on my posts, BlueSky and Mastodon do most of the work for me. And those posts are mainly visibility posts. I get almost no sales from them.

In addition to promos and swaps through BookFunnel and StoryKeepr, I participate in active Round Robins. This means, I make sure everyone participating is actually going to share on time. It does no good if people aren’t following through.

Most of my networking is done on author-related Discord servers. And I have my own server where we share ideas and support each other. Part of my networking is offering a monthly Featured Reads spot for authors on my website. I am also building a networking database for authors to search to find networking partners.

As they say, team work makes the dream work!

Can you talk about what you’ve got in the works, your latest releases, and where we can find your books?

After several releases, I learned about leveraging readthrough. I love all my previous book babies. They helped me grow! But now, I am focused on building an entire world. My current series is The Cursed. It’s the foundation series that eight other series will branch off from – one additional series under the Valkyrie pen name, and the remaining seven under the Styx pen name.

As of this spotlight, I’m working on The Cursed: Merric, which is book six. I also have projects scheduled for my other four pen names. And by scheduled, I mean, they’re on the calendar, but who knows if the timeline will stick. I’ve already started the drafts for some of theCurrently, under Naomi Valkyrie and Sinister Styx, you can find my books on:

My direct store: https://books.kaleidoscoperomance.com/

• Kobo
• Barnes & Noble
• Apple Books
• Smashwords
• Bookshop
• Fable
• Everand
• Thalia
• Vivlio

And through local libraries upon request.

Thanks again for visiting, Naomi. Any parting advice to aspiring writers? 

Build a solid community – both reader and author. You might have to try a few before you find one that fits. If you can’t find one, Kaleidoscope Romance has a server for the misfits, neurodivergent peeps, LGBTQ+ peeps, outliers. If it’s divergent, we’re probably okay with it (with some logical exceptions – like what’s in those Files we keep hearing about right now). Our basic rule is – don’t be shitty to each other. If we’re all sticking to that, it keeps the drama down. One other thing is yes to networking, no to spamming. We’re here to have a good time, not weed through ads.

Link for Authors: https://discord.gg/WGbD6mRZCA

Link for Readers: https://discord.gg/EWAZp9k9Mj 

Don’t put up with anyone’s bullshit. If you leave an interaction feeling like crap about yourself, that’s not a thing you need to repeat. Use the block button early and often.

Beware of scams. They are plentiful, especially now with all the AI stuff going around. Writer Beware is a good resource: https://writerbeware.blog/

Filter advice like you would if you had to purify drinking water in the wild. Just because something worked for someone else doesn’t mean it’ll be a fit for you. And if you discover something isn’t working for you, you’re not chained to it. Give it the axe. You want to enjoy your process, not dread it.

One of the most important things I’ve learned on this journey is, no one is walking my path. They may be walking beside me, but they’re not on my path. Ultimately, my decisions have to work with my life. While you will run across people called experts, YOU are the expert on your life. There’s no one right way to do this out there – there’s only the right way for you. 

So, there you have it. The thoughts and journey of a Gen X survivor who is too old to give a shit about fitting in and playing by the rules.

Wow, Naomi, what a wealth of resources you’ve gathered. I can’t express enough thanks for sharing your amazing insights and valuable advice gleaned from your writing journey. So many of us get bogged down with the business of writing while all we want is to focus on the joy of writing. This is so helpful in putting it all in perspective and giving us tools to streamline the process. I wish you all the best in your endeavors.