Author Anne Riley Interview --Why Her Agent Told Her to Self-Publish

I've been a follower of Anne Riley's blog for some time and now consider her a writer/bloggy friend.  Though she has an agent, she recently decided to Indie-Publish her YA book THE CLEARING. I'm in the middle of it right now, and I have to say that Anne is a terrific writer and story teller. I'm totally sucked in. All the right twists and turns and steady character development. It's a great read at a great price on Kindle.

1. We all know that publisher lists are getting smaller and that more authors are going after those slots than ever before--did this situation have something to do with why you chose to self or indie-publish your book THE CLEARING, or were there other reasons?

Self-publishing THE CLEARING was actually my agent's idea! I know, CRAZY. So, here's what happened: Agent Alanna submitted my book to editors in the spring of 2009. They loved it, but they rejected it. I revised it. We went back on submission in the fall of 2009. The editors loved it, but they rejected it. I revised again. We went on submission for the last time in the spring of 2010. I went to acquisitions with a crazy huge publishing house. All the associate editors loved my book and wanted to sign me. The senior editor didn't. I cried for a few months, then talked to Alanna about my options. Since we'd exhausted our submission list, she suggested I self-pub the book as a way to get my name out there and make a little money. So I did!

Your experience sounds excruciatingly painful. So glad you took your agent's advice!

2. Now that you've had an indie published book out for a while, how would you describe your overall experience? 

I believe the technical term for my experience would be "freaking amazing." I'd do it again in a heartbeat. And you know, it's really taken the pressure off my shoulders. I have an audience to write for, whether I'm traditionally published or not, and at the end of the day all I wanna do is write. Of course I am still working for traditional publication, and working HARD. But if it never happens, life isn't over for me - I'll just be taking a different route to connecting with my readers!

Freaking Amazing is definitely a technical term and correctly used by you. :) Yay, for alternate routes!

3. What advice would you give to an author who is considering Indie Publishing? Anything you'd do differently next time? Anything you'd be sure to do again?

Self or Indie publishing can be a great experience. It can also be an awful one. If you have an agent, you have to talk to them about it; remember, they have first rights to sell your book. If they can't, then I highly recommend it, as long as there's no one else you want to submit to.

I wouldn't do anything differently, and I'd be sure to do everything the same. I have loved the whole experience, although it did take a while to get used to the idea of self-publishing; it carries such a stigma. But if you're a good writer, it doesn't matter - and if you think about it, there are a whole lot of books on the shelves at Barnes & Noble that make you think, "Really? This was published?" 

With the success of so many Indie authors lately, (including Ms Rowling!) I think the stigma is lifting.

4. Will there be a next time?

Oh yeah, baby. I'm working on a YA novel called PULL that will go on submission this fall. While it's out with editors, I plan to write a sequel to THE CLEARING for release on February 1, 2012. That one will probably be self-pubbed, too, and depending on how things go, PULL might go the same route!

Written in the fall and released in February--that's fast. Good for you!  All the best with PULL on subs. We're rooting for you.

5. What are you working on next?

Oops! Already answered that one!

6. Tell us a bit about THE CLEARING. How did your idea form?

It's the story of a girl named Natalie whose parents die in a really odd way, and the official report about how they died just doesn't make sense to her. She's from Georgia, but ends up moving in with her aunt, who lives in Maine. Her aunt is the headmistress of this really snooty boarding school, and when Natalie enrolls, she's bombarded by these three bullies who won't leave her alone. In the midst of all that drama, she meets a boy who is accused of murdering his own sister a year earlier. When it turns out that he also knows something about Natalie's parents, she can't help but talk to him - and then she gets caught up in his late-night excursions into the forest, where some crazy stuff is going down. Once she realizes what she's gotten herself into, it's too late to get out - although she's not sure she wants out.

Tantalizing!!

7.  Now the fun stuff: sweet or savory?oceans or lakes? Brad Pitt or Bradley Cooper?

Sweet or Savory: I love me some starchy carbs! But I also love cupcakes. So, um, both.

Oceans or Lakes: Anytime I go to a lake, people always try to make me waterski, and believe me when I tell you that the LAST thing I should ever do is strap long wooden planks to my feet and be dragged along the water at high speeds. So, oceans.  

Brad Pitt or Bradley Cooper: Brad Pitt has weird facial hair and Bradley Cooper seems kinda sleazy, so I'm going to go with my true Hollywood crush: a little known actor named Paul Bettany. He was in that movie Wimbledon with Kirsten Dunst. I heart him. 

Yes, I do know who he is, and I see the appeal. :)

THE CLEARING blurb:

I don’t know what I expected him to do. A magic trick, maybe? A back flip? If I was honest, I didn’t think it would be that impressive, whatever it was. Maybe I was hoping he would pull out some kind of document that explained how my parents had really died, or that he would summon their spirits and I could talk to them. Regardless of whatever guesses I might have made, I would never, ever have expected him to do what he did in the moments that followed. One second, I was looking right at him. The next second, Liam Abernathy vanished on the spot. And two seconds after that, he flickered back.

*

Natalie Watson doesn’t believe the reports about the way her parents died. In fact, she’s not sure she believes in much of anything these days. But after moving from her home in Georgia to her aunt’s boarding school in Maine, solving the mystery of her parents’ deaths is just one of several things on her mind. When she’s not fending off attacks from the popular kids or taking refuge in the pages of a novel, she ponders the rumors circulating about a certain boy in her math class . . . a boy with fiery red hair who never speaks to anyone.

Despite suspicions that he may have murdered his sister a year earlier, Natalie finds it impossible to stay away from Liam Abernathy – especially when he confesses to knowing something about her parents. Soon she’s following him into the forest, where things happen she doesn’t understand . . . things that shouldn’t be possible.
As Liam’s story unfolds, Natalie realizes she’s more connected to him than she ever thought–and not everyone she counts as a friend can be trusted.

Thanks for stopping by, Anne. If you have any questions for Anne or me, let us know in the comments. We'd love to hear from you!