Author Interview: Samantha Bryant

Happy Friday, Writing Desk Readers!

I'm so happy to have author Samantha Bryant as a guest again on the blog!

If you'd like to read the first interview we did together last year, it's right here. Links to all of Samantha's platforms and her newsletter can be found in this week's Get to Know the Author post.

Photos provided by: Samantha Bryant

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Writing Desk Blog: Hi Samantha, it’s wonderful having you join me for another interview here on the blog! I’d say you’re now in the “Regular Guest” club! Last time, we discussed your Menopausal Superheroes series, have you started on the next book or are you working on something else?

Samantha Bryant: I haven’t been writing in the Menopausal Superheroes universe lately because of some publisher stress, but now that all of that is resolved, I’m excited to get back to my superwomen. I have sketchy plans for a book 4 and 5 at least!

In the meantime, I’ve been working on a young adult, dystopian novel with shades of romance, working title Thursday’s Children. I’ve also been writing short stories by the pound. Short stories are a great way to experiment in your writing without the large-scale commitment of a book-length work, so I find them a lot of fun. They’re also a little addictive because I get that “finished” feeling a whole lot more often when we’re talking about a piece between two and eight thousand words, instead of eighty to one hundred thousand words.

Some of these are part of my Shadow Hill stories, named for an imaginary suburban neighborhood suspiciously like the one I live in, but where the explanations for the weirdness are more paranormal than human. One of these, my daylight ghost story “The Girl in the Pool” was published in an anthology from Prospective Press a couple of months ago (Off the Beaten Path 3).

I’ve just had another one accepted for publication by Hinnom Magazine and have been a lot more diligent about getting the others out there on submission, so I hope to have more of my work out there soon!

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WDB: I know you have some exciting changes in the works, the first being that you’re changing publishers. What brought you to that decision?

SB: Honestly? My first publisher fell apart.

I’ve written about it on my blog and you can read the details here.

The short version is that the company reached too far too fast and couldn’t keep up. As they struggled to juggle all they’d taken on, they dropped more and more balls until the basics--like releasing well-edited books on schedule and paying the writers--were among the balls lying on the floor.

 I gave them more than a year after the first signs of trouble, but I finally decided that they were no longer a good home for my work and requested the return of my rights. It was a hard decision, but I think it was the right one.

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WDB:  If you can tell us, which publisher will you be working with now and what do you look forward to the most about working with them?

SB: Yes! The Menopausal Superhero series is getting a release and rebranding through Falstaff Books. The new editions of the books are available beginning February 7, 2019!

I met the owner and main publisher, John Hartness, at a fan convention. I don’t remember which one offhand, because John is a formidable presence at nearly all the conventions I attend, within a couple of hours drive of my home in Hillsborough, North Carolina (Illogicon, Mysticon, Ravencon, Con-Gregate, ConCarolinas, Atomacon). He’s a bombastic personality, but all heart and a great supporter of beginning writers. He has really helped me find my feet on the con circuit and learn to sell my work without feeling too weird about it. Along the way, he got to know me and my work and gave me a standing offer to contract my books with his publisher, should I ever need to make a change.

I’m really excited about working with people I already know and feel I can trust. There’s much less of that awful weightless feeling of being at the top of a roller coaster hill and having to hope that the track continues on the other side and you don’t just get dropped to your death. (Can you tell I don’t like roller coasters?). 

I understand that old saw about “it’s who you know” a little differently now. Publishing is a relationship, and finding good people to work with is not that different from finding friends, lovers, or other kinds of partners in life. You need shared values and a common vision if it’s going to work out long term.

Unfortunately for new authors, that’s easier to do when you’ve already been in the business for a while, so a lot of us have a rough start with some “learning the hard way” before we find a good writing and publishing life. There’s a balance to be found with appropriate levels of risk-taking while still taking steps to protect yourself if things go badly.

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WDB: You’re also working on a new re-branding campaign. I know many authors have questions about the process, so I’m glad we’re discussing this topic! What made you decide that a re-working of your brand was right for you?

SB: Book covers are a major element of an author brand, especially when we’re talking about a series. As much as I loved my old covers, it seems now that they were a little off-message for the books, leading readers to expect chick lit heavy on comedy instead of what I actually wrote which is superheroic women’s fiction with comedic moments.

Since I’m moving the books to another publisher, the timing seems right for a reboot in other ways, too. Falstaff does some fantastic covers, so I was excited to see what they might envision for my work. The collaboration aspect has been wonderful. New covers and new angles of publicity are definitely contributing to that “fresh start” feeling and giving me renewed hope for the life of these stories.

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WDB: What tools are you using as you go through the re-branding process?

SB: I’m more of a gut-instinct person when it comes to these things. There’s no program I’m trying to follow or workbook I’m using or anything like that. Just thinking, talking to others I know in the business, and thinking some more.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time talking with the cover artist and associate publisher Melissa MacArthur Gilbert. She’s also an author, teacher, and mother like me, all of which really helps us understand one another. Other writers, artists, editors, and publishers are great sounding boards and many are very generous with their time, especially if you’ve taken the time to build relationships before you ask for favors and advice. 

My current theory is that branding that really works has to come from deep reflection about yourself as an artist and the work you have created. After flailing about for a few years, I finally feel like I articulate my vision in a way that works for other people. There’s a certain amount of confidence required, and I didn’t really have that at first.

Too much of what we think of as branding is external. While consistency of imagery (covers, icons, photos, etc.) can certainly help, it doesn’t work if it’s an afterthought, or something pushed on from outside rather than bubbling up organically from inside. So this time, I’m trusting my instincts. I guess we’ll find out if that’s a good idea or not!

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Here's a "Before & After" for the covers of Samantha's Menopausal Superheroes series. Which one do you prefer? Personally, I'm loving this new design!

BEFORE:

AFTER: