Author Journey: Sonya Loveday

Hi Sonya,

To this date, you’ve published seven books yourself and co-written three books with Candace Knoebel. How did you get into publishing? Was becoming an author something that you’d always wanted to be?

Hi Kendall! Like everyone else that has the dream of seeing their books published, I started my publishing journey by looking into the platforms I knew about. Between Amazon and Barnes and Noble, I was able to get the gist of what was needed in order to self publish. The rest, as they say, is history. Funny enough, no, being an author wasn't one of my 'plans'. And now, I wouldn't trade what I do for the world.

How did you get into co-writing? Was this something that appealed to you more after you wrote books yourself?

Candace and I had always talked about writing something together, but never really pushed for it to happen. We both had other projects we were working on that took up not only our time, but a lot of our head-space. It wasn't until these last few years that we said, 'let's do this', and the three books we wrote together are some of our best work, in my opinion.

You self-published your books. Was this always the plan or did you submit your work to a publisher at any time?

At first, I did queries into publishers and with agents, but getting in with a big publisher, or even picking up an agent is asking to hitting the lottery, or having that Cinderella moment. The stars have to align just right on the equinox of a unicorn birth. Kidding. In all honesty there are so many authors now that are going the self published route because it's the only way to see their book in print. And the tides have somehow turned as well. Agents are watching the best seller rankings across the platforms and approaching authors instead of the other way around.

I know you’re releasing your next book soon, which is going to be the first book in a new series, so could you maybe tell us a little bit about that book please?

I am! I'd love to tell you about it. What It Takes is a standalone contemporary (western) romance set in the small town of Garwood, Texas. It's a story about two friends, Gracen and Slade, who have grown up on a ranch together. Both are secretly in love with the other, but afraid to say how they feel and risk ruining the strong friendship they have until the last moment when Slade is set to leave Texas and move on.

This story has heat, tender moments, and a little bit of a twist. It isn't your typical cowboy rides of into the sunset with the little woman, but does wrap up nicely with a happily ever after.

Right now, I have no plan to make it a series. Will there ever be one? Only the muse knows.

If you could get your work published by a traditional publisher, would you do it or do you prefer having full control over how your books are published?

It would have to be a pretty sweet deal because having full control over my books from start to finish has spoiled me. A lot. When you sign with a traditional publisher you're giving them full control over just about everything. From cover to release dates, the publisher steps in and handles it all. Although it would be nice for someone else to figure out the marketing part of everything. Marketing is probably the toughest part out of everything an author does.

Do you have any advice for people that would like to publish a book but aren’t sure whether to self-publish or try and achieve success with a traditional publishing house?

If you're self publishing...get an editor. A good one. Be ready for long hours. Make friends with other authors, talk to them and the readers that are interested in what you have going on. Don't expect to sell like crazy because it's not going to happen overnight. Put your best work out there. If you don't, you will fail.

If you're looking for the Cinderella story where a traditional publisher gushes over your work and offers you a huge signing contract... well, I hope that works for you. I really do, but in the meantime find things to keep you busy and get really thick skin when the rejection letters come, because they will come. Keep plugging away at it and be very cautious on who you sign with. Just because they call themselves a publishing house doesn't mean much these days. If you get in with one of the Big 6, pat yourself on the back. You've achieved something not many of us ever will.

Thank you for joining us, Sonya!

Thanks for having me, Kendall!

Author Biography:

Sonya Loveday is a full time author. Mother of two teenagers. Wife to an amazing man for 18 years. Dog lover. Cat lover. COFFEE addict. Night Owl. She’s a sucker for a good book. Loves the quiet life. Has the bestest best friend in the whole world. Her imagination never shuts off which makes it hard to sleep. The worst cook. Seriously. To see what’s coming up for releases be sure to follow Sonya on her author page at http://www.facebook.com/sonyalovedayauthor