by Susan Dennard
You might have seen my book review for Untraceable on Sunday. If not, read it. This book is impressive–and its author, Shelli Johannes, is quite possibly even more impressive.
Why do I have such glowing praise for Shelli? Because she’s done something a lot of us are too scared to do: she has indie-published her debut novel.
But more importantly than that, Shelli has indie-published it right. She has approached it as a professional author who knows the industry, knows what readers want, and knows how to tell a damn good story.
If you want to hear more about her amazing and empowering journey, I suggest reading her blog series on it (which begins here). I was lucky enough to get an interview with Shelli about her publication process, and all I can say is: WOW. She is an inspiration to us all.
When you started writing Untraceable, what was the inspiration behind it? A dream? A musical clip? Plain, old-fashioned brainstorming?
My husband came home one day from being in the remote woods for the weekend and said, “I was so far out–a terrorist camp could set up there and no one would ever know.”
The story started out called Grace Under Fire. And it was about terrorist cells in the wilderness (hides face from embarrassment). Years later, I got rid of the terrorist camp but kept Grace and the wilderness.
It actually came in the quarterfinals in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award of 2009. 1 of only 7 thrillers to make the list.
Wow–I did not know that about the Breakthrough Award! (Can’t say I’m surprised either ) And what a COOL way for a story to start…mine are always lame dreams, so I’m totally jealous.
What was the biggest challenge for you while writing UNTRACEABLE?
Editing it. Back in 09, I remember agents HATING the terrorist angle but loving Grace and the overall setting (go figure ) so I had to go back to the drawing board and rewrite the entire plot from scratch. I did that more than once. But that time was the hardest.
You’re taking a different, unique path for getting your book out there, and you’re really showing other writers how self-publish in a professional, and reader-focused manner. It’s obvious you care about your readers more than making some quick cash. When and why did you decide to indie-publish?
For a few reasons:
- I was tired of people telling me a contemporary thriller would not sell well to teens.
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