Deborah P. Gomez is an author of romantic thrillers and romcoms. She began her career by writing articles for the Vocento group. Now she has two published novels, La Piedra del Sol and La noche que Thor conoció a Catwoman, and currently, she’s writing her third one.
What helped her find her way to self-publishing and become a successful indie author? Here’s the story of Deborah Escritoria.
Deborah has been writing and reading since she was very young, so her family wasn’t surprised she became an indie author. However, her true vocation found her only during the lockdown of 2020, when she found the time to write her first novel, La Piedra del Sol. Still, a lot of Deborah’s friends were shocked to discover that she was going to publish a book. Even though they knew that Deborah was writing something, they never took it too seriously, believing that it was just her “pandemic hobby.” But, of course, now they are her biggest fans.
As an indie author, Deborah had to face two key challenges. The first one was writing in Spanish and living in an English-speaking country – she felt quite limited when it came to promoting her novel, organizing events, and signing.
The second one was tougher. When Deborah wanted to publish her first novel, her family didn’t take her seriously as no one had time to read her story. At some point, Deborah saw herself publishing a novel that nobody had read. So, she created an Instagram account and reached a few bookstagrammers that she felt could be interested in her work. Even though it was a huge risk, Deborah was ready to take it, and this brave step turned out to be a game-changer. Indie authors helped Deborah promote her story and believe in herself. The bookstagram community allowed her to meet amazing people and brought her a lot of opportunities.
That’s why despite the challenges, Deborah had never thought about giving up when she was writing her first novel. A self-pub career taught her that patience and hard work are key to success: no publisher will be knocking on your door if you don’t work for that. And, of course, you must learn to use feedback and become a member of the indie author community to grow and improve.
Deborah agrees that it’s impossible to be a successful indie author without good marketing. One of the most effective strategies that helped her gain more followers and create some awareness is giveaways. She runs one every 6 months with very good results. The book covers also work as a marketing strategy by themselves as they are both very catchy and intriguing.
Here are Deborah’s top 3 tools for a successful indie author:
- Amazon KDP – for publishing
- MiblArt – for cover design
- Canva – for promotion needs
For Deborah, self-publishing is about the freedom and opportunities that the industry brings. Sometimes it can be very challenging, as you have to do everything on your own, but it is also very rewarding when you see a positive review or get a message from a fan who just wants you to know how your novel made them feel. Seeing what you can accomplish every day and knowing that you are the one making that happen – that’s what motivates and inspires Deborah in self-publishing.
Here’s what she would advise to everyone who wants to start a career in self-pub:
- Details count. Most readers are willing to read self-pub novels and give new authors a chance, so make sure you offer them a good product in return – without typos and plot inconsistencies.
- Get a really good cover design. The book cover is the first contact between a reader and a novel and has to create the need to know more about the story. Even if your novel is amazing, showing a poor design with a random stock image on the cover could discourage people from reading it.
- Trust your readers. They are the ones who are going to read you, so they can tell you the weaknesses and strengths of your novel, and you can use that feedback in the future.
Deborah has chosen the career of an indie author because she didn’t like the feeling of being restricted by anything or anyone. As an indie author, she has the control to decide what to write about, how to reach her audience, and at what pace to work.
Deborah always knew that being an author was her calling, but she never thought that self-pub would make this dream so easy to come true. So if you also have a dream of becoming a writer, don’t hesitate to follow it. The first step is the hardest, but the moment you make it, you’ll feel how the whole world supports you on your way.
