The Truth About An Author's Life - Allyn M. Stotz

                                             

     “What happened to your twenty books you had published?” someone once teased me (all in good fun).

     “Yeah, I wish,” was my response.

     Don’t you wish you could just be able to sit down and put out a book a month? Or maybe even every three months? Not trying to be cynical, yet it seems the stereotypical idea of an author’s life is the ability to just sit in front of a computer, or even a typewriter, and let the creativity flow unhindered. Yeah, that’d be really sweet, but unfortunately for us, life gets in the way. Here to lead off the five day interview series is Children's Author Allyn M. Stotz. 

1)      Tell us a little about yourself. What genre(s) do you write?

I write children’s picture books and have been doing so since 2009. My first book The Pea in Peanut Butter came out in 2011. A sequel to that book Kailee Finds Magic IN Words was just released June 2014.

I’m a Yankee from Ohio but have lived down south for the past 30 years. I’m not the typical writer who always dreamt of writing a book. I always knew I enjoyed it and that I had some talent (I have writers in my family) but never seriously thought about it until one day in 2009, I sat down at my computer and started writing a story that my siblings and I played as children. I was immediately hooked and haven’t stopped writing since.

2)      Out of all the careers, why did you pick writing? What drew you to it?

Well before discovering my love for writing children’s books, I had other careers in the HR field or administrative work. I’m one of those weird people who loves paperwork and I’m good at it.

I didn’t really pick writing per say, it sort of picked me! I was reading my brothers blog one day where he was writing a fantasy description of a computer game he played. He was so good (he should really be a writer himself) and I thought to myself, “I wonder if I could do that?” I remembered a fantasy game we used to play and just started writing it into a story.

It took a lot of soul searching and research though before I finally decided exactly what I wanted to write, which turned out to be picture books.

Probably the thing that drew me to it the most was my love of little kids. I don’t have children of my own but have always loved their sense of adventure and imagination. I wanted to help them bring that out by reading my own words! I believe that allowing children to use their imagination is vital.

3)       Do you have a ‘day’ job?

I have always had a day job until I got laid off in 2012. I never know when my husband’s job is going to transfer him again so I decided this time I would just work from home and try writing full-time. I’m loving it, but have to admit, it doesn’t pay the bills.

4)      Did you ever once consider that writing might interfere with your family time, personal life or even your other job?

Nope. If I wanted to write enough, I’d find the time.

                                             

When I became an author, I thought that cranking out books would be no problem; the money would start coming in right away and getting book signings and promotions would be a snap. You know kind of how it’s portrayed on television and the movies. However, life hasn’t let me live up to those expectations. 

5)      What do you think is the truth about an author’s life? Is it as easy as portrayed on screen?

Absolutely NOT. It’s hard and there are a ton of rules to learn. Every single publisher is different in what they want and how they want it. There is so much competition out there you really have to do your research, take the time to write as perfect a story as you can, and then pray for some luck!

But the saddest and most difficult part of it all is, even when you do get published the money that an author makes from selling their books, is extremely minimal. It’s really tough getting sales, especially online.

Authors really have to bust their butts to get attention and sales. Book signings are absolutely essential and it’s a good thing that they are so much fun. Nothing makes me feel as special as seeing someone want one of my books and appreciate getting me to sign it. It really makes it all worth it.

6)      Have you developed a technique for juggling life, family and writing? And how long did it take you to master this skill? 

Yes, sort of. I don’t have children or a job right now; however I’m not a very disciplined “stay at home” wife. Every piece of dirt calls my name and seems to take me away from writing like I should. But I try the best I can and that’s really all anyone can do.

7)      Are there any secrets you’d like to share for other writers who need help juggling life and writing?

I think the only secret is, make sure you absolutely love what you’re doing. If you do, then you’ll find a way to make it work. Everyone’s situation is different so I can’t pretend to give others advise on that.

8)      And last but not least, can you let us in on what your next book is going to be about and when can we expect it to be available for purchase?

I actually have contracts on 6 more picture books and not sure which one will be out next but my guess is Hippo Bottomless by Futureword Publishing probably sometime spring 2015.

Echo can’t swim like his other Hippo friends. All he does is splash, splash, splash

as he sinks, sinks, sinks to the cold murky bottom.  Can some friends he meets

along the way help or is he destined to spend his life sinking to the bottom, bottom,

bottom.

Stay tuned to my blog www.allynstotz.blogspot.com for updates on my latest releases and where they’ll be available.

Thank you so much for your time, Allyn, and best of luck to you with your writing career. Be sure to do two things: 1) Check out Allyn's books, 'The Pea in Peanut Butter' and 'Kailee Finds Magic IN Words' and 2) Come back tomorrow for another interview with a different author.