My Personal Path To Publication - Lisa Kessler

Hey gang, today I have a homegirl on the blog.  Please welcome a fellow San Diegan, Lisa Kessler.  Lisa is the author of the recently released paranormal title, Night Walker, published by Entangled Publishing, this past August.  Lisa and I are both from San Diego; she still lives there, while I am transplanted to Los Angeles.  Another of my hosted authors is from San Diego as well, Scott Prussing.  It's so neat to me to discover authors so close to me through the magic of facebook.  It makes me think that I have the chance to meet some of these talented authors someday, perhaps at a convention or signing.  With all the conversation that goes on with facebook, I just think it's nice to know some of my contacts might be friends someday.  Lisa's book is available now, both in ebook and print form.  Now, read about her journey and see how it came to be.

1. How long have you been writing? 

I wrote for fun every night for about 3 years, and started publishing short stories.  It took 10 years for me to get my first novel published.

2. Are you published and if so, how long have you been a published author? If not, what’s your plan?  

My debut novel, Night Walker, was just released in August.  Woot!

3. Which route did you choose for becoming published, the traditional route, with an agent, the “indie” route, going directly to the publishers yourself, or deciding to self-publish?  

I self-published one of my longer short stories just to try it out and learn about indie-publishing.  It’s been a great experience and also got my name out there with book bloggers before my novel was released.  My novel is published by Entangled Publishing in Print and eBook.

4. Why did you choose that particular route?  

I learned from my self-published short, Across the Veil, that editing and formatting are tough and cover design is even tougher.  Entangled Publishing also gives me a publicist to help me spread the word about my book.

5. How long did it take you to write your first novel? 

I wrote the first draft of Night Walker in 6 months.

6. How long did it take you to publish it?  10 years.

7. How many times did it get rejected before it got published?  

Yikes I lost count!  Night Walker is a contemporary paranormal romance, but it also has history woven into the story.  Traditional publishers and agents did enjoy the story, but they didn’t know how to market it.  I got rejections for that, rejections that my hero was too dark, the list goes on and on.  I was starting to lose hope in getting it published…

8. Tell us about your worst rejection letter.  

I can’t think of a really horrible one.  It’s never fun hearing them tell you they love the book BUT we’re going to have to pass… ugh!

9. What was the best news you ever got in your writing life and how did it make you feel?  

Talking to the acquiring editor at Entangled over the phone and hearing how much she loved my book.  It was the sweetest redemption to find a publisher willing to take a chance on the book and me…

10. What’s the worst piece of advice you ever got?  

I had an agent once tell me that foreign settings and heroes never sell…  Huh! LOL

11. Now, tell us the best! 

The best advice came from Kelley Armstrong and Barbara Vey who both encouraged me to join RWA.  Without the networking and involvement in RWA chapters, I might not ever have heard of Entangled Publishing and Night Walker might still be trapped in my computer instead of out in the world… J

12. What’s the one thing you would want an aspiring writer to take away from your personal path to publication? 

Never give up.  I posted a blog about it… http://lisakessler.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/never-give-up/

13. Where can we read your blog? Buy your books? Connect with you on facebook? On Twitter? Your website?

Night Walker is available online everywhere, but here are the links for Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Night-Walker-ebook/dp/B005EYT7JW/ref=pd_sim_kinc3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2  and Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/night-walker-lisa-kessler/1104527195

My blog is: http://LisaKessler.wordpress.com

Facebook is: http://facebook.com/LisaKesslerWriter and http://facebook.com/NightSeries

Twitter is: http://twitter.com/LdyDisney

And my website is: http://Lisa-Kessler.com

He gave up his soul for a second chance to love her...

Two and a half centuries ago, Calisto Terana lost everything when a zealous priest murdered the woman he loved. Now, desperate for another chance to love her, he wants redemption for the mistake that cost her life.
She's haunted by dreams of her own death...
After catching her fiance with another woman, Kate Bradley returns to San Diego to clear her head. The last thing she needs is romance, but after meeting Calisto she's drawn to him in ways she doesn't understand.
They've waited in the shadows for centuries...
Calisto has no doubt Kate is the reincarnation of his lost love, but the Fraternidad Del Fuego Santo has a new watcher with dark ambitions of his own. As old enemies reemerge and a new threat arises, the betrayal that enslaved Calisto to the night might destroy the only woman he's ever loved again.


Okay, I'm sold!
Plus, if that's Calisto on the cover....need I say more????
And Lisa is more than just a pretty face.  She is also contributing a workshop at www.savvyauthors.com along with her husband, Ken Kessler, Social Media for Writers, which begins today.  Here is the link: http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/showevent.php?eventid=1049.  If you are having trouble mastering the skills, get in touch with Lisa because these platforms are invaluable for the author who is marketing herself or himself.  And check out Lisa's book!