Six Questions with Talli Roland

  

Talli Roland was one of the first authors I came across when I began writing my novel almost three years ago.

Her kindness and generosity stood out and I've been a fan and follower of hers ever since.

A warm welcome to Six Questions Talli!

1. You've now published 4 soon to be 5 novels-- when did you first decide you wanted to be an author?

It never occurred to me to try to be an author until I’d exhausted almost every other career path. I trained as a journalist, then went into public relations, teaching, recruitment . . . finally, I decided it was time to sit my butt in the chair and focus seriously on trying to write a novel. That was four years ago now, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

2. Each author has such a unique story- what has your road to publication been like?

I've always enjoyed writing – it was the reason I trained as a journalist – and I’d thought about trying to get a novel published, but it wasn’t until my thirties that I seriously started writing fiction. Over the next couple years, I wrote four ‘practice’ novels and learnt a lot! When the opportunity came to publish non-fiction travel guides, I jumped. Even though non-fiction wasn't really what I wanted to do, I knew it could teach me a lot about the publishing process and maybe even help me get a foot in the door for my fiction. And it did! The same publishing house that published my non-fiction also ended up publishing my fiction.

3. I first met you during the A-Z challenge right before you first published The Hating Game, there is a large group of authors you have in your corner- how did you grow such a supportive group?

I’m a firm believer that with social media, you get out of it what you put in. I work hard to keep up with my blog and to interact with other bloggers, always returning comments and trying to support authors as much as I can. The same thing with Twitter and Facebook – I make an effort to be on there every day. I really think consistency and interaction is the key to building relationships when it comes to social media. Constant self-promotion just turns people off.

4. Your novels and website all feature a beautiful branded appearance, what is the reason branding is so important? 

Thank you! I think that’s down to my background in public relations and marketing. I believe it’s important readers recognise books by a certain author, and that the branding should reflect the type of writing. My novels are humorous with a touch a romance – firmly in the chick lit genre – so I want their covers to be fun and playful. Strong branding builds recognition, and in a crowded marketplace, authors need that now more than ever.

5. What are the most important things you've done to market your books?

Social media have been instrumental in helping to market my books. Without a big (or any!) marketing budget, I had to rely on other, less traditional methods of raising awareness. Although I organized launch-day events like blog splashes, I’d say the most critical thing has been building relationships with readers, writers, and reviewers on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. If you have those relationships firmly in place before the release of your book, people will be open to helping you spread the word, as well as buying and reviewing.

6. What would you have done differently since you first became a published author?

Wow, tough question! Hmm. When my first novel was published, I became extremely focused on sales and stressed out about reviews. It was hard to recapture the joy of writing for quite a while. I’d tell myself to let go of all of that as much as possible, and to stay focused on why I started writing in the first place.

Talli Roland writes fun, romantic fiction. Born and raised 

in Canada, Talli now lives in London, where she savours 

the great cultural life (coffee and wine). Despite training 

as a journalist, Talli soon found she preferred making up 

her own stories--complete with happy endings. Talli's 

debut novel The Hating Game was short-listed for Best 

Romantic Read at the UK's Festival of Romance, while 

her second, Watching Willow Watts, was selected as an 

Amazon Customer Favourite. Her novels have also been 

chosen as top books of the year by industry review 

websites and have been bestsellers in Britain and the 

United States. Construct A Couple is her latest release. 

To learn more about Talli, go to www.talliroland.com or 

follow Talli on Twitter: @talliroland. Talli blogs at 

talliroland.blogspot.com.