Interview with Self-Published Author MaryAnn Kempher

In our series of self-publishing interviews, we are talking today to MaryAnn Kempher who is the author of Mocha, Moonlight, and Murder, a romance mystery. One night, 28-year-old, Katherine O’Brian, decides to walk to an all-night diner. The only problem? It’s midnight, but Katherine lives in Reno Nevada, a city that never sleeps; she can clearly see the diner’s lights in the distance. It’s no big deal, until she passes someone’s garage where a man is loading a dead body into the trunk of his car. And now, she’s in trouble. She outran the man that night, and while she has no idea who he is, he knows who she is. And he wants her dead.As if attempts on her life weren’t stressful enough, Katherine has gone back to college. She’s determined to finally finish her degree, but her lab partner is driving her crazy. He’s hot, but annoying. And she’s not sure which she wants more—a night of mad, passionate sex or a new lab partner. It varies from day to day. Will Katherine give in to her lust for her partner or will she give in to her desire to throttle him? If she’s in the ground before graduation, it won’t matter. Not your typical romance, not your typical mystery.


You self-published your latest book, Mocha, Moonlight, and Murder. Would you please tell us why you chose the self-publishing route?

Mocha, Moonlight, and Murder is book one of a seven book series—it was published by a small publishing company. I was not happy with them or how they did business. I bought the rights to my book back and self-published it and the next six through Amazon.

What different online stores carry your book?

Right now, just www.Amazon.com.

Authors who go the traditional route have an edge over self-published authors in regards to distribution to bookstores. How did you handle that as a self-published author? 

Self-published authors have many avenues for selling their books. With a little effort, they can even get their books into Barnes and Noble and Books a Million. 

On the other hand, self-published authors have the edge over traditional books in the regards that the author has all the control. I’d like to begin with your cover. Did you make it or did you have someone else design it? If you had someone else, can you tell us who it is?

I worked with a really talented book designer. I highly recommend her, robin@mycustombookcover.com

So, where do you see self-published authors making the biggest mistakes overall?

Editing. You must be willing to pay someone to edit and proofread your book. You will not see the errors. And, covers. The cover is the first thing a reader sees. Some things are well worth paying a professional to do for you.

What do you believe the biggest advantages are when self-publishing?

Many things. If I don’t like my book cover—I can just change it. If I find errors in my book, I can correct and upload. These things take too much time, if working with a publisher. I really like that I can find out how many copies of my books I’ve sold. I don’t have to go through my publisher to find that out. It’s all on-line. 

What was the hardest challenge for you to self-publish your book?

Formatting. With the e-book, that’s not an issue—at least with Amazon, but with the print version the margins and size have to be perfect.

They say self-publishers are control freaks. Do you think there is a lot of truth in that?

You say that like it’s a bad thing. 😊 I don’t consider myself a control freak. With my first book, my publisher was a problem. Once I self-published and saw how easy it is and knew that the publisher did the exact same thing I had just done yet took most of my royalties. It didn’t make sense to try to find another publisher.

Did you get someone to format your book for you or did you do that?

After a lot of research, trial and error—I formatted all my books myself.

What steps are you taking to promote it?

Since publication, I’ve done many things. Advertising on Facebook, on Bookbub, Goodreads, Twitter, two different magazines and virtual tours. I have success while these things are active, but once the promotion is over—my book seems to get lost again. I’m hoping to find something that keeps my books on the radar.

Do you have any advice you’d like to share with other self-published authors?

Regardless of genre, my advice would be to do your research. Buy books on the writing process, don’t assume you know what to do. Just like with anything, if you’ve never done it before—you should be open to study. Then, once you feel ready, create a rough outline. Nothing too involved. Ideally, you should know who gets killed, who the killer is and why they killed that person. If possible, travel to the location of your book. Try not to edit during the writing process, not a lot anyway. Just get the words down. Sure, the first draft might really stink, or not—but that’s what the revision process is for; to make that dirty diamond shine. Write, every day, if possible. Nobody is going to write your book for you. Don’t give up.

I consider this book to be a romantic comedy with a murder mystery sub-plot. There is some, but very little, sex or profanity.

If you would like to find out more about MaryAnn Kempher and her books, take a look at her website or visit her on Facebook.