Interview with Self-Published Author Laurel C. Fox

In our series of self-publishing interviews, we are talking today to Laurel C. Fox, author of braveing the way, a memoir. Laurel was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and raised in Aspen, Colorado, from the age of nine through high school. After graduating college with a BA in Liberal Arts, Laurel wound up living in Los Angeles for thirty five years, raising two daughters, and having several careers. Laurel worked for Neil Diamond in the music business for fifteen of those years and traveled the world. Laurel now lives back in Colorado with her husband, John. She works as a voice-over actor and can be heard in many popular television shows such as Lethal Weapon, Angie Tribeca, and Manifest, to name a few. Laurel enjoys being a substitute teacher for the public and private elementary schools in the Roaring Fork Valley. She also sings in a local band and dabbles on the theater stage whenever she can. You can visit the author's webpage at  www.braveingtheway.com and Instagram at https://instagram.com/laurelcarini.

You self-published your latest book, braveing the way. Would you please tell us why you chose the self-publishing route?

I chose self-publishing for several reasons. The main reason being that my story is very personal to me and it involves my two children. I wanted to have complete control over the story, the cover and how it will be promoted as well.

Take us through the process. You had an idea for your book, you wrote it, then you decided to find a publisher. What were your experiences with that? Or did you decide to self-publish without looking any farther?

My writing journey began from day one when a terrible thing happened (I just didn’t know that was the beginning of my book). I received a phone call that no parent ever wants --and when I found myself alone in the ICU, next to my daughter in the hospital bed, I started an on-line journal. From that, a couple years later, after hearing from many people who missed my writings I began to write more, and slowly discovered what this actually could be a book. While I was mentoring some fellow parents along the way, I also had even more of a reason to write the book.

After sending some chapters to a couple of big agents and getting the same answer each time. “It’s a great story Laurel, but you need a platform for this sort of thing”—I gave up on them and decided to self-publish without a hesitation. That took about two years to get to that decision, but once I did, I never looked back.

What different online stores carry your book?

Amazon.com BarnesandNoble.com Bookshop.org

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 designed my cover on my own but had a very clear vision of what I wanted it to be. I purchased a blue heart on-line for $11 and went from there. I knew I wanted my title to be all lower case and also inside the heart, keeping it all very stream-line and simple.

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

I think self-published authors sometimes make the mistake of not being patient and not really taking the time to have a great editor and a great proof-reader do their very important work. A lot of times self-published authors think they don’t need those people or they don’t want to wait for the process to just be the process.

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

The hardest thing for me was not really knowing what the steps were in order to self-publish, which is why I hired a little local company to hold my hand during the process. I am so glad I did, because it’s not easy when you’re also being the author.

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

The little company I hired called “Light of the Moon, Inc.” (who were my hand holders) did the formatting-- and they made it such a great experience for me. I had to be very ‘hands on’ but I choose to be that way anyway.

What steps are you taking to promote it?

I am self promoting a LOT -but also I have a hired a wonderful publicist to help me on the bigger circuit.

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

I would just say don’t be shy, tell everyone you see about your book. Because why not? It’s a special thing to be an author —especially a self-published one.