Interview with Author Kathleen Tighe Ball
Kathleen Ball writes Historical, Contemporary and Christian Western Romance with great emotion and memorable characters. Kathleen started writing in 2009 and by 2011 she not just one publisher. She had two. Working with these publishers gave her great insight to the business of writing as a whole. Now self published, Kathleen loves that each decision from writing to publishing to marketing is her own.
One of the top 50 Authors in Historical Western Romance who consistently Hits the #1 spot in her genre.
Finalist in the 2012 and 2015 RONE Awards. Winner of the 2015 Lear Award, Finalist in the 2017 Indie Award.
Top Pick, Five Star Series from the Romance Review for The Lasso Springs Series
I’ve been writing for 12 years. I live in Texas. I started writing contemporary but now I write Clean and Wholesome and Christian historical Mail Order Bride/ Cowboy/ Oregon Trail Books
Tell me more about your latest book
Aggie- Aggie and her sister Stephanie had been running a matchmaking service in St. Louis. Aggie agonized if the people she matched would work and Stephanie just put who ever together. They had to close after many complaints.
Stephanie believes the world revolves around her while Aggie believes in working for what you want. Stephanie takes Aggie with her when she finds her own groom.
Stephanie expected a businessman and a mountain man was there to meet them- Tate Ackerman.
There is much soul searching and wondering what the right thing is when you love someone who is engaged to another. Willpower, avoidance and much prayer seemed to be the answer.
It’s a story of love, secrets, betrayal, heartbreak and a happily ever after.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?
The challenge was to find the time to write. My husband had back surgery, my three year old granddaughter and my son live here and finding a quiet moment is hard.
What is your normal procedure to get your books published?
I write the book, pick out the cover model. I have a wonderful Cover Artist. I Pre-edit before I send it to my editor and then Edit again when I get it back. My son formats it for Amazon for me. I do all the marketing.
Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
I’m good at many things but I really thought that I wasn’t given a God given talent. I never thought to try writing but I read a book a day. Then the empty nest was upon me and my sister suggested I try to write. I found my God given talent and my bliss. I was as surprised as anyone I was good at it. It wasn’t until I started writing Christian romance that I felt I found a home.
How many books have you written so far?
Over 50. There is a list on my website www.kathleenballromance.com
What’s the best way to market your books?
It’s harder than it used to be. I’ve been around and I have fans. I’m in Kindle Unlimited- all in. I have ads on amazon but they are getting expensive but my theory is you have to be seen for people to buy your books. When I changed from Sweet to Christian I used Bookfunnel to add the Christian audience. Newsletters is my most productive but I usually only send them out one or two times a month.
How hard or easy is it to establish and maintain a career in writing?
You need a platform- meaning you need followers – on twitter I would follow the followers of Authors that wrote my genre. It’s easy to put your book on twitter, facebook and pinterest using the share buttons right on amazon. It’s not easy. I have to go figure out tiktoc- there is always something new and there are a ton of writers out there now.
What is your advice for aspiring writers?
Have a facebook author page- don’t invite authors. Facebook only shows your post to maybe 9% of your like list- you want readers. Join author groups in your genre. I made sure everyone knew I was writing my book- I had two publishers at the time- Everyone knew by my posts I was writing western romance. I did tons of giveaways- even bookmarks mostly ebooks I had on sale. Ask an author before taking all these seminars- many aren’t worth it. You can start your mailing list by giving subscribers- maybe a prologue of your book that you don’t publish. Deleted scenes. I’ve always used free book downloads – I use bookfunnel for that. I change the books out once in a while. Do Not Sign With a Publisher before you check them out. Never pay to have your book published.
Visit Author Kathleen Tighe Ball book links:-
Twitter.com/kballauthor
You can find all my books on Amazon
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