We recently connected with Natasha Raulerson and have shared our conversation below.

Natasha, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Life is a risk, right? Whether we walk out the front door to do a daily routine, or take a chance on our wildest dreams. It’s all a risk. We never know what could happen.

In 2014, I queried agents for a manuscript that took me about six months to write. That risk came with a reward. In 2015, I officially had a literary agent. We went through months of edits on my manuscript before submitting to the—at the time—big six publishers.

Unfortunately, that manuscript never sold.

I had written a few more things, but nothing high concept enough that my agent thought it might sell well. Eventually, we amicably parted ways, and I set my sights on what to do next.

My husband, someone who has always supported my dreams of writing, encouraged me to self-publish.

This, too, was a risk. A big one. Because to self-publish, everything comes out of pocket. Cover design, editing, marketing—everything from beginning to end is my expense. Would I make it back? Would this put us further into debt?

But my husband kept insisting that not only could I self publish, but I could self publish and be successful.

In 2019, I took the leap, and self-published my first novel, SINS OF THE FLESH. I made mistakes. Oh boy, did I make mistakes! But, Shameless Book Club also invited me as a Showcase Signing Author that same year. In 2021, The Kindle Book Awards listed Sins as a semifinalist in their annual contest – The Best of Indie.

I’ve written a few more books since then, gained some amazing readers, and met other authors who I adore.

As of this year, SINS OF THE FLESH is still my most popular book. But, had I not taken the risk to self-publish, I wouldn’t have had so many amazing and unique experiences.

Taking risks can work in our favor or not, but life isn’t always a straight path. In this case, it’s been fun, frustrating, amazing, wild, and ultimately worth it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Sure!

I’m author Natasha Raulerson. I’ve written several romantic suspense books, and I have a thriller in the works as well. The type of thriller? I’m not sure yet, but I’ll figure it out by the time the book is done.

I’ve written since I was eight years old—proof positive since my mother kept the first story I ever wrote on a yellow legal pad. One page, front and back. Since then, I’ve been hooked. I wrote poetry, along with short stories in high school and throughout college. I also won second place in Writer’s Digest 86th Annual Short Story Competition a few years ago.

Writing romantic suspense is fun. I love dark, gritty danger, with the intense passion of a relationship. Mixing danger and romance always gets my heart racing, and I hope it does the same for my readers.

My tagline is: Endangering (Fictional) Characters One Novel at a Time.

If there’s anything you can count on in my books, it’s that someone’s life is going to be on the line.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

That self-publishing isn’t as legitimate as traditional publishing.

That’s a common stigma, but really, it isn’t true. I know more self-published authors making a full-time living than traditionally published authors. I’m not one of them yet! But I know several. It’s amazing to see and something to aspire to.

Plus, several indie authors are picked up by traditional publishing houses if their books gain enough traction. There are so many ways to publish, and no one person’s journey is the same.

I had to unlearn that there was only one legitimate way to publish, and I’m so glad I did.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Every day! There’s definitely a lot of ups-and-downs in the publishing industry. It’s forever changing. Whether it’s a new trend, a new marketing strategy—something. Publishing is one of those industries that keeps you on your toes. I have to be flexible and creative, and yes, it can be frustrating, but ultimately, it’s worth it when my book lands in the hands of the readers. I love getting emails, and seeing the reviews—having readers reach out to me. It’s amazing, so it makes the frustration worth it.

But it seems like I have to pivot all the time. Whenever it seems I’ve got something figured out, the game changes, and I have to adjust. So long as I keep writing, and keep moving forward, I know it will work out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://natasharaulerson.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natasharaulerson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NatashaRaulersonWrites/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@natasha.raulerson.author