We recently connected with Elise Manion and have shared our conversation below.

Elise, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

The madness of writing fiction novels began on a whim in my mid 40s.

My husband, who is also my favorite person in the world, gifted me with a brand new MacBook in 2012. It came with an application called iBook Author which touted a feature to “self-publish” your work. I was intrigued since I’d been gobbling up romance novels for years. I had absolutely no experience with the publishing world though. After messing around on the app, I did a basic google search on the industry. I found an online writers group that offered a contest where the author is tasked to write 50k works within 30 days. No editing or revising allowed, something I was clueless about anyway. The purpose was to get the words down.

I immediately filled out my information and entered my very first NaNoWriMo challenge.

By the end of the thirty days I hadn’t met the goal but I did have the makings of my first full length novel – with the potential to write a sequel. I found that I loved writing! After more research, and writing, and minimal self-editing, my baby was born! Boy, was I proud of myself; so proud that I did the one thing no writer should EVER do… I published it.

That’s right. I sent it out into the world without showing it to anyone other than a couple of friends and family, none of whom had any experience with book production, editing, or publishing in general. In my opinion, my story was the best thing I’d ever read.

I soon learned I’d never read anything good.

I’m sure you’ve guessed the outcome; poor reviews, harsh online critiques, and a lot of humiliation on my part. I blame ignorance and a bit of vanity. But some good came out of that colossal mistake. A gentleman from York, England gave me a one-star review on Amazon and along with it he wrote a public critique. A very constructive one not meant to be hurtful, but helpful.

Instead of crying or feeling angry that someone would scream to all and sunder what was wrong with my story, I embraced it. In fact, I was THANKFUL for the information he gave and awed that my story had reached someone clear across the Atlantic ocean who’d taken the time to write such valuable information. His criticism put me on the right track to fix my story.

I immediately found his contact information and we began an online conversation where he helped me understand what I’d done wrong and what I should do to correct the problem. I immediately pulled the story, and revised quite a bit, hired a professional editor and did more research. I took some classes, I learned more and began to hone my craft. While this was happening, I also joined a local writer’s group and made some connections. I learned a lot from them and received great advice.

I also found an online graphic designer company to help me redo the cover. They liked the story so much they invited me to be a part of a writer’s circle they were forming with the intention of starting a small publishing company, which they did and I was proud to sign on with them.

Over the next eight years, I published three novels in the series through this small publishing house, plus three short stories for their various anthologies. I learned a lot about the business. Yet, the world of publishing was changing rapidly. Major publishing imprints were either gobbled up by bigger houses, or dissolved.

At the same time more and more online programs were being created to help authors work independently. Graphic design became simpler, formatting programs were created specifically for the Indie Author, and point of sale solutions were becoming more and more available. Social media became the new marketing team, along with street teams, beta readers, and critique partners were easier to find. Gone were the days of big signing bonuses with traditional publishers unless you were an athlete, a politician or a celebrity.

In 2023, I wrote my very first YA Romance. My previous series had been a romantic suspense based in a small fictional Nevada town. When I sent my new novel to my publisher I didn’t hear back, which was strange. They’d always been prompt. I began to worry. More and more small publishers were closing and not hearing from them wasn’t a good sign.

My amazing writing partner mentioned I should publish the new story independently. I was apprehensive. I mean, I’d done such an abysmal job of it my first go around that I wasn’t sure if I should give up on my publishing house. They’d helped me so much in the early years, and I still didn’t want to leave them yet. I gave them the first right of refusal on my new story. After six months of hearing basically nothing back from them, which hurt my feelings (because we are human after all) I took my friend’s advice and published my YA on my own. From formatting, to cover design, and editing, I braved the independent world again and, this time, found success. I received good reviews and the story finaled in a few contests.

Sadly, more and more small publishers closed down. Though I hadn’t heard back from them I still worried about my own little house. Then authors reported having difficulty getting their rights back on their books when their own imprints closed or were reassigned… so I made a preemptive move and pulled ALL my books from my publisher. It was a hard, and scary, decision to make but they were very kind and reverted all rights back to me. Within a year that publishing house shuttered its doors.

I’d dodged a bullet.

For now, I’m happy to be independent. I published another book in my romantic suspense series in 2024 and I’m currently finishing a new paranormal romance with the hopes of publishing by Halloween of 2026. I also have another new series being plotted out, and an idea for a fifth book for the small town series.

With independence comes a lot of responsibility. It’s not easy but it’s so rewarding. I have total control over when I write, deadlines, where I distribute and where I do signings.

I didn’t plan to be an author but I’m so glad I clicked on that app all those years ago. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Elise, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I independently write contemporary romantic fiction with a focus on suspense, humor and minimal spice. I’m not very active on social media. In fact, the only platform I use is Instagram, and my newsletter is run through Substack for free. I find social media takes too much time away from what I really love, which is writing stories with characters who are imperfect yet strive to be good people.

The real world is so unsettled these days. The last thing I want to write about is more of the same. My hope is for readers to find happy distractions within the pages of my stories.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Early on I found Scrivener, a writing program specifically made for writers to hold ALL of their work in progress manuscripts in one place. It’s a writing application, a binder, a resource collector and a formatter all in one. What I really, really wish had been available in the early days is Vellum, a hard copy and digital book formatting program. It’s elegant, easy to use and indispensable to my work.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

It’s a well-known concept for authors to be reclusive. We like to be alone to work, to do things on our own. However, sometimes you need someone to back you up in certain areas of this business.

I met my writing partner in a local writer’s group. She’d been writing erotic romance for years before we met and doing it independently. She’d run the numbers, done the research and decided that traditional publishing was not for her. We came together with one goal in common. We needed a support partner for book signing and conventions. Since then, we’ve been each other’s beta readers, editors, networkers and graphic designers.

I couldn’t do what I do without her support and encouragement.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elisemanion.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisemanion/

Image Credits

Elise Manion