Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Rauner

Hi Kate, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

I fell into writing thanks to a friend. Along with his young grandchildren, he wrote a tale about pigs and gerbils battling for control of an island. He asked me to help massage the kids’ ideas into a story, released it on Amazon, and all the friends and family loved buying a real book by people they knew.

He liked my ideas as we worked on his book and said, I should write a book myself. As luck would have it, National Novel Writing Month was about to begin, so I accepted his challenge. Since I love science fiction, that’s the genre I tackled.

I did it! I created a book, and it was a mess. My writing from day to day was inconsistent and repetitive. I lost track of my plot and characters. But, my friend helped me revise that draft. It took most of a year, but when I posted it on Amazon, I got some poor reviews – and some good reviews too.

I was sure I could do better. I was hooked.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

I’d read hundreds of stories in my life. Maybe thousands. Surely, I knew what would make a good book.

Turns out, not so much.

Writing novels is harder than it looks, especially when you don’t know what you’re doing. I started off not knowing what questions to ask. My early efforts were painfully slow and took many editing passes before I was satisfied. I took a couple adult education classes in creative writing, but they didn’t teach the elements of a writing. Instead, the teachers offered a series of prompts, which can be fun, but was not what I needed.

Once I found one writing coach on-line, I picked up a writer’s vocabulary – story structures, character arcs, genres, tropes, beta readers, and more. I finally had useful questions. Then I could search for resources and find teachers who resonated with me, who offered structures that freed me to be creative.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

I began writing for the fun of it. Worlds come to me first, and then characters appear and… do stuff that becomes a story.

Creating stories gave me a framework for research and non-fiction reading, because I like realism in my science fiction. Then I extrapolate future technologies, and outline actions and conflicts. Each book sets off on a definite path, but diverges more than once as the story develops. It’s fun to see where my characters take me.

I write alone, and since I’m traveling through my world, I don’t find it lonely. I have a spare bedroom where I work, writing directly into my computer. Some authors like music or the background noise of a good coffeehouse, but I need quiet. I try to create a new scene every day, frequently edit my past work as a running start to a new session, and forgive myself when I don’t write as many words as I planned.

Selling books completes the loop. I want to share my stories and discover what readers think, but only a small percentage of people leave reviews. Their words are gold for me and help others find my work. No book report needed – you’re not in school. What did you like, or not? A line or two is all it takes. I hope you’ll review the books you read – you’re doing everyone a favor.

It’s also good for me to venture out of my own head and talk to real-life people. I sell my paperbacks at local summer events, just for the chance to talk to people. Real people are fun. For year-round support, I joined a small group of writers, and we’ve become friends. We trade messages, critiques, and resources, as well as celebrate our successes and commiserate when necessary. Writing makes me happy, and I hope makes my readers happy too.

PS: Are you interested in writing for a living? There’s room for creativity, but you need to approach your goal as a job and learn about the industry. There’s a lot of competition in both fiction and non-fiction. Consider some numbers: Amazon is the Big Dog in books. They probably sell between half and two-thirds of all books in the USA market. Amazon is thought to have over thirty million titles for sale with thousands more released every day. In August, 2024, they were estimated to be selling 300 million print copies a year and even more Kindles. (Official Amazon statistics are hard to come by, but I’m confident that “lots” covers it.) Plot your course and good luck.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?

Here’s a memory that stays with me. My school’s annual play was Dracula, and I volunteered to work backstage. I had to pour a heavy chain from one metal bucket to another, and help with a few other special effects, but the big moment came when the lights blacked out, Dracula hopped off-stage, and a bat took his place as a spotlight flipped on.

The bat dropped, suspended on a fishing line, and then was pulled forward to fly out of sight, stage left. The trick worked perfectly in rehearsal, but on show-night… the fishing line broke, and our poor bat crawled along the floor to exit the stage, humiliated.

While not a favorite at the time, I laugh today. That production made me realize I wanted characters – my characters, eventually – out in front, while I labored behind the scenes. Once a book is complete, it belongs to those characters and to their readers. They know more about the story than I do.

Pricing:

• eBooks priced for the enthusiastic reader. My full-length digital novels are $4.99 on Amazon as kindles, and my Mars series (a perennial favorite) from more major on-line stores.
• Prefer print books? My paperbacks are $14.99 to $16.99 on Amazon. Look for hard cover editions too.
• My eBook series collections are value-priced, and you’ll find short works too. Novels also on Kindle Unlimited. Even a free eBook collection of eight short stories from me and my writing buddies. Check out my Amazon author page.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kateraunerauthor.wordpress.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kate.rauner/
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kate-Rauner/author/B00DMEEMWS

Image Credits

Kate Rauner (all the same)