Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alana Sommers . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think it takes to be successful?

Determination, perseverance, resilience, and ambitious

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the author of the novel, If You Don’t Tell. A native North Carolinian who lives in Charleston, S.C. with my husband, kids and many pets including a large tortoise. I’ve received my bachelor’s degree from Kent State University in Ohio. I look at the world through a writer’s lens — even when I’m out paddle boarding and spending time at the beach. “If You Don’t Tell” is my first book baby.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I sent out query letters to literary agents for 2 years in an attempt to be published the traditional way. However, literary agents only take on 4 to 7 new authors a year and receive hundreds of queries every month. So, after 2 years of hoping and waiting, I decided to email a small publishing house and heard back the next day that they were interested working with me to publish my manuscript.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I joined several Facebook groups on related topics to share my book with and to get it out there more. I also offered signed copies to develop a reader fan base and asked for honest reviews and ratings after they’ve finished reading it. Who really thinks to leave a rating on a book? I certainly didn’t used to but it’s so important for authors to continue to gain readers. I also hosted giveaways to gain more followers for the different social media accounts I created on all the different platforms, and posted daily to keep it lively and active. I then made sure to interact on these posts, but also interacted on others’ posts to further develop my social media presence.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.alanasommers.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/alana_sommers_
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/AlanaSommersAuthor/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/alana-sommers-79100a61
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/You-Dont-Tell-Alana-Sommers/dp/1685152481 https://www.tiktok.com/@alana.sommers