We were lucky to catch up with Alex Brown recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alex, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

Rising Action Publishing is definitely a labor of love. My business partner, Tina Beier, and I met in 2018 during grad school. While we connected initially on something else, we developed a great camaraderie. It wasn’t until May of 2020 when we started talking about the idea of a publishing house. We wanted to create a traditional independent publishing house that would bring amazing books to the forefront. We wanted to focus on diversity and as a women-run, women-owned company, we wanted to make sure we were contributing the publishing world positively.

At the time, I was working in wine marketing and editing books freelance. I had just finished my master’s and was starting my PhD in Creative Writing. I had a few interviews with big five publishers and a few with literary agencies but nothing felt like it was the right fit for me.

If I could go back in time, I would do nothing different. I think that starting when we did was perfect. I’m also incredibly lucky that the timing worked out for my business partner Tina because we definitely work amazingly well together!

Alex, 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 got into the book world after working as a freelance lifestyle writer for different publications in North America. Writing has always been my passion and being able to help others discover that passion as well has been such an incredibly wonderful experience. When we started Rising Action it was with a dream to contribute fantastic literature to the world. I am not so egotistical to see that our authors could go anywhere, they’re insanely talented, but the fact that they’ve chosen to publish their books with us is such a wonderful feeling. Our authors all have different backgrounds and have created novels that are unputdownable and filled with such emotion that readers will feel like they’re a part of their intimate world that the author has created.

I am so proud of the books that we have coming out over the next couple of years and the ones that have come out in 2022! These books have been on the rise and I am so excited to see where the careers of the authors we have take them.

Another thing I am wildly proud of is our partnership with South African publisher Blackbird Books. We have partnered with them to bring African voices to North America and it’s been such a privilege to bring these books here. I am so thrilled to announce that Legend Times in the UK will be publishing select titles of Blackbird as well!

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

As an indie publisher, we’re oftentimes looked at as less than the big five–and that’s fine–it’s not true but it’s fine! We were told the chances of big box stores carrying our novels are a less than 3 percent. That’s not something I agree with or something that would cause me to not try. So we pitch every single one of our titles to the big box stores such as Barnes and Noble, Indigo, Waterstones etc.

I am so proud that our book We’re All Lying will be stocked nationwide by Indigo and be featured on the thrillers table. This is such a huge accomplishment for not only us, but the author and such a credit to the novel that Marie Still has written. In addition, our novel (Not) Your Basic Love Story by Lindsay Maple is stocked in Indigos around Vancouver, Canada. These both have been such a huge accomplishment for an indie publisher and such a testament to the stories.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

So, so, many.

There are a few great podcasts for writers and authors. The Shit No One Tells You About Writing is such a great resource to hear stories from people from different aspects of their writing journey as well as publishing professionals. Another two great podcasts are The Creative Penn by Joanne Penn and Of Publishing Persuasion. All of these podcasts offer invaluable looks at the publishing experience and ways to hone your craft!

Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackermann have created such a great platform and reference guides for new writers and I highly recommend them to every new and established writer!

Camille Pagan has created also a great resource for authors called Even Better Co. where she offers coaching and also some great freebies along with a podcast!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.risingactionpublishingco.com
• Instagram: alexandriab_11
• Twitter: alexandriab_11

Image Credits
Nat Mac for the book covers