We recently connected with C. D’Angelo and have shared our conversation below.

C. , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

When I decided to write my first novel, THE DIFFERENCE, I didn’t know writing would become another career. I started writing it in my mid-30s and published in my early 40s, spanning 8 years. For the years before this writing bug bit me, I had experience writing academically for my established career as a mental health therapist, but no specific training otherwise. What a shock it was when I enjoyed writing so much that it grew to having two published books. So, the simple answer to how I learned to be an author is that I just wrote. That’s it. I sat down and let the words come through my fingers to the pages. I don’t think that the process could be sped up, it just takes time and practice. While practicing, however, additional resources help, such as using advice of editors, reading as many books as possible for pleasure (it adds to the technique), and reading writing books. Knowing your voice and style is what makes you different as an author, so spend the time needed to find them. Having enough time is always the obstacle for all that I said above, but if you adapt your mindset to letting the process occur in the time that’s right and meant to be, you will enjoy the journey.

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

I’m proud to say I’m the award-winning Women’s Fiction author of THE DIFFERENCE & THE VISITOR. My novels consist of relatable stories of the Italian American culture, bursting with food, tradition, history, travel, and quirky characters. I’ve been told many times that readers get hungry when reading my books!

I started writing about 9 years ago, but my first novel took a while to finish then get published, so I am a new author of 1 year with 2 books at this time. That fact, along with winning awards and having a few #1 Amazon Bestseller and #1 New Release titles are career highlights. My third book is planned and ready to write, so my goal is to continue to refine my writing craft, grow in the sales of my books, and bring pleasure and escape to my readers.

You can get freebies and learn info first when you’re a C. VIP (recipients of my newsletter). Visit my website to be part of my journey: CDAngeloAuthor.com

Have you ever had to pivot?

If you’ve seen the Friends episode with “Pivot” as a catchphrase, the word may bring a smile to your face. But, when you have to pivot in life, it isn’t always a happy moment. I was with a small press for my first novel, then decided to transition to self-publishing when a change was needed. After waiting 8 years for THE DIFFERENCE to be published, I couldn’t wait any longer and decided to publish within 3 months of my decision. This sounds like a lot of time, but it is not at all. Even though my book was done with most of the early editing, the phases left took hours upon hours of time in order to meet my release date. Add in the marketing and lead up to the big day and I was in for a wild ride! But, I’m a person of my word, so holding myself accountable for my decision was important to me, therefore it happened. I made personal life changes in order to meet my goal, including (thankfully) understanding family and friends who helped me with responsibilities or understood I wasn’t able to be as present for those months. It all worked out and I feel a huge sense of accomplishment for the major task I overcame and the beautiful end result.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I established my social media accounts, I decided to try Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I also added in Pinterest and TikTok over time, but I still focus mostly on the first three mentioned. Although each has its unique aspects, the idea I had at the start has remained fulfilling and successful, by my standards.

My author brand is about celebrating my Italian culture, uplifting and inspiring people while creating a safe space for them to feel heard, sharing relatable stories, and of course promoting my books. I want to build connection through the genuineness of my brand and myself. The amount of people I have who follow me is wonderful, and I want it to keep growing, but the fun part of social media for me is to go on there and smile at the content my now friends have posted, and to continue to meet kind readers and other writers.

One way I have found that builds my network on there is to post consistently, be it every other day or every few days. Whatever you decide is fine, but be consistent. And within that consistency, try sticking to your brand content areas (like I listed above) in a way that shows your humanness and vulnerability (see, I told you I’m also a therapist!). Comment and show you care for other people’s posts. We all take so much time to create them, so like, share, and comment to show you want them to continue doing what they are doing. Time is needed for any growth so slow and steady will bring true relationships.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cdangeloauthor.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.dangelo.author/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/C.DAngelo.Author/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CDAngeloAuthor
• Other: Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/cdangeloauthor
  Pinterest: @cdangeloauthor http://www.pinterest.com/cdangeloauthor
  BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/c-d-angelo
  TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@cdangeloauthor
  Amazon author account: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B098V1KNBG