We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dallas Anne Duncan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dallas Anne below.
Alright, Dallas Anne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
It’s easy to say that the best investment a creative entrepreneur or artist can make is investing in herself — and there’s certainly some truth to that. But as a creative in the literary publishing field, I prefer to offer actionable advice based on what I’ve learned by effing around and finding out what may work well, and what may not.
One of my find-out-the-hard-way instances of an investment not working for me happened when I shelled out more than $500 to have my independently published book “Bright Star” at a series of “book fairs”. I was promised that by paying these hundreds of dollars and sending display copies of my book — which would not be returned — I’d be placing “Bright Star” in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of librarians, bookstore owners, book buyers, etc. At least one of the display copies I sent had been a pre-signed book from my inventory. I opted for a digital advertising package that ensured not only would the books be physically showcased, but patrons would see my book in their program and online as well.
As the inimitable Maury used to say: “And that was a lie.”
I received exactly zero sales from having my books shown at the two “book fairs” I paid to be at. I am also fairly certain, after scouring the photos put up from this event afterward, that “Bright Star” never got put on a shelf or table. It’s got a distinctive cover and spine, and I saw it nowhere in this company’s display. To make matters worse, the following year, I was tagged in an Instagram story where a new reader highlighted the signed book copy she scored on Amazon. As I don’t sell signed copies anywhere except my own website, I inquired as to which Amazon shop she purchased it from. Imagine my frustration when I learned the seller of this book was none other than the company that was supposed to display it at the book fairs!
Though I’m sure these events have been fruitful for other independent authors, I decided at that moment I would no longer consider participating in them. It was a whim — a very expensive whim! — that I was so excited to be able to afford, and I experienced immense disappointment that in the end, it ended up costing me.
Dallas Anne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Telling folks I’m a writer, editor, storyteller, and independently published fantasy author makes it sound like I wear a whole lot of hats. I prefer to think about it as more of one hat with a wardrobe of interchangeable accessories.
The one hat is storytelling; the most integral part of who I am. I dream, I imagine, I worldbuild, I create in every aspect of my life. I tell people to never doubt their magic, and I frequently remind myself of my own. It’s not something I grew into, either, this magic of imagination and Piscean expressiveness. I think it was ingrained in me far prior to when I recognized storytelling for what it was.
I “wrote”, for example, my first book long before I could write.
When I was little, I drew pictures on whatever sheet of paper I had available, then pleaded with my parents or Nanny to write the words to the story I had in my head. The pages got stapled together, and voilà! A book was born.
Going from author-in-my-dreams to author-in-reality took about thirty years and quite a path to tread. My professional background is in agricultural reporting thanks to my two degrees from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences, one in animal science with a meat science emphasis and the second in agricultural communication, focusing on journalism. I wrote for newspapers and magazines for years, spotlighting agriculture and science as often as I could, even if my job title technically called for me to do otherwise. For roughly a year, I owned a now-defunct magazine, and learned far too much about now not to run a profitable business.
I remained a freelance journalist after switching to digital storytelling fulltime, and much of what I do day-to-day still falls under that realm of expertise. I work with small businesses in the Athens, Georgia, area to help them craft their brand identities, social media “voices”, and set themselves apart with content, creativity, and mission-guided marketing ideas. I also do these things for myself now that I launched @DallasAnneCreative, the Instagram arm of my editing and storytelling coaching services.
What I found as an indie author, particularly in the fantasy space, is just how much grit and trust in oneself it takes to put a book out in the world this way. I designed @DallasAnneCreative partly as a freelance editing venture, but also as a space to help aspiring indie authors climb over existing barriers to entry and find their voices as writers. My goal is to advocate for joy, inclusion, and authenticity in indie fiction, both on bookshelves and in authors’ marketing spheres.
It is incredibly easy for writers to feel underappreciated and as though their ideas or work don’t matter. I believe this to be the case in traditional journalism fields as well as in the world of Bookstagram and BookTok. We are inundated with artificial intelligence programs offering to write and publish books for us. We cannot scroll social media without ads popping up, begging vulnerable authors to drop hundreds of dollars for the “secret sauce” to going viral. Reaching new readers and audiences isn’t hard, per se, but it takes time, dedication, and consistent work — challenging commitments in a time of communal and cultural burnout. I can’t lie and say I don’t fall prey to the occasional woe-is-me mindset, but I am proud of the inner progress I made thus far in my career as a storyteller. I may not always love my work. I may not always enjoy the pressure of writing and publishing. I may question whether my editorial feedback to an author came off harsher than intended (my preference is critique without criticism). I may loathe writing through the tears of a hard personal day. But with each sentence completed in a manuscript and each short story idea that becomes a Substack newsletter, with every author I engage with and each book idea I help another writer bring to life, I grow unashamedly into a more authentic version of myself. That, I think, I am most proud of.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Teenage me got my hands on a copy of “Eragon” shortly after it came out traditionally published. I devoured that book and became enamored with the backstory of its author, Christopher Paolini, who initially published “Eragon” himself. That was the first time I heard of indie publishing, and at the tender age of perhaps thirteen, I decided if I ever became an author, that was the route I’d go. Flash-forward roughly two decades and “Bright Star” came to be.
My mother (bless her!) swears that “Bright Star” could make a great traditionally published novel. Sure, it probably would have made having more sales faster a more feasible goal as an author, but I heard too many horror stories from people who got book deals and their editors wanted to make substantial changes to their stories. One of those, by the way, came from my own mother!
Granted, aside from my mom’s aforementioned book, I’m unsure if those changes would have made such stories better or worse. But I was writing “Bright Star” — a modern fantasy novel without much romance or “spice”, as it’s called these days — in a time when romantasy was taking off as a genre. “A Court of Thornes and Roses” and “From Blood and Ash” were the talk of the ‘Tok. Publishers, and a lot of indie writers, too, wanted romantasy. They wanted in on that wildfire. I wasn’t willing to compromise my story for a promise of s*x.
The ability to do that, to make that choice — for better or for worse — is the most rewarding part of being an indie author. I have the privilege of being able to look at my own work through a more critical lens thanks to so many years of being a writer and editor beforehand, and though “Bright Star” and “Triumvirate Rising” may not be perfect, I still have agency over what they become. I have uncompromising authenticity to the story I want to tell, the reflections I hope to inspire in my readers, no matter what the industry trends are right now.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Buy local and promote local, as often as you can. Consumer power is what drives these conglomerates of big box stores and massive warehouse-based websites to exist at the level they do. We see over and over again how, when we as buyers give our dollars to corporate entities, the result is shuttering of small businesses. As an indie author, it pains me to see brick-and-mortar bookstores going away due to their pricing being undermined as a certain website uses book sales as a loss leader. Though I understand the cost of goods increased substantially (and many wages did not) since 2020, putting money back into your community is the best way to help ensure that community stays afloat. Attend art openings in your area. Buy gifts from vendor markets and nearby artists, instead of gift cards to chain stores. Open up your business to creatives by having local art or photography on the walls. Visit farmers and cottage food markets for the next week’s produce or prepared meals. Donate to nonprofits in your area that support art programs, and vote for local leaders who understand the importance of keeping creative programs in schools and the city, county, or state as a whole. Social media engagement costs you nothing, and is a great way to boost local artists: comment on posts — you’ll notice many will ask you questions in their captions! — and share them with friends or to your own social media platforms, of course tagging where your followers can find them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dallasanneduncan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dallasannecreative
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMeridianTrilogy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dallasanneduncan/
- Other: https://dallasanneduncan.substack.com
