We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eme Savage a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Eme, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
My mission is to entertain, educate, and provide an escape through storytelling. There are three things you can always count on with every book I write.
1. Expansive worldbuilding
2. Well developed characters
3. A story that makes you think
Every book. Every time.
Eme, 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?
I am Eme Savage, author of The Genesis Chronicles and The Nightshine Sage. I started writing Echoes of the Gidat when I was a freshman in college. I had no intention of letting anyone read it, much less publish it. In 2007 my dad died, and I decided to publish Echoes. The moment I held a hard copy in my hands was a memorable day.
In 2009 I was diagnosed with Lupus and Fibromyalgia. My writing came to a standstill as I battled these debilitating diseases. In 2018, I came back to a very different writing community. Independent publishing had matured into a viable business model. I asked to be released from my publishing contract and published my work independently. With my business background as a jumping off point, I dove into learning the process of self-publishing from hiring the right professionals, finding free resources, and learning the ins and outs of marketing in the social media age. Because of a very generous writing community, I have published four books and have two more waiting to be published.
There are three things you will always get when you read my books: a believable world, relatable characters, and thought-provoking stories. All of my work challenges mythologies and the nature of reality. I love playing with the idea that the things we believe as children seldom prove true as adults. I also draw on my own voice as a disabled woman and ADD/autistic person.
I am most proud of the evolution of Echoes of the Gidat. It started as a dream and now you can find copies of my work all over the world. I wouldn’t have believed that was possible twenty years ago.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Yes! I started the publishing journey back in 2007. Print-on-demand was in its infancy. When I came back to the writing community in 2018, I found a vastly different landscape. There were many more independent authors than there were in 2007, people who had spent years honing their craft. Not only that, they were generous with their time and knowledge. Because of that generosity, it inspired me to go independent as well.
There are so many things I wish I had known sooner. I learned about critique partners, beta readers, and ARC readers and when to use them. I learned that creating a good product doesn’t need to break the bank. I learned way more about marketing than I am comfortable with as an introvert. All of these things I wish I had known sooner. It would have given me a lot more confidence in this journey.
I am not unhappy with the speed of my journey overall. Do I wish I had more time to devote to this? Of course. Do I make the most of the time I do spend on it? You bet I do. Eventually, I did learn all those things, and I pay that knowledge forward whenever possible.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
From a career standpoint, I have pivoted a lot. I have pivoted a total of seven times over the course of my thirty plus years of working. That means every four or five years, I change “careers”. That’s the lovely thing about hitting a certain age. You learn what are other people’s expectations and what belongs to you.
Writing belongs to me. All of these varied experiences have fed my writing in interesting and wonderful ways.
But there was one thing that stumped me for a time. When I diagnosed with Lupus and Fibromyalgia I was determined not to allow it to affect my life in any substantial way. I was so naive. I was having debilitating migraines every couple of days and had to go on a particularly unpleasant medication. It caused the worst writer’s block of my life that lasted seven years. It forced me to focus on my health, and eventually, I was able to get back off of that medication.
I made up for lost time by publishing three books over the last five years. The experience inspired my third novel, Mirror of Ettek, which has two disabled main characters. If you are chronically ill or experience chronic pain, you will recognize yourself in those pages.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @eme_savage
- Facebook: @eme.savage
- Other: Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4060758.Em_Savage?from_search=true&from_srp=true