We recently connected with Justin Williams and have shared our conversation below.
Justin, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Persistence is the most important thing. It takes a long time to accomplish something great, and along the road, there will be many times when you experience failure. I know from my own experiences writing my debut YA fantasy novel Promenauts, The Avarune Necklace. It took me 3 years to write and publish my first book on amazon, all the while I had to focus on writing while keeping up with work and school. And even now when it’s been published, I still need to market it. That’s where the failures really come in as I’ve had to experiment with all kinds of marketing strategies such as online ad campaigns, social media and live events. But through it all, I’m still rolling with the punches because I know in the end, I’ll be successful so long as I keep experimenting.
Justin, 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’m a self-published author. I knew I wanted to write books when I was 12 years old after listening to The Lightning Thief with my dad and brother on the car rides too and from school. I didn’t just love the story itself, I also loved how it gave us all something we could do together, something that we could bond over.
Then at 17, I finally stated putting words to the page. I’d just turned 21 when my debut novel Promenauts was published on amazon. I’m so proud of how my book turned out and it’s my hope that people will one day read it and be brought together out of a shared love of literature the same way I was brought closer with my family.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
It’s when I hear someone has read my book and said they enjoyed it. Knowing someone, even if it’s just one person liked the story I spent so much time on makes it feel like it was all worth it.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
At my college of Florida Gulf Coast University, they have what’s known as the Runway program, which is available to all entrepreneur students. You get to build a business from the ground up with a mentor working close beside you and at the end of the semester, you pitched your business to an actual group of investors for start-up funding.
I was able to do this for my second semester and built Justin Williams Books LLC from the ground up over a few months. Afterwards I pitched my business model, and received $5,400 of funding. The money was used to help fund several marketing ventures as well as hire editors and a new cover artist to improve upon Promenauts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.promenauts.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justincwilliams2721/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JCWilliamsIndieAuthor
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-williams-796135256/
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@j_c_williams