We recently connected with Karen Rogers and have shared our conversation below.

Karen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

The story behind my mission is to write poetry and children’s books to help those going through different life events. As a school counselor, I help students with their academics, career development, and social-emotional needs. My books are social-emotional themed, and it is essential to have books that resonate with readers so they understand the emotions coming off the page. Many may agree that life is exciting, uncertain, and filled with lessons. But reading poetry or a story that reflects the various things we go through in life may help someone think about their situation. I aim to instill joy, peace, and comfort in all who read my books. When the reader puts down my book, I hope they will feel renewed.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an elementary school counselor working on my doctorate in education and have worked with students for almost 20 years. I never thought education would be a career because I started as a substitute teacher and was hired as a teacher assistant. Then I became a front office secretary and returned to school for my Masters in School Counseling. I have been blessed to work on all school levels, and being an elementary school counselor is a blessing. Before I decided to go back to school, I had my first book in the making. I asked my sister, aunt, friends at work, friends outside of work, and my three children to read my poetry to get some feedback. I got the seal of approval from them, and then I had my poems copyrighted through the U.S. Copyright Office. The chapter president of the sorority I am a member of told me to be careful sharing my poems because if I was interested in publishing them, she did not want me to risk someone “stealing” my idea. That was the best advice! I had drafted a poem for my chapter, and that is when it all began for me to get my work copyrighted. I have been writing since I was a little girl and wrote poetry and stories then. I worked on the school’s newspaper at Carver Junior High (now Carver Middle School), and a friend and I wrote a “romance novel” in junior high school. When I attended South Carolina State University, I majored in English. Then when I transferred to the University of South Carolina – Upstate (then it was Spartanburg), I received my Bachelor’s in Journalism – Communication. I dreamed of owning a radio station that would play different genres of music. I love music, and I wanted to be a radio personality. That dream is not far removed, but writing is my thing.

My first book, Sapphire in Rhapsody – A Window to the Soul, is the first book I published in February 2022. The book is filled with poetry reflecting on various themes we experience in life: love, faith, and family. I was nervous about publishing this book because I did not know how people would react. I have reached a point where I cannot be afraid to let people see my talents. I have always hidden in the shadows making others look good, and it was time to let the world know who I am. Also, I had the loss of my oldest son, and I dedicated the book to his memory. The second book, Beautiful Butterfly, is a children’s book; I published it in May 2023. Beautiful Butterfly is a poem taken from my first book, and this is the poem I dedicated to Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Incorporated, of which I am a member. I illustrated the book through Canva, and I had some help from one of my granddaughters illustrating the book. The children in the book are from diverse backgrounds, much like my grandchildren, and the reader will see that I dedicated this book to them.

I am proud of seeing my work written and created by me. I want my children and seven grandchildren to feel proud because this is their legacy. I am 50ish, and to all my 50-plus out there, if they have a book that needs publishing, get it out now!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I had yet to figure out what to do about publishing my book. As I mentioned before, I had my poetry copyrighted while researching how to publish my first book. I did not know any publishers then, and I had put my book aside until 2022. I heard about Amazon KDP, and I figured maybe I could start off publishing my first book through Amazon and see how things go. Self-publishing is hard because you are trying to sell your book independently. I had no idea how much publicity I had to do to sell my books. I created a Facebook page, and Instagram page, and attended one book fair. I did not know about the book fair until one of my coworkers told me about it. The exposure is minimum because I do not have a publisher to help with the promotions and book signings.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my audience on social media by inviting all my friends to my Facebook and Instagram pages. Then I advertised on TikTok and gained an audience that way, too. All pages are open to the public, and at least once a week, I publish a story with me reading one of my poems or advertising my books. I also have private pages on Facebook and Instagram. I have also joined different author groups on Facebook, and we like each other’s pages. That is a fantastic way to network and learn about book fairs or if someone is sponsoring an event and needs vendors. I advise networking with authors and publishers who support book fairs and events.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekarenlrogers_author/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090371172435
• Linktree: linktr.ee/karenlrogers

Image Credits
My profile picture with my book, Sapphire in Rhapsody, was taken by Aleigha of On Fire to Inspire.