We recently connected with Katie Reiser and have shared our conversation below.
Katie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
I am an author with a reader-first mindset. As someone with both dyslexia and aphantasia, I face unique challenges in my creative process. Those with aphantasia are unable to see images in their head; I do not dream or imagine visually—it’s like a completely dark slate. This means I have no preconceived notions about what my characters look like.
That’s where my readers come in! Whenever I begin drafting a story, I turn to social media to create a model call for my characters’ appearances. Initially, I was skeptical about whether anyone would be interested, but I was pleasantly surprised. The response was overwhelming—I received over three hundred message requests on Instagram within the first two hours. I had the pleasure of chatting with as many as I could as the messages continued rolling in.
This engagement highlighted a significant issue: readers in the fantasy romance genre often felt severely under-represented.
BIPOC readers often saw characters who looked like them portrayed as scapegoats or their character development was heavily influenced by harmful stereotypes, while women felt that most female characters were very young, thin, and not representative of them.
Taking this feedback into account, I made sure to prioritize my readers’ desires in my writing. My main characters now reflect diverse backgrounds, including Hispanic, Middle Eastern, African, and Asian influences. I also shifted from traditional European-based fantasy settings to a South American influenced fantasy world.
Despite advice from many in the independent author fantasy space that my approach wouldn’t work––wouldn’t “sell”. I proved them wrong. Within the first hour of its release, Heresy became an instant bestseller on Barnes & Noble’s online store, ranking in the top fifteen of fantasy literature alongside renowned authors like Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros.
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.
Hi! I’m Katie Reiser, a 28-year-old fantasy romance author navigating the world of writing with dyslexia and aphantasia. My stories bring the rich beauty of Latin America into the fantasy genre, a space often dominated by European influences. What I’m most proud of, though, are my readers. I spend a lot of my time connecting with them, and those interactions not only mean the world to me, but influence my writing.
There’s actually a fun little inside joke that came about with my readers. Since my first book revolves around witches, they started calling me ‘Mother Katie,’ like a Coven mother. The nickname stuck, and eventually, it just became ‘Mother.’ Now, we joke that I run the largest social media orphanage for readers. Every couple of weeks, I post a ‘Mother Katie Check-in’ as a way to touch base with my friends and readers regarding their mental health. I believe mental health is often overlooked, so I try to offer a safe space where readers can talk about their struggles if they’re having a tough week. It’s important to me that they feel supported and loved, because they are! And if you’re reading this, I hope you know that you’re important, valuable, and so loved!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
One of the key things that helped build my reputation was making sure my social media wasn’t just about promoting my books. I made a conscious effort to create a space where my readers could connect with me on a personal level. I’m more than just an author, and wanted to show that I’m approachable and multi-faceted, just like my readers. I’ve had readers tag me in recipe reels, pregnancy announcements, and even book review posts—there’s this mutual understanding that we’re all people with shared interests beyond just my stories.
I also never wanted my account to feel like an unapproachable business platform. I engage with my readers about more than just writing, and that’s helped foster a sense of community. My approachability has really resonated with people, and that’s something I’m proud of. Readers appreciate knowing there’s a real person behind the books, someone who’s just as excited about life and stories as they are.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Yes, there is! One thing I’m really passionate about is helping fellow authors save money where they can. You don’t need to pay someone to format your book—there are affordable tools like Reedsy Book Editor. For a more luxurious experience, you could try Vellum or Atticus, which allow you to easily format your own book for a one-time price with unlimited uses. These apps are incredibly user-friendly, and best of all, you get complete control over the final product. I highly recommend them.
For fantasy authors, another tool I love is Inkarnate. It’s perfect for creating detailed maps, and once you’re done, you can download the image and even make further edits in Canva. Speaking of Canva, it’s such a fantastic free resource for creating all kinds of graphics, from marketing materials to simple book covers. If you can’t afford a cover artist, it’s a great place to start. You can even create ornate chapter breaks and full-page art bleeds. I’m a big fan of how versatile it is.
Another tip—if you need a polished book title, Fiverr is a great option. You can commission a transparent .png file of your book title with a metallic or chrome finish for under ten dollars! It’s an easy way to make your book look professional without breaking the bank.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://AuthorKatieReiser.com
- Instagram: @AuthorKatieReiser