We recently connected with Michelle Hardy and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

I believe the most challenging thing about the publishing industry as an author who writes and self-publishes my own books is people have this fantasy mind-set or misconception that they all are going to get a literary agent and get a huge paycheck up front from one of the top five publishing houses (Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster).

If someone has been sought out by a literary agent, their work is formidable to warrant the upfront compensation. The promise of a lump sum of money up front and the printing of thousands of copies similar to the scene from the movie The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds is rare.

We all feel we are great writers, but the truth is most writers need to improve before even being considered to have a literary agent or even being represented by one of the top five publishing houses.

Yes it is a big deal to be published by the top five, but I don’t want to people to have on rose colored glasses when writing and hoping for the biggest publishing deal ever. People need to be realistic and self-publish first to understand the full process of publishing. Even if they decide to publish a smaller piece of work to test the waters, at least they’ll know what the process is like and they may even decide to just self-publish all of their work going forward after doing the test run.

Michelle, 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 have been writing ever since I was ten years old. Writing has always been something that came rather easy to me.

My mother gave me a manual typewriter, which would be considered an antique today, to type my poetry and short stories. Initially, before the typewriter, I would write on anything I could get my hands on. I would write on napkins, the back of magazines, an old box; whatever really, it didn’t matter. As long as I could get the words down and out of my mind and onto paper, that’s all that mattered.

As a ten year old, back then we didn’t have the technology we have today to research. I had to go to the mall and find the literary agent book or to the library and hope no one else had checked out the book with the addresses to submit query letters. I was diligent and determined to figure it all out.

I am a consultant for people who want to self-publish their book. I want to see everyone win in the area of writing and ultimately getting published. I offer great information on my Youtube channel https://youtube.com/@michellehardyxo (formerly @solitudewithmichelle). It’s important people know the truth about the industry and how best it will serve them if they self-publish their work.

I love information. The more information I have the better. I regard myself as the go to person for “dropping books like albums.” You can write as many books as you have inside of you. You are unlimited. I solve the problem of putting people at ease and helping them through the process of starting to publishing a book. The steps are not hard, it just takes a clients discipline to do the steps.

What sets me apart from others is I’m extremely honest about what can and can’t be done. I believe you can write. We all have our unique gifts. I believe even a person with limited vocabulary can write and publish a book. I encourage everyone to write.

It’s important for people that work with me to know that their story has value and you will finish your book. There’s a strategy for everyone.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have pivoted several times in business. As a creative you are always going to come up with a better or new idea. The thing is to embrace it. I had a nonprofit and I decided close it. The thought of closing the nonprofit tugged at my heart and I felt limited. I knew there was the “real” me inside and the nonprofit didn’t allow for that, so I shut it down. I strategically decided to change all of my website and social media handles to @solitudewithmichelle. After I did changed everything and settled on the name, I got a coach and my coach noticed that I wasn’t being my authentic self after sharing some personal information about myself. The coach suggested I pivot. I thought to myself, “OMG I just pivoted before I hired you as my coach!” This weighed on me heavy but I did several strategic thinking sessions and I figured out a way to pivot yet again.

The thought of pivoting was really challenging as I had already told my social media following I was pivoting from the nonprofit and now I would have to do it yet again. I had to set aside all my feelings because I wanted to grow not only personally but I wanted to be more of me.

It worked and I’m on a journey of being more of me.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe what helps me in writing and publishing is that I volunteer. I am one of the administrators for one of the largest magazines on Facebook for black women authors. I initially volunteered to share content with the Facebook group in relation to the industry. My goal was to share my free information from my Youtube channel that offered education to the group members. The opportunity led to me being part of the team. I continually get people reaching out to me to ask questions and I’m considered knowledgeable in the industry because I share content daily, not only for the women authors but for myself as well.

Volunteering has always been a great strategy for me and I’ve gained so much by just offering what I do best and I’m sought out by more people than I can handle.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michellehardyxo.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/@michellehardyxo
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/@michellehardyxo
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@michellehardyxo
• Other: I’m am working on building a network of readers to writers to review books (see landing page to be added to waitlist when website launches – https://bookreviewagency.com). This is something that will be great for many people who have a hard time getting book reviews.

Image Credits

Images taken by Michelle Hardy