We were lucky to catch up with Natalie Keller Reinert recently and have shared our conversation below.

Natalie Keller, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Making it to full-time as a novelist was a long road, and I’m not sure I ever expected to get here! I wrote part-time for about ten years. As long series began to bring in more readers, I began trimming back on my professional (office) work in 2019, dropping to part-time hours so that I could write more. In 2020 I was laid off due to the pandemic, and that was when I launched a full-scale freelance plan of action. I was writing full-time, but it included writing a lot of social media, blogs, and magazine articles. In 2022, I trimmed down to the occasional magazine article and focused my writing exclusively on my novels.

So, a twelve-year journey from my first book to writing fiction full-time. Because I write very niche titles, I’m not sure I could have moved any faster. Some people write more than six or seven books per year; some people can write in very popular trends and make a full-time earning right out of the gate. I decided to take it as slowly as I can and stay true to what my audience wants me to deliver, rather than trying to create a new full-time career with a new audience.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I write equestrian fiction — horse books for grown-ups, I like to call it with a wink. It’s not a category you’ll find in any bookstore. Horse books in middle-grade and young adult are very popular, but what publishers don’t seem to realize is that when children grow up, they don’t stop loving horses. There are an awful lot of people in this world who eat, breathe, and sleep horses. And they like reading well-crafted fiction that reflects their lives, hopes, and struggles. I began publishing adult-oriented horse stories in 2011, and because of that, many other authors in this niche consider me the one who started it all. We exist now, whoever wants to take the credit, and there are more of us every year.

I frequently work with other writers who want to write in this niche. They’re at all stages of their craft — some are just starting their drafts, others are looking for help publishing their books, getting covers designed, advertising, etc. I really enjoy creating equestrian-focused covers and helping authors find their audience. It’s a very unique niche with its own set of rules.

The other way I enjoy reaching equestrians is through the Adulting With Horses Podcast, which I co-host with fellow author Heather Wallace. It’s irreverent, fun, and totally unscripted. We talk about all things horses, our books included.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Accuracy has been my greatest calling card, alongside my writing style. I studied Journalism in college and I take “write what you know” very seriously. When I write settings, my readers can often pinpoint the exact farms or towns I’m talking about. I love to paint word pictures, but since I use real-life equestrian settings, it’s absolutely necessary to get it right.

Equestrians do not suffer ignorance, so getting one little detail wrong about the horses is enough for a person to close a book and leave a one-star review. I make sure my books are accurate because I’ve lived the lifestyle, trained the horses, and ridden the jumps.

What keeps readers coming back, even when I stray away from horses and write in a different genre, is my writing craft. I am a stylish writer, prone to literary device, but I have learned to be more concise while still writing sentences I can be proud of.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

While I use typical author strategies: reader Facebook groups, personable social media presence, etc, my single greatest asset are my subscribing readers. They’re currently housed on Patreon but I could take that subscription anywhere and maintain my tight relationship with my super-fans. They get everything first, often reading chapters the moment I’ve finished typing them. I take their feedback and requests into consideration. I write for them, first and foremost. If my subscribers are happy, then my most important fanbase is happy. And then, so am I.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nataliekereinert.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/nataliekreinert
• Facebook: facebook.com/nataliekellerreinert
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliekreinert
• Twitter: twitter.com/nataliegallops
• Other: patreon.com/nataliekreinert