We recently connected with Robbie Cox and have shared our conversation below.
Robbie, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I think it takes a willingness to work hard and not be afraid to try new things. A person needs to study whatever field they’re hoping to dig into. For us, right now, it’s not only ab out the craft of writing, but also marketing trends. And then a person needs to be ready to take that next step. We’ve done that by opening our own online bookstore for my pen names, which also includes book-ish merchandise. Don’t wait for success to find you. Go after it.
Robbie, 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 started while I was in school because I hated paying attention to the teachers. They thought I was taking notes when really I was writing my first short stories. From there, I worked as a freelance writer for various magazines, which was a lesson in patience. During that time, I would study, reading every book I could on the craft as well as the business of writing. And read other authors to see how they did it. In 2011, we decided to simply take the leap and publish my first story ourselves. I’m a control freak so I wanted my hands on every aspect of the process, which is why I went the Indie route. Now, I have three pen names, almost sixty titles, and we just opened our own online bookstore – Feel-Good Reads. Each step has led to the next step, and now there is a team of four of us who handles every aspect of the business. I’m no longer simply an author, but also a business owner, which has led to a slight mindset shift in order to make it all work. I’m proud of our stories, as well as our merchandise. The feel-Good Reads team has done amazing, and it all start with a short story.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I started out, I wrote everything under one pen name, and it seemed to confuse a lot of people. As I was about to launch a series in a heavily romance dominated audience, I decided to split my writing up under different pen names. It took quite a bit of time to rebrand several books, but in the end I think the move was well worth it. The one thing I have learned being an author is to pay attention to the trends and be ready to switch directions quickly.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
When people fall in love with my characters and stories. Sometimes, my readers know more about my characters than I do, and I love that. It always makes me feel good when I hear them asking for more from one character they fell in love with, or a backstory on one of the side characters.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.feelgoodreads.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feelgoodreadsssp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FeelGoodReadsSSP
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2BBSdYQvHLeXNJeiQtcIwA
Image Credits
Beautiful Mess Graphics