We recently connected with Sabrina Fedel and have shared our conversation below.

Sabrina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

The biggest factors in being successful as a writer are to be persistent and to separate yourself from your work enough that you can take constructive criticism and improve your craft. It can be challenging to distance yourself from your writing because much of what we right is such a labor of love, and often our work has elements of our own stories so it can feel very personal to hear criticism. But, as long as someone is giving that feedback with good intentions, then it’s valuable to be able to hear what others think and make sure your work is clear and polished. Writing can be very solitary, so finding a supportive writers’ group to get feedback is very helpful to improving your self-editing skills.

Sabrina, 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’ve always loved reading stories and writing them, even when I was little. I didn’t get serious about writing as more than a hobby though until I was in my late twenties. I always did a lot of writing in my work as an attorney, and I also did some freelance technical writing after I had my kids. It was at that point that I started to work towards the goal of being published. It took me a long time. The publishing industry is very competitive, and I never had much time to devote to it when my kids were younger.
In 2014, I earned my Masters of Writing, with a concentration in Writing for Young People from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I also was working on poetry at that time and had some poems published. My first book, Leaving Kent State, was published by a small press in 2016. It’s a young adult historical fiction centered around the Kent State shootings in 1970, known as the Day the Vietnam War Came Home when four students were killed and almost a dozen more wounded by National Guardsmen during anti-war protests at Kent State University. My second book, All Roads Lead to Rome, is a young adult romance from Delacorte Romance, a newer imprint in the Penguin Random House family. Set in the Eternal City, it’s a gender twisted take on Roman Holiday and is a romance travel log that takes readers on a tour of Rome. My second book with Delacorte Romance, All Paths Lead to Paris, releases on June 17, 2025 and features a teen fashion influencer who gets caught up in a fake dating scheme with her best friend, a young musician, only to discover that sometimes lies can become the truth. I’ll have another YA romance from Delacorte Romance in early 2027, about a goalie girl who dreams of playing D1 ice hockey, who gets caught up in a complicated fake dating scheme when she trades her social position for some valuable ice skills from an elite hockey player.
You can learn more about my work at my website, www.sabrinafedel.com.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

What I love most about writing is connecting with readers, especially teen readers. It’s really inspiring when someone tells you that they loved your work. Someone reached out to me from the Philippines last year to tell me how much they loved All Roads Lead to Rome, and it surprised me that my work had even gotten that far abroad. Also, for me, even though I write romance, which many people dismiss as being fluff, my books also discuss real social issues. In All Roads Lead to Rome, the main character has lost her dad to substance use disorder. That was a topic that was very important to me, to delve into how we as a society treat those left behind from the illness. All Paths Lead to Paris discusses divorce and learning disabilities, particularly dyscalculia, which is a math disability. So, even though much of my work is in the escapist realm, I still try to ground my stories in the realities of life that matter to me.

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

It can be very challenging for writers to foster brand loyalty in readers simply because, for most of us, it can take at least a year to write and publish a traditionally published book. This means that you have to keep your audience engaged while they wait for your next book.
I mostly use Instagram and Substack to do this. Instagram is a great tool to show readers pretty covers of books, tell them what you are reading, or let them see reviews from bookstagrammers. Instagram is also a place where I connect with fellow writers and readers. I’ve made some friends over the years and been able to connect with other Delacorte Romance authors there.
I love pretty pictures, especially of books, and most readers seem to as well. I use Substack to write free content and my newsletter so that readers who are waiting can have a story or poetry in the meantime and keep up with what’s going on with my writing, and, to a lesser degree, my life as it impacts my writing.
It’s also important as a writer to make sure to thank fans when they post about your book, or answer their questions. My publisher has sent me to a couple of book festivals, and that has been great for meeting new readers, book influencers, and fellow authors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sabrinafedel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabrinafedel/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabrinafedelauthor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrina-fedel-7a82b012
• Other: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2283654/sabrina-fedel/
  https://harvardsquareeditions.org/portfolio-items/sabrina-fedel/