We recently connected with Tabatha Shipley and have shared our conversation below.

Tabatha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

When I left teaching, a career I had worked in for sixteen years, in order to focus on my writing and publishing, it was a huge risk. Writing is not always consistent; ideas come to you in strange waves, not every idea gets finished to your level of quality, and it’s not always possible for an idea to find a market. But I also knew that not having the time to dedicate to marketing the books would be a complete nightmare. I knew that I wanted to be able to work on the next idea, edit the most recent piece of writing, and market the old things all at the same time. That simply wasn’t going to be possible with a full time job in a classroom. So, I made the decision to dedicate that time to my writing career. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. In the last four years I’ve published 7 books and I have another 3 scheduled to be released in the next 18 months. I’m actively marketing my books, attending events, and working with bookstores. These are all things I wouldn’t have had time to do if I hadn’t had the guts to leave my day job and embrace my dream.

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

I am a multi-genre author specializing in strong characters and endings that make you think about the characters long after you close the book. I have 7 titles available now, all written for young adults. My titles are available under the imprint Tabatha Shipley Books, a publishing company that I started in 2020 and continue to expand. My books are available at R Bookmark, a store in Youngtown where I am the author-in-residence. They are also, of course, available online and by order at your local bookstore.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission is to write the stories I want to read. I like character driven stories. I like endings that leave me thinking about characters. I like personality to come alive off the page. I like found family stories. I write all those things and I do it in such as way as to give other reader’s enjoyment. That’s the mission.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

My initial funding came from personal savings. Since then I have had a few investors who believe in my books and my vision invest in the company. I also partner with a local bookstore where the owner pays for the books upfront and another bookstore that sells my titles on commission, meaning I don’t get paid unless they sell. Basically I’ve learned that it never helps to ASK people to get involved in your company. If you have a vision, investors will be interested.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tabathashipleybooks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authortabathashipley/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTabathaShipley/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShipleyTabatha
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmKCHSW24yuk9HTm6vZA1eg
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tabathashipleybooks

Image Credits
Tabatha Shipley