Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to TL Shively. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

TL, appreciate you joining us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

My whole life I have always had stories in my head, during long drives or just when I would be in a situation where my mind would wander. I would read stories and then create stories with my own characters. One day I was talking to a co-worker about all my stories and he told me that I needed to write those stories down for others to read. I told him that no one would want to read them. He looked at me and said not if you don’t write them. That was the push I needed to start my writing but it took me over ten years to finally get that first story written.

Believe it or not, that was the easy part. Then I had to find someone to publish my book, I knew nothing about publishing a book. So, I spent years looking for publishers. Sending out submissions and getting rejection letters until finally a publisher responded that they were interested in my book. While the experience wasn’t the best, it was a small time publisher who had bitten off more than she could chew, it taught me much. The publisher had taken me to a book show where there were other independent authors. One of those authors handed me a flyer to a book show where I met other authors who I became friends with and were a lot of help.

After I had a falling out with my publisher and got my books back with the help of some author friends, I started out as an independent author who published her own books. I was introduced to people who were editors, formatters and cover designers. I joined groups on Facebook for independent authors, authors in my state and I asked lots of questions. I found beta readers who would help look over my books before sending it to the editor who would polish it up for me before publishing. Then I would send my book to the formatter who would format my book so that all I would have to do is upload the book to the publishing site I was using. The most common one is Amazon but for my Sanctuary Guardian series I have used IngramSpark.

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

I am a wife and mother who works in an administrative position in the construction business. I put all the stories in my head down and published them. I learned more about being an author from asking questions from those who had experience and then implemented them myself. Learning from any mistakes made and never giving up.

I write my stories for my readers to immerse themselves in, an escape from reality into a fantasy world of action, adventure and magic. I like my fantasy with a twist so that my readers will never know what to expect.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I’m still learning when it comes to social media but for me I have found that comic-cons have been the best in helping me with building my audience. There is no one sure fire way to build an audience on social media, you can pay attention to how others in the same field as you are doing it and then implement it. If it doesn’t work for you then try another until you find the one that works for you. If you are still having issues it never hurts to ask.

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

I would have to say my goal or mission in my journey is to put my books in front of readers who enjoy reading fantasy stories. Who want to lose themselves in a good story and forget about reality if only for a little bit. I have had the joys of having fans ask me questions about my characters and wonder what is next for a certain character. Sometimes I can answer other times I have to play the mysterious card and tell them that they will have to wait for the book to come out.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://bit.ly/3sqcWBM
• Instagram: https://bit.ly/2zuKMys
• Facebook: https://bit.ly/2A83V9W
• Twitter: https://bit.ly/35S4lwK
• Youtube: https://bit.ly/3eNfqUO

Image Credits
The rainbow logo was created by Rebecca Poole at Dreams2Media.