We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tracey Barski. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tracey below.

Alright, Tracey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

The biggest challenge in this arena is definitely over-saturation. With the rise of indie publishing, there’s very little holding people back from getting their books out in the world. But this also means quality can be an issue. So you have people who are reluctant to try out indie-published books because so many are not up to industry standards, but they are also overwhelmed by sheer choice. I even find myself overwhelmed by how much is out there. The key comes down to marketing and chance, which is its own challenge.

There are many success stories of little authors making it big because someone influential took a chance on them. But this is the exception overall, and we’re seeing a ton of authors–indie and traditionally published–who maybe sell a few hundred over the course of their career. With the swiftness with which the marketing and social media world changes, it’s hard to keep up with marketing trends to even create a formula that will work for everyone, especially with how many books are out there. People are inundated with posts and ads and reels about books constantly, so it’s hard to stick out in the sea of options.

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 former sign language interpreter turned homeschooling mom who just relocated to Tennessee from Colorado. I have been editing books for several years, cultivating my skills in both non-fiction and fiction editing and proofreading. But before that, I was a casual/hobby writer. I have always been a voracious reader and started writing my own stories when I was a teen. I never had any plans to publish, finding the process of getting traditionally published daunting. I had dismissed indie publishing for many years because of the lack of quality I experienced.

That all changed in late 2021 when I decided, after a lot of encouragement from those who read my book, to publish my debut The Alternate End of Cassidy Marchand–a book about alternate realities, murder, love, and forgiveness.

Since putting my book out, I’ve published the rest of the series, a few independent stories, and have entrenched myself in the author and bookish community on social media. I’ve developed great relationships with fellow authors who have hired me as their editor or proofreader and have been getting into book cover design as well. It has been a joy to bring books out into the world that deserve to be read and getting them up to standard for people to enjoy.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I have built a bit of a partnership with a fellow author as we’ve co-written a book and are publishing a co-written series later this year that we are so excited about. We’ve also started a podcast about the publishing and writing process because we’re so heavily involved and have had a lot of people ask how we do things. CH Lyn is a fantastic writer in her own right and is a bit of the motivating factor for taking things to the next level in my own career. We do book signings and put on large book events for fellow authors and readers to meet.

The story of our “meet-cute” is actually kind of funny. We were both trying out a writing group for women all over the world that meets on Zoom multiple times a day. We happened to be on one at the same time, and discovered we lived in the same town.

After discovering our kids were close in age and finding a shared passion for writing, we started writing together regularly, which turned into a deep friendship that has enabled both of us to go farther in our careers.

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

There is always that pride element of someone thinking you’re good at your craft. But I think the bigger thing that makes this worth all the effort and time and money is when someone genuinely enjoys or is moved by what I’ve written. I had a habit of dismissing what I’d written as fluffy or unimportant, but there have been many readers who have been genuinely impacted by the character’s story and growth that I was so unprepared for. That is what has been most rewarding–my words speaking to people on another level.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://traceybarski.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authortraceybarski/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authortraceybarski/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC17Ff1FDMXwFK7lkJ-f1mWA

Image Credits

Emma Cook, Kathryn Quintero