From Unpublished to Kindle #1 in a Month – Vicki Tyley – The Interview
A New Zealander by birth, Vicki Tyley had her first taste of writing success while in primary school. Between winning a children’s short story competition for a national magazine as a child in New Zealand and becoming a Kindle phenomenon from Australia, Vicki Tyley worked in a multitude of different industries including banking, stockbroking, importing and wholesaling, human resources, mining, hospitality, civil engineering, and toys in predominantly accounting, IT and management roles. As luck has it, a bout of ill health in 2002 caused her to reassess her priorities and follow her dream of being a writer.

From publishing short stories in magazines, Vicki Tyley turned to self-publishing and her mystery Thin Blood shot up to #1 on the Kindle mysteries list, turning her into a successful writer in record time. She is now in the very last stages of publishing her last book Fatal Liaison, due for release this Monday.

How did she manage such a feat? Vicki Tyley has graciously agreed to share her secrets to fame.

In May 2010, a mere month after its publication, Thin Blood reached #6 on the Kindle bestsellers list, the goal of any writer out there. Apart from the quality of the book, how did you manage to get there?

Luck and opportunity played a huge part in Thin Blood’s success in the Amazon charts. Being in the right place at the right time. (That record time you mentioned was eight years in the making.)

When I uploaded Thin Blood to Amazon, my sales expectations were low – maybe a few hundred copies if I was lucky. I was as surprised as everyone else when Thin Blood took off like it did. I certainly couldn’t attribute it to my author platform (I had none), so what was it?

From the number of comments I’ve received over the last year, I’ve come to believe it’s the cover and title that sparks the initial interest. Then word-of-mouth takes over – if someone enjoys your book, he/she will want to tell his/her friends. I’m amazed (and thrilled) at the number of emails I receive from readers who’ve read my mysteries on someone else’s recommendation. I myself am more likely to buy a book based on a personal recommendation rather than a blurb or review, so I really appreciate how pivotal word-of-mouth is to sales.

You mentioned once a first bad experience with an editor before finding a fairy godmother editor whom you were happy to work with. How essential do you think editing work is to the success of a book?

 The right editor can only make a book better. And anything that enhances a reader’s experience has to be good. Regardless of skill level, regardless of budget, we writers have a duty to make our book the best we can make it. Near enough is not good enough. Not if we want happy readers, and isn’t that what it’s all about?

 Even if we can’t afford to employ a “professional” editor, we owe it to our readers to have our work at least critiqued by fresh eyes, whether that be our peers or beta readers (preferably not family and friends).

Since Thin Blood, you have published an additional two books: Sleight Malice, published in August 2010, which is currently (as at July 27, 2011) ranked #16,183 in the Amazon US store, while Brittle Shadows, published in December 2010, is ranked #23,292. Does that indicate that you are now devoting more time to writing than to marketing?

Spot on. We all know how easy it is to become caught up with socializing and networking, but books don’t write themselves. When I realized days were disappearing with little or no writing to show, I made the decision to pull back from my online activity until I’d finished the book I was working on. Now I’ve achieved that – Fatal Liaison is scheduled to be released late August 2011 – I need to find that writing/marketing balance. (If anyone has any tips on how to achieve this, I’m all ears.)

How do you think the fact that you live in Australia, far away from the hustle and bustle of New York and London, main literary centers, affects your ability to market your books?

Not at all. It’s one of the wonders of our technological age. Most of my marketing is online, so location and distance is irrelevant. With Internet access, I can be anywhere in the world at the click of a button. All right, maybe not physically, but I can still connect with people from across the planet.

Would you be ready to consider signing with a publisher after tasting the freedom of self-publishing and the success it brought you?

Definitely. My agent is currently shopping a novel that I’d originally planned to release on Kindle. Self-publishing and traditional publishing don’t have to be mutually exclusive. My goal is to have my books available in every format – in both paper and digital – “wherever good books are sold.”

If you had one piece of advice to give aspiring writers, what would it be?

 If your passion is to write, believe in yourself and don’t give up. Write one book, then another. Keep honing your skills and developing your voice. Rinse and repeat until you get there. (Thin Blood was the third novel I wrote.)

I like this quote from H. Ross Perot:

 “Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one-yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.”

It inspires me to keep going on those days when it all seems too hard. I hope it will resonate with others, too.

Thank you Vicki Tyley for these insights. We look forward to your new book Fatal Liaison on Monday!