Up Close & Personal with 'Selling Christmas' Angelina Goode #upcloseandpersonal @angelina_goode

 

Up Close & Personal is one of The Writer’s Life newest features. Here we feature authors who don't mind spilling the beans and telling what it's really like to write, get published and sell that book.  Today's guest is Angelina Goode, author of the Christmas romance, SELLING CHRISTMAS.  You can visit Angelina's website at www.angelinagoode.com.

On Writing…

Writing has always been part of my life. As a teen, I wrote screen plays to act out with my brother, and poems about life. In college, my classes focused on journalism and creative writing. So I think I’ve always been a writer and planned to write as a career. But once I had kids and found myself at home and searching for an outlet for myself, that’s when I really focused on writing and decided to write a novel for the purpose of being published. That novel, The Average Girl, that was largely written with a baby napping in my arms, was the first thing I ever had published. Since then, I’ve learned ways to plan out my writing and make my time more productive.

On Being Published…

When I received the proof of my first novel, The Average Girl, I was filled with so many different emotions. Pride for accomplishing a huge goal, excitement to share a story I loved with other people, and a bit of worry that people may not like it. With my latest novel, Selling Christmas, I felt I had a bit more freedom.

The novel is about memories and takes place in Oregon, where we used to visit every summer when I was a child. I was able to weave the areas that created so many of my memories and build them into a story for others to read. Being able to take readers on a journey that will hopefully evoke feelings of joy and warmth is such an amazing experience.

On Publishing Industry…

The first novel I wrote was self-published because at the time, I wanted to prove to myself that it was something I could do. I wanted to write a novel and put it out there. I felt that self-publishing was the best way to go for Selling Christmas because it is such a specific niche. I was able to write a story I
wanted to write without being worried about where it would fit into the traditional publishing world.

Mistakes Along the Way…

When I self-published my first novel, the lines were still blurry with agents as to whether or not they accepted previously self-published manuscripts. I pitched my (already self-published) novel to an agent without mentioning that it had been self-published. She was interested, but when she discovered I had
already published it but didn’t tell her, she lost interest fast. I felt so bad because she was one of my dream agents and it had been an honest mistake on my part. I really had no idea what I was doing. But I learned two important lessons: do your research on current etiquette for pitching novels, and always
be honest.

On Marketing…

Finding ways to get your book into people’s hands is one of the most challenging aspects of writing. The options and opportunities change almost on a daily basis, and everyone will tell you something different that works for them. I’ve found that knowing your audience is the first, and biggest step, to
marketing. Researching other books similar to mine and targeting those audiences with ads has been effective for me in the past. Building relationships with bloggers and avid readers through social media, finding the people that will tell others about my book, has also been successful.

On Goals and Dreams…

As a published author, I want to move people. I want them to be immersed in my novels and feel what the characters are feeling. That is my goal, to help them escape their reality and plunge into the story I’ve created for them. I have so many ideas that I keep track of for future novels so I hope to continue
writing for as long as a I can. I really hope that with every novel I write my craft improves and I can learn from each story I write and each character I create. For aspiring authors, my best advice is to take your writing seriously.
 

Learn from the books you read and take every opportunity you can to learn.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

 

 

Helping people find their dream house has always come natural to Caroline. She’s able to set the stage perfectly so her clients can imagine spending the holidays in their new home, even though she doesn’t decorate her own. When her boss assigns her to oversee the company’s first Christmas Tour of Homes, Caroline thinks she may be in over her head.

Luke has always made sure his daughter, Ella, had all that she needed for Christmas, including a home bursting at the seams with tinsel and holly. Even if it meant working extra shifts patrolling the town. So when a house of their own is at the top of Ella’s Christmas list, he can’t help but set out to find one.

As Christmas fate brings Caroline and Luke together, they just might be exactly what the other needs to make it through the holidays. Until Luke unknowingly stumbles across Caroline’s past. A past that keeps Caroline from looking to a future with Luke.

Can Caroline and Luke find their way to happily ever after? Or is the only thing keeping them from finding it, each other?

 

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3kLotqE

Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/3j4KWyi