Katherine Dyson- Author Interview
1. Can you tell us a little about your writing career?
I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was little, and from school, I went to university to do a Creative Writing degree. But after I graduated, I found jobs writing commercially — first as a greeting card verse editor and then later as a marketing copywriter, and having to think of ideas all day totally drained my creative well. I didn’t write for myself again for years but picked it back up again in my late 30s, and since doing my time in the query trenches I’ve self-published one book and had two more picked up by a traditional publisher.
2. What has been different for you in regards to having been self-published versus Traditionally published?
They’re definitely different experiences. Self-publishing gives you the freedom to do things your way and the royalty share is amazing, but it’s a lot of hard work to get noticed in that vast sea of other books. You have to wear a lot of different hats! With Trad publishing you do lose some of that freedom, but the team around you can open doors to places you might never be able to get on your own.
3. Is being Traditionally published what you expected?
I’d say yes, but only because I knew people who had got there before me, so I had a pretty realistic view of what it would be like. If I’d listened to Hollywood and expected to be sipping champagne for breakfast while my agent snapped her fingers and got me seven-figure deals I’d have been very disappointed!
4. You have been working hard on your marketing for your books. How do you come up with your marketing strategies?
I’m not sure I’d go so far as to call it a strategy, but my goal with marketing is just to be authentic and try to give potential readers an idea of my voice and humour. If I’m myself and people connect with that, I hope that means they’ll enjoy my books too. I write around a full-time job, so I don’t have as much time to devote to it as I’d like, but I follow other writers and readers on social media and try to hop on a trend when I can. You’re always at the mercy of the algorithm, but I find my best bet is to fling a load of very ‘me’ things out there and see what sticks!
5. Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?
I don’t have anything definite in the calendar yet, but I’ve just finished drafting a cute vampy romcom that I’m really excited about, and I may possibly have news on a new super secret project coming soon. But as trad publishing moves at a glacial pace, ‘soon’ probably means at some point in the next year.
6. What advice would you give to writers looking to publish?
Read, read, and read some more! Read the kind of books you want to write and read other books too. If you can get to know your genre inside out, see what’s popular and what the conventions are, you’ll be at a huge advantage. It pains me to say it, but publishing is a business first, and reading is your research. It just so happens that it’s fun research. It’s a perk of the job.
7. Where can we find you and your work?
Find me @_katherinedyson on most of the major socials, though I’m most active on Instagram at the moment. And you can find my books here: