Interview - Charlotte Summers

Welcome back,

This month we have Charlotte Summers, the young author behind A Different Kind of Hell novella series. She kindly volunteered as I was searching for interview candidates on Facebook. I’m glad to have her on my blog, sharing her insight with us.

 

     

    

 

Short Bio: I am a young author and writer with a passion for my work. I love nothing more than to sit by the fire with my two dogs and write to my heart's content. This passion of mine started when I was around 13, going through a traumatic situation lead me to start reading and I found that I could write my own worlds to escape - if only for a little while- the real world.

 

Published Works: I have a novella series called A different Kind of hell and a new novel called Trusting Your Instincts

 

Current Projects: I am currently doing the third book in the different kind of hell series.

 

Website: https://authorcharlottesummers.weebly.com/

 

When did you begin writing?

 

I begin writing at the age of 13 and have been doing ever since.

 

Did you receive any special training or attend a school?

 

I didn’t have any training and to be honest I couldn’t even read until I was 12 as for writing I didn’t know how to do it right until I started doing it. I self-taught myself to read and then to write.

 

Where do you get your inspiration from?

 

I get mine from my mother who passed away when I was 12, I know she would want me to carry on with my work. I also get inspiration from my favourite author, Cheree Alsop.

 

Do you use any special resources when writing? (other books, computer programs, etc)

 

I use Grammarly and Google docs but that’s about it.

 

What is (in your opinion) the most important thing to remember when writing, and why is it so important?

 

The most important thing is editing. I know you cannot forget it however you need to remember to edit and edit some more during writing and during drafting.

 

What is (in your opinion) the most challenging part of writing, and how do you overcome it?

 

I think the most challenging for me is writer's block and once I have it I find it really hard to overcome. Normally to overcome it I read a book by my favourite author and listen to music.

 

Did you use an agent? (why or why not?)

 

No, I didn’t use an agent as I wanted to do it all myself, I’m a self-published author so didn’t really need an agent.

 

Did you use an Editor? If not, what process did you use to edit your work?

 

I edited myself, however, I did get my father to edit (he is an editor by profession). The key thing is to use more than one editor, I used three editor programs and got my dad to do it as well. You can never be too careful.

 

How did you get your book published? (self-published, Vanity publishing, Mainstream publisher).

 

I self-published all my books.

 

Do you handle your own marketing?

 

Yes, I do however it’s a lot harder than people make it out to be.

 

What is your best marketing tip?

 

Get your work out there as much as you possibly can. Set up twitter, facebook and any other social media you can think of.

 

Do you have any advice for other writers?

 

Keep writing, even when you feel like quitting; Keep going. Also never feel like a failure, everyone has been where you are and has overcome it. You can too.

 

In closing, I would like to thank Charlotte for doing this interview. As someone who is still in the process of writing his first book, I found this interview to be an eye opening experience. The amount of work she has produced at her age is truly inspiring. I look forward to hearing more about her in the future.

 

Until Next time,

 

Cheers,

 

Patrick Osborne