Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Archer.
Hi Angela, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
A part of me always had that desire to write, even if English wasn’t my favorite subject in school. I always enjoyed writing essays, especially those where we weren’t limited to a specific topic and could write whatever we wanted. I remember one assignment we had to go into the mind of someone famous during a moment of their life and write as though we were them. I chose Jackie Kennedy; the day President Kennedy was shot. I have no idea why I chose her or that moment. Perhaps it was because that was what we were studying in another class, and it was on my mind. But I chose it, and I remember my English teacher telling me it was the best paper out of all her classes. I think that was the first taste I had of someone enjoying what I wrote.
I would like to say that was where my career started, but it’s not. I don’t know why, but I think other things–mainly horses–took priority over it. It wasn’t until 2009 that I woke up and decided to write my first novel. I had been laid off from a job, and while I thought I would find another job quickly, it turned out to be more challenging than I thought. I was at home and had a lot of time on my hands, so I decided why not. I sat down and started. Oh, those first few drafts were nothing short of terrible. TERRIBLE! I cringe when I think of anyone reading them. I went to a few conferences and just kept writing, and each book got easier and better as I started to find my voice.
It took me four years to write my first novel. Now it takes me fifteen days to a month, depending on how long it is and how much I get distracted by other things–mainly horses and my children (not to say that they are bad distractions). After finishing my first novel, I submitted it to dozens of publishers and agents. It was rejected twenty-nine times before I received four offers. I accepted one, and that publisher went on to publish my first three novels. After I finished my fourth, self-publishing had grown in popularity, so I decided to try that. I haven’t looked back and now have seventeen published titles and another fourteen scheduled to publish this year between my two pen names, Angela Christina Archer and London James.
It’s been a long road full of many twists and turns, and while there were times, I wished I could change things, in the end, I wouldn’t have. I’ve loved every step, and I hope to continue to love all the ones I have yet to take.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Let’s see, has it been a smooth road? No. And that’s no with a capital N and O. My most significant struggle for many years was just the general lack of knowledge I had going into this business.
Writing novels is hard. Writing novels that sell is harder, and I sat in the corner for many years with a big dunce cap sitting on my head.
Most of the advice I received as a newbie never worked and was a waste of time and money. I also didn’t know anything about branding or marketing, and I jumped around to different genres without establishing my niche. My pen name Angela Christina Archer started in Historical Romance, but I didn’t stick to a specific time period. I just wrote about historical times that interested me, and none of them were in the ever-popular Highlander or Regency Historical Romances either. After four of those, I jumped into Contemporary Romance, and while I enjoyed that, it wasn’t something I wanted to change to permanently, so I stopped after just one book. Then I switched to a Native American Romance, which I loved, but didn’t stick to, so I jumped over to Women’s Fiction. I wrote one of those, then went to Historical Fiction for three books, and then back to Women’s Fiction for two. And round and round I went, like this spazzed-out bunny who couldn’t find her home. I thought readers would read it all, and I don’t know why I did. I’m not that kind of reader. I don’t read it all.
If that didn’t make it hard enough for me, I also had marketing problems. I love writing romance, but my titles didn’t have a home, so they were hard to market. They were too sweet for the romance readers who wanted heat but had too much heat for the readers who wanted sweet. They were just like me when I was the bunny.
In 2020, I decided that I would rebrand everything and that my pen name Angela Christina Archer would niche down to just Women’s Fiction and Historical Fiction. Those were my favorite to write, and the books I have in those genres are my best books. I knew that I would eventually miss the romance, though, so that’s when I started my other pen name, London James. I have no idea why I chose that name, and If I’d known how successful she would become, I probably would have chosen a name that had more meaning, like a combination of my kid’s names or something like that. In the end, I just liked how it sounded. I don’t mind that I have to stick with her, but I get asked all the time, why that name? I don’t have an answer.
When I created her, I knew I didn’t want to have the same problems that I had with my other romance novels, and knowing I didn’t want to write romance stories with heat (there is nothing wrong with those types of romances, I can’t write them to save my life), I decided that London James would be a Clean & Wholesome/Christian romance writer. She will have both Historical and Contemporary novels, but I’m sticking to one time period and one theme. Her historical are old westerns, and her contemporaries are nothing but small towns. That’s it—no more hoppy, little bunny.
I don’ regret writing any of my books. They all have a special place in my heart, but if I’d known a little more about branding, marketing, and finding my niche sooner, there were some I probably wouldn’t have written.
I would say the most challenging part of my business now is marketing. Marketing is a beast. It’s constantly changing, and what works today won’t work tomorrow. All genres are different. All strategies are different. It’s a guessing game of what I should do today, and while sometimes it’s fun other times it’s confusing and stressful and makes me want to bang my head against the wall. However, even with all its woes, there is something fun about it . . . most of the time.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I don’t know if I would say I specialize in books; the business changes every day. But I would stay it’s what I’m known for, books, fuzzy pants, and my horses. I love fuzzy pants, and unless I’m running errands or out in the barn, I wear them, even in the summer. I also grew up riding and showing horses, so you’ll find pictures of them all over my Instagram, along with my cats. I’m a cat person, and we have five, much to my husband’s displeasure.
I think it’s hard to say what I’m most proud of. Just getting out of bed at 4am and getting all my work done and word count goal for the day done before the kids are up for breakfast and school is accomplishment enough. And I’m proud of all the books, or at least most of them. A few of my first ones will never see the light of day again.
I’ve never been one for self-praise or telling myself I’m proud of something I’ve done. There is nothing wrong with doing so; I just haven’t ever done it. If I had to, I think I would be proud that I just show up. On the good days. On the bad days. In the easy. In the hard. I don’t quit. I’ll work all day, every day, to get what I want. At the end of the day, I want to slip into bed knowing I haven’t done anything with half effort. A friend of mine gave me a journal a long time ago for Christmas, and on the front, it reads, “Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.” That’s always been how I’ve tried to live my life. I’m also fiercely independent, sometimes to a fault.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Several trends have been on the rise lately, and I can’t wait to see how they all pan out and grow.
Audiobooks are still growing fast in popularity, as well as translations into other languages. I hope that it will be easier to obtain them as they develop. Creating an audiobook and having your book translated into other languages costs a lot of money that most authors don’t have. I also know that while everyone like to shout from the rooftops that print books are dying, they aren’t. They were up in 2021 and aren’t going anywhere.
TikTok’s growing in popularity with what authors call “BookTok”. And there is growth in the expanse of using AI to write novels. I also think that the push for diversity will continue to grow in more diverse characters and authors, and I think prices for all eBooks, print, audio, and hardcover will increase.
Contact Info:
- Email: authorangelachristinaarcher@gmail.com AND authorlondonjames@gmail.com
- Website: https://angelachristinaarcher.com AND https://authorlondonjames.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoracarcher/ AND https://www.instagram.com/authorlondonjames/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorACArcher AND https://www.facebook.com/authorlondonjames
- Other: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/angela-christina-archer AND https://www.bookbub.com/authors/london-james-d71ffdcc-396f-45fc-8ee5-b602a19b3415