Today we’d like to introduce you to Diane Windsor.
Hi Diane, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have loved books and reading for as long as I can remember. As a young girl, I devoured the Little House books. As a teenager, I discovered Stephen King, and I loved being terrified by his stories late at night. I always dreamed of joining the ranks of well-known authors. I wanted to write and be published. Once, in the early 2000s, I even had two separate literary agents representing my work. But nothing ever happened.
I’ve been working as a Technical Writer since 2005 – I still need to have a day job, for now – and that has helped me become very well-versed with editing, formatting, and graphic design. Because of this experience, I started thinking, “Maybe I’d make a better publisher than a writer.”
So, Motina Books Publishing was born. Motina is the Lithuanian word for mother. At Motina Books, we publish books by and for mothers. There’s a special place in my heart for single moms because I was one for many years. The few books that I personally write tend to focus on helping single moms in various aspects of life.
I also led the largest single-parent support group in North Texas for eight years. I worked closely with many single moms. I recently published the book Show Your Paycheck Who’s Boss – Financial Guide and Planner for Single Parents. And every holiday season my book How to CoParent During the Holidays becomes very popular.
I love helping authors succeed. I feel that as a publisher it’s my job not only to create a book that can be listed with retailers but to help them think of creative ways to market their book and get it in the hands of readers.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have learned so much about independent publishing since I started my company in 2016, and I continue to learn every day. I have met many wonderful, supportive professionals in the industry.
I think the hardest part for me is that sometimes I tend to make too many commitments – I hate to say no to a good author. But I’ve learned that I need to pace myself because it’s important to take the time to work closely with an author and produce the best book possible.
Many people think that writing a book is the hardest part of this process. I’m afraid to say, that’s the easy part! The toughest part of publishing a book is marketing that book and getting sales. Every author needs to put in a lot of effort when it comes to marketing their book, and there isn’t just one way to do that. We need to work on it continuously and think about the most creative ways to let the world know about our books.
We’ve been impressed with Motina Books Publishing, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As a publisher, I strive to build long-term relationships with my authors that are based on mutual respect. They have created a wonderful book, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, and now we need to let the world know about it!
Motina Books operates as a traditional publishing company. That means we don’t ask the author to “pay to publish.” There are also hybrid publishers, and they often charge authors for their publishing services. There’s nothing wrong with that – it’s simply a different business model.
I’ve heard many stories of publishers promising to release a book by a certain date, and then pushing the date back by months. This is devastating for an author, and it makes it impossible to plan a book launch marketing plan. We will never do that to our authors – when we set a date to release a book, we stick to that date.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Many authors and publishers will tell you that being successful is defined by selling thousands of books. That’s one way to define success, but not the only way.
When an author is able to see their book for sale with all the major retailers, that is success.
Together, we have created a beautiful cover, well-edited content, and perfectly formatted interior – it is a product created by a small, independent publisher that will rival the biggest New York publisher.
I am passionate about helping all authors be successful. Motina Books offers free, downloadable Book Marketing Planners, and other planners to help with author marketing efforts.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MotinaBooks.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/motina_books
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motinabooks
- Other: www.Linktr.ee/motinabooks
