Today we’d like to introduce you to Jan Sikes.
Hi Jan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I find it hard to comprehend that it’s already been eleven years since I embarked on my writing journey. It began with a true story that begged to be told. It took four books to complete it, then a book of poetry and art rounded it out. At that point, I didn’t know if I’d continue writing, but in the middle of book two of the true story, a new idea came with strong characters and a strong plot. So, what was I to do? I had to write it. It took almost three years to get that book published as I was pitching to publishers, determined I would not self-publish this one. During those three years, I explored writing short stories and entering them into contests. To my surprise, they won! So, now, eleven years later, I have seven novels, a book of poetry and art, and eleven short stories. The latest novels are part of a series.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The easiest part of the entire process is writing the stories. It’s after the stories are finished that the work begins in earnest. If you are self-publishing, you have the editing process plus the book cover and formatting. And let me just stress a point here. If you are self-publishing a book, DO NOT skip the editing part. Hire a professional editor to clean up your manuscript. A good editor is not cheap, and there are lots out there proclaiming to be editors who don’t have the knowledge and ability required to produce a well=written story. So, you have to do your homework. My first editor falls into that category. It should have raised all sorts of red flags when he continuously misspelled my name. As a result, I pulled that first book down a couple of years ago and did another edit to clean it up. The other part of publishing a book is marketing. That truly is the most difficult and expensive part of the entire process. But if you don’t try to market, how will anyone ever find your story? There are over one million new titles added to Amazon each year. That’s a lot! I always tell prospective new writers that if they are wanting to write a book to become a bestseller and make a lot of money, they are doing it for the wrong reasons. Only a small handful of authors ever make a living writing.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I write stories from the heart. Inspired ideas, characters, titles, and plots come to me from somewhere out in the ether. I don’t know how to explain it. But I do believe it is my duty to do something with the ideas that come, whether it be in the form of a novel or short story. My byline is: I craft compelling character-driven stories from the heart.”
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I like best about Plano is the central location. I have a daughter and grandchildren in McKinney and a daughter and grandchildren in Lucas, and I am situated in the middle between the two. What I like the least about Plano is the congested traffic. 75 can be a nightmare any time of day or night. I try to avoid it as much as possible by choosing alternate routes. But even the side streets have become very congested.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jansikes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sikesjan/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJanSikesBooks
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jansikes3
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC__OEL3TxJ2MV5eYkUdz_7w
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Sikes/e/B00CS9K8DK
Image Credits
Jan Sikes
Wild Rose Press
