Amanda Radley is the UK-based author of many fun, fast-paced, and entertaining novels, some of which have won or been shortlisted for major awards. We began working together in spring 2017 on Huntress, her self-published cozy mystery that would go on to win a Lambda Literary award the following June, and continued to do so on about a dozen other projects, including sapphic fiction and women’s fiction.

Earlier this month, Radley signed on with Bold Strokes Books, a major player in the LGBTQ+ publishing sphere. Though I’m sorry we won’t get to collaborate anymore, I am thrilled for the opportunities this career move will unlock for her.

I am often asked how writers make the transition from indie publishing to trade publishing, and who better to answer these questions than someone who’s made the leap herself? I asked Amanda to answer a few questions about her career journey, and she was gracious enough to do so. You may find our conversation and her insightful answers below.

What inspires you to write the work that you do?

Inspiration is a difficult thing to pin down. Sometimes I’ll have a thought that will expand into an entire book, and sometimes I’ll have a question that I want to investigate further.

For example, the Flight Series all came about from wondering how a woman with autism would react if she found herself on her first-class transatlantic flight and saw a five-year-old boy in the seat across from her, seemingly traveling alone. How would she react? The book Flight SQA016 and the two follow-ups all came from that one idea. In Going Up, I wondered what an uptight businesswoman would do if a homeless woman suddenly appeared in her office car park. I then wondered what the homeless woman would do when offered help from someone she didn’t like.

I don’t know where these questions come from, maybe from travel, maybe from television, maybe from people-watching at a motorway service station (which is where the idea for Lambda award-winner Huntress came from). But once the question is there, I’m interested in exploring those characters to find the answer.

For you especially, and perhaps for other writers more generally, what are the pros and cons of self-publishing versus being published by a house?

Both self-publishing and traditional publishing have well-documented pros and cons, but I think the more important thing is to consider yourself as an author and where you are in your writing career. For me, spending a few years being self-published was a very good experience. I got to learn a lot about my writing, the industry, different marketing methods, and I got to join a fantastic Indie community. But it was also a lot of hard work and I felt I’d reached a point where I couldn’t progress further alone in order to meet my own goals. Making the change from self-published to being published with Bold Strokes Books was absolutely the right decision and came at the right time for me. I think there’s a question beyond what are the pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional and that’s understanding your skillset, yourself as a writer, and what your goals are. Some people will never be suited to self-publishing, and the reverse is true for others, and sometimes that changes depending what point you’re at in your career.

Can you give any insight into how your self-publishing career caught the attention of your current publisher? Did you reach out to them or vice versa?

I approached Bold Strokes Books, sending a query as per their submission guidelines. I don’t have any particular insider knowledge, but I imagine my reputation as an author who had already won awards and built up an existing audience helped my case. I provided details about my past publications, and I know that my draft was read by several editors. This allowed us all to determine what would be fair and beneficial moving forward. 

BSB doesn't solicit authors directly but welcomes authors of all levels of experience, including self-publishers. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

If you haven’t written a book yet, start writing. Don’t get stuck on sculpting the perfect plot, crafting the best dialogue, or editing every sentence to death. Just write the book. You can’t edit a blank page. Also, don’t expect your first book to be great. We all learn as we go, and the more you write, the better you will get. So, don’t try to write the best book. Just try to write the book.

If you have a few books written and you’re wondering what to do next, I urge you to consider what your goals are. Some people want to be a full-time author and earn a living, some want international acclaim, some want to win awards, some want to get a story out of their brain and onto paper. All of these reasons for writing are valid, and they are all different end goals that require different journeys. Consider what you want to achieve and how best to achieve that, and remember that there might be a few steps between now and your final goal. If you don’t have a roadmap in place, then you’re unlikely to arrive at your destination.

What's next on your world domination agenda?

World domination, obviously! In seriousness, my goals are to work on my craft for a while. I’ve written a lot of books in a relatively short period of time and I’m really proud of what I have created, but now I want to work with Bold Strokes Books to see where there are areas for improvement. The thing about writing is that you’re always learning. I’ve never written a book using the same process as the previous book—every single time I change something. As a former consultant, I think learning about yourself and your skills is incredibly important. So, I’m going to spend some time upskilling, and then we’ll see what happens from there. For now, I’m working on my next release, Detour to Love, which will be out in February 2021.

Thanks for the chat, Amanda!

If you’re interested in learning more about Ms. Radley or following her on her world domination tour, visit www.amandaradley.com and preorder her upcoming novel from Bold Strokes Books’ website.