Welcome back to member milestones. Today, the Alliance of Independent Authors is continuing the series of posts celebrating your success. As always, we're very proud of all of our members at every level. A huge congratulations to the members featured today.
Author, Carmen Leal
Author Member
Carmen Leal is an author of human interest stories. Find out more about her on her website.
Milestone
In my first four months of releasing my book I was able to donate enough money to pay for vaccinations and transport fees to a local group to rescue twenty-five dogs. I will be appearing on my first morning show pet segment on the Milwaukee ABC affiliate because of a press release I sent!.
Why are you Proud?
Because the goal of writing this book has always been to rescue more dogs. More sales and getting booked on major shows means more exposure and hopefully more sales to rescue more dogs.
What Have You Learned?
The power of asking. Instead of wondering what happens if they say do I dream about what happens when they say yes.
M.K. McDaniel, Author
Author Member
M.K McDaniel is the author of memoir. You can find out more about them on Linkedin.
Milestone
I have been a Podcast Guest or Speaker at 108 events, with more booked. My goal was 100!
Why are you Proud?
This goal was reached with countless hours of research, submission of applications, and appearing on over 100 Podcasts all over the world in multiple time zones.
What Have You Learned?
An author must relentlessly promote oneself, and their book, on a variety of venues, at every opportunity, with the understanding that it works best when the interactions are beneficial, and fun, for all parties!
Lynn Walker, Author
Author Member
Lynn Walker is a memoirist, you can find out more about her on her website.
Milestone
My second book, Breaking Midnight: A True Story, became a #1 new release and #1 best seller on Amazon within weeks of being published. It also increased sales of my first book, Midnight Calling: A Memoir of a Drug Smuggler's Daughter, which hits the Amazon best seller list regularly since it's release last year. The most exciting outcome is that my non-Amazon sales of both books have more than doubled.
Why are you Proud?
Of 60 literary agents I queried in 2020, 10% rejected Midnight Calling and 90% never responded, ruling out traditional publishing. In the following two years, I learned all about self-publishing, started building a platform and published two books, both of which are being very well received by readers.
What Have You Learned?
My goal of publishing books was to have these true stories finally see the light of day and to reach readers. There are many paths to reaching readers, but the key is for authors to never give up!
