Featured Author
Pen Name
Melinda R. Cordell
What is your genre?
Young Adult
Tell us about yourself.
I'm a former horticulturist, a Hamline MFAC grad, and a chicken wrangler. I got into self-publishing last year after sending out books for 20 years in traditional publishing, and I'm publishing all the manuscripts I've written and polished over the years, plus a bunch of gardening books. I published 15 books in one year. I plan to do the same this year. Yes, I have quite the backlog.
What is the title of your first published work?
Courageous Women of the Civil War (my one traditionally published work, August 2016)
What is the title your last published work?
What gives you inspiration to write?
It's what I've done since I was 5 years old. I am good at it and it gives me life.
What advice would you give an author who is uncertain about their future in the literature world?
I completely understand losing faith in yourself. After years and years of editors and agents saying "You write very well, you have a great grasp of craft, but I just don't feel that 'spark' ..." and after I don't know how many hundreds, even thousands, of rejections, it's hard to keep faith in your ability. But when I got into self-publishing, it all came back, in spades. You must find a place where you can succeed -- where you have an audience that wants what you write. Don't let the industry professionals make you lose faith in yourself. You are better than they say.
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