[Brief Words] Interview of Katie Salidas

For most of my career one name kept popping up Katie Salidas. Eventually, my curiosity led me to her and the Spilling Ink crew. On the recommendation and encouragement of others I have appeared on this show, but before that all I knew was Katie was one of the ‘big wigs’ of indie. I’ve since learned so much about this fantastic woman that I approached her for an interview, even admitted to her that I was nervous to do so, but she agreed.

This back and forth led to the following interview to take place. With that, let me introduce to you Katie Salidas, the intelligent go-getting hardworking multi-tasking Queen of Indie Podcasting!

You’re one of the biggest names in podcasting with being a part of the show Spilling Ink. It’s a must-be-on show for anyone in publishing to appear on, but what was life like for you before the show? How did the show begin?

I’m blushing, really. Such high praise. I’m so happy to see Spilling Ink has come so far. It began as a conversation between myself and another indie author during a convention we both attended. All the “talking shop” between talking to our customers got us thinking. We should explore the “behind the scenes” of what it means to be an author, in an open and honest format. Something casual and fun. And so Spilling Ink began. Our mission was just that, “Go behind the book to meet the authors and professionals in the publishing industry.” We didn’t want it to be just an interview show, we really wanted to get a conversation going. Learn the trials and tribulations that each author went through to get their book published. And over the last three years, even though hosts have rotated in and out, I think we’ve accomplished that goal. It’s my favorite hour of the week. I love running the show because each time we bring a new guest on, it’s like making a new friend.

Is doing a popular show difficult to manage with you also being a novelist?

In the beginning the show was much more labor-intensive, we heavily edited shows to make them as perfect as we possibly could. That took a lot of time and often pushed back our release schedule as me and my co-hosts had so many other things we were working on. Well, if you’ve ever heard the saying, “perfect is the enemy of done,” you know what I’m about to say…. After a while we thought about our goal “going behind the book… meeting the authors…,” and realized that we were overdoing it. Once we switched to a live platform the show became much more manageable. And really, if we are trying to present the real people behind the book, it should be as natural and unedited as possible. With that format we were able to have a regular schedule and that lead us to being able to book more authors. We partner with many publicists to help us fill the seats, and the regularity of our broadcast make it better for our audience and hosts as well. That left us all with more time to work on our other projects, like… writing!

Where do you find your inspiration?

Inspiration comes from life. Everything has the opportunity to be inspiring. Sometimes my kids being kids provides inspiration for characters making mistakes and learning lessons from them. The old adage, “write what you know” applies to more than just the skills you have, it goes into everything you see and do. And if you’re looking for it, you can find the inspiration you need.

Anything you can share about a top-secret project you may have going?

Right now I’m working on Agents of ASSET, book 5. I love living, or rather, escaping to that world. A place where magic exists and the Anonymous Supernatural Security and Elimination Taskforce are working hard to make sure that humans are safe. I know we authors are not supposed to say this, but I always feel like my favorite book is the one I am currently writing. Shhhhh, don’t tell my other books.

There are a few people I come across and I wonder how are they doing so much, what is their life daily look like, and you are one of those few. So, how are you doing everything? Coffee? Doppelganger?

Oh what I wouldn’t give to have a doppelganger. I don’t know the meaning of the word balance, so I’m always overbooking myself with things to do. Between being mom, especially now during quarantine where I’m also moonlighting as the kids’ home-school teacher, and writing, and author coaching, and Spilling Ink… I’ve pretty much forgotten what sleep is like. But every day is an adventure, right? I’ll sleep when I’m dead. Ha!

With all the above, some may not know that you also provide author services that including coaching, when did you begin coach other authors? What are a few of the issues you see being common among authors you’re helping with?

Part of being an indie author is involving yourself with other indies. Self-publishing, though it might imply DIY is rarely a solo thing. Writing may be, but to truly attempt to master the publishing part takes working with the right people, or being guided by the right people. When I started writing and publishing, I had so many wonderful people in the indie community give advice and point me in the right direction, so when I began to figure it out, I wanted to do the same. Over time, the things I could help with grew into various services I could offer. Manuscript critiquing, Developmental editing, Book formatting, walking people through the minefield of publishing with KDP, Ingram, and other platforms. There are so many ways in which authors need a little extra help and there were so many vanity publishing services overcharging authors for the same things I could offer. So I decided to try and strike a balance. Nothing I do is a packaged service. Clients can hire me for only what they need help with. I keep my rates low enough to be affordable for authors and allow me to pay my bills, because I gotta keep the lights on to read those manuscripts.

As for common issues, I really can’t say. Every author needs something different and their stories are as unique as they are.

When you’re not doing web-TV, writing, and helping others what are you doing for you? Any hobbies?

Writing is my escape. I love diving into the fantasy world with my characters. And when I haven’t been able to write for a while. I get a bit cranky. We all need our escapes, am I right?

It’s so important for creatives to self-care so they don’t burn-out. Do you have any self-care tips?

Sleep. It’s kind of important. Don’t skip sleep. I need to take my own advice. But seriously. Self-care is crucial. You have to take time to replenish. Everyone has their special thing. Do that for yourself, whatever it is, at least once a week. If you don’t take care of you, it will show in your work.

What’s one thing you can share about yourself? Something the masses may not know.

Oh I don’t know if there is anything hidden about me. I am an open book. Maybe that’s the secret. I do suffer from RBF. But aside from that, I’m super friendly and love to meet other authors. That is why Spilling Ink was started, after all!

Come find me online. KatieSalidas.com is my home away from home on the internet and has all the links you need to find me on Social Media, my books, Spilling Ink, and my Author Coaching and Publishing services.

Check her out more here:

First Comics News https://www.firstcomicsnews.com/
Spilling Ink https://www.youtube.com/c/spillinginkshow
Web: http://www.katiesalidas.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/QuixoticKatie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ksalidas