Name: Astrid V.J., Author
Genre: Fantasy (multiple subgenres)
Publishing Type: Self-published
Publisher: my imprint: New Wings Press
Latest Book: The Last Warrior
Upcoming Book: The Companion's Tale
What does it take to become a USA Today Best Selling author? I’m sure that’s a question on many author’s minds. Whether you are trying to make a career out of writing books or just publishing for the joy of it, I’m sure you thought about what it would be like to be a best-selling author. I know I have. For me step one is publishing a second book!
I interviewed Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author, Astrid V.J. on the topic.
Jennifer Franz Griffith: What qualifications does an author have to meet in order to be considered a USA Today best seller?
Astrid V.J.: A book they've published has to sell the most books within any given week (Monday-Sunday) on at least three book sites in the United States. The USA Today Best-seller listing has 150 books every week. The easiest way to get the listing is during release week with a long pre-order period in advance. As mentioned, it's sales in the US on multiple platforms, not just Amazon.
JFG: How many books did you write before achieving this accomplishment?
Astrid: I'd published four novels and a novella as part of an anthology, but I'd already written way more, several of which published in the four months since hitting the list.
JFG: How did USA Today discover you?
Astrid: USA Today looks exclusively at sales from US outlets, including online sites that sell in the United States, like Amazon.com; Barnes and Nobles Nook and iBooks (the US site specifically). They get the numbers of sales every week and list the top-selling 150 books in the United States. The print version of the list in the USA Today print newspaper only lists the top 100 books every week.
JFG: How do you think you have achieved this level of success as an author?
Astrid: Hard work, dedication to my craft, having the right connections, believing in myself, and with a good measure of luck.
JFG: What advice do you have for other authors striving to be considered best selling authors?
Astrid: Keep on believing in yourself and be willing to put yourself out there. Also, be willing to take a chance. If I'd hesitated or decided to wait for a "better time", I wouldn't be where I am today at 34, only 2 years into my journey as a published author.
I managed to get my book, Naiyas Wish, accepted into a boxed set of books in the same genre. We wanted to raise money for a charity and also try for the USA Today listing together because as an independent author it is very difficult to get the number of sales required in the US on one's own. Enchanted Kingdoms wasn't simply a set of novel-length fairytale retellings. It became a community and I have become friends with many of the authors who were on the set with me. The buy-in for advertising purposes was a lot of money for me ($500) and it was a risk to invest that much money into a dream more than a year before it came to fruition, but with hard work and hustling like I've never done before, we managed to pull it off together and since the set made it onto the listing during its release week, all participating authors have received the USA Today Bestseller tag. It is a huge undertaking and I learned so much from all of the authors participating on Enchanted Kingdoms. Additionally, through this boxed set, I was able to give back to a cause that's very important to me. The limited-edition set in the three months it was available commercially raised over $5 500 for Puzzle Peace United, a charity for children with autism.
JFG: Anything else you would like to share?
Astrid: My debut novel also won two International Literary Classics Awards in 2019. Silver in the Young Adult Fantasy category and gold in the Fairytales category.
I've learned so much from my fellow authors and could not have achieved these milestones as quickly as I have without the support of my family, friends, and the indie author community. I am truly grateful for all my personal angels who've helped me achieve all of this.
Find out more about Astrid V.J. :
Author Bio:
Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author, Astrid V.J. was born in South Africa. She is a trained social anthropologist and certified transformational life coach. She currently resides in Sweden with her husband and their two children. In early childhood, she showed an interest in reading and languages--interests which her family encouraged. Astrid started writing her first novel at age 12 and now writes fantasy in a variety of genres, exploring her passion for cultures and languages. When she isn't writing, Astrid likes to read, take walks in nature, play silly games with her children, do embroidery, and play music.
Astrid writes transformation fiction: incorporating transformation principles in novels, rather than writing another self-help book. She loves exploring the human capacity for transformation and potential to achieve success in the face of adversity.