Writing, Audience Building, and Indie Publishing - A Chat with J Ross

Writing a book is one thing. Bringing it to life and sharing it with the world? That’s a whole different adventure! J Ross, the author of Awakening, takes us behind the scenes of her writing journey - how the story came to be, the struggles of indie publishing, and the lessons she learned along the way.

Let’s dive in!

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is J. Ross, and the “J” stands for “Janis.” I was named after my late grandmother. I’ve been writing since I was 11 (and the recent realization of how long ago that was made me wince), and I’m finally going to self-publish my first novel, “Awakening.” When I’m not writing, I work as a Reading Interventionist for students in grades 2 - 5 and have taught for 10 years.

2. Your job sounds interesting. Tell us something about it.

Haha, interesting is a word! I started out teaching 6th grade ELA and realized that middle school wasn’t for me. Then, I taught 5th, 4th, and 3rd grades. Now, I work with students from the 2nd to the 5th grades to support any specific areas for growth in their reading and writing.

Over the years, I’ve found that teaching students to write has been a great way to improve myself as a writer. I’ve frequently written short stories or excerpts to show my students how to write, and a few times, even brought in excerpts from my novels to get the students to analyze the different parts - plot, character, and so on.

3. Awesome. Pitch your book in one or two sentences.

Imagine waking up from a self-imposed coma and discovering that you slept for seventy years instead of a few months. Everything and everyone that you know is gone, and you have to navigate that while also being the only hope of freeing the world from a dictator.

4. What kind of readers would love this book?

Readers who love black characters, fantasy, elemental magic, self-discovery, and love stories! It was important that the characters were black since I grew up loving fantasy like Tolkien and Lewis but didn’t have characters who looked like me.

5. Now, let’s get a little personal. What’s the story behind your story?

All of my story ideas come from dreams. My original idea was much different from the story that emerged - a sorceress learning more about herself, falling in love, etc. But as I wrote, I realized that the main character, Adanya, was more like me than any other character I’d ever written. So, writing this story was honestly pretty therapeutic.

6. Lovely. How has the journey of indie publishing been for you?

I had a vague idea that building up an audience before publishing the book was important, so I already had a pretty decent following on TikTok. I’ve kicked it into high gear now, and it’s so overwhelming! Trying to make connections, trying to follow other content creators, trying to find ARC readers…it’s a lot.

I’m lucky to have made some connections on TikTok that have helped me with the publishing process - people who have self-published before and have an idea of how to do it successfully. That’s how I found my beta readers and how I found my editor!

7. Seems you were pretty much prepped up, isn’t it?

I don’t know about all of that, but I probably had a bit of a leg up.

8. Okay. Every book has that one scene or character that sticks with the author. What’s yours?

Adanya, the main character, is the first character I’ve written that really is me, in a nutshell. I used to primarily write characters that I wished I could be, but Adanya is the first one I based on myself. She has anxiety and imposter syndrome and is a hard-core introvert. But she has to push through these things to do what’s best for the people she cares about. And she also has a wonderful fiance who helps her to navigate the world and supports her, just like my boyfriend does for me in real life.

9. Wow. What part of this book gave you the hardest time? Writing isn’t all inspiration, right?

Keeping timelines straight! The chapters have an alternating present/past format, and the past chapters aren’t included chronologically. I had a whole corkboard and note cards dedicated to keeping everything in order and making sense of the flow of the story.

10. Do you feel your experience with kids helped you in some way?

A bit! Whenever my students had to write short stories, I would show them all of the steps of the process, from outlining to drafting. It always blew their minds when I showed them the outline compared to the pages and pages of writing towards the end. I’ve always had supportive students who assured me that I would be a famous writer one day. If you have a child’s support, you’re doing pretty good!

11. And what’s one weird or unexpected thing you Googled while writing this book?

African names. I originally was just going to make up names, but once I decided that I wanted the characters to be very obviously black, I wanted the names to make that clear, as well. Not the direction I thought I was going at first!

12. That sure is difficult. Now, for all the aspiring indie authors out there. What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you?

Be wary of people who approach you with their services and get pushy if you decline. I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with so many of them, and there’s always the fear that you might accidentally push a genuine connection away. Just tread carefully and keep yourself professional.

13. Ohkayzz, and where can readers find you and your book?

Awakening’s official release date is April 1, 2025. It will be available on my website, and the ebook will also be on Kindle!

You can also find me on:

• TikTok: @J.rossauthor
• Instagram: @Jrossauthor
• Facebook: @Jrossauthor
• Threads: @Jrossauthor

And my newsletter is here: j-ross.kit.com/00583aa19c

If the book sounds like your kind of read, be sure to check it out! Support indie authors by grabbing a copy and leaving a review!

PS… What’s your go-to writing snack or ritual?

Drinking tea (like a nerd): Lemon, Raspberry, or Chai. I also like to listen to movie/TV show soundtracks.

And that’s a wrap.

Want to see more indie author stories? Stay tuned…