Commaful is supported by readers. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect who we choose to review or what we recommend. Learn more
About Anna Katmore
I’m from Austria but I always felt a deep passion for the English language. Sometimes, I believe I must have lived a former life in England. 😀 I was a very melancholic child, due to many circumstances like having to move from the countryside to Vienna. Big cities scare me.
Writing stories and dreaming myself away from reality always helped me to cope. Later on, I realized that writing and actually channeling stories from other worlds was my way of bringing magic into my life and also into that of so many others, and that was essential for me to be happy.
Today, I live on the countryside of Austria again, together with a wonderful husband and lovely son – plus my cat Emma. I changed my life so I can spend all day writing, which is a dream coming true for me.
See their work:
Contents
How and when did you get started writing?
As a teenager, I lost myself in so many romance novels that at some point I knew I had to write my own and make it exactly the way I wanted it. My first experiment at writing a novel was pathetic. It took me 4 years to write an entire novel and at that time I had no idea about techniques or style or all those very important things that you need to know as a really good author.
Fortunately, I got the wonderful advice from a bestselling author then to join critique groups where other aspiring authors read your chapters and edit them for you. I learned so much in this group and made amazing friends. That was really the beginning of my writing career. My first real novel was finished when I was 31. I made some strange and really bad experiences with publishers and agents and decided to go the indie way in 2012. It was the best decision I could have ever made because my first selfpublished romance novel PLAY WITH ME rocked 25,000 sold copies within the first four weeks. And then I knew I was a writer. 🙂
What does literary success look like to you?
Well, success for me always means to be that one person that makes other people smile when they see me or even just think of me, no matter in which part of my life. This is who I want to be as a person. So literary success comes with the feeling of making so many people happy out there by giving them something that helps them escape from reality for a little while. It means to give them a good time and make them smile while they get lost in the story. When those poeple tell me afterward how much they loved my characters or the romance or the worlds that I built because all of these things brough a little magic into their own lives, then I can say that I was literary successful.
What actionable tips and tricks do you have for new writers that they can apply now on their journey as budding writers?
The most essential thing I want every new author out there to know is that you cannot just write a book, publish it and hope that you’re becoming a loved and successful star in the literary world. Take this job seriously and learn! Learn whatever you can, wherever you can, and whenever you can. Pay attention when you read good books. Find out how these authors handled the story, the conflict, the world building. Soak it all up like a sponge.
And then find a community that will help you get even better and better every day. Talent and a love for words isn’t enough to be a good writer. You need to know about all the important techniques and YOU NEED!!!!! an editor in the end. Yes, it’s a question of money and yes, you might never cover the costs later with the sales of your book. But if you want to put something of yourself out there – you heart, your blood, and the sweat of thousand writing hours – make sure it’s in the best shape it can be. As a writer you never find your own mistakes, because you’re far too close to the text and the story. Give it to someone professional to polish it in the end. This is the most important advice I can give you besides one other thing:
Always write because you love it. Don’t think about THE END or the numbers of sales you want to achieve with this book. Enjoy the way! Enjoy the journey! Or you’ll never be as good as you could be at what you do.
What are common traps for aspiring writers?
Thinking that they are already experts and don’t need to learn the craft. And being impatient. Writing a book need time. And when it’s finished, it needs time to revise, to rework, to have it edited and to have it proofread.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Don’t write for others. Only write for yourself!
What are your favorite books? Fiction and/ or non-fiction?
I love Kerrelyn Sparks and L.J. Smith, they are great authors and write fantastic vampire romances.
Recommended Posts:
- Writing What You Love With Derek Prior
- Writing From The Heart With Joshua Harestad
- “Just Write” With Megan O’Russell
- Writing For More Than A Decade With Alex Stad
Join the Commaful Storytelling Community
Commaful takes everything you love about stories and makes it a bite-sized, on-the-go experience. Fanfiction? Poetry? Short stories? You’ll find it all!