The Evolution of Kia Garriques: small beginnings

In the previous blog posts, I wrote about how you can achieve publishing success. But, it is now when things get more exciting as Kia gets closer to D – day and her first published novel. So how has she evolved and got to this point, you may ask?

Creating your alter ego is a great way to reinvent your image. It allows a writer to show a different side of their personality or developing their second self. In a way, the writer performs their latest character so that their audience can gain an ever better perspective into their newest publishing venture.

Kia Storm was born out of a need to showcase a new breed of fantasy fiction writer. Although she was new and yet to make any noise in the fantasy fiction arena, Kia knew that writing a great novel or story does not always come from your previous experience of being published.

It comes from a passion, a yearning to inform readers of worlds beyond their imagination, especially in the case of fantasy fiction.

She understood how hard it was to get published when you are a novice and wanted to change this by transforming into her alter ego who could create magical storylines, all with the touch of her imagination.

Kia says:

“It wasn’t hard to think of an alter ego. Not at all. When at school, I always sought solace in the fact that I could escape to magnificent worlds where I could meet beautiful characters. I felt that I could relate to them as like me, they always dreamed bigger and better.”

She wanted to be a star through tantalizing others with material. But who was going to take her seriously, especially when they knew she was a young writer? The only way to publish her fantasy fiction stories was to become a character that, some would say, emerged from the stories themselves. And so Kia Storm was born.

But Kia Storm was not always going to be a transcendent character. Remember when I talked about taking small steps to achieve your publishing dream? Storm formed the building blocks of an author who had bigger aspirations.

When making waves in short story writing, Kia noticed that the publishing world and the writers in it had become boring. Writers were famous for writing great books but when it came to socialising and thinking of new ideas for the new generation; they were all the same.

They were nothing more than brainiacs who were not interested in reinvention or shaking things up.  Their audience could expect them to write the same genre of material with no controversy.

Kia felt that this media generation in this new technology age needed someone to shake up the current literary world and show people that writing is an art and can be exciting. That someone would be her confident but still young self.

She had written her novel and was now on her way to publishing it with the backing of professionals behind her. So she had now evolved into Kia Garriques, who not only wanted to write but to inspire others through the written word.

She says:

“Writing is also a healthy way of expressing yourself especially in diaries which are not redundant after your childhood. We need to be inspired and encouraged to get excited literature again. Video games kill a healthy imagination. The imagination is something that I am passionate about instilling in the younger generation again when I write my novels.”   

So keep following her and get the latest know – how on how exactly this young author did it. It wasn’t easy but she will help by starting you off with the basics.

Till next week.... 

The Author 'career' ladder - part 2

Ready to discover the key to Kia’s writing success?

Kia is very much a fan of teaching yourself and so started reading more about marketing herself as a young author and about marketing in general. She backed this reading up with a few stints of marketing work experience and picked up a lot of new tips along the way.

After a year, she found herself as a young marketing manager of a leadership company for black and Asian minority managers and senior leaders.

Over the last year alone, she has been to London Fashion Week, the Top Model of Colour Awards and has become creative director of a fashion show to name but a few.

But, she did not forget her publishing dream. While she did this work during the day, she truly came alive at night with her new gradual plan for getting published: writing short stories.

“I remember thinking that I could never be taken seriously as an author let alone get anything published. Writing has always been a part of me. I always used it to help me through tough times but I never wanted it really before this.

I wanted to be an entrepreneur, to be a boss to be creating something larger than myself. I saw writing as too passive. I remember going through the worst period of my life and the only thing that helped me was to write away the pain, “she explains.

She continues: “I kept writing short stories and I remember my friends encouraging me to send them off but I used to shake my head and say, ‘Who me? A writer?’

I remember sending off my first story, just to put a stop to my friends’ mantras but I was shocked when it was accepted. Then I sent another and another and it just spiralled from there. In fact, I loved writing so much I did it anywhere and everywhere.

It’s my passion, my heart, my soul and I know most writers, true writers would know exactly what I am talking about. It’s a part of you that must be expressed whether you are published or not.”

So, two years later, the young Kia Storm had published over a dozen short stories and armed with this experience was ready to take on the book publishers again.

After carefully crafting her new book proposal, she finally found an agent, a stylist, a book editor as well as a publishing company together with a PR manager who are now working hard to promote her after realising her writing potential.

So, her small steps to become a young author, in the form of short story writing paid off!

Even Charles Dickens started his fiction writing career in 1833 by writing short stories and essays. His first short story ‘A Dinner at Poplar Walk’ was published in Monthly Magazine in December 1833.

After this, he went on to publish some of the greatest classics ever written such as Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.

Similarly, Steve Barnes co-author of the Tennyson Hardwick mystery series has said:

 “Work on shorter projects. Short stories or articles. Do not write books until you have published (and been paid for) shorter work. This is like running a marathon when you’ve never run around the block!”

Have you ever experienced success by starting small? We always want to know what our readers get up to.  

The Author 'career' ladder - part 1

In a recent 2012 book titled The Power of Small by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, it mentioned that individuals should start small so as to change their lives and power through uncertain times.

Being an author is not a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. Many authors have to wait years before they are published let alone before they start getting recognised and can then call themselves a success.

Kia Garriques a.k.a Kia Storm was no different.

“Even though I was very young when I thought of my first book idea, I knew exactly how I wanted to see it in print. I was not put off by my lack of experience and  I carried on doing what I thought best; pitching my book proposal to prospective book publishers and agents and believe me, it’s not an easy thing to do.” 

Whatever the case, Kia knew that she would have to try a different strategy. 

However, time after time, publishers failed to see the potential in her idea. Her book proposal did not fit in with the publishing company’s criteria or it did not fit in with the editor’s mindset.

“The rejection slips kept pouring in one after the other and I remember feeling worthless. I was ready to give up. I mean it was easy for me when I was sending off my work to short story magazine editors because they loved it.

Although I had got many rejections from editors, I was sending other editors so many proposals that I found that when one editor rejected a story idea, another editor would accept that same story. Before long all of my stories were published,” she says.  

“However, my book was a different matter. The rejections really knocked my confidence and honestly if it wasn’t for my mother taking action into her own hands and physically seeking out my agent, I probably would have stop sending them out for a while. My mother found my current agent and begged him to have a look at my work. Thankfully he did and here I am today getting ready for the launch of my debut novel in October.”

“I am an extremist and I am always thinking of how I can get better. I wasn’t content with writing a book; I wanted to write the next big thing. I also wanted it to be seen and heard and so I knew that I had to get involved in every single process. This included the branding, packaging and marketing of not only my book but also myself as an artist.

I don’t think many authors view themselves as an artist. Too often they separate their book from themselves but I strongly believe that I must become my product and that’s what I set out to do.”

So how did Kia make the jump from young writer to marketing professional/ published author?