BookMachine Success Story: Olga Levancuka (writer)
Here is a short interview with Olga Levancuka, writer of “How to Be Selfish (And other uncomfortable advice), as part of the ‘BookMachine Success’ series.
1. How did BookMachine help you publish your book?
When I was working on my second book, I became interested in finding out more about the publishing world. I wanted to know about everyting, from book distribution through to marketing strategies.
I didn’t want to just publish another book. I wanted to be sure that by the time I’d finished writing it that there’d be a clear strategy on how to deliver it straight to book shops, onto their book shelves and directly into my reader’s hands.
My editor suggested that BookMachine events were the very thing I needed.
Little did I know, that in addition to all the answers that I got from attending events, I’d also find the inspiration for the name of my book!
2. What difference did this make overall to your success?
I could’ve been just another writer, hoping to get noticed one day. Instead, thanks to all the knowledge I gathered from the events, the great contacts, and the inspiration for its name, my book became a huge success and reached 5th position on the Kindle bestsellers list and 11th for printed (paid-for) books on Amazon.
The book became famous worldwide and was featured on TV, in the press and on radio. In fact, I’d even say this was the moment my career really took off – and it was all thanks to the book.
3. What advice would you give to anyone attending a BookMachine event?
Introduce yourself to people. Don’t just wait for people to come over to you. Make that first move, after all you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Ask questions. Many publishing experts – from agents, editors, marketers and other professionals turn up to BookMachine with lots of knowledge under their belts. They have been extremely helpful.
Offer to help. If someone asks for you a contact or advice that you can share then help them as much as you can. We’re all in this industry together, let’s work together.
