by Alvin Ramirez September 9, 2014
Angela’s interview in last week’s episode of Book Journeys was with Roland Hinds, author of the book, Are You the Right One for Me? Whose Choice Is It Anyway? A speaker, radio host, and relationship mentor, Hinds shares that he has been talking about relationships for several years and thought of answering the same questions of people who have been in and out of relationships, but the book finally came together out of his own experience with a failed relationship. The book is for people who are having problems with their relationships, drawing from his own learnings about all the things that people can anticipate going through a relationship that had failed, and how to get back into the world of dating again. It is about getting to understand oneself again when a relationship has gone sour. The book’s title also begs the question of how prepared one is to give what it takes to be in a relationship.
The writing process for Hinds took three years which for him was ample time to write since there was a lot of research involved in writing a self-help book, like talking it over with a lot of people so that it’s easier for him to connect with his audience. He self-published his book which he enjoyed doing because it taught him many things, including being in control of the book’s format and how he wanted the book to be. While he did have an editor, he emphasized that it was important for the editor to know his voice and not take over his work but rather accentuate it so that people can still relate to him as the author and not to someone else. Choosing the cover also took work because it involved a vision of what he sees the book to be, and this came about after the book was written. Conceptualization of the book cover in itself took about three or four months and it was done in another country.
Hinds advice for would-be authors is to surround themselves with people that have an understanding of who they are and what their message is as this reduces a lot of stress. He cites that his own process of choosing the right editor involved interviewing and speaking to a number of editors, finding out who among them he could have a one-on-one relationship with, and who could click with him in the work that he was doing. He also points out the need for authors to realize that being one takes work, and this includes grabbing every opportunity for publicity because if they have a message that they are passionate about, then they have to be out there constantly talking about it and doing promotions whether via radio, TV, social media, or some other form. Also, they should always be working towards refining the process of presenting themselves and defining their message. Having a mentor or coach in writing is also very important but again it takes work, and they have to be committed to doing the work.
Roland Hinds finds that one of the perks he has enjoyed as an author is the many opportunities given him for exposure, but the best thing is being able to help and reach people literally from all over the world and see that they have chosen to invest in him as an author who can assist them in working out their relationships.
Listen to the Roland Hinds interview on BlogTalkRadio
Download the PDF: Book Journeys Author Interview – Roland Hinds – Sept 4 2014
Next week, watch out for Angela’s interview with another exciting author.