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Montana
The Business of Writing
A Labor of Love with KATIE CROSS
BY SUE ELLER atie Cross discovered early on that she has a mind for entrepreneurship and a heart for her readers . As of the writing of this article , she has completed and published 55 novels — all in the last ten years . She has a mailing list of about 70,000 subscribers . She hosts a “ Coffee with Katie ” weekly chat to gather input and requests for more stories about her fantasy world , Alkarra , from her fans .
The two things Cross values most in her writing business are freedom and a connection to her readers . Freedom was the impetus for her decision to self-publish her books . From cover design to content to release date , Cross stays in control of her books and their progress . She also connects with readers by personally narrating each audiobook . She is not interested in reading someone else ’ s book , but she loves to read her own out loud . “ I know my stories and my characters better than anyone else in the world ,” she explains . “ It also cuts down on the expenses of putting out an audiobook , and I have control of the timeline for when it gets released .” According
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