Life & Work with Jennifer Anderson of Gallatin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Anderson.

Jennifer, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a writer, something I discovered when I was in sixth grade under the guidance of Mr. Rhine, my language arts teacher. I was fortunate enough to have Mr. Rhine for two years running, and as he pushed us to write research papers and stories of fiction, I began to dream of writing books someday.

I grew up in a small town in Southern Illinois. Eldorado was a great place to grow up. Still, there was no job market, so after graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in advertising, I landed the first of a series of short-lived jobs. I ended up at WSM Radio in Nashville, where my copywriting position morphed into writing a syndicated radio program hosted by the broadcast team of Crook and Chase. When Lorianne and Charlie took their radio show in-house, I moved to Jim Owens Entertainment. I wrote and produced variations of The Crook and Chase Countdown for a decade and a half. Although I wrote thousands upon thousands of words, I wasn’t writing books.

I married Mike Anderson on the stage of The Grand Ole Opry, where we had met at a party hosted by WSM. He had two sons, and between being a stepmom and helping my husband as he attended law school in Memphis (while I remained in Nashville) and then after as he established a law practice, I didn’t have the time or energy to think of writing my stories. It wasn’t until the boys were grown and out of the house that I returned to my dream of writing books. In 2018, I finally fulfilled the dream first nurtured under the encouraging watch of Mr. Rhine.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Although looking back, I can see God’s path for me; it wasn’t always easy. I was fired from two of my first three jobs out of college, which was difficult because I had always been a high achiever. I had to move to different states to find my next job. I was single at the time and somewhat timid in spirit, so finding my footing in new jobs in new cities wasn’t easy. Because I was writing for others, one of the biggest lessons I learned was to handle criticism, let others have their say, and not take it personally.

Still, when I finally began to write my first book in my 50’s, I had trouble getting started. I had story ideas; I couldn’t seem to do anything with them. It just so happened that my pastor at the time, Kyle Gott, was also a musician and writer and started a group for other creatives. We met weekly to share our projects, discuss the book The Artist’s Way, and encourage one another. Over time, I began to see that fear and doubt were holding me back. What if I tried to fulfill my lifelong dream and wasn’t good enough to accomplish it to my satisfaction? It was a huge roadblock, but once I identified my problem, I could apply some of the lessons from those early jobs and write through my fears. It took me three years to finish my first book, but though I was anxious about what people would think of it, it was one of the most thrilling moments of my life.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
When I first became serious about writing novels, I researched and chose to become an indie author, which means I am my publisher. It’s a route that wasn’t a viable option twenty years ago, but print-on-demand, ebooks, and online sellers now allow independent authors to upload their books to the biggest bookstores in the world. I am currently exclusive to Amazon.

My first book is titled BUKU, and it’s a sci-fi, dystopian adventure. The sequel BUKU: Sun and Shadows is also out, and I am working on the third and final book in the series. Although not hard science, readers comment that the stories feel like they could happen, which was a pleasant surprise. While creating worlds that seem real is important to me, I didn’t know if I could pull that off since I write about society collapsing and scientists meddling in genetics they should have left alone! Maybe that isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds in this day and age. Though my books are dark, I keep an underlying thread of faith and hope running through them.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
The thing about being an indie author, as most self-employed people know, is that writing is just part of the job! I often spend more time learning how to self-publish and market and advertise than I do writing, so I use many apps. Some of my favorite apps are Scrivener — a word processing program designed for writing books that allows you to develop chapters and scenes with ease; ProWritingAid — an editing app that highlights things like redundancies and cliches; and Atticus — which will enable me to format the interior of my paperback and ebooks. Self-Publishing Formula by Mark Dawson was also instrumental in teaching me the ins and outs of self-publishing. It is a course, but there’s also a free YouTube channel with loads of excellent information. Other than that, I have found several groups of writers on Facebook that have helped in all aspects, from writing sci-fi to coming up with book covers to self-publishing and marketing. There are many resources for indie authors, and the community at large is very open to sharing what they know.

Pricing:

• BUKU on Amazon
• $13.99 Paperback; $3.99 ebook; free on Kindle Unlimited
• BUKU: Sun and Shadows on Amazon
• $14.99 Paperback; $4.99 ebook; free on Kindle Unlimited

Contact Info:

• Website: jenniferandersonwriter.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferandersonwriter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferAndersonwriter/