Indie Author Interview: Jacqueline Rogerson

Who is Jacqueline E. Rogerson?

Jacqueline is a mum, girlfriend, business owner and all-round inspirational indie author whose debut memoir, Onward and Upward, was published in July 2018.

Hi Jacqui. Congratulations on becoming an author! How did it feel to see your book for sale on Amazon for the first time?

J: Thank you! To be honest, I am still pinching myself. I have always ‘felt’ like a writer, but don’t think I ever expected to see my own book on Amazon, never mind in real life. It was quite surreal. When I saw it had gone live, initially I wanted to wait until I felt ‘ready’ to share the news but I couldn’t contain the excitement, my story was out there for the world to see!

As a busy entrepreneur and mum, how on earth did you find the time to write your book?

J: I made it my ‘non negotiable’ task. In recent months I have been waking and starting my day a little earlier so I just made it a priority to actually do something with that time and make it count. I was determined to finish this book, I know how valuable the life lessons I had to share would be to the readers so I just made the time. I know that sounds easier said than done, but I found that by doing my writing as my first task of the day, I started to feel that I had already achieved something with my day by 10am, which was a really motivating feeling and helped me power through other tasks for my business and my family too.

Can you tell us a little about how your funded your self-publishing journey?

J: That was the scariest part, actually. I had a rough idea how much money I needed to find to get it off the ground, get it professionally edited and have it not looking ‘amateur’ but couldn’t just magic money up from nowhere. Cassandra, who had mentored me through writing my book suggested I look into crowd funding. I didn’t know much about this but I did know that people around me wanted to read my book and hear what I had to say, so I took a leap of faith and hoped I would be able to raise at least some money in this way which would go towards paying for these services, and I raised much more than I could have hoped for which was also an enormous boost to my confidence in my writing.

Now you’ve experienced writing and self-publishing your first book, do you have any advice to offer any other wannabe authors or those with a book in their head?

J: Don’t let self-doubt stop you, don’t spend time worrying no one will want to read it, go with your heart. I had so many times when I have wanted to do this, and in fact started sketching ideas for it early last year, but if you are feeling as though it is something you ‘need’ to do, for whatever reason, then do it! Just do it. Don’t think about all the reasons not to do it, make it happen. You can do this, I know because I did, and I was inspired by someone who also just knuckled down and made it so.

Do you have any more books in the pipeline?

J: Ohhh yes! My writing journey has only just begun. I am preparing for a business book (about wedding stationery) but my follow on book from Onward and Upward will be drawing on all the techniques, coping mechanisms and inspiration I used to get me through some of the tough stuff covered in book 1, so more of a self-help style book. And I know that isn’t the end, I have lots of ideas, probably expanding a bit more on some of the issues raised in individual books later. I have also just been helping my boyfriend finish writing his book, which mirrors some of my personal discovery journey and we are working to get that published before I continue with my next one as they are very closely linked.

And finally, can you tell us a bit about your book? Who it’s aimed at, why you felt compelled to write your memoir, what you hope readers get from it?

J: My book is for all women, particularly those facing challenges in their life, with no idea what the future holds and who wonder how they will ever move forward. I have shared my vast life experiences of motherhood at a very young age, love, the stillbirth of my son, as well as a wide variety of parenting and relationship complications and I know that people around me felt inspired by watching me keep moving during the toughest times.

I have always enjoyed writing so sharing my story in a book seemed to make perfect sense. I read a fantastic book (Light is the New Black by Rebecca Campbell) which seemed to talk to me and say you have to do this, and you have to do it now, that happened in February and I haven’t looked back since.

I hope that those who read it feel uplifted and inspired to find a way to keep going, trusting that everything will be okay in the end. They may even be as lucky as I have been and find their bliss, and live happy ever after!

Thanks very much, Jacqueline, and all the best with your book!

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