Please introduce yourself in two or three sentences.
I’m a screenwriter and novelist. I spent twenty years on the writing team for the series Lindenstrasse (Linden Street). In addition to thrillers issued by trade publishers, I have mainly self-published books under the pseudonyms Vanessa Mansini and David Cordes.
What career experience do you have in your advising field?
Since 2012 I’ve self-published more than twenty novels, and as a result I’ve tried out just about everything a person can try out: from networking with other authors at major book fairs to peculiar contests. My fourth publication (with the third different publisher) is currently in the works, meaning I’m also well-equipped to compare those different worlds. .
What are some typical questions that participants might ask you in an advising session?
Generally, the most important question in self-publishing is: How do I get exposure for my book? Then there are questions about the correct steps to take in publishing, technical questions about the various platforms, and, as always, everything to do with PR and promotion.
What are some of your professional achievements?
In the self-publishing realm, I’ve sold more than 200,000 books, mostly e-books and audiobooks. In 2014 I won the Leipzig Book Fair’s Indie Author Award for my novel Nicht von dieser Welt (Not of this World, pseudonym Vanessa Mansini). The novel was also the number one e-book on Amazon Germany.
What languages do you offer advising sessions in?
German and English.
Where can you be found in the internet/on social media?
https://www.facebook.com/meisheit
https://www.instagram.com/meisheit/
https://www.instagram.com/achilles.krimi/
What piece of advice would you offer anyone interested in working in your professional field?
Write, write, write. Don’t become fixated on a single project; keep coming up with ideas for new projects – they will help you with the earlier ones.
What were your greatest challenges in the early years of your career?
I made a lot of mistakes with my first self-published novel, because I took a ‘classic’ approach to the publication. The world of self-publishing has rules of its own, which I only learned as I went along. And which I’m happy to pass on today.