Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Salina. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jessica, sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
Those with PTSD or CPTSD (such as myself) will know that those of us with trauma are no strangers to rejection sensitivity. That makes the fact that I wanted to publish my novels a bit ironic since the publishing industry is famous for being loaded with rejection.
In the course of any given year, there is a 1 in 3,000 – 6,000 chance of an author getting a literary agent. To put that into context, you are more likely to get into Harvard (1 in 300 applicants get accepted on average). That means even if your work is a literary masterpiece, you’re going to experience lots of rejections. Publishing isn’t entirely a meritocracy, but a huge roll of the dice.
People think they’re helpful by saying things like, “Gone With The Wind was rejected 38 times!” But the reality is that querying authors in the 2020s will receive 38 rejections in a month, so well-intentioned comments from friends and family who aren’t familiar with the industry end up feeling like salt in a wound.
Combine this high barrier of entry with rejection sensitivity, and imposter syndrome rears its ugly head, and often. I’ve found a few things really critical here: having other hobbies to distract myself with and having a solid support system. My beta readers, friends, and spouse are there to lift me up when I get too in my own head and provide reassurance and reminders that my work isn’t awful, it’s just a tough industry. When querying agents and publishing houses, it can be easy to just refresh your email 1,000 times a day. Allowing yourself to get lost in something – for me, it’s video games, books, and hiking – helps keep your mind off of the stresses of the publishing industry.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m Jessica Salina, a romance author based out of the Seattle area. I’ve had a lifetime love of reading, and after getting lost in other worlds growing up, decided to create my own. As someone with chronic pain and CPTSD, I strive for positive mental health and disability representation in my writing. My goal is to make sure that no one feels alone and always knows they’re worthy of love. When I’m not writing, you can find me taking pictures of cool mushrooms on hikes, chasing waterfalls, or cosplaying from my favorite anime, video games, and Marvel comics with my husband.
My debut novel, Not My Time, was self-published in 2023 and is the first novel in the Riverpeak Heroes series of superhero romance novels. The four-book series is available through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Kindle Unlimited. The series follows the lives of people affected by a vigilante superhero, Hematite, who protects his small Colorado town. The story unfolds from the perspectives of his love interest, sidekick, and supervillains, and is perfect for fans of Marvel, DC, or My Hero Academia.
My next novel, an adult romantic comedy, will hit shelves in 2025 with Conquest Publishing. In Stuck On The Slopes, an ex-pro-snowboarder and burned-out corporate ladder climber team up to save a failing ski lodge as the tabloids tell another story.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I majored in journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University (my original career plan was to be a news anchor, but after working in news for a bit, I realized it was not for me and switched to digital marketing alongside writing novels), and I took a lot of creative writing courses as electives. I also have a certification from the University of British Columbia. My education provided me with a great foundation and skill set, including:
1. Story structures: Anyone can learn how to structure your story in a way that will resonate with readers. I love the Save The Cat beat sheets, and the book on it is fantastic. But if Save The Cat doesn’t work for you, then there are a few others you can experiment with. Once I learned about Save The Cat, I started seeing it everywhere in the movies and books I read.
2. How to write both short-form and long-form: When you have to write a news script for television that only gets 15 seconds of air time, you’re forced to learn how to trim the fat from your writing. This has helped a ton in my novel writing, too. Since I have experience writing both short-form news scripts and longer-form blog content, I’m able to make sure my sentence structures flow without having a ton of filler or fluff. Even still, I think every author has a favorite filler word of theirs, and I’m no exception, but it makes it a bit easier to spot when you’re editing.
3. Grammar: This is another learned skill that anyone can pick up with enough research and study. My journalism track in college had a pretty tough grammar course. You only passed if you got a high enough grade on the exam. Having a really strong knowledge of grammar also makes editing a thousand times easier.
For those early in their writing journeys, the best thing you can do is read. Read all the time. I know, it sounds cliche. Don’t just read craft books, though. Pick up a bunch of books in your genre and see what’s selling, what you like, and what you dislike. I find that even if I’m not the biggest fan of a book in my genre, there’s still something I can take away from it. When you’re a writer, there’s a lesson in every book you pick up.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Being well-rounded is so important for authors. I think something a lot of people don’t realize is that authors wear a ton of hats. Unfortunately, we aren’t done once we type THE END on a manuscript. Even with the backing of a major publishing house, most authors have to act as their own marketing and PR team. Marketing, managing social media, pitching to bookstores for local signings and events, and writing not only for your books but for your website and newsletter are critical skills.
Since I work in digital marketing for my day job, I’m lucky to already have a lot of marketing knowledge. This has helped me grow my social media presence, get high engagement on my newsletters, and work some SEO magic on my website. I have over 20k followers on TikTok and at the time of writing this, my site ranks on the front page of Google for my primary target keyword.
Marketing is a beast to tackle, but if anyone is looking for a place to start learning, I highly recommend the HubSpot Academy. I may be biased since the marketing agency I work for is a HubSpot partner, but the HubSpot Academy offers a ton of free online courses on everything from SEO to social media. It’s a great place to develop new skills.
Contact Info:
- Website: jessicasalina.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/authorjessicasalina
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/authorjessicasalina
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-salina-96a92588
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/jess_salina
