Meet Kellie Doherty

We were lucky to catch up with Kellie Doherty recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kellie, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

My mom instilled in me this deep well of optimism. When I was a teenager (and younger), I didn’t like the “look on the bright side of life” attitude my mom had and shared with me. I was angsty and bored and quite frankly, kind of a rebellious in my own way. But the older I get, the more wisdom I see in her words. Looking on the bright side, being positive, having an optimistic view on life is great! I’m a sunshiny person because of it. Now it doesn’t mean that I can’t have bad days. That I can’t cry over that harsh conversation or be upset over the way something turned out at work–quite the opposite! I have plenty of bad days. But having an optimistic attitude means that even while I am sad, or upset, or angry, or disappointed… I know it’ll get better. I know this down period is just one moment in time, and I know I’ll turn out okay. So I choose to focus that hope, and I know I’ll be happier for it in the long run. I am happier for it!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Hello! I’m a queer science fiction and fantasy author who lives in Eagle River, Alaska. Yes, that Alaska, Land of the Midnight Sun. Growing up in Alaska gave me a love of the outdoors, a passion for hot drinks, and an appreciation of all things cozy. The summer days [and nights] were spent camping, having dinner at 10pm, and easily reading a book at 1am because of all the sun. But it was the long dark winter nights that inspired me to become a writer. Well, that and quite a few books, TV shows, movies, and other geeky things. [Digimon, Pokemon, Lord of the Rings, Firefly, Star Trek, Critical Role, I’m looking at you.] I started off my writing journey as a fanfic writer, penning tales in other people’s worlds and just letting my imagination run wild. My favorite worlds to play in were Digimon and Pokemon [because I’m a nerd], and I remember the sense of joy it gave me. Writing fanfiction really helped me hone my craft, but…I wanted to do more. I wanted to write original fiction. I was pretty young, in my teens, but I actually remember the title of my first original fiction piece: “The Tale of Mystical Humdra Dragons.” [You can tell I also read Nancy Drew.] Eventually I branched out to writing short stories then full length novels. Something I continue to do today! I also noticed there wasn’t much in the queer space for SFF, so I wanted to change that. The cool thing about being a writer is that I get to build worlds, create unique characters, invent magic systems and new technology, and tell stories that amplify and celebrate my community. My newest project is a five-book intertwined, standalone fantasy series where the first four books are centered on one main character going on one main quest, and the fifth book brings them all together. All the books feature quest adventures, found family, siblings, queer representation, unique creatures, and lots of fun action. The fourth book – Fatal Spores & Fiery Paths – just came out last March from Desert Palm Press!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Ooo, great question! For me, the three qualities that were most impactful were creativity, dedication, and having a thick skin. Creativity is kind of obvious; you need to have that spark of an idea to really get started. Dedication is a big one because it takes time and energy to write something as long as a book. [You’ve heard that less than 1% of people finish and publish a book, I’m sure.] Having a thick skin is also super important, not only to survive the querying process [as I’m sure you’ve heard other writers agonize over], but I think it starts even sooner in the critiquing phase. It’s hard to give your work to someone only to get it back covered in red ink with all the suggestions, edits, and comments about it. [Hard, but 100% necessary.]

As for advice on how to develop or improve creativity, dedication, and having a thick skin…a couple of things!

For creativity, I find it’s helpful to really immerse yourself in the genre you’re writing in–books, TV shows, movies, YouTubes, music–be captivated by anything and everything in your chosen genre. Doing so can help spark the creativity inside you. [For example, I was inspired to write Finding Hekate, my adult scifi novel, from watching Star Trek, Stargate, and Firefly.] It can also be helpful to look outside your genre as well. I’ve gotten into the habit of consuming horror and picture books and even straight up romance as well. Looking outside your genre can help bring in even more new ideas.

For dedication, some writers find that having a dedicated time to write is helpful. I have a standing co-writing session with one of my friends on Sunday and I dedicate my Saturday to writing as well. Other writers find that having a word count is useful. I did this over the summer – 250 a day in May – and while it was helpful, it was also a bit more pressure than I would’ve liked and my writing suffered for it a little. I do have a couple of tricks I use for when I just don’t want to write. We all have those days; after work you just want to turn off your brain and on the weekends, you have other things to do. On those days, I like telling myself that I only have to write for 15 minutes and then I can be done. More often than not, I write for longer! I’ve also used sweet treats to motivate myself [I can’t say no to a shortbread cookie].

For developing a thick skin, that’s a bit tricker. I’d say it might be the hardest thing you’ll have to do on your writing journey, because there will always be someone trying to critique your work [either with love, like a critique group, or with hate]. My best advice here is to reframe your thinking depending on the situation. So for critique groups, they’re really just trying to make your work stronger. The same goes for the editorial process. For bad reviews you might get, remember reviews are meant for the readers and your book isn’t for everyone. For straight up flamers who don’t like your work because it’s queer or represents some other marginalized community, try to let those comments roll off your back. I’ve faced many people who don’t like my books simply because they have queer characters in them. To those people I say, “My books aren’t for you anyway!”

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

Being an author can be overwhelming! There is literally always something to do–writing the next book, editing a new work in progress, doing interviews, social media, doing events, pitching to media/podcasts/influencers/etc. So. Many. Things. And we all know [and love!] that marketing is a never-ending task simmering in the background. It’s a lot, and not many authors can make a full-time job out of their writing so all of that stuff has to be done on the weekends, after work, over the holidays, really any time we can squeeze it in.

My advice for when it gets too much? Take a break. No, seriously. Our writing journeys should be fun, and in the perfect world all the tasks we have to do will fall easily into place on our calendars and into our lives. But we don’t live in a perfect world! And of course, just like anything and everything, there will be times when you’ll be stressed about writing, worried about a launch, having an anxious cup of tea over that looming event. There will be times when you do feel overwhelmed, but it shouldn’t be overwhelming all of the time.

The moment that your author journey becomes too much, too stressful, too overwhelming, is the moment you need to step back and reassess. Can you shift back that deadline? Schedule out social media posts instead of doing them daily? Perhaps decline that event invite? It’s not always going to be sunshine and roses, but it shouldn’t be so stressful that you’re no longer enjoying it.

Two more quick things: use a calendar to schedule out the marketing stuff [social media posts, goal setting, pitch times, etc.], and don’t be afraid to ask for help!

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