We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful R. A.` Meenan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with R. A.` below.
R. A.`, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
Being a writer is HARD. Anyone who’s ever had to write anything ever can tell you that. But it does get a little easier when you’re in a group that is all working on similar writing. Whether that be a class working on the same composition essay or a group of novel writers working in a similar genre, it’s definitely easier when you don’t feel alone.
Being a writer with an incredibly niche genre, though, is incredibly lonely. Like I’m the only purple flower in a garden bed full of blue ones. Yeah, purple is *adjacent* to blue. It has blue in it after all. But it’s just enough different that it makes me stand out. And soon people are saying I’m more magenta than purple. Or maybe I’m not purple at all – I’m just red. I don’t fit in.
But I’m still a flower. And that’s what I cling to. What I *insist* on. It doesn’t matter what color my flower is. I belong, and I walk and talk with that in mind.
One of the biggest things I keep in mind is that even though I’m a niche writer, I have an audience. I have dedicated fans. So clearly, I’m doing something right, even if I’m not the same as the popular writers!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember, and knew I wanted this to be my career. I had been so determined to go the traditional publishing route. Every author and creative writing teacher I have ever met had told me that was the only way to go. Self-publishing was “giving up.” It’s what authors who couldn’t “make it” did with rubbish books. But as I developed my world, a near-future contemporary fantasy featuring queer, anthropomorphic characters (you could call them “furry”), it became clear that my stories would never be picked up by an agent. They were far too “out there.”
Furry, in particular, has one of two stigmas attached to it. Either you’re writing for kids (think Richard Scarry or even Bluey) or you were writing for “degenerates” – the furries – and most likely you’re writing erotica.
I write neither. My books are aimed at young adults to adults and barely has romance, let alone erotica. But people see the book cover or read the descriptions and those stigmas come to mind – and it’s very hard to escape them, even in the communities they’re aimed at.
But that didn’t stop me! They say to write the books you want to see. I almost never see books that satisfy the itch my own seem to scratch, so I figured I’d write them myself, and I believed there would have to be an audience for them. And I was right! I love finding readers looking for my exact brand.
The novels focus on deep platonic friendships, the importance of building a support network, and the idea that no matter what, you can grow and escape the worst parts of your past if you refuse to give up. Many readers over the years have told me how my books have changed them and how they spoke to them while they were dealing with struggles in their own lives. I couldn’t be prouder. This was always my goal as a writer.
Because I’m a self published author, I can write and published books far faster than most traditional publishers, since I’m only juggling one author. I also get to choose my cover artist (or do the art myself) and my editor, which gives me a lot of creative writing. This also means I put out several books and/or anthologies a year, so my readers get a constant flow of new content.
For what my brand needs, self-publishing was the best route possible.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Research skills – While I took creative writing classes, nothing was ever as helpful as having a community. Finding blogs, authors, and books that took the mystery out of self publishing was incredibly important. But there’s SO MUCH material out there that it is very easy to get lost or get trapped in all the money schemes of the internet. Since I’m also an English professor with lots of experience researching, learning how to vet sources and identify the good ones from the bad was key.
Humility – Being a writer means having a thick skin. You need to be willing to change and grow and listen to criticism. The same goes for learning how to run the business side too. If I’m too stubborn, I can’t do what I need to do to succeed. Coming at all of this with humility was absolutely necessary.
Artistic Eye – This doesn’t mean I had to know how to draw, although I do, but rather than I needed to learn how to lay out my books, my website, my marketing tools, etc. There are tons of resources for this, but more than anything, this takes *practice.* It’s also something anyone can learn. And it can also be done with basic, and even free softwares. They just take time to learn!
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
By far the most important people who have been helpful in developing my skills has been my writing groups and partners. I’m in a writing group who has been meeting for something like… 12 or 15 years, and we’ve all been instrumental in helping each other grow and achieve our goals. One of our members died rather unexpectedly around a year ago… I’ll be dedicating my most recent book to him. Victoria, Chris, Linda, Jill, Jim, Heather, and Ambrelle – thank you. I hope we’ve all made Randy proud.
Writing partners are a little different than a whole group. We work individually with each other, beta read each other’s work, and support each other when we’re down. My closest writing partner is Jess E. Owen, author of The Summer King Chronicles, among others, and I would not be anywhere near as successful without her. She’s a lifeline!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.zyearth.com/
- Other: I’m on BlueSky at the handle @zyearth.com
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
