NPR Profile of MJ Rose

[Kali Yuga]

If anyone is curious, NPR did a story on MJ Rose, a suspense author who also went through the self-published route.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=127879472

Unfortunately, she's a bit critical of self-publishing as an avenue to big success:

Originally Posted by MJ Rose

These are the experiences that make Rose skeptical about the recent hype surrounding self-publishing. With more than 1 million books published last year alone — about three-quarters of them self-published — it's hard for a book to rise to the top. And according to Rose, it should be.

"You are going to have to break through," she says, "but if you want to make a career out of this then you have to make sure you are doing it in a very professional way."

Working with a publisher also has its challenges, though; she is published by Harlequin, so her books keep getting lumped in with the romances, despite the fact that she's a mystery / suspense writer. I wonder if she's surprised that branding still matters.