Profiles in Excellence: Author Naomi Ault

                 

                According to biologist Howard Bloom, anyway, we’re all bad motherfuckers. Each of us alive on this planet have overcome a lot of tough odds to be here. Then there’s author Naomi Ault. A bad motherfucker on a planet of bad motherfuckers. While I would like to think she would be slightly shocked and put off by this declaration, it’s true. Now, allow me to explain.

                In terms of elite feats of mental prowess, did you know that novel writing ranks just below hardcore research papers in terms of brainpower? They’re generally regarded as the most high-end intellectual pursuits one may pursue. But among authors, merely writing a novel, as big as accomplishment as it is, is just par for the course. You’re not much of a novelist if you can’t do that.

                Writing a really *good* novel is something else entirely.

                Naomi has written at least two, so far. It’s kind of hard to quantify, because her debut, Chew, continues to grow on Vella. It’s now a series. So, woah. Then she released Alice Kane Must Die on Vella, which is also intriguing, although I must confess to having not read it yet, opening chapter aside. I did read enough to know I’ll finish it. But that merely makes her a good and competent writer, with an excellent command of storytelling, worldbuilding, and character development.

How, then, I hear you asking, does she qualify for this outlandish BMF title? Because she has mastered all the many things writers need to do *after* they write a great book. Her first paperback is extremely slick. Her marketing campaigns are amazing. She engages readers. In fact, she took herself to the top of the (Canadian) charts in her genre. Canada or not, that’s pretty damn impressive.

Naomi is literally a case study in how it is done. One person, acting alone, ala Lee Harvey Oswald, has carved out a name for herself in the now tough world of indie authors. This is not an easy task. Yet she made it look not only easy, but fun. Not to mention, I do believe she made some serious bank off of Vella with her popularity. Bank, like, more than I have made in ten years as a writer.

So, as an indie author, you can just moan and whine that you don’t have enough readers, as I do, or you can follow her example and learn from her. Videos, giveaways, promos… I don’t know how she got so damn good at all this, but I do know she works hard at it. The results speak for themselves. Naomi Ault is a bad motherfucker. Check out her author site here: https://naomiault.com/

Oh, and of course she has another novel in the wings, and is working on a collaborative effort with someone else on yet another…