Interview with Mystery Writer Tinisha Nicole Johnson

Tinisha N. Johnson is an author, writer and poet. Her newest book, Searchable Whereabouts, a mystery novel was released Feb 1, 2008. Tinisha resides in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two children. She writes for a local urban magazine called Denver’s Finest Underground. Tinisha’s passion for writing began at the early age of eleven. It has always been her hobby and pass-time and at the age of twenty-one, after her son was born, eight-years ago, she took her writing seriously and began pursuing it as a career.

You can learn more about Tinisha at her website: http://www.tinishanicolejohnson.com/.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Tinisha!  Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

Searchable Whereabouts is my debut novel, so yes this is the first book to be published.  

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why? 

The name of my very first book was Chances of a Poetic Summer Life. It was the first novel I wrote, I did attempt to get it published and was faced with many rejections and didn’t pursue it after that. Searchable Whereabouts is actually my forth book, but the first to be published. 

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it? 

I don’t know the exact amount of rejection letters, I lost count, but I’ll say at least 60. That makes me cringe when I think about it.  

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows? 

Well they made me feel horrible and frustrated, but I just kept sending them out. I didn’t care what it took, I wanted to get my book published. 

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them? 

Xpress Yourself Publishing is my publisher and they accepted my book. 

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate? 

It’s a real joyous feeling. My husband took me out to dinner, which was really nice. 

What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time? 

I set up my website. 

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published? 

No. 

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author? 

I’m just taking everything in. I’m listening, I’m learning and I’m keeping myself busy trying to promote my book. 

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up?  What kind of mistakes could you have avoided? 

I don’t really know how to answer that, because I’m still learning and still asking questions. As far as mistakes, I would have gotten my book edited better and not attempted to self-publish, which was the route I went down for a couple of months before I got picked up by my publisher. 

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published? 

Being able to meet new people, doing my first book signing which was on 1/26/2008. That was a great experience. My biggest accomplishment is seeing my book on the bookshelves. 

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

 A Journalist.  

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds? 

No, being an author/writing is really what I want to be.  

How do you see yourself in ten years? 

A New York Times Best Selling author of a many books, CEO of my own magazine company and really enjoying life. 

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day? 

You have to be passionate as a writer and dedicated. And you have to persevere even if the rejection letters keep pouring in. Also, there are several places you can write for free or publish articles with no pay. I say take advantage of those opportunities to make your writing better. This is creditable.