Author Spotlight: Angela Myers
Get to Know Health Writer, Content Strategist, and Creative Writer Angela Myers
I recently had an opportunity to sit down (virtually) with Angela Myers, a fellow professional and creative writer. Learn all about her author origin story, what she’s working on now, and how to support her writing journey.
Q&A with Angela Myers
Tell us a little about your writing journey—professionally and personally.
I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember, so when it came time to go to college, majoring in professional writing seemed like a great fit—and one that was slightly more “marketable” than creative writing. During college and postgrad, I wrote a few novels in different genres and styles. While that period was formative as a writer, most of those projects will probably never be published (at least in their current form).
When I took my freelance writing business full-time four years ago, my priorities shifted to making that business sustainable and becoming a digital nomad. The early years of the business were time-consuming (as was traveling to 30+ countries in three years), so I put novel writing on the backburner.
The “running a writing business and digital nomad lifestyle” was great in some ways, but left me feeling exhausted and disconnected from my introverted and literary roots by the beginning of 2024. I was ready to settle in one place, rebuild my physical book collection, and pursue other dreams, namely to move to London and write a novel.
Around that time, I sat down in a cafe with my journal and wrote a list of all my favorite romantasy tropes, niche or cool facts from the countries I’ve visited, and the political structures and monarchs I found most interesting from history. I took that list and weaved it into the outline for my current dark academia fantasy novel, which I’m currently editing and hoping to query or self-publish later this year.
Give us the rundown of your new author newsletter. What can readers expect?
So I actually had a BookTok, Bookstagram, and bookish newsletter back in 2019/2020, but let it fall to the wayside. This year, I revamped those platforms, hoping to make spaces to connect with readers and where readers can connect with one another.
That said, restarting the bookish/author marketing was SUPER overwhelming. I knew I wanted a cozy newsletter that offered a behind the scenes look at my dark academia novel but didn’t have something sticky to pull readers in.
My healthcare writing business is rooted in content marketing, so I know successful email marketing should have an ironclad strategy and a clear selling point. Yet as a consumer, I gravitate toward newsletters and social media profiles that feel authentic and showcase other creators’ processes. With that in mind, I decided to start documenting my own process, hoping a more cohesive strategy finds me one day.
That strategy still doesn’t exist and, much like my novel, the newsletter is a work in progress. Right now, readers can expect monthly updates on my novel, spotlights of other writers working on cool projects, and books to add to their TBRs. The newsletter is an inspiring resource for those who love reading, especially within the fantasy genre.
What writing projects are you currently working on?
My main project is the dark academia novel best described as if Gossip Girl took place in a magic school. The novel has enemies to lovers, dysfunctional royals, an undercover spy, morally grey characters, and trials the characters must go pass to get into a secret society on campus.
Alongside this project, I’m also writing a short story set in the same world. The story features academic rivals to lovers, a crypt hidden below the campus library, and a villain origin story. It will hopefully come out this summer or fall and will be free to newsletter subscribers.
What are you reading at the moment? Best book you’ve read in the past year? Best book of all time?
At the moment my audiobook is When in Rome (a cute romcom with Gilmore Girls vibes) and my physical read is The Golden Enclaves, the third book in a dark academia fantasy trilogy (the first book is A Deadly Education).
Since I’m a fantasy writer, I read a lot in that genre. These are some of the best fantasy books I’ve read recently:
· The Hurricane Wars by Thea Gunzon
· A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
· Blood and Steel by Helen B. Scheuerer
· The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig
· The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
When it comes to the best books of all time, I more so have favorite writers instead of individual books since it’s so hard to choose. Those writers include Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, Isabelle Allende, Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, Mona Awad, Donna Tartt, T. Kingfisher, and many, many others I’m probably forgetting.
If you had one piece of advice for other writers who wanted to improve their craft, what would it be?
Read LOTS of fiction, especially in the genre you want to write. Reflect on what you like, what other authors do well, and where there’s gaps in the market.
If you had one piece of advice for other writers who wanted to improve their profitability, what would it be?
I don’t make any money (as of now) from my personal writing. While it is possible to make a full-time living as a novelist, it’s often a slow build-up to being profitable.
If someone wants to make a living as a writer in the meantime, my advice would be to hone your professional writing skills and find a niche or industry that you’re passionate about (but still make time for those personal projects, which is easier said than done).
For me, that niche is healthcare. It’s a privilege to help my clients empower patients. I get to use my writing skills to make evidence-based healthcare more accessible and understandable, which is pretty cool and not something I expected to do when I majored in writing.
How can people follow or support your writing journey?
My newsletter is the most intimate, authentic way to follow and support my writing.
I also have an Instagram (@angela_anne_reads) and a TikTok (@angela_anne_) for in-the-moment book recs and reading updates.
For my healthcare writing, people can follow me on LinkedIn.
For Anyone with a TBR the Length of Their Arm…
Can’t get enough fiction into your eyeballs? Make sure to connect with Angela.
And if you’re also a fan of literary fiction, don’t forget to check out Ink by Post. It’s the once-a-month physical newsletter of my literary fiction. (Yes. I said physical newsletter. It’ll be delivered…to your actual mailbox…once a month.)
