I received so many questions from students and parents about the college financial aid process that I decided to write it in a book.
Amber Porter – 28 December 2017
The Back Flap
Straightforward and blunt! This book gives high school and college students strategies to graduate college debt free. In the very first chapter, you will learn tips, tricks, and hacks on streamlining the scholarship application process. The remaining chapters reveal a plan of action on how to maintain a debt-free lifestyle. Combining the methods outlined in this book will save you thousands of dollars. Purchase your copy today and learn how to make #moneymoves.
About the book
What is the book about?
Money Moves: A Guide To Conquering College Debt With Little Familial Support, is a self-help style book written to assist high school students with avoiding college debt. The tips outlined in the book may even assist college freshman and sophomore students. The first chapter talks about third party scholarships, and gives streamlining tips on applying to one hundred outside scholarships. The remaining chapters give other secrets to avoiding debt. For example, it is possible to negotiate your scholarship with colleges when you get your financial aid award letter.
When did you start writing the book?
I started writing the book about three weeks before it was released.
How long did it take you to write it?
Not long at all, the information contained in the book was information that I previously told students who called me for advice. I received so many questions from students and parents about the college financial aid process that I decided to write it in a book.
Where did you get the idea from?
Many people from my neighborhood, where I grew up, contacted me with questions related to the college financial aid process. I answered so many of the same questions and gave so much of the same advice that I decided to write a book about it.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
I struggled with trying to put my own thoughts into a format that would be easy to read for everyone, regardless of their educational background. I wanted to make the information easy to understand for parents who hadn’t went to college and didn’t know anything about the process.
What came easily?
The easy part was that I knew what I wanted to say prior to writing it. It was a question of how I wanted to explain the information, as opposed to what information I wanted to explain.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
Most of the information in the book relates to things I actually did in college. I was able to graduate from college debt-free and I gave examples of things that, either, I actually did or things that I wish I’d known.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
I grew up reading Stephen King and J.K. Rowling but I wouldn’t say that they influenced the way that I wrote.
Do you have a target reader?
Eighth grade students to college sophomore students would greatly benefit from the book. Also parents of college bound students would find the information useful.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I outline a book pretty extensively before I start writing it. After I finish outlining, I write each chapter. I don’t write the chapters in order though. I skip around to whichever chapter is on my mind.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I outline extensively. I know each point that I will communicate in the book before writing it.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
Both. I edit after I finish each chapter. After I have completed the entire book, I edit it again three times before I send it to a proofreader.
Did you hire a professional editor?
No, but I do have a proofreader.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
I listen to white noise.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
No.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I saw a YouTube video about self-publishing and it seemed like the best way to go. I am able to keep creative control of my work and do all of my own graphic designs and photography.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
I did it myself. That’s one of my favorite parts of the creative process!
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
Absolutely positively, winging it!
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Once you put out your first book you will be so much more confident. I have so many more ideas now and I have four more books coming out!
About You
Where did you grow up?
In Markham, Illinois right outside of Chicago.
Where do you live now?
I live in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago.
What would you like readers to know about you?
It is not about selling books, its about empowering students with the knowledge to complete a bachelor’s degree without incurring any debt. There are so many financial aid related questions that students never get answers to. There is a way out of paying for college. Likewise, there is a lot of information that students don’t know about choosing the right college and major, and questions that they may have about graduate school. I am hoping that the Money Moves series will assist students with the college application process and beyond. I hope that communities will be transformed by the knowledge given in Money Moves.
What are you working on now?
There will be five books in the Money Moves series. The first three books are complete. Money Moves: Choosing a College will be available for pre-order December 1, 2017 and Money Moves: Choosing the Right Major will be available for pre-order February 1, 2018. I am currently writing Money Moves: The Law School Application Process.
End of Interview:
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