

Susan Stoderl
- Jan 17
- 2 min
What I Would Do Differently | Part 2: Know Why You Are Writing
Knowing why you write before, during, and after self-publishing a book is important. The reasons why you write determine what story you tell and your chosen genre. It also tells you who your audience is, essential to marketing. I’m narrowing it down, and I published it in November. I merely fell into what I wrote and was lucky it is something I’m enjoying. My book series Sophia of the Bright Red Sneakers grew out of a short story I wrote as part of a group healing process. It


Susan Stoderl
- Jan 10
- 2 min
What I Would Do Differently | Part 1: The Business of Writing
First-time self-publishing Author | What I Would Do Differently (a series). Part 1: The Business of Writing. Are you prepared?


Susan Stoderl
- Oct 14, 2022
- 2 min
Wahoo's Inventions and Brand
Wahoo the Raven is a great inventor. Shown in the picture to the left are a few of his many inventions with descriptions from Mission 1: All in a Day's Work. Following are some quotes from my book with reference to each item. Should he return to typing his memoir on his BlackZip™ typewriter, which he had designed, assembled, and trademarked under his BlackRaven™ brand? The ledge outside held his string bag hammock and a side table repurposed from a spinning blue yo-yo top. Wa



Susan Stoderl
- Sep 30, 2022
- 1 min
Chapter 16 | Where is Vlad? | Excerpt
Super Sleuths Pedro and Sophia hopped off the bus at the 50th Street stop and walked back to 51st. The buildings became increasingly run down as they walked toward the river. Sophia, as Lead Investigator, presented her plan. “We’ll hit the Mister Creamy truck on the corner, then eat our cones on that bench while we watch Vlad’s apartment.” “Excellent! Since ice cream is a key food group, if we add strawberries, we’ll get total nutrition!” She paid for the cones, and the two s



Susan Stoderl
- Sep 28, 2022
- 1 min
An Excerpt from Sophia of the Bright Red Sneakers | Sophia & Pedro vs. THEM
From Mission 1: All in a Day's Work, Chapter 1 Sophia and Pedro were outsiders at the fashionable James Samuel Calder Academy on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Each formed its own small minority. Pedro was a scholarship student and Hispanic. Sophia was outspokenly individual and feminist, whereas her classmates were devotees of Teen Vogue and the New York Times society pages. The fashionistas thought Sophia’s unruly, curly red hair and high-top red sneakers with striped laces a


Susan Stoderl
- Sep 22, 2022
- 1 min
Self-Publishing = Chaos
#selfpublishing, #indieauthor, #sophiaofthebrightredsneakers, #middlegradefiction, #middlegradeadventure


Susan Stoderl
- Sep 14, 2022
- 1 min
More Work Done | More to Do
#WritersLife, #Update, #IndieAuthor, #SelfPublishing


Susan Stoderl
- Aug 3, 2022
- 1 min
Self-Publishing | A Merger of Two Biggest Publishers
As many of you may know, the U.S. Department of Justice is suing to block a merger between Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. If the merger goes through, it is likely that the “Big Five Publishers” will become “Primo Behemoth Publisher” with three small “Fight-for-Their-Lives” publishers. The two potentially merging companies control fifty percent of the top 100 selling books. Most of the remaining fifty percent will go to the three remaining publishers, leaving littl


Susan Stoderl
- Jul 29, 2022
- 2 min
Writer's Life | The Social Media Battle
In June, I began building a new website and updating social media sites from a composer/writer frame to an indie children’s book author heading toward two book launches. The ins and outs of using social media as a marketing tool have become a dreaded specter of my daily existence. Long before I began building my new Facebook (“FB”) and Instagram pages, I received notice that FB was taking down my old professional page since it had been unused for over three years. I wasn’t co