A South Carolina success story, Janna McMahan
April 9, 2009COLUMBIA, SC – April 9, 2009 – When Janna McMahan starting making up stories twelve years ago she hoped for success in the fickle field of fiction.
Now with the release of her second novel, The Ocean Inside, McMahan is enjoying being a well-received, nationally distributed author. Set in Charleston and Georgetown County, The Ocean Inside has been described by one reviewer as, “A gripping American family portrait,” and by Publisher’s Weekly as “vividly drawn.” PW writes “McMahan’s descriptions of the Lowcountry and its unique climate and customs jump off the page.”
This, a follow-up to McMahan’s highly-acclaimed first novel, Calling Home. Sold at all major, independent and online booksellers, Calling Home also found position in mainstream retail distribution. Selected as a spotlight author for Target stores, her debut novel was distributed by a number of general retailers.
“People have told me they bought my books in Kroger and Sears. I writer friend emailed me that she saw my work displayed at Ralph’s groceries in LA beside Jodi Picoult and Nicholas Sparks. That was way beyond my ambitions for my first novel,” McMahan said.
While McMahan is nothing but positive about the trajectory of her writing career these days, she does admit that she had a lot to learn when she started in the publishing business.
“Like most of my creative writing students, I had no doubt I could write a best-selling novel in a year,” McMahan said. “I was a good writer, but I was naive not only about the requirements of an engrossing work of fiction, but also about the process of publishing. It takes a while to jump through the appropriate hoops. And production, marketing and distribution take a while too.”
The marketing is something that McMahan was well prepared to tackle. She earned a Master’s in journalism at USC. She has worked in public relations for nearly two decades, most of it in some form of entertainment. “I used to be the PR director for the Columbia Museum of Art. I ran their Southeastern Art and Craft Exposition. That was my first exposure to entertainment as a product and I loved it.”
In addition to freelancing, McMahan is now the head writer and media relations director at Post No Bills, a creative agency that specializes in promotions for major movie studios. Still, McMahan says that the ultimate fun is promoting her own stories.
“There are many wonderful writers who will never make it because they don’t grasp the necessity of building brand. They don’t like to speak. They don’t want to travel or meet people. I find all of that fun. I’ve made strong contact with at least a hundred great people in the last year.”
When asked if the economy has affected sales, McMahan saw positives.
“My sales were awesome last year. I’m sure the economy had some negative effect, but how am I to know? Books are inexpensive entertainment. People are cocooning and what better companion than a good book? Bookstores are packed. Libraries are hopping. I was invited to a dozen book clubs around the state last year. One had forty-two members. Book clubs are a great way to socialize on a budget.”
McMahan also sees that often readers tend to be early adopters of social media, so she quickly found a use for twitter. “People can follow me on book tour on twitter at JannaMc.”
McMahan’s spring book tour includes a number of stops within South Carolina. The first is at the Mt. Pleasant Barnes & Noble Booksellers from 3-5 on May 2. She will be a featured speaker at the Southern Literary Festival in Charleston the weekend of May 29, schedule yet to be announced. McMahan will have a signing in Columbia at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Richland Fashion Mall from 12-2. Her full appearance schedule is listed on her website: http://www.jannamcmahan.com/. The website features short stories, essays and interviews with other authors. McMahan can be contacted via website email.