Today we are talking with Jodi Velazquez, the author of The Slick Move Guide.

Tell us something unexpected about yourself!

I never intended to be on television but I am currently a co-host on a sports talk show.

What kind of books do you write?

So far, I have written three educational, self-help books on how to relocate without spending a lot of money and without losing your mind! The Slick Move Guide editions are very informative and straight to the point, spiral bound, workbooks providing information on how to smoothly get through the relocation process. Checklists and an eight week moving timeline keep the reader on track, while chapters on packing, researching a new area, determining a good moving company prospect and avoiding moving fraud, etc. offer great tips and advice.

What inspired you to write?

I believe I was born to write. I began writing poetry and keeping diaries as a child. I always did well in school when it came to writing and seemed to draw positive responses from teachers. Once, a teacher told me that deep inside I was an Emily Dickenson type.

What makes your writing stand out from the crowd?

I am really grateful to have attended Robert Morris University and studied marketing communications. I really enjoyed the writing classes and feel that I learned a tremendous amount especially about technical writing and document design. These classes explained how to make your written language clear, organized and easy to understand. I definitely implemented what I learned in these classes into my relocation guides and I believe that this has helped a great deal with my book sales. It is especially a good way to write for self-help books.

What is the hardest part of writing – for you?

The hardest part of writing for me is finding time to write! When I am working on a book, if too much time passes in between periods of when I write, I tend to feel unconnected and lost. My goal is too not have long periods in between writing but it seems inevitable at times. So, I am working on improvements to stay abreast even if there is a long break. I am leaving myself notes and organizing documents in specific unfinished files and folders. Pus, putting a date in a document name is so simple but has been very helpful.

Where do you like to write – what is your routine?

I have no routine due to two teenagers and a day job plus much more! I wrote my first book in the middle of the night to avoid distractions. I am unable to do that anymore. Though, I will purposely sequester myself whenever I can to provide writing time. For example, my girls dance for three hours on Saturdays. Instead of driving home and then returning to get them, I will stay to write either in the car or at Starbucks or a nearby restaurant. I had a special booth at one restaurant every Saturday for about a year until they closed. They didn't mind that I brought my laptop and notebooks.

What do you do when you are not writing – do you have a day job?

My days are pretty busy. I have a day job where I am a government sales representative. I maintain and manage our companies presence on GSA.gov and participate in the weekly bidding process. I am on two TV shows every month for Pittsburgh Community TV. I research and provide content for these shows. I manage my Kindle and Amazon accounts where I sell my books and maintain shipping and inventory and I have plenty of daily running with the kids.

Do you work with an outline or just write?

I couldn't work WITHOUT an outline. I am sad to see the outline not being used as much in schools today the way it used to be. It is the wheel of writing and you can not reinvent the wheel. It is truly the best way to organize your thoughts, stay on track and write in an understandable manner. It allows you to see your creation just as a blue print does in the construction world.

What advice would you have for other writers?

My advice for other writers would be to write from your heart and don't worry about being judged. Attend as many writers conferences and tune into publishing webinars and or podcasts if you are truly serious about writing a book. Submit and enter your work to contests and blog if you can to get experience. Always try to improve your writing. It is awesome to have older people review your work if you are young and vise versa. This is very important when you are writing with hopes to sell your book. If anyone can read it and understand it that is half the battle of selling it.

How important is marketing and social media for you?

Marketing and social media have been a blessing for my book sales. I self-published all of my books and have them uploaded into Amazon as a paperback and for Kindle as an EBook. Through these two electronic commerce companies I can monitor my sales, inventory, royalty payments and performance as a vendor. I am a Twitter lover and enjoy tweeting about my book to boost my sales. I can actually check how a certain tweet may affect my sales on a daily basis. I also occasionally blog from my website, www.slickmove.net and I can check to see how a certain post may or may not have increased my sales.

What's your next step?

Currently, I am 75% finished with a fourth book that is not a relocation book! I am struggling for that time to finish and hopefully publish this year.

The Slick Move Guide by Jodi Velazquez is available here.

If you are interested in book promotion, please visit http://thebookpromoter.com