Photo: from the album
The first book of Priekuliete Zane Riekstiņa or Zane Nuts was published in 2020. Well, she managed to publish the sixth book. We talked with Zani about what it’s like to publish a book on your own, how you can manage to write six works in a short time, and other things.
– After a few years, you have already managed to publish six books! Is writing the main job?
– In May 2020, the first book was published, just now, at the beginning of 2023, my sixth book was published. Currently, writing is my main job. It must be said, I have purposefully created it so that it is so. It is a well-known fact that a writer in Latvia, being only a writer, cannot earn a living. At first, I published the books myself. I wrote prolifically, the works came out often enough, and the genre in which I write is also popular enough. Since I bought more books than the average minimum, during these years I managed to make a living only by writing. Of course, it should be taken into account that the income is not regular.
– When publishing a book yourself, you have to think about the costs: both for publishing and for the work of the people who will edit the text, develop the design, make the layout…
– Yes, but fortunately, I already earned money with the first book. I was not aware of all the costs at the time. I spent my savings on the first edition. But the book was quite thin, so the cost was not huge. In fact, in a couple of months, I already recouped the invested funds and soon made money. So, three months after the first book, I published the second. It was also possible to make money with it. After that, cooperation with printing houses was already established, then it can be agreed that the work is paid after the book is published. The only job that failed to earn money was a children’s book. It was the most unsuccessful commercially.
Now I know that trips to meet readers should also be included in expenses, but sometimes libraries pay some fees. In the year when I published “Latvietes nevar nemīlēt”, my husband and I became foster parents. Only at the moment, when there was a bigger family, did I really understand how serious work it is to publish a book yourself, because you have to organize everything yourself – it’s a full-time job. If a person is engaged in self-publishing, then it is simply impossible to combine it with a basic job and find time to write a lot. When I became a foster mother, I realized that there is not enough time for everything, you also have to work a lot with the child, you have to devote time to him. Then the opportunity came to cooperate with the publisher, although at first I thought – I can do everything myself – although in reality I was close to the point of burnout for quite some time. This is how my new life in cooperation with “Latvijas medijiem” has begun.
– How do you manage to write six books in three years? How do ideas come? How does the plot come about?
– The more I write, the stronger my conviction is that a person can be anything and everything he wants to be. It’s the same with writing. Although it seems to be an artistic process and it is easy for some and more difficult for others, it can be done by anyone. The principle is: if you do, everything happens.
For me, for example, while writing one book, other ideas arise at the same time. I have no problem coming up with a plot. If I had eight hands, fifty hours a day, and enough energy, I could certainly write a book every week. Work makes work – the more you write, the more you get done. You just have to force yourself to sit down and write. Just that simple.
Of course, there are periods when I get tired after writing for a long time. Often after finishing the manuscript, I don’t want to write anything – I’m just tired. Then comes a moment when I feel – I have to write. My husband often laughs when I’m grumpy, it’s a sign that I need to go write. I’ll admit, it’s not easy. It’s not like I’m sitting at a manuscript and I’m sick of how easily it all comes. No. It’s a job. I have read, it seems, in one of Stephen King’s interviews that he also sits at the computer every day and writes. The main thing is not to lose the started rhythm, stick to it.
– How did your interest in writing begin? Was it already during school?
– No, not at all. I have always been a big fantasist. At school, I really liked playing with words, but I definitely did not have such strong talents in the Latvian language or in writing. Grammar was difficult, and it still is. I sometimes joke that if there was a spectrum for dyslexia, I’d probably be on it. There are a lot of typos in my manuscripts, I have never been an expert in the language. Never had an intuition for commas, I’m really zero without an editor.
However, I have always had the ability to conjure up stories, to live in a fantasy world. I am a very empathetic and sensitive person. Although I call myself an extrovert, because it’s easy for me to perform and be on stage, I know everyday that I get tired of people and need time to recover. I really feel what people think. I analyze a lot in my head everything that is happening. That’s why you want to go down, be away from people, relax.
– Can all your written and published works be included in one genre?
– I mainly write romantic literature. I wrote the last book in a form where two people recount what is happening – almost like a psychotherapist. I like to experiment with styles. I have works of fiction, but I have not published them because they are “bites that I cannot digest”. I can’t finish these books.
The romantic genre is because I am very sensitive – I live with my characters. If they went through the horrors of war, I’m afraid it would be very difficult for myself. I also visited a psychotherapist myself so as not to sink too deep. Therefore, I know that I could hardly write thrillers. Although I’m not saying I’ll always write only romance.
– When writing the first books, did you already think about who the potential readers would be? In Latvia, the circle that is ready to perceive some new trends in literature is still narrow.
– We have talked about it with other authors. In my case, I can say that – no, I did not write with the aim of selling. I couldn’t force myself to write something that I can’t, that doesn’t come from the heart. I have been offered to write, for example, commissioned articles for business, which I have always turned down because I simply cannot.
– It’s more marketing.
– Yes, that’s why I can’t. I’m also not good at writing in its classic literary form. I write the way I know how, so many people say that I make sentences differently. Since I don’t know how to do it stylistically correctly in Latvian, I write in my own way. I am not particularly educated in the field of literature and Latvian language, all I have is creative thinking and fantasy. I know that if I had to write for marketing, I would just sink.
Of course, as an author, I also use social networks and maintain a connection with the reader, but I try to be as honest and open as possible. Although, of course, it is important to earn, because both my husband and I are at home, we share the time to spend with the children. It’s just that family needs time, and I’m very glad that I have my husband’s support in writing.
