Ivana Sumbundu Explains How Readers And Indie Authors Find Each Other

Discoverability is the make-or-break problem for self-published authors, and it’s rarely about writing talent. We talk with Ivana Sumbundu, founder of the Vana Verse, about what indie authors actually need to grow: visibility, consistent engagement, and a support system that treats publishing like the business it becomes the moment you hit “release.”

Ivana shares how a lifelong love of reading pulled her back in through thrillers and romantasy, then led her into the Bookstagram community where she started meeting indie authors who do everything themselves. That direct connection sparked a bigger mission: become the bridge between readers and writers who would never find each other otherwise. We dig into her “Verse and Voices” events, a four-part format that expands the usual quick signing-table chat into a live interview, audience Q&A, a sample reading, and a meet-and-greet designed to be free, spoiler-free, and welcoming for new readers.

We also get practical about author marketing and entrepreneur growth: why consistency beats bursts of effort, how face-to-face outreach changes outcomes at book events, and how to stay organised when you’re juggling launches, bookstores, and social media as a one-woman show. Vana closes with grounded advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed by invisibility: define your brand, set SMART goals, take the smallest reachable step, and keep going.

If this conversation helps, subscribe, share it with an indie author or reader friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.

CONTACT INFO:
info@thevanaverse.com
Website: https://www.thevanaverse.com/

SOCIALS
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vana_verse
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Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.vana.verse

Thanks for Listening. You may contact me or our team at https://billgilliland.biz/

All the best!
Bill

Please hit the subscribe button, leave us a 5 star review,  and share this podcast. You can reach me at williamgilliland@actioncoach.com or at https://billgilliland.biz/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:58

All right, everyone, welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McCray with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Today I'm excited to be joined by Vana Sambundu with the Vaniverse. Vanna, thanks for being here. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Okay, yeah. No, that's uh we're very excited to have you. So if you don't mind, let's go ahead and jump right into things.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

Yeah. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

So for those of you yeah, so for those of you who may not know it yet, what is the Vaniverse? What do you provide for the community?

SPEAKER_02 1:34

So the Vaniverse is an online

Welcome And The Vaniverse Mission

SPEAKER_02 1:37

literary platform purposely servicing independently published authors. There is a lot of, for people that don't know, it's it's a very niche community that I that I help serve. But there are two types of authors. There's traditionally published authors and self-published authors. And the traditionally published authors go through those big publishing houses like Penguin Random House and all those big publishing companies, versus self-published authors do all of the promotions and publications, editing, all of it themselves. They don't really have that team behind them like a traditional published author does. So I try to be that team for them, kind of like a one-woman show where I help them promote their books, I help with social media management, I help them get into bookstores, I help them get signings, I help them with their new book releases, really to help them promote their books and make sure that they get that visibility and greater reach than just doing the doing it themselves.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

I love that. I love that. And and who are you as a person? Who is Vana?

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Oh my gosh. So I guess we can kind of like talk about like how I even got started. So I've been an avid, an avid reader my whole life. I, since I can remember as a little girl, I've always loved to read. I would always go to the library with my grandpa, and he would stay in like at a table for hours while I would just like roam the roam the shelves and come back with like a pile of books. I remember like I would always come home with like two bags of books just to read them all and then go back to the library like the week after to return those and get a whole bunch of new books. I

How Reading Sparked A Business

SPEAKER_02 3:27

love, I love to read. I love to read pretty much anything. I think the first book or series that really, really got to me and kind of stuck with me like till today is the Harry Potter series. I am such a sucker for magic, for fantasy, just like the possibility that anything is possible, essentially. Just that having that in fan in the fantasy genre, you can really expect anything and everything to happen. And I just love those endless possibilities. Yeah, so when I started, I was reading my whole life, and then obviously, like I school, like with going to college and starting work in the real world, reading kind of took a back seat for me because I just didn't have the time to do it anymore. And it wasn't until May 2023 where I decided randomly to just pick up a thriller book because I also I love psychological thrillers, that's another one of my favorite genres. But I read that book in like three days, and I was like, my husband was like, You read that book in three days, and I was like, Yeah, and I haven't done that in years, so it was a surprise to both me and him. So I was like, Whoa, like this was actually really cool. Like something sparked, right? Like something came back, and I was like, Okay, cool. Like, I want to do more, like I want to read more. So I started little by little reading more thriller books until I was in Barnes and Nobles one day. My husband decided to take me because he was like, Let me get you a book because clearly you're enjoying it, you're having the time of your life reading all these books. And I came across this book called Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. And for those that don't know, it is a romantic fantasy book. And at the time, this book was blowing on Instagram and on social media and pretty much everywhere. So I was like, okay, I'm seeing it blow up, and I have no idea what this is about. So you know what? Let me just buy it, let me see. Like it's been a while since I've read fantasy. And as soon as I read it, I could not put it down. It was the one of the one of my favorite books now. Like it's definitely in my top three. It was the best series, like the best book I've ever read, and I binged it in like three or four days. It was amazing. So after that book, I was like, whoa, like I need to read more fantasy. Like this is this is what I've forgotten. So, like that true spark of me like loving Harry Potter and the Hunger Games, and like all of those popular books that we grew up with, it came back. Like that spark really, really came back.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

And that's when I started reading like other famous fantasy books, like A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Mass, Throne of Glass, like all of those like famous, really popular books in the fantasy community. And I was on Instagram, and I'm because obviously like the algorithm, how it works, is like now you're reading again. Great, let's show you like this book, let's show you this book, let's show you this famous bookstagrammer and all those things. And I really told myself, like, I wanna, I wanna be a part of this. Like, I feel like I've I'm starting to find my people, and I kind of want, I want to be a part of it in a in a bigger way. So I decided in December, I decided to, in December of that year, I decided to open a Bookstagram account, which is basically an Instagram account dedicated to everything book related, whether it's new releases or reviews or meeting authors or going to events, basically anything you can think of about it being book related is in associated with a bookstagram account. And then I'm sure I don't know if you've heard of also Book Talk, but that's like the TikTok side of things. Like they they have their own like book community over there. And it just, and that's really like what really started like my passion for wanting to be part of the book community more is joining Bookstagram and essentially finding that there are not just big books like popular books, like Fourth Wing, like I said. Like she's Rebecca Yarros is a traditionally published author, so she's everywhere. But then I started like the algorithm started pushing to me, and I guess my the people that I was following, started pushing these smaller authors called indie authors or self-published authors. And I was really intrigued because I didn't really know much about it, especially growing up. I knew nothing about it. And I was realizing, like, I started, I said, hey, let me pick up this book by this author, this the self-published author. I don't remember what the book was, but I guess it really made an impact because here I am today. But they I had read the book and then I saw that they didn't have like that many followers. So I was like, oh, let me send them a message just to tell them, like, I loved your book and I can't wait for the next one, or I can't wait to read more of your books. And they had actually responded to me saying, like, oh my God, thank you so much. Like you're like, like,

Discovering Indie Authors On Bookstagram

SPEAKER_02 8:22

I it was unreal the fact that like an author had messaged me because I never really thought that that could happen before. So that really was like, whoa, like this is really cool. Like, I actually get to talk to authors. Granted, they're not like 30,000 followers and they're not big and famous, but they're still authors, they're still producing books, they're still putting their stories out there. So I'm like, okay, I want to, I wanna know more authors, like I want to do more of this. So little by little, I started reading more independently published books and connecting with these authors. And I was like, this is really cool. Like you can see how much work they're putting into it, their blood, sweat, and tears, especially because they don't have a publishing team behind them. They're doing all of the social media posts they do, they're doing it themselves. All of the selling, all of like the tours that they go on, like to sell their book for book releases or whatever, they're doing it themselves. There's nobody behind them. So for me, that was very admirable. And I was like, and I would always tell myself, like, this is really cool. Like, I really want to connect with these authors. I want to get to know them on a deeper level. Like that, like for me personally, I can never write a book. I'll tell you right now, I can never write a book. I highly admire the people that do, and I know it's a lot of work. So I always got my thinking, got to thinking, like, what motivates them to really write these books? Like, what drives them every day? What causes them to like, how do they even get these ideas into in their minds? That's like another thing. So my husband, always the optimist, always the big dreamer, the big thinker, which I hugely admire him for. He saw how much I was connecting with these indie authors, and he was like, I see you interviewing them one day. And I was like, haha, you're so funny, that can never happen. I am nowhere near extroverted enough to even talk to authors in person. But little did he know, that's exactly what I do, what I do to this day. So how that basically started was I wanted, I started thinking about it. I'm like, what if I actually do interview authors and get to know their stories in a unique way? Like some, like how to get them more out there, how to help them get more publicity, get more visibility, get more outreach. And I had started on an old project called it was a pro it was a project where I did it with a friend and we she would do like the photography and I would do the interviews, and we had gone to a book festival back in May of 2025. So exactly one year ago, one year ago this month, and we went to this festival and we started talking to authors and saying, like, hey, like, we want to interview you. Like, how would you feel about that? Like, because we didn't really know what it entailed. We kind of just like, I went on a whim and I was like, let's interview, you can take their photos, like headshots, because like I said, like these authors don't really have a team to do all this stuff for them. So we wanted to offer like both experiences together. So we started talking to the all these authors, and we were saying, like, we want to record you, we want to learn about your books, and it'll

Turning Interviews Into Live Author Events

SPEAKER_02 11:44

help kind of help you bring visibility to you, your books. And in exchange, we you just give us credit for for doing it. So we were we were not really asking for much. We I just kind of really wanted to see if interviewing was meant for me. So that's essentially what we did. For the next few months, we just started interviewing a bunch of authors that we had met at the event, and I ended up becoming really, really good friends with these authors because just through like connecting through the interview, but even also keeping in contact after the interview. It was like I learned so much through these interviews that I really like my respect for them really increased a lot, and I wanted to stay in contact because I I got to know the person behind the reason for these stories existing. So it was it was during those interviews where I told my husband, I was like, I I want to do more. Like I I learned that I loved these interviews, but I feel like I could do more for these authors. There's there's a lot, I feel like they they need help, and I feel like I can help them in more than just interviewing them, right? So my my business started when I decided to take the interviews and add them and make them better, like make them bigger, make them better, and turn them into like a full-fledged author event. So that's where my verse and voices events come from, and that's a very big part of my business, is those verse and voices events. Basically, what the event is, it's a four-part event where the interview is first and it's a live interview. So there is an there is an audience, and we try to make it as engaging and as interactive as possible because I have noticed going to these book events that you only really get like five to ten minutes talking to the author one-on-one because obviously there's other people that come to the table and they want to know about your book. And obviously, the author is there to sell, they're not really there to talk as much as you know, we really want them to. So I kind of wanted to make that experience and expand it. So that interview is the first part, and then there's an audience QA portion where the people that come are able to easily ask their questions to the author with no rush, no expecting, like, oh, we have to go, we because someone else is waiting. Like it's it's meant to be like in intimate, interactive, engaging. And then the third part of the event is the author can choose to read a section of their book for new readers to experience what their writing style is like, what their tone is like, and to see if they were interested in then purchasing the book. And then the fourth part is a meet and greet with the author. So that's the standard part where when you go to a book event, that's essentially what you do is you go and meet the author, have them sign your book, etc. So that's where my business started. That's where like the passion came from. And I know I said a lot, I kind of took you back all those years ago to and fast forward to today. But basically that's where the Voniverse started. It started out as those verse and voices events. And that's that's pretty much where I was like, okay, this this is gonna be this is gonna be a thing. Like, this is going to be a business that I know is gonna help authors and it's going to provide them a spotlight, and it's going to make them really, really stand out against people that maybe don't have those opportunities and maybe have them get discovered by more readers and more authors. That's like the main purpose of my events. I try to make them spoiler-free. I try to make them accessible to everybody because I just I feel like it doesn't make sense for only the people that know the author to attend. I feel like it makes more sense for people that don't know the author, but like the genre to introduce them to a new author that they've never heard of before. But that interview portion makes it seem like, wow, I've known this person my whole life because I learned what motivates them. I learned what drives them, I learned what makes them wake up in the morning, aside from just writing a book, right? So that's I like I said, I said a lot, but that's where it originated. That's where the passion came from.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

So Okay, okay. Yeah. Now, what message or feeling do you hope readers walk away with after finishing finishing reading your stuff? What are you hoping they get after get up get from it?

SPEAKER_02 16:32

Yeah, so for for my for the readers, I these verse and voices events are are the are a big part of it, right? So I always hope that because these interviews are, these events are always, they're always free, they're always accessible, that they and there's no spoilers, that they come out saying, like, wow, I just met an author that I'm gonna read their book because I just got to know them. So

Making Events Accessible And Spoiler Free

SPEAKER_02 17:01

it's really doing something for the author to introduce them to new readers, but it's also connecting readers to new authors. And that's really what my passion has become. It's really just being that bridge between authors and readers that don't know that the other exists. And I think, and I and I hear it now that I've done the events a couple times, I have regular people that attend almost every event. They always tell me, like, Ivana, I love that you're doing this. I love that I just met my new favorite author. I just made a friend out of this author. And it's it's so like amazing to me. Like, I feel like words can't even describe how happy it makes me feel because it's just like I helped make that happen, right? I helped make that connection. I helped bridge two people that never knew the other existed and now they know each other. Now they've connected on social media. They now sh they bought their book and they get to read it and they get to spam the author with all their complaints and all their joys and all their like all their tears because of whatever has occurred in the book. And and that's that's really what it is. Like, if someone were to tell me, like, Ivana, I bought I bought the book from the from your event that you posted because I just really connected with the author, I really resonated with their story, it it makes that's that's success to me. Like I did my job in this in in connecting them. I in terms of like helping authors, like the challenge, I think it's really it's I can I see both sides of it. Like I see like the reader's perspective and also the author's perspective since I work so closely with them. It's it's it's discouraging to them sometimes because all they want to do is get their book out in the world. And no, and even if I help them with social media or if I help them get bookstores and get their books into bookstores and get signings scheduled for them at bookstores or at events, I I can only do that, I can only go that far, right? Like I can't go to each reader and be like, hey, you need to you need to buy their book. Like I can't control the outcome of things that I set up essentially. Even for my events, I can't control the peop the amount of people that come, but I try to make the experience as memorable and as purposeful as possible for the author, even though maybe two people came versus like the 30 that they expected, right? So I think the most challenging part for me is to really help them put in all this work and then not see the results that they expected. It's hard on them and it's really hard on me because I know they trust me to help them. So that's but like I said, that's out of my control, that's out of their control. It's not something that we can, like I say, force people to do or to purchase or to attend. But it's more so just giving them that experience, like, hey, you tried, and just because you maybe didn't do as well this time, that does not mean that you're set up for failure each and every time, like going forward. It just shows you, like, hey, you just gotta keep being consistent.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

Okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 20:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Now, what would you say separates the authors who actually gain traction from the ones who stay stuck?

SPEAKER_02 20:24

Oh my gosh. I mean, I I have seen, I've seen so many, so many with this. You know, a lot of authors, one of the things that I've feel like is a theme for today is uh lack of consistency. They will like, for example, I'll do like an I'll do like a verse and voices event with them, and then you kind of never hear from them again. And it's not even just authors that do events with me, it's just authors in general. I think the lack of consistency is what hurts them the

Why Some Authors Gain Traction

SPEAKER_02 20:57

most. And you know, we're in an age where social media is like the number one thing. If you want to find something out, you don't go to the library anymore, you don't look in an encyclopedia, you will literally go on Google and and Google it, or you'll go on Instagram or Facebook or TikTok or whatever other social media platform and look up what you need to look up. And you know, it a lot of these authors, that's especially self-published authors, that is their that's their kryptonite, just for a lack of a better term. It's they really, it's exhausting for them to promote every single day and create new ideas for social media. And I think a lot of people come in, that's where like businesses like mine come in, where I try to offer an assistance for them to create their content for them. And just because they just it's so mentally draining for them to come up with idea after idea and keep that consistency alive, especially on social media. And I've noticed that, you know, a lot of the times readers, if you're not, if you're not present, like if you're not active, they won't, they won't come to you, right? Like they you need to be open. And I know a lot of authors don't like showing their faces, and I understand that 100%. But there are other ways for you to actively engage with your readers on social media. You like I the the difference between the reader, the authors that succeed versus the authors that don't is that active engagement, even away from social media, let's just put that on the back burner for a second. Even at book events that I've been to, the best way to connect with readers is to talk to. Them right face to face, let them get to know you, hear what your book is about, let them get a feel of what your personality is like. But a lot of these authors I've seen when I've gone to events like this, some of them don't even make eye contact with readers that are that are passing their tables. And ver versus authors that I know that they never sit down. They're they're when a reader passes by, they're like, hey, do you like romance? Do you like fantasy? Do you like like they try to reel them in? They try to be that extroverted, that open person to get the readers to their table. And I feel like not a, and I know, like it's it's so, so hard to be that person that out that does that outreach first, but the authors that really just stay at their table on their phone, hoping that somebody just shows up to their table, that's what drives readers away, at least from what I've experienced, what I've seen with my own eyes. It I know I notice the difference between the authors that are outgoing, that are always trying to like talk first, initiate that conversation versus the authors that just stay seated at their table, their heads held down on their phone or reading or writing, doing their own thing, kind of disconnected rather than being in the present moment. And that that's really what's what I think creates that wall that they feel stuck. And then they say, like, oh, well, no one bought my book. Well, did you try? Like, were you actively reaching out to the readers that were passing by saying, Hey, do you like this genre? Can I tell you about my book? Even if you don't buy it, can you like just take this paper or whatever? Like, take this QR code, let's connect on social media, like that type of thing. Like that being that outreach, uh, you know, a lot of authors, I think the bottom line here is they don't understand that when you publish a book, you become a business. It becomes a business to then sell your book, promote it, get it out there. You know, just because you write a book, it's not gonna magically just appear in everybody's bookshelf. You know what I mean? Like you need to, if you write a book, you need to commit to wanting to get that book out there and doing your doing whatever it is that works for you to consistently promote the book. You need to be outgoing, you need to be consistent, and you need to have that confidence in saying, Hey, I wrote this book, let me tell you about it. And I think the people that don't do that is what makes them stuck and what makes them fall behind.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

So Okay, okay. No, I love that. I love that answer. Now, you know, your business handles a lot, you you handle a lot of different things, moving pieces behind the scenes, you know, advanced bookstores, communication, launches. How important have systems and organization become as you've grown?

SPEAKER_02 25:34

Oh my God. So, so unbelievably important. I like to consider myself a type A person, but I think I've become a type A person that I've that I'm a type A person that thinks like a type B person, or is it the other way around? I'm not sure. But it has been so important because I work with so many authors. And

Systems That Keep Everything Moving

SPEAKER_02 25:58

on top of my verse and voices events that I have to schedule, I have authors that have book releases, I have bookstores that need to be that need to respond to or need scheduling. So there's a lot of moving pieces behind the scenes for me, as like I said earlier, a one-woman show essentially. Organization is top tier. I need, I have I have like three planners on me. One that I keep in my purse, one that I keep at home, and one that I keep like in the car when I'm like on going somewhere with my husband. So I try to always have something that even if it's like a quick, a quick note that I have to make or a calendar event that I have to schedule, I always try to keep something on me because I if I will be completely honest, if it's out of sight, it is definitely out of mind for me. I will forget. So I and then I I use spreadsheets. I am I have a background in business and I have a background in finance. So spreadsheets are basically engraved into my my brain, it's in my blood, it's all there. So I use the knowledge that I have from work, from like my full-time job and from my experience, and I try to incorporate it into my business. I feel like with my business background, that's what kind of helps me. It's it's kind of like second nature for me to keep all these schedules, to keep all these agendas, to have all these spreadsheets because I do this on a daily basis for my daytime job. So just doing it for business for authors makes it a, it makes it more fun because I love to read and I love books and it just I'm in I'm in a niche that I love and it just makes it more enjoyable for me. But I also, it's like, like I said, it's like second nature. Like I do a ton of admin work regularly. So I'm I'm so used to having to managing a calendar. I'm so used to managing emails, spreadsheets. Like I said, they're like I know it at the back of my hand. So it's I would say organization is super important, but it also isn't something that I stress about because it's it's all I do. It's all I do, it's all I've learned, it's all I went to school for. So, and I think that's why authors really, I hope, enjoy working with me because they know that they can, I'm, I'm trustworthy, I'm reliable to keep track of things for them because they just have too much going on. So I think them being like, it's okay, Vana has it, like she can take care of it. I'll just send her a quick note, add this to my calendar, or can you reach out to this bookstore, or can you schedule this for me? Like they'll know that I will take care of it in a in a reasonable amount of time, and they don't have to give it a second thought. So I think being that organized is super, super important for the role that I'm in and for the job that I have, but it also makes authors' lives like 10 times easier.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

So now, what has been the hardest part about building your business around creativity and passion, would you say?

SPEAKER_02 28:58

Oh gosh, the hardest part. You know, I think sometimes I get so put into the idea that like I this is a business and I have to I have to get things done that I forget I forget that this all started with the joy of reading and my love and passion for books. Sometimes I I sometimes it's become like I have to get this done or I have to reach out to this bookstore or I have to create this graphic for this author. And it's it and I get to the point where I'm like, I need I need to remember that this is all coming from a

Protecting Passion While Building A Business

SPEAKER_02 29:37

place of love and it's coming from a place of doing it because I've loved books my entire life. And I just try to, it's really hard sometimes. I kind of get a I I get too far into my head where it's like these are clients and you know they're they're they're paying me and they have to, I have to make sure I don't fail, and I have to make sure like everything is on point, everything is good. But then I also remember like these authors, like they're your friends, right? Like they they trusted you for a reason and they're patient, which is really, really important because that's you know, it's hard to juggle like with my daytime job and this. It's it's it gets a lot sometimes, and I'm sure like people that have those these side businesses, it's it's hard for them too. But it's it's really just reminding myself like, hey, you started this because you love to read, you love connecting with authors, and I and you wanted to make an impact. I think like every day I tell myself, like, why am I doing this? What is the point of me doing this? And I always have to I ask myself that question, and it kind of grounds me again, right? It like sometimes I get so stressed to the point that I'm like, I can't do this anymore because you know, maybe I don't know what it is. It's like an email that didn't get sent or something that I forgot to do. And I'm like, like, I can't do this, like this is not meant for me. But then, you know, one of my authors will reach out to me and be like, You're awesome. Like, I just got this, like, this bookstore just called me and told me that they want some like a certain number of my books. And I'm like, like hearing those messages is like that, that's why I'm doing this because I'm helping people, and I think that's essentially what what drives me in the end is I've I've always wanted to find a way to help people. I didn't really know what that was before I started my business, but now that I have it, it's really just like remembering, hey, you're making an impact. Whether it's one or two people every so often that reach out and say, hey, I read, I read this author's book because I I heard them for I heard about it from you. That's still impacting something, right? It's one is better than none. And I that's what that's what motivates me every day. And that's what I think helps me real like that keep that creativity, that passion alive because I'm able to say, Hey, like the there are hard days, but at the end of the day, you did this because you want to help people and you love books. So putting that together, that's that's what keeps me going.

SPEAKER_01 32:09

So yeah. Now, where do you ultimately want the Vanniverse to be in the next three to five years? Let's say by 2030.

SPEAKER_02 32:18

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

Which is right around the corner when you think about it. It sounds far, but it's right there.

SPEAKER_02 32:23

I know it's like four and a half years away, which is insane to me because pretty soon we're gonna be in December.

SPEAKER_01 32:29

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 32:30

Oh my god, I it's so crazy. I I I want the Voniverse to be a platform that when you hear the name, you say, Oh yeah, I know this author that came out of the Vonniverse, right? Like I want it to

The 2030 Vision For The Voniverse

SPEAKER_02 32:50

be something that like when you hear it, you'll say, Oh my god, I met this author through through the Voniverse, through a Verse and Voices event. I met this author because she got into a bookstore that I went to, that I'm local to, and I looked them up and they were they were working with Vana. Like, I want it to be something when you hear the name, you say, Hey, I know this author, and I I know, like I've seen their interview, or I learned about them, or I've seen them on social media because Vana posted about it or whatever. It's I want it to be something where I want it to also be a resource for people. Like, if readers are looking for a new book and they're like, hey, I want to support more indie authors, like, where can I find a romanticy author? Where can I find a thriller author? Well, the Voniverse is that one-stop shop, right? There's there's interviews for them, there's bookstores that she's gotten them into that you can, if you maybe live near near a bookstore or if you want to travel to a bookstore, or they're gonna be at a signing that that they've that they that they have scheduled that you're close to, and or they're gonna be at an event, like a big book con because I helped the author get in there. It's really like I want the voniverse to be that and I always go back to it, I want it to be the bridge that connects readers and authors. And I just I if and like I said, if I am able to just reach people and have them say, hey, like I found this author that I never knew existed, but because of this interview, or you know, because I discovered them in a bookstore one day, I love them and they're my new favorite author, and I message them every day to talk to talk to them about their book. That that's enough for me. Like I I just really want to be, I want to be that source, that resource where people can discover their new favorite author and find their find their next love, right? Like find their next, the next reason. Like my the tagline that I have for my business is the book chooses the reader. And a lot of people ask me what that means. And I I feel like I tell them like seven different answers every time. But I think like the the base of what that what it means is what book resonated with you? Like what book did you read, or which author did you meet that you then read their book and it just stuck with you for some reason, whether it's a character that you fell in love with, or if it's a genre that you just discovered and you realize, hey, I really, really love this genre. Whatever it is, like what is the book that stuck with you? Why is it resonating with you? And I think the what I want Moniverse to become is something that is accessible to all and it gives everybody an opportunity to make to meet the next book that chose them. Because you know, a lot of like I feel like books are making such a huge comeback, especially in today's world. And we need books now more than ever, I feel. And we need whether it's even if it's not a history book, it's really something that makes you happy, something that you can escape into, something that teaches you something new that you didn't know before. You know, I read a lot of books that are fantasy and they have dragons and magic and kingdoms and all that stuff that people think that it's so fun and it's so enjoyable. And it is 100% it is. But these characters become something that we resonate with. We get emotionally attached to them because we feel like we're responsible for them, and then they teach us something in return. And I think that's that's overall, that's like the overall encompassing thing is really connecting with each other at the end of the day. And like I said, like really just becoming that bridge and just just creating a community. I think like like I think community is so needed right now. I think we need each other more than ever. We need to connect with each other. And if the one denot the common denominator that we all have is we love this book, then that's that's huge. That's huge. So yeah. Long-winded, I'm sorry, but that that's yeah, I just really want Vonniverse to be something that people know and they say, hey, like I met my new favorite author through her. Like it's just it's just that, really.

SPEAKER_01 37:08

Yeah, yeah. Now, do you see Vonniverse becoming something much bigger than author services, like maybe publishing media events or conferences or education?

SPEAKER_02 37:18

Oh my god. Oh my gosh. I so like in the beginning of this conversation, I said that my husband is ever the optimist, right? So he's over here, he's over here saying, like, you can open your own publishing company and you can have like you can host your own like book cons and book events. And honestly, like for me, like right now at base, like these events, these ideas sound so big. And but I would I would love to do that. I would love to expand beyond

Bigger Ideas Conferences And Publishing

SPEAKER_02 37:49

just doing what I do now. Like, I feel like I can do so much more. I feel like me every day, uh me and my husband always talk about it, and I always tell him, like, I want to do more for these authors. I've grown so much love and so much appreciation for indie authors and just seeing what they go through every day, hearing what they go through, whether it's good or bad, right? Like some days they're like, I couldn't write today. I I just I just couldn't, like I couldn't get myself to do it. And then other days they're like, I wrote 4,000 words in one day. And like it's it's just hearing both sides and just being part of it is is so refreshing to me. I just I I love I love learning about them, but I also love being part of these people's lives and saying and them, I don't know, just being like that light for people. And if I could do more for them, I would. Like I want to keep growing. I want like I never say no to new opportunities. If I like there, I would if someone were to ask me to like, hey, do you wanna moderate this panel at this book event? I would jump at the opportunity. I I feel like it would be I would meet new authors, of course, I would meet new readers, and that's that's pretty much my happiness there. Like, I that's all I want is for this community to grow and expand and just bond over our love of books and what it does for us. So if I can hold my own conference one day, I would love that. Absolutely, I would do that. And if maybe become a publishing company, who knows? Like, I feel like the possibilities are honestly endless. And I would, I would never say no. I I feel like as long as my my overarching goal is to help indie authors and to help them with expand their visibility, expand their reach, just per be that support, be that rock that they can lean against in any way. That I like the voniverse will be part of that. Like it's it's really just ensuring that indie authors are supported and they they feel that support. They know that someone is backing them, they know that someone is here, cheering them on, rooting for them, because they deserve it. They put so much work in it, they do it all on their own. And I just want people like the world to know that hey, these authors exist and their books are good. They are they deserve your attention, and you're just helping someone new explore their passion and expand that passion, basically. So, yeah, any opportunity that I can get, absolutely 100%.

SPEAKER_01 40:30

Okay, okay. Now, you know, and I want you to be as candid and honest as on this next answer here for this next question. But you know, let's say a small entrepreneur is listening to the podcast episode with you today, and you know, or or even just a small author, you know, or or something like that is listening right now to the podcast episode with today, and let's say they're feeling stuck or overwhelmed by marketing invisibility. What advice would you give to them today?

SPEAKER_02 40:57

Oh my gosh. Oh, that's hard. And I and I do this and I do this for a living. I think one piece of marketing advice is really knowing who you are. I

Marketing Advice When You Feel Stuck

SPEAKER_02 41:10

think knowing what you want to achieve. I think a lot of people, they they have this idea, they get so they they see it everywhere on social media because everyone's saying, this is this is how you're gonna get a million followers, this is how you're gonna do this, this is how you're gonna blow up. And it's like all this advice, and it's like, no, take a step back, prioritize yourself. What is your brand? What do you want people to know you as? And what are the first, what are the first, what are the goals, like the immediate goals that you can do to get yourself out there, to put yourself on the map? A lot of the a lot of one of the big things that I learned in school was smart goals, right? Like those, the if you don't know what SMART goals is, it's it's like, oh my God, I forgot the acronym. It's I think S stands for simple, M is measurable, A is I think accessible, R is, I can't remember what R is. I don't know, but I think time T is time. So basically, I if you don't know what it is, I feel like a quick Google search will correct me on that. Yes, but those SMART goals are basically measurable, right? They're not impossible and it's quantitative, something that you can easily say, hey, I'm gonna set this this week and I'm going to achieve it by the end of this week. I think a lot of the time we, and even me, I say it right now, I get carried away with all of my ideas. Like I'll say, hey, I want to do this. Like I'm I'm gonna start, I'm gonna do this for this business and it's gonna grow. And then my husband, because he has the marketing background, he'll come to me and say, Well, this is this is a great goal to have, but it's not reachable. That's what R is reachable, ha, there we go. But it's not reachable in like right now. Like, this is not something that you can easily do by the end of this week and it'll be and it'll exist, it'll be in motion. But it's a long-term goal that you can work towards, that you can build smaller goals to help reach that ultimate goal. So I think for people that want to market themselves and create a foundation for their business, really like take five minutes or 10 minutes or whatever, bullet point, and just say, hey, this is my goal. This is my big ultimate goal. What do I want? Whether it's for someone that just started their business or for somebody that just published their book, what what is the ultimate goal, the big reach that once you reach it, you feel like you've made it. And then put, okay, what can I do today to make that to work towards that goal? What can I do this week to work towards that goal? And never, never, never forget what is the purpose of your brand. And I think once you remind yourself you stay consistent, I think consistency is absolutely key. Even for social media, if you're like, oh my God, social media is so overwhelming, I can't do it. Just start with one post. Just something. Introduce yourself. Introduce what your business is or what your book is, who you are, why did you start the business, and then just go from there, right? Even if you get one or two likes or one or some some kind of engagement, it's better than nothing. You're already put yourself on the map. But the but the thing, the key is is consistency. And I think like how we were saying earlier, it's it's so hard. It's so hard. Even me, I find it, I I find it very difficult to stay consistent. But I think really outlining your goals and those smart goals, I use them all the time. It's it's the One thing that keeps me grounded and it keeps me focused and keeps me driven. And anytime you get an idea and you say, Oh, let's do this, always ask yourself, does it fit the brand? Does it fit my target market that I'm that I want to reach and I want to attract? Me, my target market is indie authors, right? And if I'm working and I'm hosting an event or I host a conference and I'm targeting Rebecca Yarros or Sarah J. Mass or Brain and Sanderson, like all these big trad authors, I'm not reaching my target market. I, that is not its idea. It's beautiful. I would love to host an event with those people there, but that's not what the Vonniverse brand is. The Vonniverse brand is to target and to help self-published authors. So if I were to host an event, it would be for those authors. I would get it would be exclusively for those authors so they can connect, they can network, and readers can network with them as well. So definitely any ideas that you have, make sure that it where where is the relevance to your brand? Where does it fit? Where it's every part is a puzzle piece. And when you put all the puzzle pieces together, that picture that you've created should be what that ultimate goal is at the top that we I mentioned earlier. So I think that I think consistency, never forgetting what your brand is, keeping that focused. Like me, I have a posted on my computer every day that says, your goal is to help indie authors. That's it. It's really, it could be as simple as that. And I look at it every day and I remind myself, this is for indie authors. This is this is my purpose is to help indie authors in any way that I can. If it, if, if it benefits them, it fits my brand, it fits my target market, and it fits what my purpose is. So yeah, I think really much consistency and just always remembering what your branding is and just figuring out what works for you, really. I mean, you try and fail so, so many times, but as it it'll all it takes is just one time for something to work, and then you kind of get a rhythm in it for yourself.

SPEAKER_01 46:48

So okay. I love that. I love that. So yeah, so where can people find your you know, your social media and everything like that? Is all the handles the same?

SPEAKER_02 46:58

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So you can find me. I'm I'm pretty much everywhere. I'm on YouTube. So my YouTube channel is the Voniverse. You can find my Verse and Voices author interviews there. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, I'm the Voniverse. And I actually just opened a new account, Instagram account yesterday for my Verse and Voice, Verse and Voices podcast. So you can also follow at verse and voices pod. But yeah, I'm

Where To Follow And Final Encouragement

SPEAKER_02 47:30

everywhere. I'm also easily Google Google, that's not a word, but if you Google the Vonniverse, I I did this the other day and I'm blown away at the fact that I have a whole page dedicated to my business. I never thought that would happen. But yeah, if you just Google the Vaughniverse, all of my socials, all my website, everything will pop up. So that is like the easiest way to find me. And I'm active all the time. If you send me a message, I will always, always answer. I'm super, super active on social media. So yeah, feel free to connect with me. I'm happy to happy to discuss.

SPEAKER_01 48:02

All right, perfect, perfect. Yeah, it was a pleasure having you on. I really appreciate you. And then this was a very different conversation we normally have, but uh I think it was great and I think it'll reach the right audience. So, Vana, any last words you want to give to the audience before we go ahead and sign off?

SPEAKER_02 48:15

You know, I one thing I will say, and this is not just for authors, this is just really anyone that has an idea or wants to do a bit, wants to start a business or become an entrepreneur. I never thought I would be a business owner. I never this was not on my bingo card, not even for 2026. I not even for my life, it was not in my bingo card. It just really, it just happened because I found what I love and I wanted to help in some way. And I had people, I had my husband to push me. But I if if you have an idea and if you say, Hey, I'm really good at this, like I have my business background to help me. But if you have something, like you're really good at something, and you're like, I can help people with this, I could do something for people with this, do it. Just just do it, just try it. I think the hardest part is to just start. For me, it was it really like so intimidating because I was like, oh my God, there's no way I can be a business owner. Like I can't even manage my own life. Um, but it just just start it. If you know you love something with all with your whole heart and you want to help people in some way with what you love, just just start it. I think it could either be rewarding or it could not be, but at least you learn something. I learned so much about myself through this whole process. My business is not even a year old yet, and I have met so many wonderful people. I've learned so much about myself. I felt I feel like I've grown as a person, and it's just so rewarding. It's to hear these authors just tell me thank you. It just makes my heart so, so happy, and I'm eternally grateful for the impact that I'm making on these people. And if you want to do that too, you can do it. It's it's it's not impossible. That's what I'm gonna say. It's not impossible. It's you just you just have to start.

SPEAKER_01 50:11

So yeah, yeah, okay. Yeah, those are encouraging words. Yeah, I really appreciate that. Yeah, Vana, thank you again for coming on and and your wise words and everything like that and your encouragement. So really appreciate you coming on podcast.

SPEAKER_02 50:22

Thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much for having me. This is so exciting. This is like one of the first interviews I've ever done that I did not interview somebody. Someone interviewed me. So this was great. This is so exciting.

SPEAKER_01 50:33

All right, well, thank you, Vana.