Interview of Annette Stone, Owner of Author's Assistant Agency

Today it's my pleasure to present an interview of Author's Assistant Agency owner, Annette Stone.

BIO:
Annette Stone is the owner of Author’s Assistant Agency. After becoming cyber-friends with several authors and seeing how crazy life can get when juggling deadlines, interviews and family she decided to start her own business to help relieve some of the stress.

Annette has always been an avid reader of romance starting with historical and now reads anything and everything as long as there is a romantic tie to it. She became a reviewer for PNR and Fresh Fiction and after a couple years partnered with a friend and started RomFan Reviews.

Her alter ego is a wife and the mother of two grown children, one granddaughter and another grandchild on the way as well as a part-time bookkeeper and office manager.

Website: www.authors-assistant-agency.com

Blog: www.romfanreviews.com

Q: Describe your job.
A: I handle a variety of different tasks for authors depending on what they need the most. I keep track of their calendars and appointments, schedule blog tours, manage street teams which lets the readers join in the fun of promoting their favorite author and earn some great prizes, update websites and social media, research such as searching for new blog sites for interviews or if there are any reviews posted that the author is not aware of and newsletters are just some of what I do.

Q: What motivated you to get involved in the romance industry?
A: When Adrian Phoenix’s street team manager had to step down she asked if I would be interested in taking over, so I have been the Street Team Manager or Goddess as she calls me, for a couple years now. I realized I have a knack for being organized for other people. I had seen where Shoshanna Evers had posted on her Facebook she was looking for an intern to work as her assistant so I applied and was hired.

Now I am the assistant to four authors and have scheduled blog tours for several others. I love every minute of it. Hopefully someday I can make it my full time job. With a couple of my authors “pimping” me out, as they like to say, it will happen.


 Q: What's one important thing you've learned about your job as you became more involved in it?

A: An assistant needs an assistant lol….and yes I have one. Her name is Michele and she has been a great asset to me.

Q: What’s the one most important thing a reader/author should know about your business?
A: Most authors think that they cannot afford an assistant. With that in mind, I set up my rate scale and authors are very excited about what they get for their money. I had one of my authors tell me that, in the end, it was money well spent because it gave her the freedom to write. She can concentrate on other things and not have to worry if she missed a blog interview, or someone’s birthday. She calls me her “brain”.

Q: Chats. How important do you feel it is for authors to take part in chats on loops or at other romance sites?
A: I believe it is very important; it gets their name and their books out there. I can’t tell you how many authors I discovered from loops and guest spots on other sites. It also lets readers know that the author has time for them and that they really do like to have that communication with them.

Q: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. Where do you appear?
A: Website: www.authors-assistant-agency.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorsAssistantAgency
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorAsstAgncy

Thank you so much, Marianne, and Romance Books '4' Us for having me here today. It has been a pleasure.