Interview with Paola Bassanese

Author of Confessions from the Massage Couch

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I was born in Italy and, after living in the UK, I moved to Ireland in 2018.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

I first moved to London because I wanted to live in a cosmopolitan city. London gives you many opportunities and I made the most of my time there. I moved to Ireland because of Brexit as I am a EU citizen and feel European. Ireland is a stunning place with beautiful scenery. The transition has been very straightforward and I have met wonderful people so far.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer and when I discovered you could self-publish on Amazon I took the plunge. I’m one of those people who, when she learns something, she wants to share it with the rest of the world so everybody can benefit from it.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

My books are non-fiction and are mostly based on personal experience.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

Anyone with an interest in learning more about people and improving their quality of life.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

I didn’t realise how hard it is to keep editing the same text. You just want to push it out there but you need to meet certain standards. Hitting the “publish” button for the first time was really exciting!

If you could, what advice would you give to past self yourself before embarking on this journey?

Spend more time editing. I like the immediacy of blogging, for example, because you can share your thoughts online in real time. Publishing is different and you need to take your time polishing the text and improving it.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

It would be great if a few thousands of people read my books, creating a small community of interest.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

Book sales! Selling books online is hard work and you are competing for attention with millions of titles.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I can turn content around quickly, which helps with the overall writing process. With publishing you need to be very careful with formatting and I took the time to parse through the text, even though it’s a tedious job.
Marketing my books has been fun, I like to ask questions to people and suggest book titles that would be useful.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

Generally speaking being impatient is my downfall so rushing through edits or formatting had a negative impact. Every situation is an opportunity for learning and over time I’ve discovered that patience is indeed a virtue.

When do you think you will you write your next book?

I had an idea a couple of years ago but to execute it it will take a few more years. Thankfully I recently discovered patience!

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

I self-published on Amazon.