Diana Elizabeth Clarke shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Diana Elizabeth, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Being an author and publisher means you’re always working on your next book project. I published my debut, Under Water: Stories, in May 2025. Since then, I have been working diligently on an edition of “Alice in Wonderland” that will release in November 2025 as well as writing a new book manuscript. Over the summer, my daily routine has been writing at least one chapter a day, packing book orders, preparing for upcoming literary events, and creating marketing materials for current and upcoming book titles.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I launched my business, Elizabeth Publications, earlier this year but it was a long time coming. Elizabeth Publications is the publishing imprint for the books I write and design as well as a publishing sherpa that offers books services to self-publishers and independent presses. Services I offer are book design, editing, ghostwriting, and writing tutoring.
The business model and brand of Elizabeth Publications was developed in 2019 while I was receiving a Bachelor of Science in English with a Creative Writing emphasis at Utah Valley University. After graduating with my Bachelors, I worked in marketing for a few years before deciding to go for an MFA. This decision was life-changing for me in many ways as I not only moved cross-country from Utah to Baltimore, but I also got connections in the publishing industry, networked with amazing writers and artists, and had the resources to finally achieve my dreams of being an author and publisher.
I have now graduated from the University of Baltimore with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts. With my graduation also came the official launch of Elizabeth Publications and the publication of my debut book, “Under Water: Stories”.
The focus for my author and publishing career is to find new and innovative ways of creating books. So far, I’ve done this through having the book cover of “Under Water” be an original acrylic painting and by having flip-book artwork and typographical art in my next book release “Alice in Wonderland”. Additionally, my innovative approach for the writing, book design, and artwork of ” Under Water” led me to be the recipient of the 2025 Plork Prize, which was award by UB’s MFA faculty.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
Writing a new story and seeing your imagination come to life on a page is the best feeling. I began writing at a young age because my brain was filled with some many stories and fantasies as a child. At eight years old, I wrote my first book and it was a bragging point for me as I told friends, families, and anyone who I talked to that I wrote book. Now, this book will most likely never be published but it’s a good reminder that throughout my whole life I was writing and putting pen to paper to show the world the imagination that lived inside my head. The power I felt as a child while writing is still felt to this day as I continue to work on my childhood dream of being a published author.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes and it was recent. The publishing world is highly competitive and some would say cut-throat. Thousands of authors (whether self or traditionally published) are fighting for the same spotlight and you have to fight tooth and nail to get an inch of that spotlight in hopes of grabbing a reader’s attention. Publishing a book—especially your first book—is a roller coaster; many authors would agree with me on this. Some weeks you have great success as you sell books or get a 5-star review on Goodreads, but other weeks are radio silence as you don’t sell any books and it seems no one is reading your work. The biggest battle for me as I’m struggling on the roller coaster that is indie publishing is remembering to stay positive. After the slow book sales and the struggle to be seen by readers, I had a burst of negativity in mind tell me this isn’t the right path for me. Perhaps, I shouldn’t try to publish books. Perhaps I shouldn’t be an entrepreneur and have a book business. But, luckily, those thoughts are quickly fleeting and I continue to work diligently to write, design, and publish books.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Literary agents and the big publishers, otherwise known as the Big 5 (including Harper Collins, Penguin Random House, etc.), will say you cannot have success as an author if you don’t have thousands of followers on social media. I know many authors who were rejected by agents or were told to resubmit in year since they had less than 5,000 followers. I don’t think it’s true that you cannot have success with a lower social media followership if you redefine what success means. If your definition of success is being a New York Time’s Bestseller, then yes you need to play by the Big 5’s rules and have 5,000 to 10,000 followers to have a chance. But in the indie world, there is more flexibility on what success in this industry means.
Am I a NYT Bestseller? No. But I have had success. In two months, I sold nearly 50 copies and received multiple 5-star reviews on Goodreads. And the best part of it all is that my Goodreads reviews have been by strangers, readers that I don’t personally know who loved my book. That, to me, is success. Out of my entire MFA graduating class, I was the only author chosen to receive the 2025 Plork Prize. That is success. I was invited to be a guest on the Keyhole Conversations podcast to talk about my book. That is success.
Although being an indie author is not an easy path and it’s a dream that comes with a lot of sweat and tears—it’s not impossible to have success. You just need to remember that no success is too small.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What will you regret not doing?
Publishing my first book was the hardest thing I did, but I would regret it if I didn’t try to publish another book. Through Elizabeth Publications I have plans to publish not only the books I write but also redesigns of classical literature. I am a book artist as much as I am a writer and I want to be able to show the world that. I do have “Alice in Wonderland” set to release in November 2025 and am already brainstorming new designs for other classical literature books.
However, the hard part is writing new stories and editing manuscripts to publish books authored by myself.
I am actively writing my next book, but unfortunately I cannot say how long it will take before it gets released. To keep my publishing business afloat, I need to be pumping out one to two books a year—but I anticipate that Elizabeth Publications will be releasing more classical literature titles than original titles for the next few years. Yet how I see, it gives my readers something to look forward to as new stories will be coming.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/DianaEliz
- Other: https://elizabethpublications.com
