Introducing Literary Signature Services

Today, I continue my features on literary services providers by introducing Renee Williams. I selected Renee for this feature, because I've observed that she works very hard supporting authors. In particular she is very good to us that are newly published. 

Hello Renee, introduce yourself to the readers. I am Renee Williams, born and raised in the same little town in Southeast Texas.  I’m an avid reader, and have been since my youth.  I am the mother of two, step mother of three and the grandmother of three with a fourth on the way.  I am presently employed as an administrative assistant to the best boss in the world!  I love God!!!  I am active in several ministries at my church.

Tell us about your literary business.  I am the owner of Literary Signature Services, which encompasses several endeavors.  I love event planning and working with authors, so I offer my services to them in planning dinners and/or multi-day events for them and their readers.  I am also a literary blogger/reviewer at All the Buzz (http://www.allthebuzzreviews.com), where I post reviews, author interviews, event recaps, as well as being a tour stop for many virtual tours.  Last year I launched A Hopeful Romantic (http://www.ahopefulromantic.com), which is home to all things romance. 

I also have an inspirational blog, The Master’s Vessel (http://www.themastersvessel.com).  I love spreading God’s love and God’s word, and offering an encouraging word to everyone in need.

Most recently, I have delved head first into web design, offering customized web sites and blogs to authors, or really anyone who wants a beautiful site at a reasonable price!  In addition to my own sites, I have most recently designed the new blog site of national best-selling author Francis Ray (http://www.francisrayblog.com) as well as the site for romance author Victoria Wells (http://www.victoria-wells.com).  I have two more that I am working on right now, and hope to add more in the future.

And finally, LOL, I also plan virtual tours for authors who are seeking an affordable, yet effective way of promoting their latest release.

I’ve got another major project in the works, but it may be a year or so before it’s fully launched.

Who are your customers? Even though I promote to authors, all of my sites are for everyone, especially the readers.  As a reader myself, I love being able to go to sites where I can interact with an author and learn more about them.

How did you get started? Brenda Jackson was coming to Texas a few years ago for a romance writers convention.  I knew I wanted to meet her since she is one of my all-time favorite authors.  So I started planning a dinner for her, which was wonderful, and that’s when the bug hit.  LOL  From there, I branched off into being a reviewer, and All the Buzz was born.  The virtual tours came from working with Marlive Harris of TheGRITS (http://www.thegrits.com), who is my mentor and shero!  Web design came about from having to design my own blogs (again with the help of Marlive) because I couldn’t afford the high prices a lot of web designers charge.

Like all business, there are ups and downs in publishing. The current economic downturn has caused a sharp reduction in book sales.   How does this affect your business?  It cuts down on all aspects – advertising, virtual tours, web design.

Share a rewarding or successful literary experience you’ve had recently. Being able to work with any author is a rewarding and successful experience for me.  It’s not an opportunity many get, so I value each one.

Where do you see Literary Signature Services in five years? I see Literary Signature Services as being a force to be reckoned with in the literary industry, providing all aspects of service – quality and professional service – at a reasonable cost, for the writer who is just starting out to the best-selling author who has numerous books under their belt.

What do you enjoy reading? Any Christian Fiction favorites or recent notable reads? I enjoy reading romance, Christian fiction, mystery/suspense.  The most recent notable Christian fiction reads for me are Heavenly Places by Kimberly Cash Tate and the Jubilant Soul series of books by Stacy Hawkins Adams.

Where can writers find you on the Internet? All the Buzz – http://www.allthebuzzreviews.com , A Hopeful Romantic – http://www.ahopefulromantic.com, The Master’s Vessel – http://www.themastersvessel.com