Daily Inspiration: Meet Shanti Hershenson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanti Hershenson. 

Hi Shanti, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I believe truly that I have always been a writer. I have memories from early elementary school in which I dreamt of writing a book, and, sitting in my office, is a box full of old writing and books I bound from notebook paper. I didn’t actually achieve my dream of being a published author until I was twelve years old where, in the sixth grade, my friend and I (accidentally – we genuinely just wanted printed copies of our books) published two novellas that we had written together. That began an incredibly long journey — and paved the way to where I am today. Once the pandemic hit, I set out to write my first novel all by myself. This turned into Biome Lock, a 250,000-word, 800-page novel that I ended up splitting into three books. I finished the first draft when I was thirteen and after countless revisions and decisions, published it at that same age. Even while that book was being edited, I didn’t stop. Now that I had the formula down and felt gradually more confident with my writing, I didn’t stop. I wrote novel after novel — and a few novellas and poetry collections — and built the platform that I have now. And of course, everything I have sprouted from two embarrassing children’s novellas I published in the sixth grade… by accident. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Particularly when I was writing my first novel, Biome Lock, there were countless roadblocks. I was twelve, and for the most part, knew little to nothing about the industry. Despite being my biggest roadblock, I often consider it to be something I am proud of as well; the length of the original version of Biome Lock. By the time I had turned thirteen and finished the first draft, it was nearly 250,000 words — almost 900 pages in length — and far too long to publish both traditionally and indie. Even though I spent months shortening and cutting down words, getting it to a length where it felt right was nearly impossible. So, I first split it into a duology, and then later, cut down the first book — thus finalizing it as a trilogy. I ended up writing a fourth book later on, though that is part of a sequel series. The first novel in the series, Biome Lock, is available on Amazon, and the second, Biome Blackout, will be available soon. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a teenage author. I’ve written 20 books (as of writing this), and 11 have been published on Amazon, Barnes, and Noble, and everywhere you buy books online. My most popular books are You Won’t Know Her Name, a novel told in poetry, and a dystopian novel titled, Neverdying. To narrow my body of work down to a single book that I am most proud of would be incredibly difficult, however, the book that I am currently writing (I don’t have a title yet), may end up becoming my favorite. Then again, I say that after every book I write. 

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
My writing process, of all things, is definitely decently surprising. To begin, I will work on a novel for about two months, and then once the first draft is finished, I will take a break from it and will go write another novel (two more months). Then, I will edit a novel from my backlog (likely the one I finished four months ago), while writing one simultaneously. Sometimes, I won’t be editing a book at the same time I am writing one — or sometimes I’ll edit multiple books at a time. But what stays the same is that, no matter what, I am always writing a new book. 

Contact Info:

• Website: shantihershenson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shantihershenson/?hl=en
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShantiHersh
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shantiwhowrites