Interview with author Milli Gilbert

Continuing with my author series, this month I have the amazing Milli Gilbert. Without further ado, here is our interview:

What is the hardest thing about writing?
Hmm… I don’t write chronologically, so I’d say, at least today, that it’s getting everything in order. In the right order. Sometimes, I luck out, and some of it is in order. But most of the time, not so much. I just look at it like a jigsaw puzzle, and eventually, all the pieces fall into place.

Do you ever get Writer’s Block, and do you have any tips for getting through it?
Writer’s block… that’s when we start asking ‘why’s the rum gone’, right? I usually bang my head against a wall, cry a little bit (internally), then have one of my fellow authors call out the characters. It usually gets them talking, and then I’ve at least got an idea of why they aren’t cooperating.

Where do you see publishing going in the future?
I see more independent and self-publishing. I hear a lot of the big names are pushing their authors to do more and more, though, I don’t see trad publishing going away completely. There will always be those who won’t feel validated as an author unless their book has that Random House (or whoever) on the book.

If you hired someone else to format your work, how did you select them and what was your experience?
Someone else? Only for anthologies that I don’t have a hand in helping with, in which case, I don’t have a hand in selecting the formatter. Otherwise, I do it myself. It’s a lot easier to do than you might think, it’s just I go nuclear on the file, which makes it a bit more time consuming. Though I’ve gotten a bit of a flow with it, so it goes a lot quicker now. Plus, for someone on a tight budget, doing it myself is a whole heck of a lot cheaper.

Is there any marketing technique you used that had an immediate impact on your sales figures?
Um… probably Facebook groups that do nothing but advertise books. You can join them and post links to your sales platforms. Just last week, I did that for one of my short stories, and someone purchased all three of them. Also, and this one relies a lot more on luck, but being active on Twitter – not so much in regards to advertising, I only advertise a couple times a week on Twitter, but interacting with people you follow, replying to those who interact with you. It get’s your visibility up there. I just had 108 pages read by (only sorta) teasingly commenting to a new follower, “if you’re looking for something to review, wink-wink” and she asked for the links and reviewed 2 of the three. (Would likely have been all three if the one had been on KU like it was supposed to be.) So yeah. Interaction. Mingling. Being socially active.

Great advice. Thanks for joining me today, Milli. 

More about Milli: An eclectic writer, Milli Gilbert is a stay-at-home mom who loves to play with words almost as much as she loves to play with her kids. All of her stories involve romance, and maybe a little bit of mystery. Milli loves to write about cowboys and shifters. And smut. Don’t forget the smut. And can usually be found trying to find interesting ways to combine them. She has several short stories published, and hopes to have her first full length novel out in late Summer 2017. She just took off after one of her couples to follow them around for a few months – but don’t worry, she’ll be back. If not, you can find her on  Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest, or follow her on Twitter.