Michael Scott Miller works with numbers by day in the business world and with words by night. He began writing shortly after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and has had his work published in the Welcomat (now Philadelphia Weekly) and wrote music reviews for the Wharton Journal while his wife was getting her degree there.
Miller’s debut novel, Ladies and Gentlemen…The Redeemers, has been downloaded more than ten thousand times and has received tremendously positive reader feedback, earning 4-star to 5-star ratings at Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, Smashwords, and Kobo. The complete set of reader reviews and comments can be accessed at http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/40309/ .
Miller grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and now lives in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania with his wife and three children.
You can visit Michael Scott Miller’s website at www.ladiesandgentlementheredeemers.com or connect with him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MichaelScMiller or Facebook at www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1206880325.
Q: Welcome to Beyond the Books, Michael. Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?
Ladies and Gentlemen…The Redeemers, which was released in late 2010, is my first published novel.
Q: When you were published for the first time, which route did you go – mainstream, small press, vanity published or self-published and why or how did you choose this route?
I chose to self-publish using Amazon and Smashwords for the ebook and CreateSpace for the paperback. Literary agents receive an average of 100-300 query letters per week and take on only a handful of new projects at a time. I don’t like those odds. I’d much prefer to be on my own, with control of when and where the book is sold and how it is marketed.
Q: How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?
It was exhilarating to see my ebook in the Kindle store and to hold the paperback version in my hands. With regard to celebrating, I’m holding off until I hit a certain sales milestone J
Q: What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?
To get a base of readers, I initially published the book for free on more than twenty websites. At a number of the sites, the book got great visibility because new releases appear at the top of the list. At other sites, the free ebooks have a separate section on the site which attracts people browsing for books.
Q: Since you’ve been published, how have you grown as a writer and now a published author?
I have become much more aware, and comfortable, with the social networking element of being a writer and published author. I now spend a great deal of time on sites like Kindle Boards and BestsellerBound where I interact with and learn so much from other writers.
Q: What has surprised or amazed you about the publishing industry as a whole?
I am still amazed by the number of books that are published (self-published or otherwise) every week. At least for me, writing a book was not an easy thing to do and I continue to be stunned by the number of new books appearing as new releases each week and the staggering number of queries that literary agents receive.
Q: What is the most rewarding thing about being a published author?
By far, the most rewarding thing for me is when someone that I don’t know reads my novel and tells me how much they enjoyed it.
Q: Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?
You have to really want it. It is a long journey, not only the writing, but doing all the marketing and promotion afterward. So my advice is to be prepared for long hours, but don’t let that stop you. Writing and publishing has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Beyond the Books 