Day 104--Interview with Traci Tyne Hilton, Author of The Mitzy Neuhaus Mysteries

Jennifer: Tell us about your books.

Traci: I self published the first of the Mitzy Neuhaus Mysteries in 2010. Foreclosed was an instant hit, reaching #233 on Amazon’s best seller list at its height—the big list, not a small genre list. It was a wild ride all winter! The series is now three books long and has sold over 11,000 books. It turns out that is kind of small potatoes among the indy greats, but I am really thrilled by it.

Foreclosed, the first in the series, is still the best seller but I have about a 90% follow through with readers buying the second and third books, so it’s close!

Jennifer: Please tell us your top three, most successful book marketing tips?

Traci: #1 Networking. Make friends with other professionals so you can interview, be interviewed, blog for each other, and spread the word about each other’s books. You can also cry on each other's shoulders and cheer for each other. Those two things may be even more important that first stuff.

#2 Write the next book

#3 Write the next book

I can’t tell you how important 2 and 3 are. If you want to make a living as an independent publisher, definitely write the next book.

Jennifer: Do you have an author blog? If so, how do you attract readers? What is your blog's address?

Traci: I blog at http://www.tracihilton.com Most of my readers come from my Facebook friends sharing the links with their friends. I try to blog about things people who like Mitzy would like. I write teaching tips for Sunday school classrooms, tips I’ve shared over at the KDP forums, and bits of fiction, either short stories or snippets of things “from the cutting room floor.”

Jennifer: What advice would you give aspiring authors about self-publishing?

Traci: Edit, edit, edit. Get into a critique group to learn how to polish your writing. Find a professional to edit. If you can’t afford a professional then beg your friends--lots and lots of friends. So many of us indies published before we were ready. As nicely polished as our books may be now, those 1 star reviews from when the books weren't ready for primetime never go away.

Jennifer: What are you doing when you aren't writing?

Traci: I’m ashamed to say I’m probably facebooking. But on the off chance I'm not facebooking I can also be found obsessing over British comedy, knitting--we’re trying to get 700 scarves done, one for every students at my daughters’ school. Which leads to parenting my kids. I spend a lot of time parenting! Note—I said nothing about housework. ; )

Jennifer: What keeps you going as an independent author?

Traci: It’s got to be the same stuff that keeps the traditional writers going. Feedback from readers who got a laugh from my books, encouragement and fellowship with other writers who “get it,” and of course, the flood of new ideas.

Knowing that the ideas will turn into books, and that the books will be read has kept me focused on writing. There are days, of course, when I think I probably ought to just throw in the towel and get a real job, but then I’ll remember that people are waiting to see what happens next. Having fans ask me for more Mitzy Neuhaus is powerful motivation.

Jennifer: What’s next for you?

Traci: So many things are next for me! I have a “next book” queue as long as my arm. “Mitzy 4” is in the works…she’s got to deal with being a wife now on top of all of that real estate and crime fighting she does. I also have a sci-fi that is soooo close to being finished. It’s in collaboration with my genius brother. We are telling two (or three) sides of the same story, my POV is that of a “who-dunnit” in space and his is more of the adventure thriller space battle stuff. Think giant mechanical alien space bugs. It’s good stuff.

But even sooner than either of those, I’m lucky enough to have a small piece in “Life Lessons from Moms” put out by Write Integrity Press. Do I loose my indy cred for that? I hope not. ; ) Write Integrity is a fantastic small press to work with and it was really exciting for me to be a part of one of their projects.

But after we solve space crimes, learn some life lessons, and get Mitzy into hot water, I’ll be starting the newest mystery series. I’ve got the first four plots all mapped out and ready to go, so, if my fingers can keep up with my ideas I should have a fruitful next twelve months.

Jennifer: Parting Words of Wisdom?

Traci: God has created all of us with something special we are supposed to do while we're here on earth. In the parable of the talents--do you know that one? Jesus tells the story of a land owner who trusts his servants with his fortune to be invested while he is gone. (Talents were the money of the era and that is where we get our word for a person's gifts and skills.) The servants who invested those talents to increase the land owner's wealth were praised and rewarded for their faithfulness.

We are responsible to use our gifts and skills while we are here on earth. We don't always know what our "success" is supposed to look like though, and that's a huge relief for me. There are several ways to take the idea of "increasing" our talents...one of course is financial success. That could be what God plans for our talents. But in the story the servants were given talents and then increased the talents. I think that means we are given skills, talents, hopes and dreams, and we are supposed to increase those. As a writer I need to write, but I also need to grow as a writer--to increase that talent.  I should also put the words out in the world, not just leave them in a file on my computer. For some writers that means querying agents and publishers and for other writers that means self publishing.

And the money part? (Since the parable was about real money.) I think sound stewardship covers that. If God makes my writing financially successful I am responsible for investing those finances wisely, including using them for the business of writing.

Buy All Three Mitzy Neuhaus Mysteries in One!

Traci Tyne Hilton is a mom, wife, Sunday School teacher, and novelist from the Evergreen state.