Q&A With Stacey J. Miller 

I’ve done Q&As with authors, publicists, agents, the editorial director of Simon & Schuster, authors who have and still do juggle extra careers and projects on the side, today I have the pleasure of doing this Q&A with Non-Fiction author, Book Coach & Editor Stacey J. Miller. Stacey’s nonfiction books are Getting Past Childhood Bullying, 101 Recipes For Microwave Mug Cakes, Barfitty Blues, Career Bounce Back & How To Market, Sell, Distribute and Promote Your Book. 

Q: Stacey, I love books as you can tell, and I know you do too! Would you explain to the readers of the blog & I about what you do as a book editor & coach? 

A: Bianca, thank you so much for the opportunity!

As a fellow book lover, I’m living my dream.

Many years ago, I started my career as a publicist, because that’s the only job in the book publishing industry I could find. Book publicity was fun, and I was good at it. But I wanted to be an editor. I was an editor. 

In short, I help make authors’ dreams come true. To me, print-on-demand publishing is magic. I’m delighted to know how to publish books and to share that knowledge with my clients. Most of my clients find me through word-of-mouth, and I also have a profile on Reedsy (a marketplace for publishing professionals).

Q: What is your favorite part about your job? 

A: My favorite part of book publicity was building relationships with authors. Naturally, I edited their books whenever I had the opportunity. My authors usually were working on upcoming books as we promoted their current books, and these works-in-progress always needed another set of eyes. 

But I couldn’t help but notice that their books (or, even better, their manuscripts) needed an editor.

You see where this is going. I ditched book publicity and am now doing what I do best: advocating for people who love books, have written books, and want to publish books. 

It’s my privilege now to guide anyone with a message or great story idea through the steps of imagining themselves as an author; planning, and writing, the first draft of their manuscript; setting their publication goals; and, finally, making their books available to readers. 

In short, I help make authors’ dreams come true. To me, print-on-demand publishing is magic. I’m delighted to know how to publish books and to share that knowledge with my clients. Most of my clients find me through word-of-mouth, and I also have a profile on Reedsy (a marketplace for publishing professionals).

Q: In your opinion, how publicists have advertised books changed a whole lot? 

A: The world of mass media gradually evolved into something new. Scoring national TV and radio opportunities is less important than creating online buzz, so I was challenged to learn about new ways to promote books. For a while, I focused on social media management and search engine optimization as a way of enhancing books’ “findability.” 

At the same time, self-publishing finally lost its stigma. An increasing number of authors approached me with self-published books that they wanted me to promote. They weren’t sure what “promoting a book” meant in a post-Oprah (and, perhaps, post-television) world. By that time, I wasn’t sure that I was the right person to help them figure it out, either. 

Q: I saw on Amazon that you’ve written nonfiction. Do you still write?

A: Yes. I still write and publish my own books too. That’s important, because I always want to be able to empathize with the hopes, fears, challenges, frustration, and joys of authors as they navigate their way through the publishing industry.