An Interview with Amanda Dodson Gremillion: Author of Just Buy Her a Dress and She’ll Be Fine

Amanda Dodson Gremillion was born in Anniston, Al. She now lives in Calera, AL with her husband and high school sweetheart, Jay, their daughter, Aubrie and their two dogs Honey Girl and Cooper. Amanda graduated from Auburn University in 2003 with a Business/Marketing degree and has since worked mainly in Human Resources and Payroll after working in Inside Sales for a short time. She is now a preschool teacher.

She published her first book in 2012 about her personal experience with severe postpartum OCD, Anxiety and depression. In 2020, she had the book professionally edited and she republished it under a new name. She has contributed blogs to the Mighty, a mental health website with over a million Facebook followers. She has also written for Postpartum Support International and has written a guest blog for author Steve Austin, who has a Catching Your Breath blog with thousands of followers. She hopes to write more books and blogs in the future.

Tell us about your book.

My book is about my experience with severe postpartum depression, but is about so much more than that. I got severely depressed after my daughter was born. When I was pregnant with her, my father passed away and before she turned a year old my grandfather passed away and I was laid off from my job. Right after she turned two, my husband left and our marriage almost ended. I finally got some help not longer after. I realized I had always had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with Anxiety, it just got severe during all of these traumatic events, and I got so depressed I did not want to live anymore. Finding humor in things again was part of healing for me, so the book has some humor in it to make it easier for some to face a tough subject that still has a lot of stigma surrounding it. Before I went through this, I was totally uninformed on this subject and so were most around me, so I wanted to change that for others.

Why did you want to write a book?

I have wanted to write a book since I was child. I wrote some short stories for school and always loved reading and writing. When I was first realizing I had postpartum depression and starting to heal, I started journaling so I could sleep at night. This helped me realize how I got to that point and how to get better. These journals eventually turned into blogs and when people told me the blogs helped them as well, those blogs eventually turned into a book. I finally had something to write about. I actually could not stop talking and writing about it once I started. I did not not just talk about my postpartum depression, I talked about my marriage, my mental health, so many details of my life and it helped me and so many others.

Why did you choose to self-publish?

I wanted to have control over the process for one, and it seemed so much easier to do than I thought it would be. I never honestly thought a publisher was an option unless they came to me or I had a lot of money to pay them. I thought maybe if I self published first one would eventually come to me, but I have since met someone who went through a publisher because they did have a lot of money, but when the book did not do well the publisher no longer sold it, and you can no longer get the book anywhere. I can sell my book forever as long as I have the rights to it still, so it would probably take a lot of money to give that up.

What tools or companies did you use, and what experience did you have?

I used Self Publishing Review, Amazon, WordPress, Createspace, Pubby, The Mighty Mental Health Website and Postpartum Support International, author friends and family, Lulu.com, Facebook, Twitter, and local media.

Would you self-publish again?

Probably, but not until I make money on this one. Still recouping costs at this point,. Of course I hope to become a best seller and make a lot of money on it, but regardless, I will never regret doing it the first time. I have already accomplished a childhood dream and helped others and myself in the process.

What do you think are the main pitfalls for indie writers?

Having to put so much money into it hoping you get a return and trying to do your own advertising, promotion, publishing, everything really usually while working another job because you have not made money yet. Finding people to help you spread the word who are not only interested in making money themselves and taking advantage of you. Even if you an amazing book and a large audience who wants it, reaching that audience can get so expensive.

What tips can you give other authors looking to self-publish?

Spend money on an editor, do an audio book and pay someone to do the voice for it, make your book available in as many as formats as possible, try to get as much free publicity as possible from local media, your employer, people you know, connections you have, and schools you attended, etc., but you are gonna have to put some money into the book before you make any. Do your research and talk to other authors to see what works and what does not, because it sometimes even depends on your genre and other things. Create a website and get followers through blogging first and run ads on your site to make money. Consider entering contests, but research them because some are just trying to get your money. Put your book on sale or offer free promotions etc., do free giveaways or contests to get more followers, shares, likes, purchases, etc. Have a company like Self Publishing Review do a professional review and ask everyone you know to leave reviews.

What was your steepest learning curve during the publishing process?

That I needed to put a certain amount of money into it to get the results I wanted and then hope later I would make it back and more, but also deciding when spending money was needed and when it was a waste.

As a writer, what is your schedule? How do you get the job done?

I work about 35-40 hours a week as a preschool teacher. I also am a mom and a wife and a dog mom, so I just write whenever I can and feel the need to get my thoughts out, or have a specific idea I really want to write about. Sometimes it might be when I cannot sleep and everyone else is, sometimes it is when everyone else is busy doing something else, and sometimes I make time because it feels urgent I get it out in that moment, or I feel I have not spent enough time on my writing and it is so helpful to me and others I need to make some.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

I usually have the opposite problem. I have OCD and Anxiety, and even on medication my mind is always going. It helps to get it out in writing and I honestly do not know if I will ever run out of things to write about. Being a working mom and wife though, it is sometimes challenging to find enough time alone to get my thoughts out, so I try to take the opportunity any chance like that I get. It does make it challenging sometimes to write about things at the time they are most popular though, which results in more followers.

Tell us about the genre you wrote in, and why you chose to write this sort of book.

I wrote a nonfiction story about my own personal experience with postpartum depression, but I added some humor to it because it is a tough subject to read and learning to laugh about everything, even it, helped me personally to heal. You are starting to see more books with humor about mental illness and I think that is a good trend I want to be a part of that to help people and end the stigma.

Who are your biggest writing inspirations and why?

My biggest inspirations have all been people I know. I have both a friend, Steve Austin and second cousin, Ria Story, who wrote about their own personal experiences that helped them to heal and helped others in the process which inspired me. They also blog and speak publicly and do podcasts. My husband also has a second cousin who is from Mississippi, Tiffany Quay Tyson, who now lives in Denver and she has been successful as a fiction writer. She is living my dream career of just writing and blogging and teaching. All three of them have helped me in my journey and have been great mentors to me.

How do your friends and family get involved with your writing? What do they think of your book?

My family and I were clueless about postpartum mood disorders until I went though it myself so it has been a learning experience for all of us. Some have been very supportive. My daughter has always been my biggest fan, at least once she was old enough to understand, but I have honestly had more support from strangers overall. Once I had some success sharing my stories with strangers who told me I changed their life and helped them so much, got some good free publicity, then more people I knew showed more support which is opposite of how I thought it would be honestly.

Some were and probably are still a little uncomfortable with how much personal stuff I shared, and whether they were in the book and if they were how they were portrayed, although I tried to make everyone else around me look as good as possible, and tried not to overshare anything about them unless it was needed to tell my own story, while sharing my deepest darkest secrets and not worrying about how bad I looked. Part of the reason I wrote it was so people know that they are not alone, and I did not feel I could without being as honest as possible about my own flaws and lessons learned, etc.

What are your plans now your book is published?

I still work at a preschool until I become a bestseller of course :), but I blog as much as possible and put as much money and time as I can into my book advertising and marketing, etc. as well because I enjoy it and because I would love that to be my main job, even though I do love teaching children as well. I also plan to donate at least 10 percent of my proceeds to charities related to postpartum disorders and would love to even do free getaways, free childcare and other things for new moms, if I can ever afford to.

Why did you write about this particular subject?

It was the hardest time of my life and I had no idea so many went through it or how in the world to handle it. I am trying to save others from the same and for them to know they are not alone and for others around them.

What did you learn on your journey as an author?

Writing helps me and helps others going through the same as well. I just love it and it has become such a passion for me. It is so important to follow your dreams whether you make a lot of money doing it or not, and even when others do not always support you doing so.

What’s next for you as an author?

My husband and I want to have more children, so I hope to write about how much better the next time goes, but I am also considering writing more about my mental health, my career or children’s books, or my experience working in Senior Living. So many ideas honestly.