Rebecca Berto |

Rebecca Berto

Rebecca Berto writes stories about love and relationships. She gets a thrill when her readers are emotional reading her books, and gets even more of a kick when they tell her so. She’s strangely imaginative, spends too much time on her computer, and is certifiably crazy when she works on her fiction. Rebecca Berto lives in Melbourne, Australia with her boyfriend and their doggy.

1. What got you into writing? I’ve been writing stories ever since I was old enough to remember, so nothing in particular sparked it. I’ve always been fascinated by fictionalised stories, especially books. I was lucky enough that when I was 19 I finished my first full length, adult manuscript after years of half-finished documents. I researched and learned more about developing my writing to publish it somehow and have been professionally writing since then.

2. What is a usual writing day like for you? From morning to afternoon I convince myself to write something, only succeeding in superb procrastination. Early afternoon I try to write and get distracted by my design business work or Facebook, and then late afternoon/night I finally write. On a great day I get in a few blocks of writing, and sometimes even in the morning! :O

3. Do you get writers block? If so, how do you overcome it? Oh, gee. I’ve recently been in a prolonged stage of writers block since November (2013). You can’t rush it, or force the words to come back. I find trying my best to move on and be happy with my life again helps. I read lots for ideas and focus on making book covers for my clients. It’s a good distraction to free up the weight in my mind for whatever reason I’m being blocked. I’ve learned that I’ll only come out of that stage when my mind is ready, and sadly I can’t foresee when that’ll be.

4. Are you a plotter/planner when it comes to writing a story? Do you mean a plotter or a panster? I’m a plotter. I think of my story idea and the type of leading characters in my head and then on paper I note down the several structural points in my novel. I don’t plan scenes though. Just the bones of the story and “pants” it fleshing out the story between the structural points. For me it’s a great blend of fun and creativity, mixed in with some hard work to save my time and sanity later by getting the overall story arc right.

5. What was the publishing process like for you,& any advice to aspiring authors? Traditional publishing was the go when I started out. For manuscripts I’ve submitted, I’ve probably queried over 90 publishers and agents. Once I heard about self-publishing, I figured luck was on my side that I’d be more successful anyway in that route if I tried it as best I could. I’m thankful now though that I was rejected by so many before I published because it helped me learn to improve my weak qualities in ways I never could without that. So my advice for beginner writers is even when you think your manuscript is perfect, always strive to improve and it’ll take your career a long way in the right direction.

6. What has been your highlight since becoming a published author? But there are so many moments! guhh

7. Can you share a little of your most recent book with us? And any other books of yours, if you wish. My next series, an erotic romance, to come out is about The Rental. It’s a for hire business where clients book rentals for company, much like a date except no sex is allowed. It’s full of fiery foreplay, thrilling sexual tension and is deliciously naughty. Book 1 is up on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18745190-the-rental

8. Apart from writing, what do you do in your spare time? Spend a pathetically long amount of time patting and talking to my cat and dog. Yeahhh, I’m *that* person.

9. If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be & why? As long as they aren’t as confusing, moody or weird as me, I’ll be happy. lol

10. Do you have anything that you want to say to your readers? Hi? Um, yeah, I’m fairly bad at this. 🙂 Oh, and please sign up to my blog or newsletter if you want to stay updated on my book news.