A Book is Born

Deborah Hurley releases "Fragments of Hope"!

If you are an author, writer, or generally impatient person, you do not like seeing this message in Outlook Express or hearing it when you dial your voice mailbox.

In a sales meeting fourteen years ago, my "Team Leader" said what was being asked of us was tantamount to putting our souls on the chopping block. I never forgot those words - I revisit that sales meeting over and over in my life, in one form or another - promoting my book, querying an editor, convincing my husband to buy me new furniture...all these years later I am still selling, and I have the life lines on my face to prove it. I suppose sitting at my laptop my expression changes from pensive, to desperate, depressed, and less frequently ecstatic as I await responses to the advanced reading copies I have sent magazines, chefs, newspapers and celebrities.

It's enough to send me into the kitchen at 10:00 a.m. to cook dinner. That's how I cope, I cook, and in the past week I've simmered, slow roasted and sauteed enough food for my neighborhood (I'm on a soup kick right now).

As I bring the broth to a boil, I glance over at my laptop, sneering at me from the kitchen table. Yes, I have indeed lost my mind, when I think a machine is mocking me.

But at the helm of my stove, adding lentils or peas or risotto, I come back to reality when my rational little voice tells me that never more in my life has patience been required. That's all this is, it's a waiting game. I want my phone to ring off the hook, I want my inbox flooded with messages - just like I want world peace, enough organic food to feed more people than my neighbors, and like my five year old daughter wants to wear lipstick. Being so closure-driven helped me get my book published, but it handicaps me now, and is one hell of a learning tool when I'm in the mood for personal growth.

I take a deep breath to make sure my soup is accurately seasoned. I have an instinctive feeling that it will work out fine, I've also got the eccentricity to believe my obstinance will expedite fate. Okay, world, humble me - I once heard I can get it in the form of a pie, does that offer still stand?

Because I'm awfully hungry.

I know it is a bit late to reflect on the holidays but I thought I would share this story anyway...

In addition to being surrounded by family this year, I received the best Christmas present that was so thoughtful and so unexpected but it is something I will cherish forever! So that we would not spend a ton of money on each other, my family decided to do the "Secret Santa" thing for Christmas this year. Each person chose a name out of a "hat" and that was who you purchased a gift for (under $25). My grandmother (Nanny) handed me my gift from my "Santa" and said "As soon as you open this, you will know who your Santa is". I opened the box to find a leather bound scrap book with the following engraved on the cover:

An Author's Journey

Surviving the First Year

Christie Glascoe Crowder

The title of the book and the publication date was also embossed on the bottom right. On the back it read:

To My Big Sister with Love

From Your Little Sister

I was moved to tears. I had written a book for her... my little sister, Kelly... and in return she had given me a book to keep my memories of this time of my life. My cup runnith over!

Today is a very special day. Today is the day that we celebrate the life and the legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - a man who dared to dream during a time when he was told that he didn't have a right to dream just because of the color of his skin. Sometimes I worry that all that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. achieved during his short life has been in vain because so many of us still refuse to dream. Oftentimes so many of us refuse to believe that we have a right to not only dream but to have our dreams realized.

My father, the late Eddie Myers Johnson, dreamed of becoming a published author but unfortunately he was not able to have his dream come true because he never found a publisher that believed in his book. Every since I was a child, I have dreamed of becoming a published author and fortunately I was able to find a publisher that believed in me and my book. In less than 6 months my dream of becoming a published author will come true and my father's dream will be realized through me.

I now clearly understand that the work that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr did has not been in vain because the "Dream" lives on in all of us and when we leave this earth it will live on in our children and our children's children.

Publishing my book with Wyatt Mackenzie is a dream come true and once I get my first copies I will be able to scream out loud: "Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty I am Free at last."

May God Bless Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and all who dare to dream.

Peace and Respect,

Malonda Richard
Author - My Life Isn't Perfect But Thank God My Baby Is
http://www.mylifeisntperfect.com
Book Due Date: June 7, 2007

Sometimes I look at the world and think in stories. That is a wonderful feeling. It is then that I know I am in alignment. It is then that opportunities present themselves – like the column gig I just landed recently. Finally, after many years of wanting to do this, I felt like I had something to offer. Apparently the editor did, too.

But being in alignment is not a constant state. There are days when I fell like I am choking out words. But I do it, because it is part of the discipline of writing. (How can I be a writer if I don’t write?) It is because of this that I have a backlog of four years’ worth of stories and story ideas on tap. It is because of this that my worst fear – that I won't have anything to write about for publication – has been nipped in the bud.

I mentioned the backlog of stories to a friend the other day, and she said, “Wow, great, you won’t necessarily have to write anything new.” (She wondered where I'd find the time to do the column, with three kids and a full-time job.) And I told her that while that was true, I had been writing things, anyway. When it rains it pours. (And I’ll remind myself of this next time I’m in a slump, which is usually when I am distracted by my “day job!”)

Aside from the column, I'm currently working on my illustrated book, "What Would Mary Do?" Here's the synopsis.

This book actually came from a piece I wrote more than a year ago, that I didn't originally envision to be an illustrated book. In fact, I thought I'd never go there!

Now I have to sign off because 2/3 of my children are sick and if tonight is like last night, I'll want to have a few hours of sleep before the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing....etc. starts. (And if I'm way overtired, I know things won't flow.)

I know, I know. I sound like the mom who has a bumper sticker that reads "My child is an honor student at XYZ Middle School" on the butt of her minivan -- shameless, yet proud.

Book promotion is a long and bumpy road -- and we authors take what we can get. I've been apt to pull my husband out of a deep sleep to show him my ranking when it's good or to cancel an important commitment like an annual pap smear and sob when it's bad. Maybe we should all have bumper stickers that read "My book is an honor student in the halls of Amazon...and I've got the screenshot to prove it!" Now, if only I could get the toolbar to tell me how to post it...

As Caroline so aptly stated, selling books does not make you rich. This year I have decided to increase my income in creative ways.

I work with a publicity firm as a PR writer, along with private clients myself. Going through my client email file folder, I noticed how many people had approached me without actually signing on as my client. This year will be different. I am conducting a megasale campaign with some PR heavy-weights starting Monday, January 8th. My face reddened as Susan Harrow approached me, asking to participate.

"You admire my work and want me to come aboard?" Having my name next to star publicist Arielle Ford just made me blush further. Alrighty. I'll do it!

Stating the intention is the first step to making your dreams become reality. I spent a good hour watching one of my clients on Larry King Live. He and the panel (Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit etc.) talked about living our intention. Being spiritual does not mean you have to shed your worldly goods. You can do good and still live well.

Five Steps to Success

1. Identify Your Goal

2. Write it Down and Review it Every Day

3. Take Action Steps Towards Your Goal Daily

4. Elicit Support From Others

5. Celebrate the Baby Steps

These steps apply to publishing a book, too. Ask any one of us on this blog. They'll tell you it's true!

Well, our mascot has been working hard, and getting big! Our office pup, "Book," turns 5 months old today. He has just been a joy – preventing me from getting too stressed over our impedding success. *smile* From five weeks to five months went SO fast...here's what we've accomplished:

The Mom Writers Publishing Co-Op has...

-- Released the German version of SAHM I Am, "Erkenntnisse einer Vollzeitmutti"

-- Signed Korean rights deal for "Household Baggage" and "Connection Parenting" with JiHyang Publishing Group in Seoul, Korea

-- Went into our third printing of "Connection Parenting", and we licensed the ForeWord Magazine Book-of-the-Year Logo for the new cover.

-- "What's the Matter With Mommy" came off press as "Fragments of Hope" went on

Wyatt-MacKenzie has...

-- Signed Sharon Ellison for a 2-book deal including "Taking Power Struggle Out of Parenting" (the audio has just been released) the brand new paperback from Wyatt-MacKenzie will release in June '07, and her "Taking the War Out of Our Words" (previously published in hardcover by Andrews McMeel, paperback by Bay Tree Press) will be rereleased under WM in March.

-- "A Suburban Mom" by popular humor writer Meredith O'Brien is released in a few weeks

-- We also celebrated our EIGHT YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Over the holidays we were hit hard by a wind storm here in Oregon, I was in heaven – no power for 4 days straight. I curled up next to the fire and pored over my journals from the last few years and the plan for "A Book is Born" unfolded... more incredibly exciting news soon.

Cheers! Nancy

“How many will you have to sell to recoup your investment?”

This is a question one of my well-meaning friends asked after I explained my vision for my illustrated children’s book.

Annoyed, I said, “A lot.”

My friend just doesn’t get it.

Book sales are not the only way to make money on your book. In fact, if they were, how would you even measure when you broke even, given all the blood, sweat, tears, and life experience that go into writing and publishing a book?

In fact, I’ve heard that writing a book is just door opener to a public speaking career. Ummm…I never knew I wanted to be a public speaker! I certainly don’t feel ready right now, at this moment. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be in a year, five years, or ten years...or tomorrow!

All the work I have done and and continue to do builds the foundation for future success, of unknown magnitude. That is the hope I hold in my heart, and the motivation that keeps me focused to keep moving on, sometimes just a step at a time, and sometimes a step backward, but always facing forward.

~Caroline Poser,

Author, MotherMorphosis

www.MotherMorphosis.com