Epilogue

A memoir is a snapshot of a particular time or event in a person’s life—in this case, four decades of a career that began modestly and developed in ways I could never have predicted. When I was living the moments of those forty years, I was aware of every one. No one is more surprised than I to realize those moments have added up to more than half my life.

I often felt as if I were climbing a mountain, one tiny foothold at a time. This is not the end of my climb by any means, but it is a good place to pause and look over my shoulder to see the path I have taken. If that path was a little uneven at times, from this vantage point, it doesn’t seem so apparent.

My career has given me a glorious educational opportunity, not only in terms of the subjects I’ve studied and written about but even more important, what it has taught me about achieving my wildest dream of becoming a writer. The following lessons have helped me grow, learn, and reinvent myself when necessary.

• If you know what you want to do, don’t let anything or anyone stop you from doing it.
• With a little talent and a lot of moxie, you can be whatever you choose to be.
• Set attainable goals that stretch you; as you achieve each one, set another one immediately.
• Writing is not a competitive sport; don’t be threatened by others people’s success
• Seek mentors; then become one.
• Be generous with your talent; remember that it’s a gift; pass it on.
• Know what your values are; let your writing reflect them.
• Don’t lose your sense of humor.
• As yourself from time to time if there is something else you would rather do; if you can’t think of anything, keep writing.

With a little tweaking, these lessons can apply to any dream, any career, any life.

Ten Questions to Test My Book Idea

I will never again make light of my suggestion to potential authors that they begin by answering ten short questions about their books. If I am going to write a book of my own, I have no choice but to accept the same challenge. The questions may be short, but the process of answering them has been longer and tougher than I realized. The good news is that the answers will take me a long way toward a completed book proposal.

1. Why are you writing this book?

• To reflect on my life as a writer which began with little more than a vague goal—to write—and developed into a successful career as a feature writer, editor, corporate communicator, author, and book coach
• To show aspiring writers that if they really want to make writing their life’s work, with a little talent and a lot of determination, they can achieve any goal they set for themselves
• To illustrate the process outlined in my previous book, How to Write a Nonfiction Book; From Concept to Completion in 6 Months by planning and writing a book on my blog.

2. What is your book about?
This book is a memoir of my life as a writer—40 years of learning, growing, and reinventing myself to meet the changing needs of the marketplace.

3. How are you qualified to write this book?
I am an editor, ghostwriter, teacher, writing coach, and the author of 14 books, including How to Write a Nonfiction Book: From Concept to Completion in 6 Months, Going Solo: How To Survive & Thrive as a Freelance Writer, and The Invisible Author: Confessions of a Ghostwriter.

My passion is working with writers at all levels to convey their messages through books. In addition to coaching prospective authors, I have taught classes in nonfiction book writing at local universities and community colleges. My articles have been published in corporate and university publications, the trade and national business press, and on 25 online article sites. I have also written audio, video, and print training programs on a wide variety of topics.

As the owner of a creative consulting firm for the past 20 years, I have worked with organizations in both the private and public sectors on projects ranging from annual reports to websites. My 40-year career has included marketing communications, public relations, training, magazine writing and editing, and lecturing.

4. Why is this an appropriate and timely topic? Why this book, now?

This past year has been rough in terms of the recession, thousands of layoffs, a staggering jobless rate, people losing their homes, and a general feeling that the American dream is not as bright or shiny as it once was. Yet, my unlikely career is a Cinderella story of knowing that I wanted to be a writer and going for it, one step at a time. There seems no better time than this to tell that story.

5. Who are your target readers?
Someone asked me years ago what I wanted to do and my answer was help writers write. The answer hasn’t changed. My target audience comprises writers, no matter where they are in their careers —learning, aspiring, working, or succeeding. This is not a book aimed particularly at women, but it is one woman’s story of what it takes to “make it” before, during, and after the women’s movement.

6. How will they benefit? Why should they read it? What will they learn?
This is a writer’s chronicle of a career that began modestly and developed in ways the author could never have predicted. The lessons the book teaches through its reminiscences and humor include the following:

• If you know what you want to do, don’t let anything or anyone stop you from doing it.
• With a little talent and a lot of moxie, you can be whatever you choose to be.
• Set attainable goals that stretch you; as you achieve each one, set another one immediately.
• Writing is not a competitive sport; don’t be threatened by other people’s success
• Seek mentors; then become one.
• Be generous with your talent; remember that it’s a gift; pass it on.
• Know what your values are; let your writing reflect them.
• Don’t lose your sense of humor.
• Ask yourself from time to time if there is something else you would rather do; if you can’t think of anything, keep writing.

7. How will you reach them? Where are they likely to buy this book?

At Borders or Barnes & Noble? On line? In the grocery store? Those all sound good to me. It will be available on my own website, on Amazon.com and Kindle, in major and independently owned bookstores, possibly book catalogs, at the “back of the room” during presentations, and any specialty store I can convince to sell it.

8. How big is the market? How many potential readers are there?

Aspiring and working writers read …

• Writers magazines (Total circulation: 166,460)
• Articles on writing at the major online article websites
• Writers blogs
• Women's magazines (Total circulation: 30,510,960 )
• Social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn [WritersWorld], Twitter, Gather)

9. What else is out there on this subject? How is this book unique, special, important?

• Six autobiographies by Maya Angelou
• The Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman
• The Well-Fed Writer: Back For Seconds by Peter Bowerman
• A Dangerous Profession: A Book About the Writing Life by Frederick Busch
• The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
• Memoirs of a Delta Favorite by Ellen Gilchrist
• The Writing Life by Ellen Gilchrest
• The Long Quiet Highway by Natalie Goldberg
• Old Friend From Far Away by Natalie Goldberg
• Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
• Wounds of Passion: A Writing Life by Bell Hooks
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Bird By Bird by Annie Lamott
• Writing About Your Life: a Journey Into the Past by William Zinsser

What sets this book apart from these and many other memoirs is that it is by and about a working writer who spent the first half her career in magazine journalism and corporate communications and the second half trying to master running a one-woman business. It is not about being a novelist or a poet; it is not on how to write or to make a lot of money as a freelancer. Rather, it is a light look at a long love affair with the unglamorous side of the writing life.

10. How will you help to promote your book?

• Dedicated website (www.WriteANonfictionBook.com
  
• Online articles (ezinearticles.com, http://searchwarp.com, http://Top7Business.com/, http://www.amazines.com/, http://www.articlecity.com, and others)
• Social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn [WritersWorld], Twitter, Gather)
• Articles in writers' magazines (The Writer, Writers' Digest, Writers' Journal)
  
• The Writing Life blog
• News & Views (monthly newsletter)
  
• Presentations on all aspects of nonfiction writing
  
• Writers blogs (request link exchange or guest blogging opportunity on copyblogger.com, writetodone.com, mashable.com, problogger.com, etc.)

Writing Out Loud

I am sitting in my office staring at my desk. Well actually, I can’t see my desk. All I can see are file folders, opened mail, unopened mail, projects in various stages of completion, scribbled notes to myself, books, and computer equipment. It’s a mess, and I am on overwhelm. No doubt about it; I have a few too many plates in the air.

Yet, instead of trying to figure out what I can eliminate, I am musing over the impossible, completely irrational notion of trying to juggle one more plate, and not just any plate. This one is more like a platter. I have been struck by the desire to write another book—not a ghostwritten book for someone else, but a book for me. I have obviously lost my mind, but that doesn’t make me banish the idea to the recycle bin so I can concentrate on earning a living and managing my life.

The problem with wanting to write a book is that it’s like an itch that will drive me crazy until I finally give in and scratch, which in this case, means thinking through the questions I ask every would-be author who tells me he has a great idea for a book. Like my students and coaching clients, I don’t want to suffer through the preliminaries. I don’t want to complete the mandatory sentence, “My book is about …” I don’t want to answer ten questions that will tell me whether my idea is viable. I don’t want to organize little file folders on my hard drive before I do anything else. I just want to plunge in and start writing. What that tells me is, if nothing else, this could turn into a great exercise in empathy.

Why is the itch so persistent? What is so enticing about this particular idea that I must write it? And who am I hoping will read it? I don’t know the answer to the first question. Perhaps it is just the right time to do it. The right time, of course, has nothing to do with having time; it is more about knowing I am ready to write and making time. What I have discovered over the course of my writing career is that when I’m ready, there simply is no stopping it from pouring out.

I’ve been playing around the edges of this idea for what seems like years. My book will be a memoir of my life as a writer—40 years of learning, growing, and, reinventing myself to meet the changing needs of the marketplace. (OK, that takes care of the dreaded sentence!)

Every time one of my students says, “I want to write about my life or my unique experience,” I take a deep breath and wonder who will read it and why they would want to. I have to ask the same question of myself. Who is the audience, and what is the benefit? It’s a tough question, but so are the other nine I ask every student and potential client. When we add up the answers, we have an abbreviated book proposal. Besides being able to explain what their books are about, most of my students really resist the whole idea of writing a proposal. They argue, they stall, but eventually they realize they are going to need it for at least a dozen reasons.

I seem to be addicted to writing about writing. My last two were on how to survive and thrive as a freelance writer and how to write nonfiction book in six months. In the first case, I have survived (and pretty much thrived) for four decades; in the second, I honestly have written books within that six-month window. But I’ve never done it in public, so to speak, with people looking over my shoulder.

So, this will be a first-time experiment in which I will try to “talk the talk and walk the walk” (I’ve never liked that saying). I am going to sit here with my book next to the computer and go through the process of planning, writing, publishing, and promoting my nonfiction book just as I teach others to do it. And I am going to do it on my blog, The Writing Life.

Why in heaven’s name would I do something so crazy? First, because I can’t figure any way to juggle one more plate, so I’m going to combine book-writing time with blog-writing time. Second, if I am going to keep telling people to trust this process because it works, I have to prove it. Well, I don’t have to, but, frankly, I find it irresistible to try. And, third, every author needs a support system, and I am hoping you will be mine as I venture into the uncharted territory of writing out loud.

The Fifth Edition: Five Times Tougher Than the First

The good news is that my little book, How to Write a Nonfiction Book: From Concept to Completion in 6 Months, is selling on Amazon and my website. The other day I counted my remaining copies and realized it is time to start thinking about the next edition. That’s about all it took; I haven’t thought about anything else since then. The seed was planted.

So, I packed up my new MacBook and went off to my latest dog-sitting gig, full of ideas for what I might add to the content. It seems the longer I teach, the more I realize how much I have to learn. The article sites I contribute to are goldmines of information, new perspectives, and advice on how to get from your first book-thought to your first book-signing. I read other people’s wisdom and find myself newly inspired. There is so much to share with aspiring authors who buy my book or sit in my classes.

Every time I revise what was once a pretty thin eight-and-a-half-by-eleven-inch workbook that focused primarily on how to write a book proposal, I add more to the other key aspects of writing, publishing, and promoting a nonfiction book. There are so many good books and so many experts, it’s a bit intimidating to publish what I want to say. Yes, it’s true; even veteran writers feel that way!

The first questions I ask myself are what do authors want to know? What are my students, clients, and book buyers asking me, and have I answered their questions in this book? I look for gaps in the text, and I find them. Why do I have to write a proposal? Do I need an agent? How do I find one? What should I send to a publisher? What is involved in writing a memoir? What’s the difference between POD publishing and self-publishing? And on and on.

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a member of my writers’ group with her query letter to a publisher attached. “What do you think?” she wanted to know. “Let me get my thoughts together,” I wrote back and immediately set off on a research and writing journey that culminated in an article, as well as a new section for my book. This was undoubtedly much more than she ever wanted to know; but, when I tried to answer her question, I realized I didn’t really know enough about book query letters to do so.

The first edition of my little book was easy as pie to write; the second a little more difficult; and so on. It has taken me five editions to realize that the best way to learn about your subject is to write about it. I am dedicating this book — if I ever finish it — to my writers group, students, clients, and book buyers. Thank you all for continuing to ask questions I can’t answer without some serious thought.