Marilyn Frazer

Now That You're Published, What's Next?

2009-10-04T10:07:12-07:00

I was so excited. At last my book was published! I could see The Relationship Trap in print. I could hold my book in my hand. It was a reality. As a matter of fact, I could see several cartons of books piled next to my front door. As the UPS truck pulled away, I began to wonder...what do I do with all these books? I didn't want to be the author with a garage full of books. Reality hit full force! Now what?

Publishers publish. Publishers do not promote. You do! Except if you're John Grisham or Danielle Steele.

Now, I am a writer, a teacher, an artist. I did not major in marketing in college. I never took a business course. Yet, all of a sudden I had to become a businesswoman. It was now my job to market my book. I had spent so many hours, days, years writing this book.

I interviewed women, taped their stories (with their permission), transcribed the stories... slowly... phrase by phrase, edited their stories keeping their words and taking out the extraneous material, sent the book to several different editors and made recommended changes, paid a photographer for an official photo, hired a book cover designer, paid for the interior design, paid the publisher, paid to warehouse the books, paid the agent a fee for finding the publisher, warehouse, and so on.

I learned about the categories of self-help, psychology, women's issues. I explored the shelves of Barnes & Noble, studying types of books in these categories. I looked to see if there were any books similar to mine...I didn't want to publish something that someone else had already covered. I researched book types, sizes, prices, book covers...front and back...dialog, book publishers, agents and competitors.

My book had to offer something new, something different.

Then there was the editor who I nicknamed "The Queen of Commas". She was recommended by the publisher and I had to pay about $600 for her to put about a dozen commas on each page. That meant if I followed all her recommendations, I would have had to go back and put all of them in myself. More time spent on the book. Actually, I really didn't have to put in all those commas. Most of them weren't needed. (Example: Red, white, and blue. I do not believe a comma is necessary after white. She did. This was just a difference of opinion. She had to earn her fee somehow so there were all those red marks.

So I learned to write, edit, and now, after all that, it was time to learn how to market.

I had to learn fast because a new book gets old fast. So, I took Marketing 101, so to speak. I opened a P.O. box, found an accountant, joined a writers group, and entered a book fair. Phase II has begun.

It's time for MARKETING 101

I wouldn't have a bowl full of candy. In my White House I'd have a healthy bowl full of red juicy apples.

2009-10-04T09:44:59-07:00

Reagan had bowls full of jelly beans; Obama, M&M's. If you were elected President, what would you choose as the official White House candy?

Submitted by Slice of Pink.

Spread the Word

2009-01-15T12:15:19-08:00

At last! I have been promised that my book will be out by the end of January. We're coming down the home stretch now! However...

When the book is out I will need your help. That's why I began this blog with a copy of this great cartoon from The New Yorker magazine. Publishers publish. They don't publicize. It's up to me...and you...to spread the word.

That's where you come in. When the book is here, and you read your copy, please tell others about the book. If every one of you tells just two people to read the book and then tell others about the book, word will spread.

99% of the people I have told about the book want a copy. "Where can I get it?" They know someone who needs to read this book, and often, they, themselves, are the ones who need it. The other 1% is happily married and do not know anyone who could benefit from a book like this.

Hang in there. It's just a few more weeks.

We're almost there.

THE RELATIONSHIP TRAP: Women Who Ignored the Warning Signs That Said...This Guy's Not For You
This is a collection of true stories of women who ignored the red flags that were waving frantically in front of them and entered a relationship with the guy anyway. They told story of their relationship, what they learned from the experience and what advice they give other women (and men) hoping they don't have to go through what they experienced.

The End of the Trail is in Sight

2008-11-22T18:28:16-08:00

Again, I must say it's easy to write a book; it's much more difficult to publish one. There are endless back and forths between the publisher, agent, writer, editor and anyone else who can get into the act. It took me six years to write the book and now it has been almost two years of going down the publishing trail.

I am delighted to have a literary agent who acts as a middleman, helping me move through the process. There is a whole new language, a whole new protocol. There are query letters, proposals, agents who specialize in such genres as fiction, non-fiction, children's lit, romance and so on, and they are not interested in your book if it doesn't fit into their stable of writers.

However, the end of the trail is in sight. The publisher sent me the final copy, full of editor's red marks...she is a "Comma Queen"...just loves to put in commas everywhere. Every page had 4-5 red marks where she thought a comma should be added. I had a different opinion, but I bow to her expertise. (First I had to decipher her symbols.) Along with all the commas, I added my final changes...small, but needed...and sent the manuscript back to the publisher ASAP. Now I have to wait in line behind the "big boys"...the major publishers. Hopefully, it won't be too long a wait.

My goal was to be published by the end of October. That date was moved up to "by Thanksgiving." Now I'm hoping for a launch before Christmas. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. Missing the Christmas/Hanukkah season would be so disappointing.

Don't forget...THE RELATIONSHIP TRAP is a must-read for anyone contemplating a new relationship. Don't enter a relationship before reading this book!

There's a Story in You...Somewhere

2008-11-07T15:52:10-08:00

    When I say I wrote a book people are so amazed. "You wrote a book?" They are so intimidated by the thought of writin. Yet, there is a book in everyone. We all have a story to tell, fiction or non-fiction. I started writing and before I knew it, I was on my way.
    Writing a book is not such an amazing feat. You just have to sit down at your computer or with a yellow legal pad and start...anywhere.
    You don't have to start at the beginning. Start in the middle if you'd like. Start at the end and work backwards. It doesn't matter. Eventually you'll put it all together. And don't worry about grammar. Like the Nike commercial...Just Do It!
     What would you like to write about? Perhaps something you're passionate about or something you're interested in at the moment. Nowadays, people are starting to write their memoirs and there are a number of workshops being offered in memoir writing. Take one. Start there...with your own life. Don't tell me your life is not interesting. Everyone's is and your grandchildren will enjoy reading it one day.
    Write! Enjoy! There really is a story in you.

ON THE ROAD TO PUBLISHING A BOOK

2008-08-04T16:17:27-07:00

So far, my book has progressed at a snail's pace toward my ultimate goal of seeing it in print. However, I finally have a publication date: January 2009. It's so exciting to see an actual date because it took me several years to write the book, more time to edit it and even more time to find an agent.

HOW DID I COME TO WRITE A BOOK?

I never knew when I sat down to write this book, how much would be involved in publishing it. In fact, I never thought that far ahead. First I had to decide to write a book. This is how it came about:

I decided to go back to school and started the new millennium by receiving a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology in 2000. During my last year of school, I took a boring course on how to write a thesis. The idea for my book came from the theme for my thesis: Why Do Women Ignore the Warning Signs That Say, This Guy's Not For You? I had to present a paper to the class on my thesis theme and I was surprised by the reaction of several students who said, "You ought to write a book. That would make a great book!" My professor echoed their sentiments.

So I decided to interview a number of women, selected at random for case studies for my book. I taped each interview, painstakingly transcribed their stories, then edited out the extraneous information. Then I added a great deal of information which I carefully researched. At last, the book was complete and I gave it to an editor to peruse. She said that the book was too long...more than 600 pages...and it needed to be shortened. So, I figured most people would flip through the information to get to the womens' stories and I heaved a huge sigh and removed all the information. After going over the stories several more times, looking for spelling and grammatical errors and more unneeded information, I finally arrived at about 275 pages. By this time I had a title for the book: THE RELATIONSHIP TRAP.

WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?

The Relationship Trap is a collection of true stories about women who ignored the warning signs that said, THIS GUY'S NOT FOR YOU!!! They tell about the relationship, what they learned from it and give advice to other women based on their experience.

On these pages you will find women who are rich, poor, young, old, single and married. They have experienced rape, drug or alcohol problems, or other difficulties and usually came out of the relationship stronger and more aware of red flags.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU FINISH WRITING A BOOK?

After the book was finished, I gave the book to another editor and she suggested more changes. I listened and made most of the changes, keeping in something I felt was crucial to one woman's story. Then I gave it to a friend and said, "Read this and tell me what you think. If you think I should make any changes, let me know." She was kind enough to provide me with a list and upon reading it, I decided she knew what she was talking about and made every change she suggested, which tightened up the book.

LEARNING ALL ABOUT PUBLISHING

Then I began to research information on how to publish your book. I bought Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents and learned that there were publishers and agents who only dealt with fiction, or only poetry, and so forth. Then I bought more books, such as, "How to Publish Your Non-Fiction Book" and read all I could find on publishing. I went to book stores and read the blurbs on the back and inside covers of books. I looked at books about relationships and wrote down the number of pages, the price, the publishers name and any other useful information that could help me make informed decisions about my own book.

I learned that books in my category sold for a certain amount, certain titles gained more shelf space than others, which covers were the most attractive, and which colors stood out. I asked book sellers questions and took lots of notes. It's one thing to write a book, a first-time author knows nothing about publishing.

AN AGENT REPRESENTS YOUR WORK

99% of all manuscripts submitted to agents are rejected. Most are never read. A busy agent can get as many as 1,000 submissions a month. First you need to send a query letter, then a proposal if the agent requests one. I had to learn what these were and how to write them. That's another whole project.

At last I found an agent and I was thrilled. She liked my book and was willing to take me on as a client. However, once we reached an agreement I never heard from her again. I decided I was a small fish in her big pond. I emailed her for an update and heard nothing...and so...I fired her! She never bothered to sign our contract and I faxed her that time was of the essence and I needed to move on. I heard from her immediately...imagine that...but it was too late. I was moving on.

Several months later, I found another agent. In between I had a few rejections, not enough to wallpaper my bathroom, but all had only good things to say about the book. They liked it; it just didn't fit into their portfolio or whatever. So, on I went until I found my present agent.

I have a radio interview coming up in September. Now I have to learn about radio appearances and how to tell people about my book, about relationships and so forth. It's research time again.

In the meantime, my agent and I decided it would be a good idea to self-publish and the book will be coming out January 2008. In the meantime you can also check out my website, marilynfrazer.com.

COMING UP:

In my next blog: an excerpt from the book

Escape the Relationship Trap

2008-04-29T17:06:12-07:00

Did you ever say, "What does she see in him? What was she thinking!!!" Why did she ignore the red flags that said, This Guy's Not For You! They were waving madly in front of her eyes. But...ahhh...she was wearing rose-colored glasses.

Did your friends or family ever try to warn you that some guy you were seeing was not for you? Did you ignore them?

Why do women ignore the warning signs? Why did you ignore them? There are many reasons. Today I'd like to talk about...

Reason #1: It's better to be in a relationship...any relationship...than to be alone.

You feel it is better to be in a bad relationship than in none at all. After all, if you left him, you would have to re-enter the dating scene and start all over again. You would be all alone.

Why not be alone, rather than being with someone who puts you down or is an alcoholic? After all, you are your own best friend. Why not enjoy your own company. Use the new freedom as an opportunity for new adventures. Get a new hairdo. Enroll in an art class. So what if you can't paint. Anyone can throw a load of paint on a canvas and create an abstract painting. Start that diet you heard about. Start exercising. Get away from the computer for a while and take a walk. Check the Best Seller List and find a book that you'd like to read. Better still, write one. There is a book in everybody.

It's time to say adios to that guy and start fresh. You don't have to re-enter the dating scene. Read, "Eat, Pray, Love". The author left her marriage and began a whole new adventure, traveling alone in Italy, India and Bali. She discovered, as you, too, will discover, that there's so much to see, so much to learn and so much living yet to do.

Go for it! And let me know how you're doing on your own.