A 'Gutsy' Indie Author's Adventure

This is the third in an occasional series featuring authors from around the world.

I met Sonia Marsh through an independent author's community on Facebook about a year ago.  Since then, I wrote a story for her "My Gutsy Story" series, which is being turned into an anthology and published this September.  I reviewed her memoir, and had a chance to speak with her on the phone from Southern California where she lives. 

Sonia's memoir, Freeways to Flip-Flops, her work inspiring other writers to take a risk and write about their journeys and her entrepreneurship in establishing her "gutsy living" brand, make her a pioneer in the memoir and independent publishing movement.  I asked Sonia what inspired her memoir and, from that, her "gutsy" author platform.  Please welcome Sonia to the Circle. 

In 2003, I told my friends about our plan to uproot our family from a comfortable lifestyle in the U.S., to a hut in Belize. Many thought we were crazy . . .  others suggested I write a book about our new life. 



Sonia and her husband, Duke, in Belize

Fortunately, I started writing a year before our move, which was in 2004. Life at home had become quite emotional, with our oldest, teenage son causing havoc in our daily life, and I knew if I could capture everything while it was still “raw,” this would make my story both visual, and authentic.

My first step was to keep a journal. As a novice writer I had no idea it would take seven years to turn my journal into a commercial memoir.

After keeping a journal for a couple of years, I had 660 pages on my computer. I sent excerpts via e-mail to friends back home, and they said, “Sonia, your life in Belize is so exciting compared to mine back here, please continue sending me your stories.”  This was all I needed to keep writing.

Every day in Belize was a challenge, and being out of our comfort zone forced my three sons to adapt. Life was full of adventures and misadventures, and trying to make a living resulted in sabotage and other unexpected events. Our family worked together as a team and grew close as we depended on each other for security, and other reasons. Unable to get a business started forced us to return to California in 2005.

We had all learned different lessons from our year in Belize, and I knew I had a unique story to tell so I took writing classes and attended conferences.

I first heard about blogging in 2006, and decided this might be a great way to improve my writing skills while building an audience for my memoir. The name “Gutsy Writer,” came to me after a few months of reflecting on a theme that fit my memoir.

At first I wrote about topics that interested me, but were not necessarily related to my “gutsy” theme. This was a mistake, but I didn’t know enough about blogging at the time. In 2011, I had a professional website designed which gave me credibility. I attended monthly meetings with other bloggers, most of them young moms starting online businesses. I then decided that “Gutsy Living” would enable me to broaden my topics, allowing other writers to contribute to building my brand. One young blogger suggested I allow guest posting about “Gutsy” topics. This is how I decided to start the “My Gutsy Story” contest. I knew other writers had their own “My Gutsy Story” to share, but I had no idea this series would continue to grow. I managed to get sponsors so monthly contest winners could pick a prize. It’s still going strong, and if you’re interested in submitting. Please check out my Gutsy Living Blog contest page.  

In 2012, I decided to trademark the “My Gutsy Story®” name, and now have 61 authors who have contributed to an anthology with a publication date in September 2013. I am organizing an indie author event with “My Gutsy Story®” authors to be held in a movie theater in Orange County, California, for the anthology launch.   

 

Finding my brand was a gradual process. I feel fortunate that everything seemed to blend together with our “gutsy” family adventure in Belize. I have a specific message in my memoir: Freeways to Flip-Flops: Our Family’s Year of Gutsy Living on a Tropical Island. Life lessons that I learned about my sons, my husband, and myself, thanks to our year in a third-world country.

This enabled me to build and grow my brand, “Gutsy Living: Life’s Too Short to Play it Safe,” which then led to speaking about taking risks in life, and not postponing your dreams.

I have found that making presentations in libraries, bookstores and at writers’ workshops has created a buzz about my book. Local newspaper articles have helped spread the buzz, and a couple of newspaper reporters called to interview me about my book, as well as being an indie author. I enjoy networking and marketing, and although most of us are scared of public speaking, I think this is necessary for indie authors to promote their book.

When I was thirteen, everyone laughed at an impromptu speech my teacher asked me to make. I have always remembered that embarrassing day, and have made it a life goal to overcome my fear of public speaking. If I can do it, so can anyone else.

Finally, I started a Facebook group called: Gutsy Indie Publishers, which now has 240 members. We all help one another during the various stages of publication. There are also book designers, editors, PR people, book shepherds, as well as writers who are just starting to write, and have questions. I invite you to join us, if you’d like to.

I think it’s important to realize that indie publishing means you’re starting your own professional business. It’s a full-time job that requires wearing many different hats, but as long as you’re willing to keep learning, it’s well worth it.

Sonia Marsh is a “Gutsy” woman who can pack her carry-on and move to another country in one day.  Her memoir has received 6 awards at the:

2013 London Book Festival
2013 Los Angeles Book Festival
2013 Great South West Book Festival,
1st Place, Gold Medal in “Autobiography/Memoir E-Lit Awards 2012/13 
2^nd Place, Silver Medal in “Travel Essay” category E-Lit Awards 2012/13 
2013 Paris Book Festival

Sonia has lived in many countries – Denmark, Nigeria, France, England, the U.S. and Belize – Sonia Marsh considers herself a citizen of the world. She holds a degree in environmental science from the University of East Anglia, U.K., and now lives in Southern California with her husband, Duke, and their rat terrier Cookie. Sonia welcomes new friends, writers and readers at her website: www.Soniamarsh.com. 

Our Very Own "Leaning In"

Everyone has been reading or hearing about Sheryl Sandberg's book, Lean In. . . how women can empower themselves through voice and action.

 

At our Women's Writing Circle  anthology reception this past weekend,  we celebrated Slants of Light:  Stories and Poems From the Women's Writing Circle. I thought how we as writers are "leaning in."  We celebrated our accomplishments, our voices, each other. 

 

But we still have a long way to go. How do we stop downplaying our accomplishments?  How do we lean in?
 

It means bringing our families into our realm of  accomplishment and rejoicing with them, but if they choose not to partake, then letting go and reaffirming our commitment to our craft and creativity.

It means not apologizing to people about charging for our book and stop saying, I'm not good at selling and asking people for money; rather affirming our accomplishment and saying,  I am selling this book because it is my work, my expertise. I cannot let you have this book for free, nor should you expect it for free.
 

It means writing the truth of our stories and moving forward, putting behind the pain and writing without apology about lost innocence, failed marriages, our need for connection and romance, our disillusionment with the workplace, our struggle with addiction. 

This is the power of literature.
 

It means believing in our stories, and not sitting on the sidelines; not giving up on our belief that change needs to take place and is happening.

It means not listening to those who tell us ambition is equated with being unlikable. 

 

This is the power of our Women's Writing Circle anthology as celebrated yesterday at a beautiful historic bookstore in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  We made no apology for the stories and poems, which reflect our lives, our voices, our dreams, our desires, our meditations and reflections. 

 

We make no apology this is our time to tell our stories and that there are no male writers in this book. 

 

We make no apology that our stories are depressing, they are emotional, they are intense - and mostly, they are powerful. 
 

This is the power of telling our story.  As you write, you heal and move on - and share it with others. 

 

By writing the truth of our stories, releasing their intensity as well as their honesty, we  assert ourselves.   We do not care to downplay our accomplishments as writers, as entrepreneurs, as women.  We celebrate each other, our voice, our community as writers.

 

"Kitchen Table" Book Brainstorming

When you are a self-publisher, it's not enough to write, edit, illustrate and produce a book.  You want your book to reach readers.    And that means marketing and promotion. 

 

When you produce an anthology, you tap into an entire "village" of creativity. Which is what happened yesterday as we celebrated our achievement of collaborating, writing and producing an anthology of original, never-before published stories and poems by 15 authors. 

 

Our special "guest of honor" at this party was Slants of Light, our beautiful book lovingly crafted with heart, soul, talent and tenacity, which we offer to you, our readers. 

 

Watch out world when you put a group of women around a "kitchen table" - or a circular glass table on a beautiful outdoor patio - and let them brainstorm and unleash their ideas and energy! It's amazing. Each of us brought to "the table" our ideas for marketing and promoting our book.  We wanted to share those initiatives with all of you up-and-coming authors and self-publishers.

 

• Meeting with independent bookstore owners and pitching the book on consignment coupled with an author signing.
• Contacting college and university alumni offices which run the gamut from the University of Delaware, the University of Pennsylvania . . .  and on . . . and suggesting to former professors that the book be considered for women's studies curriculum as well as alumni magazine features.
• Contact the local Women's Resource Center and women's referral networks in the Philadelphia area.
• Write a blog post for Patch (online community newspaper owned by AOL which offers opportunities to write on topics of interest to the community).
• Schedule programs and panel discussions at local libraries featuring women writers talking about writing, self-publishing and social media - (two programs scheduled).
• Contact book clubs and ask friends to host a book party.
• Contact hospital gift shops to sell the book and offer a book signing.
• Contact nursing homes and assisted living communities to do readings and talk about writing, poetry and memoir.
• Contact hairdressers and chiropractors, (just to name two), by asking them to purchase the book and place it in their offices/shops.
• Ask friends to buy the book and when they agree, immediately put a copy in an envelope and mail off so they have it to show others.
• Approach QVC (headquartered in West Chester, PA) about the book and the possibility to sell it on television. (A long shot, but you never know unless you ask.)
• Contact townships about a table at their community fair days.
• Contact churches about offering the book at craft fairs or for discussion groups.
• Schedule book signings at the local coffeehouse (already scheduled).
• Send out press releases and invite press to author signing and reception and propose they write a feature story on the anthology by making authors available for interviews and photos.
• Partake in book signings in other states offered by friends and family.
• Feature the anthology in the local business school's monthly flyer  (accomplished).
• Speak to patients in the rehab units of two local hospitals about the healing journey of writing (in progress).
• Promote through a magazine cover story (accomplished).
• Schedule a giveaway on Goodreads (accomplished).
• Place the book in a convenience store adjacent to one of the busiest gas stations on the New Jersey Shore (accomplished).
• 
  Offer guest blogs through the online writing community about the collaboration (accomplished, http://krpooler.com/2013/04/29/slants-of-light-interview-with-memoirist-susan-weidener/    Looking for more opportunities to talk about the power of collaboration)

And, this, dear readers, is what we have come up with in just two weeks! Although creating the anthology felt at times like Sisyphus pushing the proverbial "boulder" up the hill, at the end of the day a group of cheering women waited at the top (see the watercolor presented to me by Diane). All of us who author and self-publish can - and must -  cheer each other on. For what all of this comes down to is building relationships and connections with each other, in our communities and in the larger, world community. We would love to "brainstorm" with you, and ask that you leave your promotional ideas of what has worked  - what hasn't - in the comment section.  Many thanks from the authors of Slants of Light.

 

From "Worst" Job to New Beginning

The headline on a Philadelphia Inquirer alumni site on LinkedIn jumped out at me.  "Newspaper reporters have the worst job." 

 

Beneath -  a link to a Wall Street Journal story that actuaries have the best job in America and reporters the worst with a median income of  $36,000.  Couple that with the stress and long hours and for the first time  reporter topped lumberjack as the worst way to earn a living.

 

It seemed impossible how far the profession had fallen since my youthful dreamy-eyed days of becoming the female version of Woodward and Bernstein.    Than again, I have experienced the pain of endless lay-offs and buy-outs with friends and former colleagues.

The quote by a reporter at the end of the WS Journal story struck me: "I’m not sure I’d be happy in another setting. I can’t think of any job that would be as exciting or as fulfilling as this. People in the community are affected by what I write."

  

Which brings me to Morning at Wellington Square. What to do when you lose your career? How to move on? Not only had I lost a career, but the man I loved.  I was alone.  I was an empty nester with nothing left to lose but to venture out and take a  risk . . . which is where the memoir picks up.  I found "pearls" along the way, which was discovering that writing stories from the heart was a talent I never knew I had; better yet I could share that with  others and collaborate with them on writing more stories and together we could make a difference.

For the next three days, I'm offering Morning (it's no coincidence that the word is in bright yellow letters on the cover . . . it represents sunshine, light, a new beginning) for free on Kindle. What better time than Spring to offer up my story of renewal?

 

As memoir writer Mary Gottschalk wrote in her review of my book.  "Throughout her first book, Again in a Heartbeat, the reader senses a nub of strength at the core of this idiosyncratic woman who is raging against the fates. But in Morning at Wellington Square, she stops raging and begins to build a solid foundation for herself as a writer. There is a wonderful, sub rosa metaphor in the fact that Weidener finds her identity in mentoring and supporting other writers ... and at the same time, writes a book that tells a compelling story in a most lovely, lyrical way."

 

From the newsroom to a little bookstore called Wellington Square, I went from the "worst job" to a new beginning.

Do you have a story to share about finding a new beginning?

 

 

Slants of Light - A Collaboration



"None of us is as smart as all of us."  Japanese proverb

Harriet, Susan and Edda

A year to the date we first started discussing collaborating on a book, Slants of Light, the Women’s Writing Circle anthology, debuted.   It was like planting a seed and you weren't sure if it would grow or how strong. None of us could have done this without the other.  

We formed a core committee to make joint decisions about organization, strategy, and implementation.  None of us had done anything like this before and truthfully, I don’t think any of us had a clue how much work it would turn out to be, which is probably for the best. 

Harriet, Edda and Sharon

Our committee consisted of four people, Edda R. Pitassi, Sharon Keys Gray, Harriet Singer and myself.  Those three dedicated themselves tirelessly to this project.  I am forever in their debt.



We spent many afternoons seated around my kitchen table planning, organizing and developing this book, drinking coffee and cranberry juice, munching on fruit, cheese and crackers  . . . laughing, sharing, just getting to know each other.  We came from diverse backgrounds; memoir, poetry, journalism, some of us working, some retired, all dedicated to one creative goal. We knew we were creating something bigger than ourselves and on us rested the hopes of 11 other women  to produce as beautiful and readable a book as possible.  

We spent hours poring over anthology collections, studying how others had done it, what fonts and designs they used to make their book stand out; cover and title.  You really have to do your homework if you’re going to self-publish a book.  This is my third self-published book in three years and publishing an anthology was a far different experience than going solo. I'm still learning as I go along and publishing is changing at lightening speed.   It leaves you breathless. When you're collaborating on a book, you have to listen to everyone, consider all the input, make compromises.  I learned I was pretty good at organizing and motivating other people to keep this project on track and meet the deadlines in the contract we crafted. A learning experience, for sure.

A contract: It's essential!  This way there is no guessing game, no last minute, “But you didn’t tell me that!” from anyone.  So what goes into a contract?   Details, details and more details.  Stuff that takes away from your creative time, which is working on your writing.  But it’s got to be done. And everyone has to sign it.

Fee:  Each woman paid $100 for her submission/submissions.We created a separate bank account to deposit the funds to pay for the editor, the cover illustrator, the printer (CreateSpace). Everyone got to own the copyright to their particular story.

Submission:  Limit two per writer. Contributions could not exceed 5,000 words.  Looking back, I would limit to 4,000 words.

Craft a purpose of intent:  The anthology is intended to reflect our best creative efforts to share, connect, motivate, reward and reach out.  We hope our contributions will add to the widest possible range of experiences and perspectives from our lives and memories.  We approach this project in the spirit of goodwill, and we view the project as a collaborative effort.  We understand that our book - the final product - will be richer and greater than our individual stories.

 

Editing:  Everyone agreed to editing by their peers through critique sessions and the core committee and this was spelled out in the contract.  Still, editing ruffled feathers to the extent that three writers dropped out.  We kept the project open to anyone who wanted to submit, but they had to agree to editing. The committee had the  job of hiring an outside editor who would have the final word on content editing and sequencing of stories and poems in the book. If the contributors didn’t accept editing, they were out.  No ifs, ands or buts.  

Melinda Sherman

I want to thank my friend and fellow writer, Melinda Sherman who I met at an IWWG Conference at Yale in 2011 and who agreed to be our editor.  She was awesome and we couldn’t have done it without her. She retitled many of the stories and poems  to make them more compelling to readers. 

Melinda had worked as an editor for years for McMillian and for Scholastic.  A pro. She was objective and had the final word which took the burden off me.  As creator of the Women’s Writing Circle, I have a dual role, which is writing coach and teacher.  I did not want to muddy the waters with being the one to say, “Hey, this isn’t going to work!”  I figured, let Melinda handle that, including editing the two stories I contributed to the anthology. 



As a former journalist, it always surprises me how resistant some are to editing, even the smallest tweak of their work.  If I had said ‘no’ to my work being edited, I wouldn’t have lasted a day in the newsroom.  Not to mention, I wouldn't have had as good or as polished a piece, which is what all writers should strive.  You have to put your egos on the backburner to the extent that you realize you're working on a collaboration here and one story and one poem flows into another and if one doesn't work, then the reader is going to stop right there and put down the book.  Fortunately, the women who stayed with the book over the summer and fall of 2012 worked hard to incorporate the editing and make the deadlines we had set for final submission. In the end, I think all were grateful for the time and attention we took on each and every story.  And as it turned out, we had a wealth of talent. All we needed was a little molding.

Title: Do your research and pick a title not already used. The committee’s selection of Slants of Light was based on a couple factors. No other book had the title (and adding the subtitle helped)  and we love the Emily Dickinson quote that spoke to that theme and the theme of our book.   Titles we rejected:  Lighting the Candle (connoted a religious message); Pastiche (not everyone familiar with the word). 



Jane Choc

Hiring an illustrator:  The committee felt hiring someone from the local area made sense and was consistent with a collaboration of women from the Philadelphia area.  Jane Choc came to the Circle one day.  She was an illustrator, but I think she was interested in writing children's stories.  We wanted a unique cover that reflected an image of the Circle with slants of light coming in through the window behind the women.  She said she could work from photographs I had taken at readings at the bookstore and create a cover from those.  Jane also created five lovely pen and ink drawings that spoke to the themes in the anthology: childhood, motherhood, aging, career  and relationships.  They're a terrific addition to the book and help break up all the text.

Marketing and publicity.  This is important so no one person gets stuck with all the work.  Creative people don't like the practical aspects of selling a book, but, unfortunately, it's necessary or your work ends up in obscurity and then it's all for naught.  In the contract each woman agreed to actively participate in the marketing and promotion of the book. This included but was not  limited to social networking, book signings, readings, and “meet and greet” the authors at local events.  I'll keep you posted on how that's going!

A lot more went into the anthology; the angst and the frustration that comes with the whole ball of wax - writing and producing a book, no literary agents, no traditional publishers, just your own belief on a wing and a prayer that you've got something to say and you want to share it with an audience before you turn too old to speak anymore!  If you have to work hard at something . . . really hard. . .  then why not at something you're passionate about?  Something that at the end of the day all of us can call our own.

Freeing the Writer - and the Woman

If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people. ~ Virginia Woolf


With publication today of Slants of Light, our About the Authors series concludes with Susan G. Weidener.
 

When I write, I get a chance not only to free the writer within, but free the woman. I explore my fear of aging and death, the loves and the losses of  my life, the anger and the pain. In the process I am letting go and feeling the weight lift. By taking risks with my writing, I can transform and grow as an adult.

As a journalist I met people from all walks of life and backgrounds.  Everyone has a story to tell. It wasn't long after I left the newspaper -  six years ago now, that I realized I had stories I wanted to mine from everyday events, ordinary people and my own day-to-day observations and relationships with others.  The settings of my stories are the living room of a house, a restaurant, a moonlit night in suburbia.

 

My stories in Slants of Light are about two women at very different stages in their lives.   In the first story, "Last Shot at the Brass Ring," the narrator is a widow pondering aging, and the odds of finding romantic love again.  She turns to a popular Internet dating site. What do you call a would-be lover at her age, she wonders as she meets her blind date, Sam,  for brunch?  Certainly not a boyfriend!  Emma feels she has earned “shareholder status in Estee Lauder,” she has purchased so many facial and anti-wrinkling creams over the years in her attempt to remain youthful-looking and attractive. 

She refuses to cash in her chips just because society tells her that older women are disposable.  So she gives it one last shot - a search for romance and connection . . . which begins to look slightly absurd even to her, a diehard romantic, as Sam licks his fingers of their bay seasoning and then launches into stories about his life that become stranger and stranger. You can't make stuff like this up; the story is based in a real encounter  . . .   fact is stranger than fiction . . .  and the humor in it led to the story practically writing itself.

My second story is "Stepping Stone House." Women spend a lot of time in their homes and it seemed the perfect setting to tell the tale of marriage and family.  The young married couple, Claire and Mark, make love in the bedroom with flowered wallpaper and white curtains; the children decorate their rooms with dinosaur and "Abbey Road" posters.  The wedding picture framed in gold on the piano becomes a bittersweet reminder of all that could have been but never will be.

 

The house is the centerpiece to Claire's story of widowhood and a single, working mother with two small children.  As she stands on her deck at night, she thinks back to when she and her husband bought their modest dwelling; believing it a good investment, their hopes high that someday they would move on and "step up" to a bigger and better house . . . naively believing they have all the time in the world to make a life together.  She confronts her shattered dreams, straightens her shoulders and starts all over again, if for no other reason than because she owes it to her children.

I try to broaden the portraits of the women I write about so that they become more than me and my own life, but snapshots that capture "everywoman." These are women searching for love and connection, renewal, if you will, amid a dawning realization that fulfillment comes not from a man or a marriage, but from finding strength within yourself and tapping into your inner spirit and creative passions. 

Through tone and narrative, I hope these women breathe on the page, their voices strong and sure, their insecurities acknowledged, their fragility and their strength exposed without apology. 

The Women's Writing Circle has taught me  how much in common we have as women and how crucial it is to support and validate each other and our voices. 

As our stories capture so well in Slants of Light,  we are not alone on this journey of the feminine.

About Susan:  Susan G. Weidener received her BA in Literature from American University and her MS in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the staff of The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1991 and worked as a reporter in the Inquirer's suburban bureau until 2007. Her critically acclaimed debut book, Again in a Heartbeat, led to writing a sequel, Morning at Wellington Square, published in 2012. Susan started the Women's Writing Circle, a critique and support group for writers in suburban Philadelphia. She is available for talks and lectures on memoir writing and how to find the compelling narrative in your story. Susan lives in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.

To order Slants of Light on CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/4151909

To order on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Slants-Light-Stories-Womens-Writing/dp/1482344505/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366030096&sr=1-3&keywords=Slants+of+Light

"Honest and Gritty" Memoir

"Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation." ~ Graham Greene.

 

Jan L. Backes talks about what inspired her memoir piece, "Heavenly Baseball Diamond" for Slants of Light.

I met Kathy Pooler here on the Women’s Writing Circle blog and have written her quotes in my notebook. On the blog she wrote: “Writing through the pain has helped release the burdens of my heart.”

In the beginning of "Heavenly Baseball Diamond," I was making an attempt to reconcile the pain of my self-loathing that led to a near fatal overdose of anti-depressants. As I grew into the story I realized that writing about my experience could help others and perhaps prevent a single suicide or save someone from having the experience I had at age twenty.

When I write memoir, it is honest and gritty. I am trying to process the sludge lining my aching soul. I am letting go of splinters. Having experienced everything firsthand and having it all be true is, by far, best for the reader. There is no ‘between the lines’ and I’m all there, unwrapped.

I knew, even when I was young, that I didn’t want to carry with me such heartache and pain. I have regrets; some say they have none. It was important for me to get my feelings out and across. The events in my story were real. I took fifty pills with a can of beer.

I recall the look and feel of the baseball diamond itself; barren, dusty and worn down with no real bases to speak of. I was never able to hit a ball there. It may still sit on the campus in Eagleville, PA where I was rehabilitated in the early 1980’s.

Writing about my darkest days helped awaken my bruised spirit. I nourished myself by letting out my words. As I started to write, memories of my attempted suicide bombarded me. Instead of hiding, I gave myself permission to write from a deep place in my soul. I began to realize that my voice is strong and could help others.

Being part of the Women's Writing Circle provides me with a safe place to create and share my life stories. That is where we find our 'slants of light' . . . light that inspires us to reach in and then to reach out.

Jan Backes grew up in Levittown, PA and graduated from Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills. "I’ve dabbled in attempts at writing poetry. 'Heavenly Baseball Diamond,' as it appears in the anthology, is one of my only edited stories," she says.