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
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