I wrote my first book in 1988. I had been a medical social worker for 9 years with no intention of writing anything but notes in charts. It became painfully obvious how anxious and scared my patients and their family members were. A lot of my time was spent helping them feel less frightened. I noticed along the way they felt more empowered. It occurred to me if they just knew the questions to ask or who to go to it would make a huge difference. My book, Patient Power: How to Have a Say During Your Hospital Stay, evolved from these experiences. It was surprisingly easy. I contacted 5 publishers after never writing anything before. I found myself with a book contract.  

After my daughter was born 15 years ago I knew I needed something to keep my social work skills and brain cells intact. I was lucky enough to have the choice to be a stay at home mom. My career needed to find a new direction. Experienced writers tell us to know the subject you are writing about. My 35 year career in social work taught me a lot about people, healthcare, counseling, and crisis management when something catastrophic happens. 

It was not easy to build our family. I started late getting married at age 42. There was a fertility clinic at the hospital I worked at. It was obvious we would have to start there. That familiar theme of feeling helpless in the midst of a medical crisis emerged again only this time I was the patient. I went through 3 years of miscarriages and in vitro fertilization treatments.  We had one final chance. I understood I could not continue to undergo the havoc this treatment imposed on my body, life and mind. I made a promise to myself. If we were successful in having a healthy baby I would help others who had gone through the hell and havoc infertility created. Our daughter, Grace, was born, and along with her my next book emerged.

Riding the Infertility Roller Coaster: A Guide to Educate and Inspire fulfilled that promise. It was published in 2006. I mistakenly believed it would be easier to get published having written a book already. It was surprising how much the publishing world had changed. There were many pitches written to numerous publishers. Several publishers responded that people did not care about infertility. I knew they were wrong. 

Luckily I found a publisher who understood “stay at home mom’s” had both talent and important things to say. She called her publishing concept a “woman’s co-operative. I loved the idea of being a part of this selected collective of bright and talented women. We supported each other’s writing and cheered our respective successes.

I understood that I now officially was a patient advocate. I had a huge learning curve around marketing. My Facebook page and Twitter site were created. They focused on infertility related topics. There were hundreds of health related articles that I wrote for multiple major on line sites. I became a guest blogger too. I did my own marketing and got many radio interviews and some magazine coverage. The other lesson I learned was entering book contests was invaluable. I was fortunate enough to be nominated for 4 book awards which promoted sales and got me lots of free press. It was great experience for me. It also helped me network with other people and helped raise my visibility and sell books. 

Most importantly, I connected with people all over the world who struggled with infertility. A woman from Shri Lanka wrote me to tell me she felt she was alone until she read my book. Workshops, speeches, and some counseling also helped me stay connected with others. It has been gratifying and moving in ways I could not imagine.

The book that brought me to She Writes Publishing is a memoir on my father and a guide to help others who are taking care of their aging parents. It is called, Role Reversal How to Take Care of Yourself and your Aging Parents. In many ways it feels like my most personal endeavor with my father’s death this past year. It is his story and my family’s story. 

The publishing world again has changed with a different landscape and new challenges. I am grateful to She Writes Press for giving me the opportunity to share my story and my book. My hope is that it will ultimately help people who find themselves in this ultimate role reversal. There are currently 45 million people in this position.  

I love the boutique publishing model that SWP offers. The way SWP facilitate’s my connection with their other writers helps me feel less alone and more empowered. SWP creates a strong, collective effort working with the SWP team of experts. They bring their individual skills, talent, and experience, to fine tune the work their selected authors present. Hopefully that creates a more successful and quality product for all concerned. 

My previous author experience has taught me the most challenging aspect of the publication process is the distribution and marketing. SWP understands that and has built those components into their publishing company model. I find that very appealing. 

This publishing model makes sense to me in the current publishing world where unless you have a name like Rowling, King, or Grisham, it is tough to break through.

So here I am on the eve of the final creation and publication of my new book. It is terrifying and exciting. I am prepared to go the distance in terms of my efforts to promote this book. I never feel it is real until I am holding my book in my hands. I jumped on the truck to help the Fed Ex driver unload boxes with my last book. I look forward to doing it again. Good luck to my fellow authors.