HAY HOUSE

Quick Start
Publishing Guide

1) Preparing Your Manuscript

2) Building Your Platform

3) Creating Your Press Kit

 A FEW THOUGHTS ON FIRST
DRAFTS, REVISION AND EDITING
OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT
First Drafts
It’s important to get your first draft down - be it messy, riddled with clichés, tense changes, purple prose.
Write to the end, or what you believe is the end. Be willing to leave imperfection in your wake. Without
that first draft you cannot delve into the important questions; what am I writing about, what’s at stake,
what are my themes? First drafts are like forays into a mine; you will unearth jewels and also a great
deal of rough material. Don’t fall into the trap of endlessly rewriting and refining your first chapter. You
might jettison it, it might become your third chapter. Write ... write to the end … If you are working on
a computer and you have a tendency to go back and correct and rework sentences, consider darkening
your screen and plunging forward. Yes, your draft will be messy with many typos, but you will be writing
forward, into the unknown, not constantly circling around to reread your work When you reach what
you think is the end, put your draft aside for a few days, or even weeks before reading it.

Some writers will, after reading that first draft, do another complete rewrite, That’s right, they get a
sense of the story they want to tell and they start all over again. They’re willing to keep exploring.

Think of your words as being malleable, your paragraphs fluid. Don’t let your prose turn into concrete,
don’t become too attached to those pixels on your computer screen, don’t become too attached to the
words on your pages. They’re all in service of a story and you cannot/ will not use everything. If you are
loathe to part with your darlings, create a folder on your computer where you keep all your remnants.

Outlines
Writers often ask me if I outline my work before writing that first draft. When I’m writing fiction,
the answer is no. Mapping out the journey ahead of time greatly reduces the chance that you will be
surprised along the way, that you will discover aspects of your characters,developments to your plot,
that you never dreamed of and yet are exactly what the book needs. Trust me – this has happened to
me many times.

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Even when working on a memoir you limit the opportunities for discovery if you doggedly stick to an
outline. Yes, you are writing about your life, your experience. But it is the willingness not to ‘know’
where you are going, that often leads you to uncover hidden truths that will illuminate some aspect of
your story.
Many nonfiction writers create a loose outline before taking on a first draft. In this instance it helps
you organize your material and knowing what you intend to cover in each chapter frees you up to
do so in a creative way. The outline creates a ‘container’ in which to work.

Revision
After you read that first draft you will often have a big picture view of your book - this is why taking
a break from the work helps, one returns invigorated and insights often pop during the read through.
If you are working with fiction or a memoir it can now be helpful to write a breakdown of your
chapters in which you list the themes and scenes and what you are hoping to accomplish with each
chapter. Use this as a guide for subsequent draft

Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you start your revisions
(note I used the plural revisions!)

* Do the opening paragraphs capture the reader’s attention? Sometimes first novels or the
first attempts at a memoir or a book of non fiction can meander along for several pages before
landing somewhere dynamic. Make sure your opening pages aren’t a form of ‘throat clearing‘

* After reading the opening chapter of a novel or a memoir we need to have a sense of the
major conflict in the work, the setting, the character and the themes of the work.

* Make a list of the many failings that all of us will have in our early drafts - clichés,
overwrought prose, abrupt changes of point of view, meaningless dialogue and needless
detail, passive voice, lengthy scenes that are obviously filler and can be summarized or
cut, sections of narration that would be far more powerful if dramatized. Now read your
chapters on the hunt for any of these inevitable blunders.

* Does your dialogue advance your narrative and reveal character? Do your characters all
sound the same? Do they use the same expressions?

* Think about your narrative, your plot. Is it arising out of character, is it character in action?
Is the struggle worth the story?

* Are your characters ‘wanting’ and pursuing those wants and needs either consciously or
unconsciously? And do your character have choices, ways of acting or not acting?

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 * Would your narrative be stronger if you changed the point of view?

* Do your scenes matter? They must have either narrative, emotional or thematic significance.

* Sometimes prose that is written from the first person point of view can seem wearying
- all those references to the I. Sometimes it can come across as narcissistic. If you are
writing a memoir, play around with hiding some of those “I”s, and making your prose more
immediate. Look at this simple example.

I couldn’t believe what Mark had told me. I found it unbelievable that for twelve years my husband had lied
to me about the death of his parents. And here it is with the ‘I’s hidden. Mark’s words stunned me. He’d
been lying for twelve years about the death of his parents.

*Some writers produce spare first drafts and have to expand their work. Other writers produce
voluminous first drafts. If you lean towards the latter take a ten page section of your work and cut
all that is extraneous. Delete all repetitive phrases. Are there two scenes that essentially convey the
same information? Choose one. Do you repeat yourself in one paragraph after another, saying the
same thing over and over again? If so chose the strongest paragraph. Do you have characters in your
narrative who are essentially serving the same purpose? Choose one. Is this section stronger after
having made these cuts?

Micro-revision and editing.

* Look out for redundant expressions. I thought to myself. I blinked my eyes. I came to a
complete stop.

* Look at your dialogue tags. “Oh, please please don’t read the letter now,” she said
beseechingly. The use of please, please in your dialogue reveals a great deal about your
character’s emotional state. It’s cleaner, simpler if you write “Oh, please, please don’t read
the letter now,” she said.

* Look at your paragraphs. Are they all the same length? Is that your writer’s habit, a tic of
sorts, or intentional?

* Look at your sentences. Are they varied? Are you using rhythm to advance and support
your narrative.

* Look at your verbs. We have such dynamic verbs in the English language. Use them!

* Consider the visuals. How does the piece look? Consider the placement of your
paragraphs and the use of white space.

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READ YOUR WORK OUT LOUD. This step is key. Set aside some time and read your work out
loud, chapter by chapter. If you are stumbling over a sentence, chances are your reader will as well.
Do you need to catch a breath? Look at your punctuation. Do you have run on sentences that make
no sense? You’ll discover them as you read out loud.

HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ YOUR WORK. We all need feedback from readers we can trust –
trust to be generous and honest with their criticism. It’s a common occurrence for writers to not
get all that’s needed onto the page. As you write you are also telling yourself the story, filling in
tidbits of information internally. You are deeply familiar with your material, we aren’t. Sometimes
writers forget to include basic details crucial to their book of non fiction or their novel or memoir,
and an unbiased reader can point this out to you. Also ask your reader to tell you what they think
your book is about, what are the themes. If it’s fiction or a memoir ask your reader to tell you their
perceptions of your characters. Reading is subjective, our personal experience colors all that we
read; still, you need to know if you have successful in using words to recreate that dazzling world
in your imagination, or that message you want to share with others

Now that I have given you some pointers, here is quote from the wonderful writer Isaac Babel on his
process of revision.

“I work like a pack mule, but it’s my own choice. I’m like a galley slave who’s chained for life to his oar but who
loves the oar. Everything about it…I go over each sentence, time and again. I start by cutting all the words it
can do without. You have to keep your eye on the job because words are very sly, the rubbishy ones go into
hiding and you have to dig them out – repetitions, synonyms, things that simply don’t mean anything…I
go over every image, metaphor, comparison, to see if they are fresh and accurate. If you can’t find the right
adjective for a noun, leave it alone. Let the noun stand by itself. A comparison must be as accurate as a slide
rule, and as natural as the smell of fennel…I take out all the participles and adverbs I can…Adverbs are lighter.
They can even lend you wings in a way. But too many of them make language spineless…A noun needs only
one adjective, the choicest. Only a genius can afford two adjectives to one noun…Line is as important in prose
as in an engraving. It has to be clear and hard…But the most important thing of all…is not to kill the story by
working on it. Or else all your labor has been in vain. It’s like walking a tight-rope. Well, there it is…We ought
all to take an oath not to mess up our job” – Isaac Babel

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A Short Reading List

The Right to Write - Julia Cameron (terrific book to foster your creativity)

Becoming a Writer - Dorothea Brande (a classic - simple and so clear)

Thinking about Memoir - Abigail Thomas (great exercises in this book, and great insights)

One Year to a Writing Life - Susan Tiberghien (she takes you deep into the creative process and also
illuminates aspects of the craft)

Reading Like A Writer - Francince Prose (a stunning book with brilliant examples and insight into the
writers craft)

Naming the World - edited by Bret Anthony Johnston (a collection of craft exercises and
explorations from well known and established writers)
The Elements of Style - Strunk and White (an excellent handbook on grammar and punctuation)

The Writer’s Toolbox - Jamie Callan (have fun with this one! and hone your story telling skills)

Your Story - Joanna Fedler (guides you to write from your life, but for the benefit of others)

Inspirational Quotes For Writers

The Creative Process

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because
there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through
any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine
how good it is; nor how valuable it is; nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business
to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in
yourself and your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you.
Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction, whatever, at any time. There
is only a queer divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more
alive than the others.”
Martha Graham to Agnes de Mille

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“One must be pitiless about this matter of mood. In a sense, the writing will create the mood.
If art is, as I believe it to be a genuinely transcendental function -- a means by which we rise
out of limited, parochial states of mind -- then it should not matter very much what states of
mind or emotion we are in. Generally I’ve found this to be true: I have forced myself to begin
writing when I’ve been utterly exhausted, when I’ve felt my soul as thin as a playing card,
when nothing has seemed worth enduring for another five minutes ... and somehow the
activity of writing changes everything.”
Joyce Carol Oates

“Good books write themselves, and this can be said from a small but successful book like
Ripley to longer and greater works of literature. If the writer thinks about his material long
enough, until it becomes a part of his mind and his life, and he goes to bed and wakes up
thinking about it then at last when he starts to work, it will flow out as if by itself. A writer
should feel geared to his book during the time he is writing it, whether that takes six weeks,
six months, a year or more. It is wonderful the way bits of information, faces, names,
anecdotes, all kinds of impressions that come in from the outside world during the writing
period, will be usable in the book, if one is in tune with the book and its needs. Is the writer
attracting the right things, or is some process keeping out the wrong ones? Probably it?s a
mixture of both.”
Patricia Highsmith

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

“... in order to engage our attention and sympathy, the central character must want and want
intensely. The thing that character wants need not be violent or spectacular; it is the intensity of
the wanting that counts. She may want only to survive, but if so she must want enormously to
survive, and there must be distinct cause to doubt that she will succeed.”
Janet Burroway

“Tolstoy employed a method of characterization that he termed “shading,” building a character out
of contradictions. A coldhearted character would be first presented in a state of passion so that
the reader could then have the pleasure of discovering that that was not the true character.”
Oakley Hall

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“Properly used gestures - plausible, in no way stagy or extreme, yet unique and specific - are like
windows opening to let us see a person’s soul, his or her secret desires, fears or obsessions, the
precise relations between that person and the self, between the self and the world...”
Francine Prose

PLOT

“We have defined a story as a narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence. A plot is also a
narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality. ‘The king died and then the queen died,’ is a
story. ‘The king died, and then the queen died of grief,’ is a plot. The time sequence is preserved,
but the sense of causality overshadows it. Consider the death of the queen. If it is in a story we
say ‘and then?’ If it is in a plot we ask ‘why?’”
E. M. Forster

“A story is a series of events recorded in their chronological order. A plot is a series of events
deliberately arranged so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic, and emotional significance. A story
gives us only “what happened next,”whereas plot’s concern is “what, how, and why’ with scenes
ordered to highlight the workings of cause and effect”

Janet Burroway

DIALOGUE

“Often the most forceful dialogue can be achieved by not having the characters say what they
mean. People in extreme emotional states-whether of fear, pain, anger, or love-are at their least
articulate. There is more narrative tension in a love scene where the lovers make anxious small
talk, terrified of revealing their feelings, than in one where they hop into bed. A character who
is able to say “1 hate you!” hates less than one who bottles the fury and pretends to submit,
unwilling to expose the truth. Dialogue often fails if it is too eloquent. “
Janet Burroway

“Dialogue, as much as anything else, reveals the character to the writer and, ultimately, to the
reader. I don’t have a very clear idea of who the characters are until they start talking”
Joan Didion

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LANGUAGE/STYLE

“Words set up atmosphere, electrical fields, charges. I’ve felt them doing it. Words conjure.”
Toni Cade Bambara

“Style is a very simple matter; it is all about rhythm. Once you get that, you can’t use the wrong
words… Now this is very profound, what rhythm is, and goes far deeper than words. A sight, an
emotion creates this wave in the mind, long before it makes words to fit it.”
Virginia Woolf

“The breaking up into paragraphs and the punctuation have to be done properly but only for
the effect on the reader. A set of dead rules is no good. A new paragraph is a wonderful thing. It
lets you quietly change the rhythm, and it can be like a flash of lightening that shows the same
landscape from a different aspect.”
Isaac Babel

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Notes:

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 MARKETING
GUIDELINES & TIPS

One of the most important parts of your book launch is building your platform, which means
expanding your online presence in ways that help you reach people and make them aware of who
you are and what you have to offer.

These are the essential pieces of your marketing platform and guidelines to optimizing each –

WEBSITE PLATFORM

0 Make sure your email sign-up is clearly visible on each page of your website

0 Offer a gift with the email sign-up to incentivize customers to subscribe; this should be a valu-
able piece of free content that is easy for you to create and distribute via a download (i.e. - med-
itation, e-book, chapter, etc.)

0 Add your book image, title, and pre-order links on your homepage for pre-sale on Amazon, B&N,
Books-A-Million, Chapters Indigo (if in Canada) at least 30 days prior to book release
Once your book releases, change the pre-order links to “Now Available
Everywhere Books are Sold” and also include links to the e-book (Amazon,
B&N, Apple, Google, etc.)

0 Include a professional photo or image of yourself to start to build your brand

0 Add videos and interactive content

0 Add links to all of your social media and integrate feeds onto your site with widgets, etc.

0 Start a blog that is connected to your site and promote via all of your marketing channels. Add it
to your homepage to make your site more interactive and increase your SEO rankings

0 Include links to articles you’ve written

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EMAIL PLATFORM

0 Grow your database!!

0 Create giveaways periodically on your marketing channels to increase sign-ups
0 Develop and offer free content frequently to keep your audience subscribed and engaged
(tips, message of the day, weekly podcasts, special offers, etc.)
0 Bring an email sign-up form to lectures/events that you do
0 To determine the rate at which you will want to send emails to your audience, pay attention to your
analytics (i.e.- open rates, click through rates, and opt-outs) to evaluate what is or isn’t working

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

Set up social media accounts

0 Facebook Fan Page
0 Twitter
0 Pinterest (photo, video content)
0 YouTube Channel (video content)
0 Instagram

Use Your Network

0 Create a list of your business and personal contacts
0 Identify contacts that will help promote your book via their email, social media, website, or any
other channels
0 Reach out to potential business contacts and like-minded individuals, providing them with an
excerpt, info about the book and release date to see if they will help promote
0 Keep track of who you reach out to, who agrees to help you, when they would be helping to spread
the word, and what their reach is (approximate number of email subscribers to their list, social
media followers, etc.
0 Keep in communication with contacts who will be helping you and provide them with suggested
timeframes for promotion

Miscellaneous
0 Work on your Marketing Plan and keep it up-to-date with new developments, ideas, etc.

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Notes:

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 HOW TO CREATE YOUR PRESS KIT
PART ONE: This first page of your press kit should include a synopsis of the book as well as the author’s
short bio, book cover image, author photo, book sales information and media contact information.

For example:

Mind Over Medicine:

Scientific Proof You Can Heal Yourself Title, Subtitle
by Lissa Rankin, M.D.
& Author Name
Book Cover Clinical trials show that up to 80 percent of patients given a placebo heal
Image themselves with the power of the mind alone. But how?

There is documented evidence that beliefs, thoughts, and feelings can cure the
body. And this book not only reveals the data from mainstream medical journals;
it tells you step-by-step how you can implement this knowledge to make your
body ripe for spontaneous remission or disease prevention.

For years, pioneers in the medical community have been extolling the virtues of the mind’s power to heal the
body. Yet their insights into the connection between our physiological states and our thoughts, beliefs, and
emotions have long been dismissed by modern medicine as New-Age quackery and pseudoscience. Until now,
Book Synopsis few have made a definitive, scientifically-documented case that the mind indeed has the power to prevent
illness and even cure the body.

Intrigued but skeptical that the mind could heal the body, Western-trained physician Lissa Rankin, M.D. pored
over hundreds of objectively evaluated, peer-reviewed studies from medical journals to find proof not just that
thoughts and feelings originating in the mind can heal the body, but also that there are clear physiological
mechanisms explaining how this happens. In short, the body is equipped with natural self-repair mechanisms
that the mind has the power to flip on or off. In Mind Over Medicine, she explains how this process works,
proves with extraordinary case studies from the medical literature that it does, and teaches practical techniques
you can use to activate the body’s natural self-healing mechanisms, while shutting off the processes that
predispose to illness.

About the Author

Lissa Rankin, M.D. is an integrative medicine physician, author, speaker, artist, and founder of
the popular online health and wellness communities LissaRankin.com and OwningPink.com.
Her research led her to discover that patients have self-healing powers beyond our wildest
imaginings, which we can effectively manipulate with the mind. She is on a mission to heal
health care, help patients play a more active role in healing themselves, and encourage the
health-care industry to embrace and facilitate, rather than resist, such miracles. Lissa is
Author Photo recognized on the Huffington Post’s Top 16 Health Experts to Follow On Twitter, Top Ten U.S.
Twitter Doctors, and Forbes.com 20 Inspiring Women To Follow On Twitter lists. Short Author
MEDIA CONTACT:
Biography
Richelle Zizian
Publicity Manager
Hay House
[email protected]
*Be sure to include
[email protected]
###-###-####
646.484.4954 Book Sales Information author website, book
Media Contact website, and social
Be sure to include the publication date, price and
Available: May 7, 2013
Information Price: USA/CAN $24.95
media links.
ISBN number.
ISBN: 9781401939984

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PART TWO: The second page of your press kit should be an excerpt from the book. The excerpt is a
great way to share the tone and style of the book. Also, many editors will use the excerpt as an article.
That being said it is important to keep your excerpt at about 600-1,000 words that will embody a
complete article. Avoid pulling excerpts that use verbiage such as “in this book,” “as mentioned
previously,” “as you will learn in chapter,” etc.

Be sure to include the excerpt information at the header of the document. This should state that the
document is an excerpt and include the title of the book it was pulled from, the author’s name, the
publisher’s name, the publication date, and where the book is available to be purchased.

For example: The  following  is  an  excerpt  from  Money:  A  Love  Story,  written  by  Kate  Northrup,  published  by  Hay  House  
(September,  2013)  available  in  bookstores  or  online  at  www.HayHouse.com  
 

INTRODUCTION   Excerpt Information

Anyone  who  says  they  don’t  have  money  issues  is  lying—or  perhaps  they’re  simply  delusional.  Money  is  so   *Be sure to state that it
omnipresent   in   our   lives   and   yet   so   rarely   discussed   on   a   deeper   level   that   we   don’t   even   understand   the  
influence  it  has  on  us.     is an excerpt, the name
You   see,   the   thing   about   money   is   that   it’s   a   stand-­‐in   for   something   else.   In   essence,   we   trade   money   for   of the book, author,
what   we   want,   for   things   that,   in   our   eyes,   have   a   certain   value.   The   economy   is   simply   a   system   of   value   publishers, publica-
exchange.   That’s   it.   Money   in   and   of   itself   is   nothing.   It’s   what   money   represents   that   makes   the   whole   shebang  
a  little  complex.   tion date, and retailer
For   some,   money   is   a   stand-­‐in   for   love.   For   others,   it’s   a   stand-­‐in   for   comfort   or   joy   or   pleasure.   And   for   information
others,   money   is   a   stand-­‐in   for   happiness.   And   this   assigning   of   value   brings   with   it   all   the   emotions   of   any  
relationship.  To  even  suggest  that  money  is  related  to  love  has  the  power  to  offend.  I  have  yet  to  meet  someone  
who   doesn’t   have   an   emotional   charge   around   money.   Whether   they   have   millions   of   dollars   or   a   few   singles   to  
their  name,  money  carries  some  serious  weight  for  nearly  every  individual  living  in  our  culture.  However,  despite  
money   being   such   a   weighty   issue   for   some,   it’s   not   possible   to   survive   anywhere   on   the   vast   majority   of   the  
planet  without  participating  in  the  economy  in  some  way.  So,  it’s  about  time  we  got  our  money  story  straight.  

***  

Most  people  who  admit  to  having  money  problems  think  that  the  way  to  start  the  whole  process  of  fixing  
them  is  by  learning  more  of  the  right  actions  to  take  around  their  money.  They  think  that  if  they  were  just  to  
read  the  right  personal  finance  book  or  invest  in  the  right  stocks  or  hire  the  right  CPA  that  all  would  be  well.  But  
from  what  I’ve  found,  these  folks  are  approaching  it  from  entirely  the  wrong  direction.      
In   my   experience   of   moving   from   debt   to   financial   freedom—and   the   experiences   of   others   whom   I’ve  
observed—I’ve   come   to   realize   that   the   most   important   place   to   start   is   also   the   one   that’s   most   often  
overlooked:  ourselves.  Figuring  out  where  we  stand  with  money  takes  a  lot  of  self-­‐reflection  and  understanding.  
Because,  as  with  any  good  love  story,  our  relationship  with  money  has  its  ups  and  downs  and  twists  and  turns.  
We’re  enamored.  We’re  in  love.  We  hate  its  guts  and  swear  we  will  never  do  “xyz”  again.  We  fight.  We  make  up.  
We  let  go  too  fast  and  hold  on  too  long.    
As   with   any   relationship,   the   key   to   dealing   with   your   financial   woes   lies   within.   It’s   not   about   beating  
yourself  up  or  putting  strict  guidelines  on  what  you  can  and  cannot  buy.  It’s  about  seeing  the  part  you  play  in  
your   relationship.   It’s   about   identifying   the   value   of   things   in   your   life.   It’s   about   seeing   who   you   truly   are   in  
relation  to  money.  To  have  a  good  relationship  with  money,  you  must  know  who  you  are  and  what  your  purpose  
is  in  this  world.    
While  I  don’t  have  a  preconceived  notion  of  what  your  purpose  on  the  planet  is,  I  do  know  that  to  live  it  you  
must  be  totally  present.  And  it’s  much  easier  to  be  present  when  you  don’t  have  static  in  your  financial  life—
static  that  can  hold  you  back  from  enjoying  expansive,  big  thinking  about  the  state  of  the  world  and  what  you  
have   to   offer,   as   well   as   from   relishing   in   the   deliciously   mundane   moments   of   walking   your   kid   to   school   or  
watching   a   fire   burn   in   your   wood   stove.   When   you’re   present   you   can   hear   yourself   better.   Then   you   can   be   of  
greater   service   and   give   your   whole   self—mind,   body,   and   soul.   And   the   bottom   line   is,   it’s   easier   to   become  
you,  the  most  robust  version,  when  you’re  not  freaked  out  about  money  all  the  time.  
 
***  ***  
 
 
Word  Count:    680  

Word Count
*It is best to keep the excerpt no less than 600 words and no more than 1,000

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PART THREE: Talking points are used to offer those in the media interesting points that are made in
your book and position them as news-worthy items. This is where you recommend a topic within the
book that provokes discussion. Your talking points should support your case or claim and should be
interesting and credible to your audience.

For example:

Interview Topics & Talking Points

1. How Friendship Can Save Your Life- The data suggests that community is more important for preventative
health- or treatment- than daily exercise or quitting smoking. In fact, people with a strong social network have
half the rate of heart disease when compared to lonely people.

2. Go To Church, Live 14 Years Longer- People who attend religious services live up to 14 years longer than
those who don't. But you don't have to go to church to enjoy these benefits. Meditation, time in nature, prayer,
and other spiritual practices all reduce stress responses in the nervous system and activate relaxation responses
that turn off harmful stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine and turn on healing hormones like oxytocin,
dopamine, nitric oxide, and endorphins.

3. Seeing Life As "Glass Half Full" Reduces Your Risk Of Heart Disease- Optimists are 45% less likely to get sick-
and 77% less likely to die of heart disease- than pessimists, and there's good news. If you're a born pessimist,
optimism can be learned.

4. The One Secret To Cutting Your Heart Disease Risk in Half While Eating Junk Food, Being A Couch Potato, &
Smoking - The data from the Italian immigrants of Roseto, Pennsylvania show that you can eat pizza, pasta, and
meatballs fried in lard, drink a bottle of wine every night, and smoke cigarettes while cutting your heart disease
risk in half by doing one thing- spending time with a community of people you care about. As it turns out,
alleviating loneliness is more important for prevention or treat of disease than quitting smoking or starting to
exercise.

5. How 18-80% Of People Cure Themselves With Nothing But A Sugar Pill- The medical establishment has been
proving the body can heal itself for over 50 years. We call it “the placebo effect” and it’s been a thorn in the side
of modern medicine. But this is good news because it proves that the body is equipped with natural self-repair
mechanisms that are under the influence of the power of the mind.

6. Why Wedding Bells Are Good For Your Health- A University of California-Los Angeles study found that those
who never marry are 58% more likely to die at a young age than those who exchange vows. Happily married
people also have lower blood pressures and less insomnia.

7. How Being Happy Can Increase Your Longevity By 10 Years. Depression affects more than 21 million
Americans annually, affecting 21% of Americans, and 28% of Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder. One in
five Americans take psychiatric medications, mostly anti-depressants. Yet depression increases cancer risk, is a
major risk factor for heart disease, and is linked to a variety of pain disorders, and anxiety has been shown to
increase cancer risk and increase carotid artery atherosclerosis, predisposing to heart disease and stroke.

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15
8. 10 Scientifically-Proven Ways To Help Your Mind Heal Your Body- The body is equipped with natural self-
repair mechanisms that are under the control of the mind. But the body’s self-repair mechanisms are only
effective when the nervous system is in a state of relaxation. When the body is stressed, it’s too busy in “fight or
flight” mode to engage in self-repair. Yet, it’s not random. There are scientifically-proven techniques you can
utilize to turn off the body’s stress responses and turn on the relaxation responses that activate the body’s
natural self-repair.

1. Meditation.
2. Creative expression.
3. Going to church.
4. Hanging out with your friends.
5. Have sex.
6. Play with animals.
7. Get a massage.
8. Do yoga.
9. Express gratitude.
10. Be optimistic.

9. How To Program Your Child’s Mind For Optimal Health- Limiting beliefs, such as the belief that the body
can’t heal itself, are programmed into the subconscious of our children’s brains by the time they are six years
old, and these programs usually come from unconscious parenting. But as parents, we can take conscious action
to ensure that our kids’ minds are programmed with their best interests at heart to ensure a lifetime of optimal
health for our children.

10. How to Avoid Being The Victim of Medical Hexing- What your doctor believes about your health and
prognosis- and what they communicate to you- affects your outcome. The placebo effect’s evil twin- the nocebo
effect- can be activated when you’re the victim of “medical hexing,” the negative beliefs that can be
programmed into your mind by health care providers. So what can you do if your doctor believes your
incurable?

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PART FOUR: The author interview is your opportunity to highlight the most interesting, controversial,
and/or newsworthy concepts of your book in a “Q and A” format. Often, media will look at the author
interview first to find an interesting fact that can tie into a show or interview. In addition, there are
times when radio hosts (who are short on time) will use the author interview as the backbone of their
interview – which also gives you an opportunity to control the flow and direction of your interview. We
recommend formulating 8-10 questions with concise, direct answers.

For example:

An Interview with Denise Marek

1. As the Worry Management Expert, were you ever a worrier?

Absolutely! I was a chronic worrier. In fact, when I was a kid, my mom used to tell me,
“Denise, if there was nothing in the world to worry about, you’d find something!” I didn’t let
that stop me; I kept on worrying right on into adulthood. I worried about my weight, my
appearance, my job, and my finances. I worried about making mistakes and being alone. You
name it, I worried it. Yet, here I am today—a non-worrier. I believe that means there’s hope
for everyone, because if I could learn to calm my worries, anyone can! I have first-hand
experience with chronic worry and I fully understand the pain it causes. I know how freeing it
is to control the worry instead of letting it control you. I’m not a doctor, and in my book I don’t
give medical advice. Instead, I detail the strategies that have helped not only me, but
thousands of women who have taken my worry-management seminars across North
America. Apply these same strategies to your life and you will stop worrying. It’s that simple.

2. Your book was written for women, don’t men worry?

A woman will admit to worrying before a man will, but men do worry. In fact, men often ask
me, “Why is your book just for women?” I used to respond, “Men tell me they don’t worry.”
But time and time again, they replied, “Oh, yes we do!” Many of the strategies in my book are
aimed specifically at women. However, the CALM process is something that can help reduce
worry in both men and women.

3. How does worry affect our lives?

There is no doubt that worry affects our health and relationships, our business and financial
lives. If you were to look at the origin of the word “worry”, it comes from the Old English word
“wyrgan”, meaning to strangle or choke. Worry can cause you to choke financially, socially,
spiritually, professionally, and mentally. Worry also takes an incredible physical toll. Stress—
and worry is one of the root causes of stress—has been known to contribute to hypertension,
heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, ulcers, back pain, and headaches. Worry can also cause you
to store fat. I love telling this to a roomful of women! The reaction is almost always the same:
“Well, that explains a lot!” Stress causes an increase in the body’s level of cortisol. Cortisol is
a hormone that can cause your body to store fat in the abdominal area. Excess fat in the belly
has been shown to increase a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer.

It’s easy to see that worry affects individuals; however, it also affects entire organizations.
Worry in an organization—whether relating to job security, performance, the economy, or
whatever else—can cause a company to choke financially. In fact, many employers don’t
realize worrying comes with a price tag. Stress and worry is estimated to cost North American
industries a whopping $200-$300 billion annually! Worry in the workplace ultimately takes the
form of absenteeism, direct medical costs, employee turnover, accidents, and diminished
productivity. Clearly, worry can dramatically affect a company’s bottom line.

4. What are some of the unhealthy ways people cope with worry?

People tend to deal with worry by overspending, overworking, overprotecting, oversedating,

or overmedicating. They may develop changes in their eating or sleeping habits.
Unfortunately, most of the things on this coping list only add fuel to the fire. Suppose, for
instance, you’re worried about your weight and you overeat to sedate your worry—as many

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17
people do. What will happen? Your weight will increase, you’ll worry about the weight gain,
you’ll overeat to sedate the worry and the cycle will continue. Or, imagine you have financial
stress in a relationship and you cope with that concern by overspending. What will happen?
You’ll increase your debt, your money worries will grow, and the cycle continues. The beauty
of the CALM process is that it gives you a proven formula to manage worry in a healthy way
so that you can reconnect with your inner peace and put an end to these destructive patterns.
It’s a simple process, yet it’s profoundly effective.

5. What is the CALM process?

CALM is a four-step process to eliminate worry, break free from self-limiting beliefs, and
cultivate inner peace. Each of the four steps begins with a letter in the word CALM. The “C”
stands for Challenge Your Assumptions. Most of our worries begin as an assumption that
something we don’t want to happen might happen or that it already has. So it’s important to
learn how to challenge your assumptions before they snowball into a massive amount of
worry. The “A” comes from Act to Control the Controllable. The “L” represents Let Go of the
Uncontrollable and the “M” corresponds to Master Your Mind. Here’s where mastering your
mind comes into play: it’s your inner dialogue that largely dictates whether you feel worried or
calm. When you master your mind, you’re able to regain control of your thinking and, as a
result, reconnect with your inner peace.

6. In the section of your book that talks about “Mastering Your Mind,” you write about
how to put an end to “What-if” thinking. How do you do that?

Back when I was a worrier, I was consumed by “What-if” thoughts. Here are two strategies
that really helped me re-examine these thoughts. First I asked myself: Will it matter 12
months from now? I found that most of the things I wasted my time and energy worrying
about were really not that serious in the grand scheme of things. So it’s a great initial
question for restoring your perspective.

However, I did find that there were times when I asked myself that question and my answer
was: Yes! If what I’m worried about happens, it will matter 12 months from now! If that was
the case, I affirmed to myself: I’ll handle it! Really, when you think about everything you’ve
already handled in your life up to this point, you can see that you’ve been able to work
through everything life has sent your way. It follows that you’ll be able to deal with whatever
comes up for you in the future. Developing your belief in your ability to handle anything is key
to discovering that there really isn’t anything to worry about.

7. In your book you offer 52 ways to let go of worry. Are any of the strategies quick
fixes?

Yes, there are some quick-fix strategies. Here are two of my favorites: the first one is to rock.
Studies have shown that the repetitive, rhythmic motion of swaying back and forth can calm
your body because it can prevent the fight-flight-freeze response from being set off. Think of
what we instinctively do to comfort a crying baby. Rock! I have two daughters and both were
colicky as infants; I think all the rocking I did in those days was as much to soothe me as it
was to calm my babies! Rocking is great because it’s free and you can do it anywhere.

Another quick fix is to write about your concerns. Things often seem much larger in our minds
then they do on paper, so writing them down will help you to gain some distance and
perspective. Another reason why writing about your worries works is that in committing them
to a list or journal entry you take the pressure off yourself; you no longer have to be as
concerned that you’re going to forget what you’re worried about! It’s strange, we’re often
worried that we’re going to forget what we’re worried about, so we’ll mentally replay (and
replay) our concerns in our minds in order to remember them. Night time can be especially
bad for this kind of worry. If you’re worrying at night, keep a pen and paper beside your bed,

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18
and as concerns pop up, write them down. That way you can get them out of your mind and
down on paper, ready for addressing with the CALM process the next day. Added bonus:
after a good night’s rest things always seem a little clearer!

8. You use a lot of humor in your book. Do you think humor is a necessary
component to managing worry?

It certainly is! If you can learn to laugh at yourself, it’ll go a long way in helping you to
reconnect with your inner peace. One of the stories I write about in the book concerns the
very first time I gave a full-day seminar. I was on stage in front of 250 people and three of the
top buttons on the front of my silk skirt popped off. Yikes—that was embarrassing! In that
moment, I had two choices: I could either allow self-defeating thoughts and worry to consume
me, or I could laugh it off, learn from it, and move on. I decided to laugh it off and move on.
And I definitely learned from it—I won’t be speaking in a button-front skirt any time soon!
When you develop the ability to laugh at yourself, your recovery from setbacks will be
enhanced, and fear—like the fear of making mistakes, looking foolish, being rejected, and so
on—will lose its grip on you.

9. How can this book help you if you’re feeling stuck in life?

I know what it feels like to be stuck. Worrying about my weight and appearance kept me
stuck for years with bulimia. Concerns about being alone kept me stuck in unhealthy
relationships. Anxiety about money kept me stuck in a job I didn’t enjoy. Worry stops you
from living in the moment and puts a damper on truly being able to move forward in your life. I
share my very personal experiences in the book and set out the proven strategies to
transform fears into action so that you can overcome worry and live a more exciting,
abundant, and balanced life.

10. Do you ever worry now?

Yes, but I use it as a positive force, because sometimes worry can serve us. Not all worry is
destructive. In fact, some concerns can serve as prompts to take action. Worrying about your
health might be prompting you to take better care of yourself or to see a doctor. Anxiety about
having too much to do might be prompting you to prioritize, take a time-management course,
or learn how to say “no.” When you’re feeling worried, the key is to stop and ask yourself: Is
this worry prompting me to take action? If it is, then take action. If it’s not, if you’re worrying
about something you can do nothing about, let it go. That’s what being a non-worrier is all
about and that’s precisely what I’ve learned to do in my life. When a worry pops up, I
determine whether it’s useful or useless. If it’s useful—if it’s prompting me to do something—I
take action. If it’s useless, I let it go and the worry disappears.

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Notes:

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