Plan B

It Gets Easier!

by Claudine Wolk

When I first became a mother, I felt a bit... What was it? No, not ecstatic. No, not fulfilled. I felt, quite frankly, angry! Motherhood was not how I thought it would be. Yes, my son was cute and all, but the lack of sleep, and the constant feeding, burping, changing, cleaning, etc was so far from the stereotypical Madonna picture I had in my head of the motherhood experience that I was thrown for a loop. I started to search high and low for the truth about motherhood. I had trouble finding it. The books were fluffy, the TV shows were hackneyed, and the doctors hadn't a clue.

There was one place, though, where the real answers flowed like wine. Where were all these answers? You guessed it... from other mothers. Their truth was such a great help to me that I felt I had to share it with the moms who came after me. So, I put this great book together the way I felt every Mom would want it. The book had it all: humor, honesty, practical help, and personal experience. There was one thing that the book was missing, though, an author who was a somebody. Somebody or nobody, I was not about to give up on publishing my book. I had an idea whose time had come and I truly cared about getting my message out there.

While trying to get the book published with a traditional publisher (a year in which I developed an EXTREMELY thick skin), I fostered a relationship with an agent. She liked the book but she wasn't willing to take me on as a client. I asked why. She told me that "my platform" wasn't big enough. I turned around to look at my tooshie for a minute before I realized the agent couldn't see me. I asked what an author platform was. "Become an expert," she said, "get published in newspapers and magazines, create a blog following, and do some speaking engagements." After her response, I pushed my luck with one last question and asked, "If I do all of these things, would you consider me as a client?" "You bet," was her answer.

I took this little bit of encouragement and decided that I could wait no longer for my message to get out there. I decided to create a publishing company and self-publish the book. I had some great help from Brian Taylor at Pneuma books and Sharon Castlen at Integrated Book Marketing. Their guidance helped me create a truly commercial trade book. In addition, throughout the process, I took the agent's advice. I wrote. I connected on the internet. I booked speaking gigs. I became an expert. As my book came into being, I did one more thing. I stayed in touch with the agent.

When my book cover was done, I sent her an email with the cover attached, "What do you think?" I asked. When my title was decided upon, I sent another email, "How do you like the title?" When my book was completed, I sent her a copy of the book. Finally, after I sent her an email showing my Amazon sales ranking, (the day it hit #1 in the Motherhood category) she finally said the words I had longed to hear, "Are you looking for representation to have this booked picked up by a publisher?"

The rest is history. I've been with Verna Dreisbach with Dreisbach Literary Management ever since. Six months into our relationship and Ms. Dreisbach and I were signing a bona fide publishing contract with AMACOM books! My book, It Gets Easier! and Other Lies We Tell New Mothers, was released by AMACOM in June 2009. After I had signed with her agency, I asked Verna why she had finally decided to take me on as a client. "You did everything I asked you to do," she said. "You would be surprised how rarely that happens with authors."

Today I have the pleasure of meeting with Moms groups all over the country. I'm achieving my goal of bringing honesty and humor to mothers! I've used the marketing skills I've acquired to stay in touch with moms through Twitter, Facebook, and online communities. I get to participate in interviews and write on all subjects regarding motherhood. It's been the start of a new career and the best part is, I get to help other mothers make motherhood just a bit easier! Recently, my self-published book was translated into Polish-so now I'm reaching mothers all over the world. How cool is that? Not bad for gal with no platform.

You can find Claudine Wolk at her website at Help4NewMoms.com and her blog www.help4newmoms.blogspot.com