Up Close And Personal With Edie Weinstein.
February 6, 2012 
9 Comments
Hello Edie, and welcome to Authopublisher.com. It’s nice to have you with us.You are a self published author, tell us what your book is called and what is it about?
My book is called The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary. The genre is self- help/transformation and the format is a series of chapters that are what I think of as life observation pieces with inquiry questions at the end of each one that invite the reader to go deeper into the subject. I call them Bliss Kisses.
A description that I use for promo purposes:
I invite you into a world in which ‘impossible dreams’ become ‘I’m possible realities’ in which readers learn to live rich, fully juicy lives, moving through life change with greater grace and ease than they thought imaginable. Enter The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary -by Edie Weinstein, published by Balboa Press, a subsidiary of Hay House. BalboaPress, Aamazon.com, BarnesAndNoble and a growing number of independent book stores.
Do you long for a life that sings and soars?
Do you have dreams and desires that light you up from the inside?
What would it would be like to be a human sparkler?
This book beckons you to take a step into the life you have always wanted-filled with love, abundance, adventure, success, healing, joy, healthy relationships, self -exploration and fun. Come along on a journey with the Bliss Mistress and learn to become Mistress or Master of your own bliss.
The book also features an interview with His Holiness The Dalai Lama conducted in 2008.
Tell us a little bit about your writing process? What methods do you use to write and how did you make it through the grueling process of writing your book?
First thing to know is that, although the process was daunting at times, I never thought of it as grueling. Writing is what feeds my soul and I laughingly say, that although it is grammatically incorrect, I can’t NOT write. When I can’t sleep, it becomes my soporific, more effective than any sleeping pill (: The Muse is always speaking to me. Sometimes she whispers, and other times she ROARS! Ideas for the book came from my day to day experiences. I have been a journalist since 1988 and am accustomed to deadlines and writing articles. Writing a book felt like a far bigger commitment, so that when faced with that challenge, someone suggested writing each chapter as if they were stand-alone articles. I had over 60 that I liked and then narrowed it down to the top 30. These were the ones that gave me goosebumps when I read them, so I guessed they would have that impact on the reader as well. I type on my trusty lap top, a near constant companion, since I live in anticipation of ideas flowing. I write until it feels complete. I don’t censor and then I go back and edit. One of my pet peeves is repetitive words. I have a thesaurus in my brain, so I come up with alternatives pretty easily.
One of the challenges in writing the Bliss Mistress book was that it was so personal and I spoke of loves and losses, challenges and vulnerabilities, that I wondered if it would be embraced or rejected by readers. It’s kind of like a new mother wheeling her infant out in a stroller for the first time and although every mom thinks hers is the most beautiful, someone could look inside and say “Oh, what a funny looking baby.” That had me dragging my feet about as I got near the finish line. Fortunately supportive friends and my Beloved mom who died in November 2010, told me I had to publish the book. I sat by her bedside over the period of 6 months that she was on hospice care, typing away and reading chapters to her. She and my father who died in April 2008 have always been my most ardent cheerleaders.
Explain to us the process you took to get your book published, from formatting your manuscript to preparing it for print all the way to getting an ISBN and the book cover design.
I was contacted by Balboa Press (a subsidiary of Hay House) to solicit my business. They guided me through the entire process, nearly seamlessly. The cover was designed by my talented artist friend Cindy Greb. The butterfly reflects the transformational process and it is in honor of my mother Selma Weinstein who told me that when she died, she would come back and visit me as a butterfly. They have been showing up in many and varied ways since then. The left side of the image is black and white and the right is in color; in the way that Dorothy’s world became bright vivid Technicolor when she landed in Oz. My wonderful editor, Pamela Maliniak assisted with the formatting process, meeting Balboa’s standards. My Bliss Team was indispensible!
Did you use the services of a book coach or a self publishing company to help you though the process or did you do it yourself? Tell us about your experiences.
Balboa Press walked me through step by step. I told them that I felt like a baton in a relay race being passed from one person to the next at each turn. I never felt dropped(: They are consummate caring professionals. With Louise Hay and Reid Tracy at the helm, how could it be otherwise?
What would you do differently with the publishing of your next book?
Relax into the process. Know that it and I are worthy of success.
How did you market your book? Can you share some of your creative/non-conventional ways/secrets on how you sold your book?
I am constantly marketing my book via word of mouth, social networking, book signing events, workshops, radio interviews, sending press releases. I call myself PR Goddess and am shamelessly self promoting. I write blogs for various websites and articles for magazines as well.
Share with us the different platforms you use to sell your book (bookstores, signing, affiliate programs, website etc.).
As above. I have not yet done a major book launch with affiliates. I do have a website www.liveinjoy.org
Do you use social media in book promotion, and if so, which platforms work best for you? Can you share some tricks you got making it work for you?
Facebook, linked in, twitter are the most effective.
Care to share some numbers? How many books have you sold to date?
The book was released in September and I will have numbers from Balboa in February.
How was your book initially received? Has it been reviewed? What was your response to the reviews?
Well received, embraced, celebrated. Yes it has been reviewed by media and readers, some on fb, some on amazon.com
How do you handle negative feedback from critics?
I haven’t received negative feedback on it.
Where are some of the places where you sell your book besides through book distributors, your website, book stores etc.
At my workshops and events.
Do have any future projects you’d like to tell us about?
I have several other books in my heart and head. Not ready to share specifics yet. In nesting and germination stage at the moment.
Thank you for being on Authopublisher, Tom, and I hope to hear from you again!
Thank you.
For more of Edie, catch him on www.liveinjoy.org or www.features.beliefnet.com/blissblog
Follow me on Twitter.
You gotta hustle if you’re to make your dream happen!
brillaint post, ill defo recommend
Hi Ivin! Your interview with Edie was truly informative and new writer like me will be learning from the expert.
I really appreciate this post, it helps me a lot!
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Thank you for your feedback. I would love to see people take the leap into self publishing if they feel the call to do so.
Great interview Ivin.. Sometimes we really have to know some secrets of good writers like Adie. Now I know that when I have sleepless nights, I rather think of good topics to write about.
Wenz28 recently posted..Online Dating
Thank you. Writing lulls me to sleep and sometimes I think the Muse wants me to wake up and write, since the house is quiet and the ideas flow more readily in the wee hours of the morning.
Edie Weinstein recently posted..The Bliss Mistress Video
Sometimes I can also start writing when I can’t fall asleep, sometimes at this time I can have many ideas that I should immediately write down, just not to foorget
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That’s why I keep my laptap or at least paper and pen handy, since the ideas sometimes zip past me and I need to catch ‘em as they fly by.
Edie Weinstein recently posted..The Bliss Mistress Video
Hey, Ivin, have you considered changing a little bit the questions? I’m sure you don’t lack creativity.
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Umm, we have actually formulated these questions from readers questions, questionnaires and surveys. They pretty much cover most things a prospective self publisher need to know.
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