Publishing and the Power of Endorsements

The holidays passed in an incredibly hectic blur. I am thrilled that they are behind me. On a positive note, all the food, goodies and gatherings at my home were successful, and my latest bottling of White Cranberry Pinot Grigio received rave reviews from 90% of the recipients and imbibers! The next wine adventure will be a pomegranate zinfandel!

So what has been happening since the holidays other than work, snow and cold?

Part of the process the agent and author go through in “shopping” a book to publishers is putting together a terrific submission package. The more persuasive information you put into that package, the more likely you are to find a publisher willing to buy. Including endorsements from other authors, experts, and celebrities can often be the “tipping” point in that decision.

I have already received one fabulous endorsement from Dr. John L. Turner, a neurosurgeon and author, who read the entire manuscript because it was “so interesting.”

Needless to say, I was thrilled. As a result, I have spent the last several weeks on a mission to garner more endorsements. I’ve been spending all my time pulling together appropriate information, formatting said information into electronic packets, researching the people I wanted to receive the packages, writing personalized letters, then physically printing, packaging, addressing, and shipping those packages to the intended recipients.

Fifty-four of those packages have been sent to a wide variety of medical specialists, cancer center heads, hospice experts, influential religious leaders, government officials in the area of health, and news persons and celebrities who have supported related causes for personal reasons.

Now the hard part is not stopping to check my post office box morning and night!

The endorsement package process was time-consuming and costly; but worth every minute and every penny if the effort results in having a few really high-profile endorsements to throw into the mix! I’m posting Dr. Turner’s endorsement below and welcome all comments. And if you just happen to think of anyone who might be a good person to endorse the book, feel free to let me know!

Healing does not always equate to curing. Healing may be spiritual and emotional. There is a way to provide such healing and when done anonymously, the act has great power. M. E. (Betsy) McMillan’s great book, Postcard Rx: Giving Comfort when the Diagnosis is Terminal, will teach you how a simple postcard a day - mailed to a friend, family member or total stranger suffering from a terminal illness – can, with messages of hope and encouragement, ease their transition in a most significant and meaningful way. When one is ill and becomes a patient, the secret in caring for the patient, is caring about the patient. Betsy’s stories are fascinating and describe her twenty-plus years of caring and compassion for those in need. I highly recommend this book.

John L. Turner, M.D.
Author of Medicine, Miracles and Manifestations: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Worlds of Divine Intervention, Near-Death Experiences, and Universal Energy

Life's Uncertain...

Someone of exceptional vision once said “There are only three certainties in life: birth, death and taxes.” We tend to celebrate births; we all complain about taxes; and we ignore death until it walks up and stares us in the face. Death is so foreign a concept to our conscious minds, that we not only ignore thinking about our own passing, we also avoid dealing with anyone we know whose time here is limited.

Consider this scenario. One of your co-workers has been ill of late. After a series of tests, he is told that he has Stage 4 colon cancer. He continues to work as much as possible, but more and more he is missing from the work environment as he submits to chemo, radiation, and whatever experimental treatments and clinical trials are available. Eventually, he is home bound, only getting out to go to treatments and doctor’s appointments.

At first, it was hard and stressful working with him, because you didn’t want to watch him in his misery. When he stopped coming to work you were conflicted. You missed him, but you were relieved that the stress you were feeling while he was around left with him. You sent a card or some flowers at first. You even stopped by once or twice to visit at the beginning of his “confinement” but as time moved on, you found more and more excuses to be “busy” and you avoided going back.

Then you got the call that your co-worker died…and the guilt set in. You began to question your own ethics. What kind of person am I, anyway? Why didn’t I go back and see him? Why didn’t I call more? I thought I was a good person, but I’m just like everyone else. To assuage that guilt, you promised yourself you’d never do it again…until the next person of your acquaintance was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

There isn’t anything wrong with you. You’re just human. We all are. I faced this question many years ago, and I finally figured out that you don’t have to do much to make a difference, but you do have to do something. I figured out what to do, something that worked for me, and I’ve been doing it for terminally ill friends, acquaintances and even for perfect strangers for 20 years. The key is taking them on only one at a time.

A friend urged me to write a book about my 20 years of experience with my “project” and I’m now shopping that book to agents and publishers alike. I’m not going to ruin the plot for you or tell you how it ends…but I’ll let you know when it is due to be distributed! Keep a good thought for me, because this book could make a significant impact on those who read it, those who take it to heart, and those terminally ill friends and acquaintances who end up on the receiving end of the project.

Stay tuned!