From Blogger to The Big Book Deal Plus Kathy Kinney & Cindy Ratzlaff Talk About Becoming Queen of Your Own Life
July 6th, 2010
By Jennifer S. Wilkov, host of the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show on WomensRadio
www.yourbookisyourhook.com
This week on the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show, Barbara Barnett, a television and film editor for Blogcritics magazine and the writer of the regular feature, “Welcome to the End of the Thought Process: An Introspective Look at House MD” will talk with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov about how she went from an obsession with House, M.D. to blogging about it on Blogcritics magazine to hooking up with literary agent Katharine Sands for a big book deal for Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House M.D. Ms. Barnett will talk about the difference between writing a blog article and writing for a book and she shares her advice for writers who are wondering how to get to that next level.
Kathy Kinney and Cindy Ratzlaff also discuss their first book together, Queen of Your Own Life: The Grown-Up Woman’s Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve with radio personality and host Jennifer S. Wilkov. Kinney and Ratzlaff will talk about how they wrote the book through iChat, Skype and emails from separate coasts of the United States and their approach to the project – that it had to be fun. They will reveal the personal circumstances they faced as women and the decisions they made about their own lives as well as how they got published and picked up by Harlequin non-fiction in an auction.
Listeners will also enjoy their description of the crowning ceremonies they’ve been doing for women during their 12-city tour and how they are using their book as their hook to transform the lives of women everywhere.
From Writer to Blogger & From Blogger to Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D.
July 6th, 2010
By Guest Blogger, Barbara Barnett, Television & Film Editor at Blogcritics Magazine
www.BarbaraBarnett.com
Here it is, two months until the launch of Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D. (ECW Press, September 2010). It’s my first book and I feel a bit like Cinderella wondering when the carriage is going to turn into a pumpkin. I’m a middle-aged mom with a very full full-time job, but being an author has been a fantasy I’ve held since I was nine years old.
Like most writers, I suppose, I have those several unfinished novels rattling around in my computer, but writing a book was something long ago relegated to the “dream on” part of my brain.
No matter where my career has taken me, I’ve always managed to find the writing in it. An undergrad degree in 
microbiology led me to a gig as an associate editor with a trade magazine; a graduate degree in environmental policy brought me to a niche in public affairs; my current “day job,” which has nothing to do with writing, has produced two award-winning publications.
Then in 2007, my passion for writing bumped heads with my obsession over a television series—and it all seemed to click. After being encouraged to take my personal blog at Livejournal.com and move it to “the big leagues,” I applied to write for Blogcritics magazine, which is now owned by mega aggregator Technorati.
“Welcome to the End of the Thought Process” on Blogcritics became “must read” material for a whole segment of the House fandom. With several thousand readers a week, it has become one of its most popular features. Featuring weekly episode analysis, essays about the series themes and characters, my column has become a large and friendly town square. Each new article generates lengthy comment threads full of debate and discussion. No one is afraid to disagree with me, but everyone is respectful.
Developing a good relationship with the show, I’ve had the opportunity to interview most of the writers, executive producer Katie Jacobs, and several cast members. My readers especially enjoy these (usually lengthy) interviews for their added insight into the inner workings of the series.
After writing for BC for awhile I thought about writing a book about House, M.D. Not a typical companion guide, this would be a look between the lines and under the skin of this intricately written character study—something for the very intelligent fan base the series attracts, and something for my loyal readership that would play off of, but not duplicate, my weekly feature; but also something for newcomers to House’s universe.
One my readers happened to be literary agent Katharine Sands of Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency, and when she and I were introduced last spring it was a perfect match of writer and agent. Already a House uber-fan and a fan of my writing, she became an enthusiastic supporter of the project and is a fantastic advocate for Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D.
When You Write Your Heart Out – It Shows!
July 6th, 2010
By Jennifer S. Wilkov, host of the “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Show on WomensRadio
www.yourbookisyourhook.com
As authors and writers, we’re always learning about resources and industry tools that we can use to improve our book project performance and the enjoyment of our writing and marketing experiences. Today let’s talk about the difference between writing about what you love and just writing to get published.
No matter what you do, when you love what you are writing about – it shows!
Your passion, joy and care for the subject matter, how it’s presented and the reader’s experience with it are very apparent.
When you attempt to write in the latest genres that are being published instead of what you sincerely enjoy, what shows up on the page is beyond your control and many editors and agents can see right through it.
When an agent meets someone like Barbara Barnett who truly loves House, M.D., the 
agent can’t help but want to support her with getting published. Her heart and soul show up in her writing and her reason for writing it. Her insights are levels deeper than what could fit in a 1-hour show or in a 500-word blog post. Hence, her book: Chasing Zebras: The Unofficial Guide to House, M.D.
Kathy Kinney and Cindy Ratzlaff write together about a topic and transformation in their thinking that they experienced personally and then decided that women everywhere could benefit from the same experience and insight. Together they lovingly and honestly share why they wrote their book, Queen of Your Own Life: The Grown-Up Woman’s Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve. They talk about how the book came about as a result of real life situations they lived through together.
Instead of following the trends, tell your own tale – whether it’s a fiction piece, a non-fiction project or a children’s book. Open your heart and share your story with joy, passion and persistence. Allow others to plug into the electricity you bring to it and light them up with your sincere dedication to the subject matter and story.
This one distinction could make the difference between you getting published and you getting passed over.
