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| Worth Reading |
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| Each of the individuals in this section was, at one time, in a class I was privileged to teach. I am pleased to share their success with you. |
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 Mary Gottschalk
Congratulations to Mary Gottschalk of Des Moines, IA, on her memoir Sailing down the Moonbeam (Rising Sun Press, 2008). It seems like I always knew Mary, but she says no, that we actually met at a presentation on mentoring young women. Later, she enrolled in my "writing small" class which she termed a banner event. Thanks, Mary, and thanks, too, for taking us along on your trip. I could feel the wind on my face. |
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| Comments from Mary Gottschalk |
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| The Story: Our sailing voyage was a remarkable adventure - not just in the romantic image that people so often get when they hear "sailing," but also in the day-to-day reality of living with nature, in seeing places that are off the beaten path, in learning to reach across cultures that do not share our language and customs. The journey changed my life. |
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| The Backstory: If you’d told me, at 30, I’d one day write a memoir about a journey on a sailboat, I would have laughed you out of the room. But as I look back on a long career in high finance, the clues were there. I’ve been writing or editing professional articles and reports since my first job. And I’m a risk taker, more interested in challenge than an easy road to success. So, now I am a writer, and the road to success is, indeed, challenging. |
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| The Path to Publishing: I debated whether to do a travelogue of amazing adventures with a bit of personal insight thrown in, or share my personal journey with some colorful stories thrown in. I chose the latter. Our sailboat was not only our home and primary mode of transportation, but also a powerful metaphor for learning to cope in a world without road signs telling you what to do or where to go. |
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| Self Publishing: From conversations with published authors, I learned that a professionally published book can be soul-deadening for a first-time author. Assuming I was lucky enough to find an agent and a publisher, I would have little or no control over the look of the printed page or the design of the cover of the memoir I’d worked so hard to get right. When I realized how many self-publishing resources exist, my decision was easy. And it went even more smoothly than expected. |
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| Marketing Challenges: Although I couldn’t even sell Girl Scout cookies as a kid, I actually looked forward to marketing my book - I had friends offering advice and support, drafts of press releases, lists of people to call, ideas for getting into book clubs. And the more readers tell me parts of my story resonate with them, the easier it is to keep making those calls and writing those letters. |
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Sailing Down the Moon Beam
A captivating love story combined with an awe-inspiring adventure. Mary’s book is available ($14.00) at www.sailingdownthemoonbeam.com
as well as through Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.
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