Pump Up Your Book Chats with Nonfiction Author Marnie Swedberg

Marnie Swedberg will be right in this very spot live on Wednesday, February 24 from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m., answering any questions you may have about her nonfiction book for writers, eBooks: Idea to Amazon in 14 Days (Gifts of Encouragement).

Leave a question or comment (along with your email address) between now and 11 p.m. on February 19  and you may win a free copy of her book!

The lucky winner will be announced on February 22.

ONLY THOSE LEAVING EMAIL ADDRESSES ARE ELIGIBLE.  YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WILL ONLY BE USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS CONTEST.

Thank you and good luck!

Marnie Swedberg owns and manages a restaurant, retail store and espresso café, is the author of eleven books and eBooks, is the hostess of websites receiving over 5.7 million hits in 2009, and serves as a “mentor to mentors” from every continent and career path via her Leadership Development Club.

Her latest book is eBooks: Idea to Amazon in 14 Days.

You can visit her website at www.marnie.com or her official tour page here.

Thank you for this interview, Marnie.  Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later?  Do you remember your first published piece?

School, including anything about reading and writing, was torture. I had to sound out every word and didn’t learn to read well until I was a young adult. Now I am an avid reader.  My first major writing gig was doing a weekly newspaper column, reviewing books.

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?

I think the traditional publishing process can be extremely disheartening. Often after submitting manuscripts, carefully formatted to the publisher’s specifications, I did not even receive a rejection notice. That’s a big frustration for an author. Most rewarding? I love hearing from readers about how something I said, did or shared positively affected their life.

Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life?  Do you have support?

I’ve been married to Dave for 26 years. We have three awesome young adult kids and will be empty nester’s next fall when our youngest, Timothy, heads off for college.  Finding time to write is always a challenge. I usually write in the night: it’s the only time I can work without interruption.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?  Where do you like to vacation?  Can you tell us briefly about this?

I love to read and learn. I missed that as a child—because I hated it all so badly then. I think I’m making up for lost time.  My favorite vacation spots are where ever my family and friends are. No kidding!  Location is far less important to me than relationships, although I’ve been a lot of places and pretty much loved them all.

If you could be anywhere in the world for one hour right now, where would that place be and why?

Key West, Florida, on my sister’s sailboat, surrounded by my four nephews. It’s not about the boat, because I get sea sick. It’s about the people. I admit, the weather helps, because it’s sub-zero (15 below) as I type.

eBooks: Idea to Amazon in 14 Days by Marnie Swedberg (click on cover to purchase)

Who is your biggest fan?

People are always telling me that they are my biggest fan. Restaurant customers say, “You know that I am your best customer, right?!” One of my outsourcers wrote today and said, “I am your biggest fan.” But, honestly, there is only one opinion that matters to me. God gave me everything I have. I believe He is pleased with how I am using the gifts He’s given. The idea of having God as my biggest fan is a nice thought. I hope it is true.

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

My computer. Between writing, managing websites and doing paying bills for our businesses, I spend WAY lots of time in front of my computer. I’m actually considering purchasing a notebook computer, just so I can face outwards a few hours a day.

Do you have any pets?

At the moment, we have fish and two dogs, Allie (Poodle/Maltese) and Dallas (Springer Spaniel). We have had dozens of pets through the years—every kind except monkeys and snakes, I’m pretty sure. Our retail store, Soulutions, has a pet department, so we often have “guest pets” including chinchillas, birds and rabbits. It’s a zoo around here.

Tell us a secret no one else knows.

My life is an open book… I am wracking my brain! I suppose very few people know about my special map. Next to my desk I have this huge world wall map. It has black dots on every continent, indicating where I have mentees around the world. Knowing that my life is a positive part of friends from Chicago to China makes me smile.

What’s on your to do list today?

Oh, my gosh! Do we have time for that here?  I’ve been up since 4:15 and it is now 6:31 AM. My oldest son is home from college for the day and my youngest has the day off school and work. I’ll get the restaurant staff rolling about 9 and we’ll probably connect as a family for brunch about 11 AM. From noon to 7 PM I’ll work the espresso café, finding time in between customers to place a multi-thousand dollar seasonal order (one item at a time) and set up next month’s sale plan for our retail store, Soulutions. After I finish, Dave suggested we go out for supper to “the Black Bear” and then I’ll sit in the living room and hope that one of the guys will come talk for a while. It usually works. Bedtime will be sweet bliss!

Q. Now I’ve got a couple of fun questions for you.  If Tom Hanks, in
the movie Cast Away, unearthed a copy of your book, how would that
help him find a way off the island?

No way! I refuse that answer that because I don’t know how to do anything all by myself. But, here’s an idea: If Cast Away’s director, Robert Zemeckis, got a hold of my book, he could have saved some serious time and money with my shortcuts.

Q. You have a chance to appear on the hit talent show for authors,
American Book Idol, with judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara
Dioguardi and the newest addition, Ellen DeGeneres, to determine
whether your book will make it to Hollywood and become a big
screenplay where you’d make millions of dollars.  What would impress
them more – your book cover, an excerpt or your author photo – and
why?

Honestly? A book about how to write a book thrills no one except an
author knee-deep in the process. And, my photo is out: How did I get
this old, anyway!? I wonder if I could submit my bio? Now, that has
possibilities.

Q. You just got word that your book has received the 2010 NY Times
Bestselling Book Award and you have to attend the ceremony to give an
acceptance speech.  Anyone who’s anyone will be there and it’s your
shot for stardom.  What would you say and who would you thank?

What? Like my whole speech? It would take me hours to craft a
response of that nature. I’m an over-achiever… I can’t just whip
that out! But here’s how I would do it: 1) I would decide what
feelings I wanted the viewers to experience as I spoke; 2) I would
select a few key people, including those whose self-esteem could not
handle being omitted, and 3) I would craft a speech that could make
those two goal attainable within the time limit.

Q: I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in February via a virtual book tour.  Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?

I am promoting National Library Month and, specifically, “Read Me” Week. My book came as a result of being contracted by a regional library system to do a 3-day, 7-city tour. I was hired to train authors how to write eBooks. I decided to model the behavior, and here we are. I’m getting the word out about this training. It all just seemed to fit together.

Q: Thank you for this interview, Marnie. Good luck on your virtual book tour!

Thank you! I loved your questions!