Julie Lenzer Kirk hoped she would write a book one day. “I always kind of knew I had a book in me but didn’t know what it was.” That day came back in 2000, when she got the idea for The ParentPreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches about Building a Successful Business.

At the time, Julie was raising her two young children, and, as they were growing, her software company was also growing

In 2005, Kirk sold her multi-million dollar company and focused on writing her book.  A friend suggested John Wiley & Sons, the friend’s publisher, so Julie submitted a proposal…and waited.

The wait made her realized she knew nothing about the publishing world. She needed a network of experts and she joined eWomenPublishingNetwork.  We will let her tell the story:

“I had my own successful business for 10 years, but I didn’t know publishing.  eWomenPublishingNetwork helped me understand what to expect and how to navigate. As soon as I discovered that the membership benefits included access to the eWomenNetwork email blast through their eMagazine, which is of a significant and growing size, I signed up and added their author platform to my proposal.

In my initial discussions with Jan King, she mentioned the Book Expo America (BEA) Conference, which was to be held in Washington D.C. that year. I was contemplating attending and since I had not heard back from the Wiley editor, used it as an opportunity to reach out. I asked if she (the Wiley editor) was planning to be at BEA and, if so, could we set up a time to meet there (even though I had not booked it yet).  She agreed to meet me at their booth and gave me five minutes to plead my case. She had one question for me: What promotional commitments had I obtained to help sell the book? When I told her about the reach of the eWomenPublishingNetwork platform, her interest was renewed. She went back to her office, re-pitched my book to her colleagues, and I had a contract with a major New York publisher with a significant advance less than four weeks later.

Getting the contract, however, was just the beginning of the benefits I have garnered from my membership in the eWomenPublishingNetwork. I received a verbal offer from Wiley two days before the eWomenPublishingNetwork annual publishing conference began and the actual contract was faxed to me while I was there. Although I had negotiated significant contracts before, the verbiage and terms in this one were completely different than what I was used to. It was clear I was in a whole new world. Jan recommended that I join The Author’s Guild and take advantage of their lawyers, which saved me thousands of dollars in legal fees and gave me negotiating points with my publisher. We were able to come to agreement and the real work began: I had 5 months to finish writing my book.

No way could I have made it through those months of writing without the publishing network’s guidance and support.  Jan helped me focus, get organized and meet the publisher’s deadline. She was always available as a sounding board. She would review my progress and help direct me when my approach was going away from my main message and tone. Her insight, encouragement, and advice were invaluable.”

Writing, publishing and promoting a book is a huge commitment. “The fact is traditional publishers don’t have the budget to properly market or promote all the books they publish, so they rely heavily on the authors to do it themselves,” Kirk says. Marketing and promoting a book and yourself is just as much work, if not more, than writing it. “I think I’m the best salesperson for my book,” says Kirk. “Having eWomenPublishingNetwork at my side, helped take a lot of the mystery away from the process.”

Julie Lenzer Kirk, author, The ParentPreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches about Building a Successful Business” (John Wiley & Sons, 2007). Julie Lenzer Kirk is the Founder of Path Forward International, which offers workshops, consulting, and keynotes to give entrepreneurial companies and individuals a “Boot in the Butt™” to launch new ideas, grow existing ventures, find their work/life balance, or fine-tune their leadership skills. You can subscribe to her monthly “Boot in the Butt™” newsletter through her website at www.JulieLenzerKirk.com.