NO TIME TO WRITE!

I have published a book in April from Barking Cat Books entitled, MINOR LEAGUE MOM: A MOTHER'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE RED SOX FARM TEAMS. It is the saga of our two sons in the Red Sox organization from 1992-99, and is written entirely from a mother's perspective. It chronicles the triumphs and tragedies of the minor leaguers on their way to the big leagues, as well as the effect on the parents. Although neither of our sons made it to the majors, one played at the highest level of the minors (AAA) for two years with many future stars who did make it.

I kept journals during the seven years the boys played in the pros. After their dream ended, I converted the story into narrative form. I promised them I would wait to publish until they were firmly established in other careers. I also promised our sons they would be the first to read my manuscript and could edit as they wished. This is indeed what happened.

Another time I will describe my journey to get my manuscript into print as a first-time author.
At the moment, I want future authors to know that once my book was in print, I have had an almost full-time job to market the work. This is expected by the publisher, especially in today's economy, with staff cut-backs. Unfortunately, I am spending ALL my time on the internet, developing book signing/presentation dates, preparing for them, or doing radio/tv interviews, etc., etc.

I have been a fan of the literary agent Nathan Bransford (Curtis Brown, Ltd.) since well before I found a publisher, despite the fact that he passed on my query to have him represent me!
I find fault with his latest blog, which describes the publishing process. He neglects to reveal the incredible commitment an author must devote to marketing during the year after publication.
To his credit, however, in a blog on August 11, '09, he stated, "There's no such thing as 'just an author' anymore, and I suspect there never was." How true!