{"id":5127,"date":"2011-11-07T22:54:01","date_gmt":"2011-11-08T03:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisatener.local\/?p=5127"},"modified":"2024-09-30T09:00:37","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T13:00:37","slug":"tips-for-authors-an-interview-with-susun-weed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/2011\/11\/tips-for-authors-an-interview-with-susun-weed\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Authors: An Interview with Susun Weed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"susun<\/a>
Susun Weed shares her tips for authors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I heard of Susun Weed<\/a><\/strong> maybe two decades ago, and turned into a true fan when I became pregnant with my first child. Her Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year<\/em> became one of my staples for reference and a gift I later gave to other first time, expectant moms.<\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, Susun became a colleague when Linda Joy introduced us and Susun wholeheartedly spread the word to her subscribers about my Bring Your Book to Life Program. I\u2019ve asked Susun to share her favorite tips for authors. Here are 7:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Not just informative, but a surprisingly inspiring and entertaining read<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Create an outline, but be open to changing it.<\/span><\/strong>
\nLisa<\/span><\/strong>: Why?<\/strong>
\nSusun<\/span><\/strong>: I work from a brief outline and I do know what will be included in a book. For instance, when I wrote Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way<\/em>, I knew everything that\u2019s \u201cdown there\u201d would be in the book. My outline implies what\u2019s first, but I always modify that. As I wrote books, the things I thought were supposed to start ended up being in middle. I get the clarity once I\u2019m in the book.<\/p>\n

2. Seek criticism.<\/span><\/strong>
\nLisa<\/span>: Whom do you ask for feedback?<\/strong>
\nSusun<\/span><\/strong>: I ask everybody\u2014people who are experts in that area as well as people are living every moment of their life with these problems. I also have a dear friend who has edited all my books and turned me into a polished writer.
\nFor Down There<\/em>, I asked people who spend their lives dealing with bladder issues, endometriosis, prostate issues, etc.
\n\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I asked them: \u201cWhat have I left out?\u201d \u201cWhat am I saying that\u2019s all messed up?\u201d \u201cWhich of the remedies that I have collected has worked for you?” and “Which haven’t?” “What have you found effective that I don’t have here?”
\nWhen I put my work out there to comment on, I take their comments to heart. For instance, when I wrote Breast Cancer? Breast Health!<\/em> women castigated me for using the word \u201cpatient\u201d and I coined the term \u201cwomen dancing with cancer.\u201d Women liked that and people began to use it.<\/p>\n

3. Write for one person, one reader at a time.<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0Lisa<\/span>: Do you have a specific person you imagine writing to? Is it often different for each book?<\/strong>
\nSusun<\/span><\/strong>: I do. I literally do have a picture in my mind of that person. For the breast book I wrote for two readers: the woman who goes to a doctor asking, \u201cIs something wrong with my breasts?\u201d and is told, \u201cYou\u2019re all clear,\u201d when she knows something is wrong, as well as the woman who is following doctor\u2019s orders, went for the mammogram, is told there\u2019s something suspicious and goes for a biopsy\u2014which triggers the cancer to advance.
\nFor Down There<\/em>, I wrote for one person at a time\u2014each chapter specifically for a woman or a man with certain issues or questions. For example, the prostate section was for a man who\u2019s over fifty with prostate issues. In general, my readers are well educated, people who want an index in their book.
\n4. Speak your truth.<\/span><\/strong>
\nLisa<\/span>: Can you say more about that?<\/strong>
\nSusun<\/span><\/strong>: As long as you are not putting people down, not spreading things you know to be untrue, be in your truth and don\u2019t worry about people saying you\u2019re wrong. Seek out opposing views and listen carefully so you can speak to the opposition as well as the “choir.”
\n5. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.<\/span><\/strong>
\nLisa<\/span>: Any favorite revision tips?<\/strong>
\nSusun<\/span><\/strong>:\u00a0 I write my books on their page layout, not a word processing program. This forces me to keep condensing to fit on the page. I don\u2019t want topics starting in the middle of page. Also, we tend to be more verbose than we need to be. I look for the simplest, clearest words.
\n6. Let it go.<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0Lisa<\/span>: When? How?<\/strong>
\nSusun<\/span><\/strong>: When? When I\u2019m sick of it. When think it\u2019s the worst thing I\u2019ve ever done. Then\u00a0 I know it\u2019s time to let go. But only after I\u2019ve had all that feedback and revised many times. How? I send it to the printer.
\n7. Kiss your kids good night.<\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00a0Lisa<\/span>: Literally?<\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0 Susun<\/span><\/strong>: After your book is printed is the time you need to take special care of your work. It won’t sell itself. At the very least you need to promote word of mouth. At the most you will want to work with a paid publicist. Promote your book with the tender care you use to kiss your kid goodnight.<\/p>\n

\"downThe past few nights, I’ve been reading Susun’s latest book, Down There: Sexual and Reproductive Health the Wise Woman Way<\/strong><\/em>. I was a bit of a reluctant reader–knowing it would probably force me to start doing kegels again. I have to admit, though, Susun has WOWED and inspired me with this book.<\/strong> It’s informative, motivating and Susun’s humor brings a lightness to an often-clinical subject. And–yes–Susun has me doing my kegels again (and if you don’t know what kegels are–or you can’t remember how to do them– you definitely need to read this book).<\/p>\n

\"wiseSusun Weed is the voice of the Wise Woman Tradition<\/strong><\/a>, where healing comes from nourishment.\u00a0\u00a0 She is known internationally as an extraordinary teacher with a joyous spirit, a powerful presence, and an encyclopedic knowledge of herbs and health.\u00a0 Ms. Weed restores herbs as common medicine, and empowers us all to care for ourselves. She is the author of the Wise Woman Herbal Series and publisher of other books on herbs and health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I heard of Susun Weed maybe two decades ago, and turned into a true fan when I became pregnant with my first child. Her Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year became one of my staples for reference and a gift I later gave to other first time, expectant moms. A couple of years ago,…  Read more<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-more","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5127"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279308,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5127\/revisions\/279308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}