Author Interview – Harriet Hodgson

Who is your publisher? Despite a long track record as a published author, in this sagging economy I couldn’t find a “normal” publisher. The publishing industry seems to be stalled, so I self-published the book with Amazon. Walking Woman is a print on demand book – the wave of the future.

How do you promote this book? First, I wrote a marketing plan, something that took me about a week. I also wrote the media release and am contacting local media and national organizations. In addition, I’ve developed a talk that supports and expands the book. Of course, I’m turning to the Internet.

Is there a message that you want readers to grasp? The main message of Walking Woman is the fact that regular physical activity, such as walking, can help to prevent heart disease. Another message is that it is never too late to take action. I’ve made a pledge to myself and state it in the introduction: I will take a half hour walk today for and all of my tomorrows.

Have you included a lot of your life experiences, even friends, in the plot? To prevent readers from getting bogged down by facts, I have included personal stories about my fitness program. These stories also give me a chance to inject humor into Walking Woman. Also, the immediate past chair of the WomenHeart board gave me helpful suggestions and I followed her advice.

What are your goals as a writer? My goals are to be as clear as possible and impart as much information as possible. This means I revise, revise, revise. Sometimes I think revision is my middle name!

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