You may recall that I hinted earlier that I was preparing to post a major announcement – as soon as my feet hit the ground.  Well, I’m still flying, but here it is…

A major (multi book) publishing deal!

And with the top publisher of my dreams!  Somebody pinch me, please.

  
Before I tell you who the publisher is…it’s the one who published – and promoted (equally important)…
 
Eckhardt Tolle, The Power of Now, which sold millions of copies and made Tolle a household word (you may recall that Oprah hosted Tolle last year in a 12-week seminar that attracted millions of viewers). 

Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (I don’t have to tell you how many millions of books Chopra has sold)

Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior (last year’s film) 

Joseph Campbell, The Collected Works 

And a personal favorite of mine… 

Shakti Guwain, the legendary Creative Visualization, which sold 10 million copies in 30 languages.  (She is also the publisher’s partner).

 
So, who’s the publisher?

The publisher is the entrepreneur publisher Marc Allen, whose publishing company, New World Library, publishes some of the world’s most elite luminaries like those I mentioned above.  He’s a self-made (and very laid back) millionaire himself and authored his own books – The Millionaire Course, The Greatest Secret of All, and The Type-Z Guide to Success: A Lazy Person's Manifesto to Wealth and Fulfillment.

Marc is so hands on. He spoke with me personally several times, not just with my agent, as the process was evolving - he's the real deal. To me, that's so much more important than dealing with an editor – editors are usually just one of hundreds of employees of a huge publishing house and have to answer to many others. Since Marc is an entrepreneur, author, coach, etc. - he really "gets it.”  And although this had to go through his acquisitions committee and marketing department, he's still the boss.

One of the most significant pieces of this whole situation was a message that Marc left on my voice mail at the beginning – before the offer was made – a message that I will hold in my heart forever (and which I managed to record off my telephone voice mail to save)...

He said that he loved my writing and the work I was doing and that the world was a better place for my being in it.  And then he said that my heart and soul comes through my writings and the warmth and friendliness of my writing style reminds him of Shakti Guwain, the author of Creative Visualization and his founding partner I mentioned above. I had never heard of a publisher speaking personally to a potential client instead of just through their agent - so his personal attention and critique meant more to me than I could ever express. I just broke down and cried for an hour after hearing that message. 

I think at that moment, for the first time, I really began to accept that maybe I really was a writer, that maybe my material was good enough to get published and get my teachings to a wide audience, and that this was my destiny after all. I don’t think I completely accepted it prior to hearing that message. I knew that even if they didn’t publish me – if a publisher of his stature thought that much of my material, then I must be following my destined path in life. 
 

Significant people who were the reason I got this deal – in order of appearance :-)

 But…the memoir is not what the publishing deal is initially based on as you will see below…

My agent, Paul, has been in my corner and pushing me for two years. Paul appeared “out of the blue” when I began writing my memoir on Ryze. He pushed me to finish it and 8 months later it became a manuscript and he signed me. What is so remarkable about this manifestation is that Paul is not only a literary agent. He’s also an entertainment attorney who deals a lot with that industry and doesn’t waste time. And he doesn’t even believe in Universal laws!

So he was obviously a part of the “synchronicity and guidance”  that my memoir is based on.

My memoir is still free to read on my Ryze network – it’s had over 21,000 views so far.

Feel Free to Prosper: an Entrepreneurial Memoir of Synchronicity and Guidance
http://www.ryze.com/posttopic.php?topicid=743240&confid=481

Paul sent the memoir to major publishers and although it was well received, they requested a “how to” book to go with it. The reasoning is that once people know what you do – what you’re famous for – then they will want to read your memoir.  Paul told me to get to work on a book proposal for a “how to” book based on Feel Free to Prosper (he didn’t need a proposal for the memoir but other non-fiction books always require a proposal).

For one year I dilly dallied and just could not – or would not - do that proposal. I am an intuitive writer – and my teachings will flow. But a book proposal is a business and marketing plan and I just knew I wouldn’t do it. Paul only deals with major publishers and he wanted a top notch Michael Larsen style proposal – Michael Larsen is the definitive expert on non-fiction book proposals. So this was a major task. And I was not up to that task.

Finally, in March 2008, at his insistence, I told Paul that if I could find someone to write the proposal for me, I would get it done. Within 24 hours, again “out of the blue,” came Karen Gordon. Karen is a writer and copy editor (and master Reiki teacher) in Oregon. I don’t believe anyone else in the world could have done what Karen has done with my proposal. It was truly divine guidance and destiny. She did an extraordinary job.  Of course, the results now prove it :-)

It took 10 months. Karen created the entire structure of the proposal, including the overview, platform, research, competitive titles, platform and marketing strategies, etc. She is extraordinarily intuitive and an equally intuitive writer and she was able to tune into my essence perfectly – it was truly a match made in heaven.

Although the book proposal was supposed to be based on the new Feel Free to Prosper book, not the memoir, Karen brilliantly incorporated my memoir as a major component of my overview and platform, so the memoir received “top billing” along with the how-to book.
 
When she was done with her part, it was time for me to add my voice.

I had gathered a great many of the essays, Ryze posts, newsletters and other material that I had written over the past 5 years. I created 7 sections, each a different topic of prosperity, and the sections included a total of 66 chapters. So the entire proposal was based on material that I have already written. I included 12 sample chapters in the proposal from the various sections.
 
I then added photos, student testimonials and even the cartoons from my website. The proposal is 117 pages long! One huge publishing house called the proposal “fantastic.”
 
Paul had given me a deadline of midnight, December 1, to deliver the proposal to him. I emailed the pdf to him at 11pm December 1. 

The rest, shall we say, is history :-)

If you are an author who wants to get your book traditionally published or if you are a first time writer like me who wants to get published, then all I can say is – contact Karen if you want the proposal to get you there.

www.karenjgordon.com 
 

The book proposal is based on my Feel Free to Prosper book currently titled:

FEEL FREE TO PROSPER

Two Weeks to Unexpected Income (and much more!) with the Simplest Prosperity Laws Available Today 

The seven sections:

Cosmic Relief – An Introduction to Universal Laws and Prosperity Principles
Feel Free to Prosper – Your Finances 
Feel Free to Prosper – Your Business or Career 
Feel Free to Prosper – Your Relationships 
Feel Free to Prosper – Body Prosperity and Health 
Feel Free to Prosper – Your Religion and Spiritual Law 
Feel Free to Prosper Lesson One (plus CD or Download to Mentoring Call)

  
Based on the word count I gave them, New World has decided that this will be several books – the first book will be on the financial aspect – Feel Free to Prosper for Finances and Business and Career.

Tomorrow in my conference call with my agent Paul, Marc Allen, and his marketing department, we will be discussing the memoir.

Coincidentally, I turned on TV two nights ago and there was a new 2009 PBS special on Power of Now with Eckhardt Tolle speaking clips. Another Universal signpost that I am in good hands  :-)

Thank you for letting me share my important life moment. Remember, it all started here on Ryze and I am profoundly grateful. Ryze members made a writer out of me. All due respect to Facebook and Twitter - there's no place like home!  Where else could I write such a long post?

Marilyn

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