I’m a published author with four books and two more on the way. They say it is easy to become a published author. Yet, it can be very difficult. For this amount of money, we can help make the experience easier for you. Is it really true?

People come up to me all the time and tell me that they have a story they want to have published. I see apprehension and excitement in their eyes and I know what they are feeling. When I decided to get my story published, I found it daunting.

As a friend, I want to do something different here. I’m going to be blunt and tell you what it’s really like. If you still want to become a published author, as a friend, I will mentor you through the maze. You can get really hurt emotionally and it is easy to pour money down the drain. I will tell you what it’s like to be picked up by a publisher or to become self-published. You can read the material and decide for yourself.

Many seasoned authors are choosing to follow the self-publishing route. You might want to read why in my free e-book, “What Does it Take to Become a Successful Published Author.” If you really want to become a published author, then you can join me and I’ll mentor you through the process. Before I mentor you, I want you to understand the advantages of both sides of the publishing world. That way you can make an intelligent decision and understand what I’m telling you.

When I decided to enter the industry, it was very overwhelming. For help, I turned to a few books. The first book I read was written by a literary agent and he was very discouraging. According to his book, he receives 5000 requests a week for his services. You can only imagine how many rejection letters he sent out on a daily basis. A literary agent will not take a new author unless they find a publisher first. Most publishers will not look at you without a literary agent.

After reading numerous books, I decided to publish my book myself. With my background, I probably have put more deals together than some literary agents. The biggest problem with self-publishing is you can and usually do make expensive mistakes. This is why I decided to mentor people. I would have loved if someone reached out and talked me through the process when I started. It cost me money and it was very emotional. I never felt so alone in a business as I did during this time of my learning.

Since I love to learn, I decided to go out and see if the books were telling me the truth. I hired someone to get me into some important places. My journey started in New York City. On this trip, I saw and spoke with people who educated me.

The first person I saw in New York City was an associated editor at Scholastic Magazine, named Lisa Feder-Feitel. As we got off the elevator, Scholastic’s offices took me back. I didn’t expect the bright colors and the décor. For a moment, I felt like I was in an elementary school. I had expected to sit in an office. Instead, we sat down at a table where our knees barely touched the edge of it. I expected any minute to have kids join us with their crayons and coloring books. It was really fun and Lisa was very warm and wonderful to talk with.

On this trip, I visited with Mark Schoenwald, an Executive Vice President of Thomas Nelson Publishers. I learned how a large publisher works and how they view new authors. You can read more in my e-book.

My visits didn’t stop with Thomas Nelson Publishers. I spent time with Peter Cannon of Publishers Weekly magazine. He was one of their editors and I learned a lot from talking with him. Publishers want to get a good review from Publishers Weekly on their new book. It helps stores buy a book they have coming out. I thought it was interesting to talk with him. For me, I never bought or read a book because of a review. I bought it because someone I trusted recommended it.

From Peter’s office, I went to a meeting with Bowker. They are the source for ISBN numbers for your books. They have other services that are important to the success of your book as well.

After I met with Bowker, I went into an hour-long meeting with Barnes and Noble’s head and regional buyers. Now, I understand how they work. Before the meeting, I bumped into Barnes and Noble Vice President, Robert C. Knowles, and I had a nice chat with him.

Now, I understood how large bookstores handle buying books. I wanted to know if it was different for small family-owned bookstores. I stopped in and interviewed numerous bookstore owners across the nation. Every bookstore owner had the same attitude on how they chose their books.

While I was there, I had some owners give me the names of independent distributors. Then I called them up to learn what challenges they had working with bookstores. They have a hard job and I really appreciate what they do.

Again, I wish that I had someone talk me through the publishing business. You really have no idea what it’s like until you have to do it. When authors come up to me, I listen and my heart aches for them. I know most of them will never get started or they will quit at the first bump in the road. There is so much you need to learn and they have such a learning curve ahead of them.

I love the business side of publishing as much as I do writing. Most authors aren’t wired for business. Since I have so much vast knowledge of the publishing field, I decided to mentor others. It made sense to use the Internet. This way, I can mentor and still have a career and life. Join me today by downloading my free e-book, “What Does it Take to Become a Successful Published Author.” Then we will talk! E-book – Or you can go to another website for more information.

I really want to know what you all think. Is the Internet the best place to hold a seminar? Is Google a good place to advertise for it? Would you rather hear about it from a news outlet? Does the Internet really work or is there a better form of media?

I dearly want to know what you think about these questions. Would you take a short survey and answer them? Before you do, let me tell you why I’m asking for your opinion. When I was four, I used to be so very happy. Then one day, someone came to the house and told us that our mother was dead. My father left the family, saying that no one wanted us. Shortly thereafter, I was split up from my siblings.

At the age of five, I fell into a deep depression, praying every time I went to bed that I would stop breathing. I wanted to leave this world. The Savior brought miracles in my life that kept me alive.

In the bible, it says all things are possible through Him. As an adult, I was in a safe, loving environment. Yet every morning, I woke up in fear. It never seemed to want to leave me.

I desired to be free of this prison. I didn’t trust people and I was so hurt from being betrayed. The word family was a bitter word to me. I had so much pain associated with it. It was hard for me to feel comfortable with my husband’s family because I didn’t trust people.

In my twenties, something happened that changed my life forever. For a split moment, as I felt the Savior’s arms around me, I saw the scars of emotional abuse that was inside of me. For that split moment, I felt His love for me. My spirit was so starved for love. I couldn’t feel anyone’s love because I had so many deep emotional scars.

After that moment, I became obsessed to learn how to remove the damage. I knew in my heart it was possible. I’m here today to say I have achieved my goal.

I do not wake up in the morning feeling blind fear. It took me until I was a first-time grandmother to do it. The reason it took me so long is because when I found something that worked, I wanted to know why it worked. What laws governed it that made it work? After I learned the laws, I watched it in other people’s lives. When I saw they received the same results, I knew I had found a true principle.

After ten years of being free, I became tired of watching strangers suffer. What I learned wasn’t something that I could explain in just a few moments, so I decided to write books on the subject. People were so taken by the possibilities that they have asked me to teach seminars.

Locally, I did. They wanted more information and I had it. I was so taken by how much I had learned over the years. I have a powerful testimony of prayer. It helped me to learn.

Today, I can permanently remove the scars from someone else’s life, even when they are victims of violent crimes. I had a lady come to me regarding a family member. They were terrified of being in a room with closed doors.

When they went to church, they had to sit next to the door with their hand on it. Something terrifying happened to them as a child and this blind fear wasn’t going away with age.

After spending an hour with me, the fear is permanently gone. They are free to enjoy life and not deal with ghosts from the past. I’m so grateful for my past, because it allowed me to free others from a prison of pain and fear. This is why I’m asking these questions. People who know me and those I have worked with want a seminar. I thought it might be great to have it online. Do you think it would work? Would you please take a survey? Click here.

On our local news the other night, they gave the national and local statistics on depression and suicides. It was disturbing to hear how high the numbers were. The numbers, I assume were based on people receiving help or those who have already committed or attempted suicide. What about the ones who are in denial or sitting on the edge?

It bothered me because I have been at both ends of the spectrum. As a child, I was very depressed and it was comfortable to be there. So what changed and how did I work myself out of this dark place. First, you need to know what caused the depression if you want to come out. For me, it happened at the age of four. My mother died and our father walked out on us. This experience plunged me into deep waters for survival.

Luckily, I was too young to understand how to end my life. My mother had taught me to pray before she left. Each night, I prayed for God to end my life. While other children were praying for a bike or something new. I wanted to stop breathing. The pain was too much for me, and I went deeper into depression every time I woke up.

So what happened? How did I come from such a dark beginning to a bright and wonderful life leaving all scars behind me? I did it without medication so I know exactly what steps I took. For the record, there isn’t a magic bullet. You can take steps to prevent yourself from getting in this state and keeping yourself out. Once, you get help.

I want to share what I did in hopes you find something helpful. The turning point in my life came unexpected and it showed me how scarred I was. I was an adult and my negative thought patterns were deeply entranced in my mind. In my book, How to Rebuild Shattered Dreams, I go into detail on how I got into this depression and how I came out. So here, I’m going to only give a highlight. If you want more information, there is always the book.

If you had asked me about depression years ago, I would’ve answered that I had never felt it. I wasn’t lying. What I’m saying is, I had never felt joy so I did not know the difference. How do you understand light, if you had never seen it?

This is what I discovered and I plan on covering it in the next four-blog articles. The plan is to break it down into small bits so you can see something useful to ingrain into your life. We are in denial not because we want to be. We are there because we do not know better or we’re afraid the truth might be unmanageable.

Before you can help yourself, you need to see where you truly are. This can be very frightening. At least, it was for me. Years ago, we had a son from his birth who always seemed angry. He had a big chip on his shoulder.

After weeks of trying different ideas, my husband, Jack came up an idea of taking our son to a mirror and not letting him leave until he had told himself twenty-five times that he loved Josh. After the first week, our son started to change.

For the next few paragraphs, I’m taking excerpts from my book.

In my amazement, Josh started to change. He became happier. One day, Jack invited me to see Josh repeat his words, I love Josh, twenty-five times. Grinning, Josh passed by as Jack smiled at me. Reaching a hand out to me, he asked, “Can you do it?”

Fear consumed me as I attempted to follow Josh. I said, “Sure, anyone can do that. It’s easy.” Before I could leave the doorway, Jack had a hold of my wrists and yanked me into the room. Leaving me in front of the mirror, he stood in the doorway and said, “You do it.”

As I stared at myself, I became even more afraid. The fear became so strong that I felt like Jack had just shoved me into a cage with a hungry tiger. I felt trapped, fear charging throughout every cell of my body. I looked at Jack with my face as white as a ghost. Not giving him notice, I charged him, expecting him to move.

He didn’t and I was so afraid. Not realizing what I was doing, I stepped on his thigh, attempting to climb over him. Jack grabbed a hold and pulled me down. With his arms wrapped around me, he easily brought me back in front of the mirror and repeated his words.

Seeing myself in the mirror, I fought to get away from his grip. Being only ninety-eight pounds, it was easy for Jack to hold me. He repeated his words and I pleaded with him to let me go. When he said no, I felt the invisible arms join him.

Being so familiar with Him, I pleaded with Him to help me get away from Jack. Instantly, I knew HE was was on Jack’s side as well. Looking at myself, I started to cry from the depths of my soul. By doing it, I saw in mind all the layer of shock that I had endured at the hands of others. For the first time, my soul felt the love from the invisible arms.

After being in Jack’s and my creator’s arms, I couldn’t get the vision of all the layers of scars out of my mind. What were they made from? How would i see them now for the first time? I had so many questions, not realizing what was being opened up to me. Hope was being breathed into my life, my soul, and my heart for the first time. It was a chance to rid myself of the pain I had endured for so many years. It started to consume me.

You have to see and embrace the fact you are depressed before you can change anything and get help. Next time, I want to talk about how to recognize the thought patterns that take you down the path towards depression. If you understand how to get there, you will know how to bring yourself back. Sign up for a update at the site www.Rebuild-Shattered-Dreams.com for the next installment.

Lately, we had the manufacturers of outdoor equipment hold a show in our city. They paid for a poll that the news reported on. The poll asked teenagers across the nation what outdoor equipment they liked or were interested in the most. The outdoor equipment folks were shocked by the answers to their questions, which caused our local news to report it.

Teenagers weren’t interested in anything that had to do with outdoors. They would rather watch other people enjoy it on the Internet. This is helpful since Yellowstone just put “Old Faithful” on the Internet. You can see eruptions from your computer. Since, I’ve seen “Old Faithful” erupt in person numerous times. The mist on your face and feeling the power of the geyser really adds to the experience.

My next story is dedicated to those people who would rather enjoy the outdoors on the Internet. Since, we all know that breathing deeply releases stress from our bodies. I request you take some deep breaths now and during the story. So you can benefit from the exercise and adventure that I’m about to tell you.

This story takes place on a twenty-eight thousand acre island that sits in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. The largest salt-water lake in the world and it’s only thirty minutes from downtown Salt Lake City. Our mountains are close by, you can reach them from fifteen to thirty minutes from downtown. The time depends on where you are going.

On Antelope Island, you can bike, camp, hike or do my favorite, horseback riding. We share the island with approx. 550-700 bison or buffalo, as I like to call them. When you are on the trails, you can see coyotes, mule deer, prong horned antelope, bobcats , badgers, porcupines and jack rabbits. The animals I see the most are buffalo and jackrabbits. Winter, late fall and early spring is the best time to ride on the island. The summers are too hot and we would rather ride in the mountains where it is cool.

What I like about the island, there is no civilization on it. You feel like you are back in the old west. There is one bird species on the island that I dearly love. The meadowlark is there abundantly. In the spring, you can hear them all around you singing back and forth to each other. They are my favorite songbird.

One day, my husband and our neighbor were riding horses on the island. They were following the trails like they were requested to do. This day, the trail they were on went along the edge of the shores. The water was still and blue. Then the trail left the shores and headed up the side of a tall hill. They were reaching the top when they encountered a lone buffalo bull all by himself.

As they passed him, my husband pulled out his camera to take a picture. Before he could take it, the bull charged them. Somehow, he held onto the camera but lost his cowboy hat.  His horse, Socks,  bolted down the path with our neighbor following him. They hadn’t gone far when the bull stopped chasing them. Our neighbor had been riding on the island for ten years and he had never had a buffalo bother him. So he decided to go back for my husband’s hat.

When he reached the hat, Jay got off his horse and picked it up. The bull decided that he wanted the hat. He charged them. Jay jumped on his horse with the hat and off at a full gallop. Touchy, his horse, was fast. It became a race and the bull was gaining. Now, we understand why our ancestors wrote in their journals that it was dangerous to hunt them. They can ran fast or faster than a horse.

They have a strange shape and you wouldn’t think they could move fast because of it. It didn’t take the bull long to have his head in the tail of Jay’s horse. Before he rammed his horse, the bull just stopped.

What a memorable ride. I hope you were breathing deeply so you get the advantages of the exercise and relieve some stress. It’s great to get out and take a deep breath of fresh air. it really has a great affect on us.

The next time, you need to relax and you can’t go on a ride, hike, or walk. Close your eyes and take in a deep breath. It will relieve stress and it might help you get through the day a little healthier and easier. Have a great day!