Nancy Oelklaus began her career as a high school English teacher in Marshall, Texas. She earned the B.A. in Communications from Oklahoma Baptist University, the M.A. in English from the University of North Texas and the doctorate in educational administration from Texas A&M University, Commerce. For nine years she served as assistant superintendent for instructional services in Marshall, followed by nine years as executive director for the Texas Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Since 2000 she has worked as an executive coach in Austin, serving entrepreneurial clients in education, social services, financial services, real estate, public relations, and city administration. Dr. Oelklaus has received numerous awards and honors for civic leadership, including the Vision to Action Award from the Visions of a Better World Foundation in Boston. She was named Leader of Leaders by Sam Houston State University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Woman of Achievement by the Business and Professional Women of Marshall, Texas. In 2007 she received the Profile in Excellence Award from Oklahoma Baptist University. Her articles have appeared in publications including The American School Board Journal, The Austin Business Journal, The Systems Thinker, and AustinWoman. Her first book, entitled Journey from Head to Heart: Living and Working Authentically, will be published in March 2008 by Loving Healing Press of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Three coaching CD’s by Nancy are available through Amazon.

You can visit her website at http://www.headtoheart.info/.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Nancy Oelklaus Can you tell us whether you are published for the first time or multi-published? Can you give us the title(s) of your book(s)?

Several years ago I self-published a small book of poetry entitled Alphabet Meditations for Teachers. Journey from Head to Heart: Living and Working Authentically is my first professionally published book.

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

I allowed Alphabet Meditations for Teachers to go out of print because I could not devote the time to marketing that it needed for a larger distribution. However, I still have it and may re-publish it at a later time.

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

For a year I worked with an agent who was taking the proposal to major publishing houses. I lost track of the number of rejections, but I would guess it was around 15, maybe 20. After a year I decided I had to do something differently, so I consulted Irene Watson of ReaderViews.com, who put me in touch with Victor Volkman of Loving Healing Press, a small press in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He liked what he read! The first agent I used was also an intellectual property attorney, and when I took her the contract to review, she said, “This is better than anything I could have gotten for you from the major publishers.”

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

I had been warned to expect rejections. I’ve heard stories about major writers whose work was initially rejected hundreds of times. I had been prepared, so I knew rejection was just part of the process.

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

Loving Healing Press of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Although I’ve never met Victor Volkman, president, I have experienced him via e-mail as a kind, patient man. I respect his work; he’s exacting, and he expects a lot from me, and he’s great at giving support and encouragement. When my attorney read the contract he sent, she said he was incredibly fair and obviously very ethical. My publisher has exceeded his promises, and I’ve had only good experiences with him. He delivers on what he promises, usually ahead of schedule.

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

It feels normal—like I’m finally in my own skin. The celebrations begin next week, with a book signing in the place I called home for 25 years. Then we’ll have a celebration barbecue in the place I now call home. It feels good. I know this book represents a significant accomplishment, but I’m more interested in getting it into as many hands as possible so that it helps people.

What was the first thing you did as far as promotion when you were published for the first time?

The very first thing was to have excerpts published in a local monthly magazine.

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

No, I wouldn’t. I just kept taking the next step. And then the next. And the next. And before I knew it . . . .

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

My confidence has grown, and I’m now planning to write my next book.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

I wish I had done something early on to boost my confidence. Because of some of the “horror stories” I had heard, I often doubted whether my work would ever be published at all. I also had a lot of fear about whether or not my husband would accept my decision to be an author. As it turned out, all of my fears were groundless. I also think I could have saved time if I had not been so intent on finding a major publishing house. That’s just ego stuff, and I know better. But it was difficult to get unstuck from that pattern of thinking.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

My greatest sense of fulfillment has come from the responses of people who have read the book. Their words tell me it has fulfilled its purpose to help people have happier, more meaningful lives.

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

I am a teacher. I started my career as a teacher of high school students. Then I was a teacher of teachers. Then I was a teacher for leaders, which I still do through coaching. Now my book, JOURNEY FROM HEAD TO HEART: LIVING AND WORKING AUTHENTICALLY, is teaching for me.

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

I’ve combined the best of both worlds, and I wouldn’t trade places with anyone.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

As I see myself today—living a good, healthy life, coaching leaders, speaking, and writing books.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

Hold fast to the dream. Make the internal changes necessary to bring that dream into your current reality. Consider these words from Carl Jung: “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”