Myrna Shiboleth is an animal behaviorist, world champion dog breeder and international dog show judge, and is acknowledged as the world authority on Canaan Dogs, one of the few remaining breeds of feral dogs in the world. After growing up in the U.S. and receiving a degree from Northwestern University in art, she made a radical change in her life by emigrating to Israel.  She has worked at a variety of animal related occupations over the years, including stable manager and riding instructor, kennel manager and dog trainer, advisor on dog behavior to the Israel Defense Department, keeper and animal trainer at the Safari Park, and more. Her book, Tails of Shaar Hagai, is a humorous memoir of these and other experiences. Her previous book, The Israel Canaan Dog, has been published in two editions. She lives and breeds Canaan Dogs and collies at Shaar Hagai Farm in Israel, lectures and instructs in Israel and abroad on a wide variety of dog related subjects, writes for professional publications in Israel and abroad, and continues to enjoy new adventures with her dogs.

www.sephirotpress.com

www.canaandogs.info

www.collies-israel.com

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Myrna.  Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

Tails of Shaar Hagai is my second published book.

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

My first book was The Israel Canaan Dog.  It has been published in two editions, and I am now working on an updated edition.

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?

Actually, I had an easy time with my first book. It was a professional book on a very specific subject, at the time there were no other books available on that subject, and the first publisher I approached about it, who specializes in that genre, was ready to take it on.

However, the situation was different with Tails of Shaar Hagai. This was my first attempt at writing in this genre, and was not the type of book my publisher was interested in. I went through about three years of trying to find an agent and ending up with a scammer, that kept sending me lists of all the publishers that had supposedly rejected the book.  Trying after that to find a publisher on my own resulted in more rejections, until I finally did find Sephirot Press who were interested, and restored my faith in my work.

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

It was very discouraging.  I tend to be a very realistic and down to earth person, and the rejections made me wonder if maybe the book wasn’t worthy of being published and I was deluding myself.  The positive feedback of friends and acquaintances that had read the manuscript and really liked it kept me going.

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

My first book was published in 1985 by Alpine Publications.   Alpine is a publisher that deals specifically with the genre of the book and therefore was ideal for me.

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

It was very exciting and validating to see my own work in print.  But I don’t remember celebrating in any particular way.

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

My first book was geared to a very specific market, so there was not a lot of effort put into promotion.  The publisher regularly advertised their books in professional magazines, and as this was a dog breed book, we notified the breed clubs, advertised in show catalogs and so on – the promotion was geared directly to the specific market for this type of book.

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

I think that for this book, the route was the correct one.

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

With my current book, I have taken the plunge into a very different genre.  Tails of Shaar Hagai is a humorous memoir about the many experiences and adventures I have had over the years, while living a very unconventional life pioneering in Israel and working with dogs and other animals, and traveling to a wide variety of places.  I think my writing has developed and matured a lot, and I am able to look at things that have happened to me and write about them in a different way that I would have some years ago, so that the story is both entertaining and insightful.  It is intended to appeal to a much wider audience.

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 think I should have gotten more advice from experienced writers about how to go about finding an agent and getting published.  I was very naïve and therefore was easy game for the fraudulent agent, and then didn’t really know how to properly approach publishers.  I could have avoided a lot of the discouragement and disappointment, and the lost time, if I had consulted professionals.

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

Being published was in itself a great accomplishment. I can’t say that my life has changed because of being published, but I didn’t really expect that it would.

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

I am not a professional writer, writing is something I enjoy, and also a way of expressing myself, being creative, and blowing off steam. I studied art in university, and quickly came to the conclusion that the world would not suffer from the loss of me as a practicing artist.  Writing gives me a way of making use of my drive to create, and is certainly more successful than my painting! It is great when things are published, but I do write at times just for myself without any intention of submitting the result for publication.  My profession is specialist in dog behavior, and I write, lecture, and teach about it, and work with dogs with behavior problems and service dogs for specialized tasks. I very much enjoy what I do, and am always learning new things and looking for new possibilities.

If I had a chance to choose something else, I would love to learn photography. Once again, it is a very creative profession. I do some very amateur photography, but would love at some time to really learn more and be able to do it better.

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

I have definitely combined the best of both worlds.  Being able to write helps me tremendously in passing on my knowledge to others, and my work is always providing new things for me to write about.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

It would be nice to be able to imagine becoming a best selling author and being able to live on the royalties, but I really don’t believe it.  Since I intend to continue having adventures, I hope that there will be more books, and that I will be able to provide people with some laughs and enjoyment.  I enjoy my life, and so don’t see any need for great changes.

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

Be stubborn! Don’t give up!  It is easy to start losing faith in your work after a few rejections.  But persistence wins out in the end – there are many examples of writers that had books rejected many times, and ended up with a best seller.

Irene Watson, author of award winning The Sitting Swing, was born and raised in a tiny hamlet of Reno in the northern area of the province of Alberta in Canada. It was a farming community, mostly settled by immigrants from Russia, Ukraine and Poland during the early 1900s.

Two books that had the deepest impact were Change me into Zeus’s Daughter by Barbara Robinette Moss, and, Lost and Found by Babette Hughes. Reading both books inspired Irene to write about her own life’s journey, from growing up in a semi- abusive home to finally accepting that experience as a path to a spiritual understanding of life. She now shares her story in The Sitting Swing.

Irene is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Irene received her Bachelor of Liberal Studies, Summa Cum Laude, in Psychology from Saint Edward’s University in Austin and her Master of Arts, with honors, in Liberal Studies: Psychology, from Regis University in Denver.

Today, Irene lives beside Barton Creek in Austin, Texas with her husband Robert of 42 years, and their Pomeranian, Tafton; their calico cat from a rescue shelter, Patches; and their rescued cockatiels, Clement and Elgin.

You can visit her website at www.irenewatson.com or her blog at www.irenewatson.typepad.com/irenes_weblog.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Irene. Can you tell us whether you are published for the first time or multi-published?

The Sitting Swing: Finding Wisdom to Know the Difference is my first published book. I have also co-edited two other books: The Story That Must be Told, and, Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers. I’m in the midst of co-authoring another book that should be published by the end of this year. It’s called: Rewriting Life Scripts: Transformational Recovery for Families.

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?

The first edition of The Sitting Swing was published by a vanity press. Needless to say, I learned a lot about publishing. The book had many flaws and I took it off the market when I found out the promised editing didn’t happen. In the meantime a traditional publisher offered to publish the book. We made some major changes – the first being editing. We also added the subtitle, a resource guide, a reader’s guide, and other major changes.

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

The first time round I attempted the traditional route before I settled on a vanity press. I got over a hundred rejections. I was disappointed at that time, but now I know why. I was going about it the wrong way.

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

The book was first published in 2005 and I’d rather not say the publisher’s name. I chose them because they were the first ones that offered to publish it.

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

It felt great! I had a huge launch at a local university with all the frills that go with a great party.

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

I have a marketing background so I was able to do a lot of my own promoting. I also hired a publicist to help me with some of the areas I didn’t have strength in.

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

OH YES! As I said before, I learned so much the first time round. Good grief…..my first choice is of course publishing through a traditional publisher. But, if that wouldn’t work out I would go the “self-publishing” route through a vanity press. There are a lot of good ones in the industry that support their authors.

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

Yes, I re-published The Sitting Swing with a traditional publisher and I co-edited two other books the same way.

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?

Honestly, I don’t thing I would have done anything different to speed things up. When I got finished my manuscript the process went very quickly.

What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

Ahhh…yes…I would have made sure my book was edited properly, and then double-checked it. I paid for editing and assumed it was done properly. I didn’t check the work. After the book was published I found out, from a national newspaper reviewer, the book had major editing issues. I started checking and sure enough, even the word “foreword” was spelled as “forward.” That was very upsetting to me. For someone that was in publishing for over 30 years should have picked that up. Yes, I’m still upset about it. However, that said, I make sure an encourage all authors to be sure they double-check the work after it is returned from an editor.

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

Notoriety I would say is the biggest. My grandkids now have a Nana that is an “author” and that’s a big deal to them. (Laughs) But, on a more serious note, I established a book review and author publicity service called Reader Views. I learned a lot during my formative years as an author and still learning. My mission is to pass on everything I know to prospective authors.

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

None other at this time. I’ve been through six or seven career changes in my life. Each one has been a huge learning experience.

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

I’m combing both worlds.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Semi-retired and traveling the world doing transformational retreats.

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

Yes….never, ever, ever, ever, give up. There is someone out there that believes in you. And…be sure you double check the editing!

Jenny McGill, a native of Mississippi, has widely traveled the United States and Mexico. She met her husband, Howard, in Texas and discovered he had the same love for Mexico as she. They have lived in the state of Jalisco, Mexico thirty-five years. Fourteen of those years she represented the U.S. Government in Puerto Vallarta as a consular agent. The McGills have retired to a mountain village near the coast where Jenny writes for the Mexican media, promotes young local artists and pursues her own writing career.

You can visit her website at www.mjmcgill.com.

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Jenny. 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)?

This is the first time I have published a book, and I’m self-published. Drama & Diplomacy is my first book.

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

I wrote a short story called Street Sounds of Mexico that was never published as a book, but it was published by a local newspaper in Puerto Vallarta.

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?

I never was rejected since I always planned to self-publish.

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

If I had been rejected, I probably would have thought, “That proves I am an author, doesn’t it?” I would feel sorry for all the people who missed my wonderful story and then I would have gotten out my Blue Funk File and found a reason to get back in the game.

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

I chose McGill Books because I own the company.

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

I felt ten feet tall! I spoke to the Puerto Vallarta Writers Group about the birthing of the book, the local media interviewed me and I was profiled in an upscale Mexican magazine, Vallarta Lifestyles.

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

I sent out 150 invitations to friends, characters in the book and local press to come join us for a book presentation in one of Puerto Vallarta’s luxurious beach villas, Villa Verano, owned our friends Burt Hixson and Gerry Battle.

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

I don’t think so. I wanted my book to be available to the public NOW! I think we all hope a big name publisher will jump at the chance to publish and promote our work, but we have to get started somewhere. I chose to self-publish.

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

I am a freelance writer in Mexico and I am published in several English newspapers in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. I write a monthly column for Mexico’s biggest English e-zines, and I am working on another manuscript; a historical novel based on fact, which I hope to have ready to print in the late spring of 2009. How have I grown? I believe I look at life differently now. I don’t paint with oils or watercolors. I paint with words, and a new scene unfolds every day that I want to write about.

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 would have searched for a good literary agent, and I certainly would not depend on my friends, my computer Spell Check or me to edit. The second edition of Drama & Diplomacy was professionally edited twice.

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

I don’t know that you could call it an ‘accomplishment’, but it is a fine feeling to be introduced as a writer. It is an even better feeling to be recognized by a total stranger who says, “I read your book and I loved it!”

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

I don’t think I would have chosen to do anything other than what I’ve done in my life. I used to dream about writing, but when I would wake up I couldn’t remember what I had written. In earlier life I didn’t think I had the extra time to write. Perhaps that is why I enjoy writing now – I have the time.

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

I’m combining life, day by day.

How do you see yourself in ten years?

That would make me 82 years old. If my fingers can still find the keyboard and I still recognize my computer, I can see myself choosing the actors who will play the characters of my books that have been made into movies.

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

Make your dream come true. You can. I did. Thank you for interviewing me.