Interview
With Author Cija Black
1. What type of books do you write? My focus is on dating and relationships with a heavy emphasis on helping people recognize and sort through their baggage. I believe that when people are armed with the knowledge of what their heart really wants and needs, there is no stopping them. I want to empower people to take charge of their dating destiny!
1. What type of books do you write? My focus is on dating and relationships with a heavy emphasis on helping people recognize and sort through their baggage. I believe that when people are armed with the knowledge of what their heart really wants and needs, there is no stopping them. I want to empower people to take charge of their dating destiny!
2. What is your newest
book about? My newest and actually
first book is called Modern Love: The Grownup's Guide to Relationships
& Online Dating. It helps people sort through their relationship baggage
and then use that knowledge to successfully navigate dating. It's particularly beneficial
if they've been out of the dating pool for some time. The book is broken up
into three distinct sections: (1) Sorting your relationship baggage and
clarifying what you want from a relationship and partner (2) How to take that
information and turn it into a successful online dating profile and safety
date online (3) And finally actually going out on dates and determining
when you really have a spark or if need to move on. You can find out more about
the book at: http://www.modernloveguide.com
3. What inspired you
to write it? A few years back I had
a number of friends going through divorce and then I went through it myself.
When I found myself back on the market I turned to online dating websites. I
have used personal ads and then online dating as my go to to meet potential matches
throughout my dating career, so about 20 years. I have always been direct in my
approach to meeting matches and really had fun in the process. But I found that
when I talked to friends and family about dating, they were coming from a place
of fear and anxiety about it. I decided I wanted to help people enjoy the
experience of dating and relationships and have control over it. Drive it
instead of letting it drive them.
4. What is the writing
process like for you? The
writing process for me starts with me saturating myself with the information I
plan to write about. I had been thinking about writing this book for a couple
of years and with the support and encouragement of my boyfriend I quit my job
and was able to dedicate myself to writing this book. As far as the functional
piece of writing, it started with general ideas I wanted to get across to my
readers, arranged that into an outline and then basically sat down and started
filling in the details. I was also really fortunate to have friends that were
willing to read the book and give me their feedback before I finalized it. I
didn't expect the editing and review process to take so long, I tend to be one
of those people that wants things done yesterday so it was a very educational
process for me. The whole book took me about 9 months to write.
5. What did you do
before you became an author? Before I was an author I worked at a company that managed
conferences and events. I was the resident computer geek, marketing assistant
and unofficial office therapist. Before that I worked primarily in higher
education on the administrative side of things. I have a past filled with
customer service & problems solving. Throughout it all my biggest high has
been helping people solve problems. Writing a book about dating and
relationships seemed like a natural progression for me.
6. How does it feel to
be a published author? I
have to admit it's pretty exciting to realize I actually wrote a book. When I
got the first box delivered and opened them, it was sort of surreal. Many
people talk about writing a book, but I actually did it. I'm extremely proud of
that accomplishment and regardless of where this book goes I have achieved a
major goal that few do.
7. Any advice for
struggling writers? If you want to write a
book you just have to sit down and do it. Give yourself daily word count goals,
even if it's just a page a day. All of those pages add up. There are also so
many ways to get your book out there and if you are willing to spend some time
learning some technology the possibilities are limitless in terms of where it
can go. Follow your dreams, that is never a waste of time.
8. Where do you see
book publishing heading? It's
hard to say where book publishing is heading. We live in a society that now
demands constant content. So everyone these days seems to be a writer, blogger
or content provider of some sort. I think there will always be people that want
hard cover books, but with the advent of ebooks, audio books, pod casts and
videos I think to stay current and relevant authors need to at least
acknowledge that there are now many platforms to get ideas out there. Think
beyond the traditional book and make the information more interactive and more
dimensional to engage the reader.
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Brian
Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and
not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow
him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when
discussed in the third-person. This blog is copyrighted material by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2013
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