4. Production headaches of "The Self-Empowed Woman"

Dear Followers,

In an effort to make sure that The Self-Empowered Woman can go on sale in September I've spent the past week carefully rereading every word of the galleys sent to me by Amazon/Booksurge. By noon today (Friday) I was ready to throw all 297 pages out the window in frustration. Three other people proofread the manuscript before Tony and I typed in the last changes and yet on this latest go round I still found things that need to be changed.

This weekend's project will be deciding which mistakes were mine, which were theirs, and which ones don't really have to be altered. This production part of publishing is not nearly as much fun (for either me or for Tony) as the research.

For today's question, what do comedienne Sandra Bernhard, U.S. Olympic Softball Medalist Crystl Bustos, TV and movie writer/director Diane English, and actress Sandra Oh have in common?

One follower suggested that yesterday's women (Czechoslovakian tennis player Martina Hingis, Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, Canadian singer Anne Murray, and Italian film director Lina Wertmuller) all had lengthy names. Nice try, but no cigar. These achievers were lucky enough to identify their life goal or dream at a young age, which is a trait that can be really beneficial.

I started "dictating" the book on Mother's Day 2008 and finished twelve months later. Compulsive researcher that I am, however, I've continued to collect stories about additional high-achieving women, and now have over 100 additional names (like Sonia Sotomayor) to add to the 238 that already appear in the book.

Your comments are really welcome, and I look forward to our online conversations...

3. The Shared Traits in "The Self-Empowed Woman"

Dear Followers,

So far I've been quizzing you about American women who are high achievers and today I'll answer the first two questions.

Do you know what writer Maya Angelou, comedienne Ellen DeGeneres, singer Gloria Estefan and actress Demi Moore have in common? They all fall under the category of accomplished women who learned - at an early age - that they couldn't depend on Dad. There are countless reasons why a father might be unreliable - death, illness, divorce, distance, you name it. But a lot of admirable women learn that losing a father's support usually brings with it hidden benefits.

(Photo by WNYC)

Do you know what author Judy Blume, actress Geena Davis, TV newswoman Andrea Mitchell, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have in common?

These women (who have each succeeded in areas that seem to have nothing in common) share a love of and involvement with music. I found it amazing that close to the surface of many Self-Empowered Women is an enduring relationship with music, and in my book I explain this connection.

Intrigued? Today I'm going to go abroad and ask you about women from foreign locales. Do you know what Czechoslovakian tennis player Martina Hingis, Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, Canadian singer Anne Murray, and Italian film director Lina Wertmuller have in common?

The idea here is to convey the idea that when it comes to women of achievement it doesn't really matter where they come from or what they set out to accomplish because they all share certain traits.

One trait I wish I had a better grasp of is the new, high-tech world of e-publishing. This week's main activity has been re-re-re-reading the manuscript for The Self-Empowered Woman so that it can go on sale in September. Meanwhile, poor Tony types my blog at the end of each day and I try not to be like Julie Powell (Julie & Julia) as she wonders if any readers are really out there in cyberspace...

2. 17 Traits of "The Self-Empowered Woman"

What do author Judy Blume, actress Geena Davis, TV newswoman Andrea Mitchell, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have in common?

On each blog entry I plan to tweak your curiousity about the women I've included in my soon-to-be published book The Self-Empowered Woman. By this time next year, I predict that much of the "mystery" about high-achieving women will become mere common knowledge. Finishing the book and sharing my research with all of you is a real thrill, and I'm counting the days until I have a finished book in my hands.

Who would have ever thought that Ms. "I hate computers" would be looking forward to each evening's blog time with Tony, my very supportive husband. A million years ago when I lived in L.A. I had a newspaper column called "A Woman's Place" that ran on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When a visiting publisher from NY read my pieces while at his breakfast table he decided that the story they told deserved to be in book form, which is how Diary of a Divorced Mother came to life.

When Tony and I went to see "Julie & Julia" over the weekend I realized that composing a blog and writing a column are pretty similar. So here I am, anxious to share with you the decades worth of research and reading about high-achieving women that will soon be published in book form.

Before you know it, you too will begin to keep track of which traits (from the 17 included in the book) apply to which women - or even to yourself.

I really look forward to your feedback.

1. An Introduction to "The Self-Empowered Woman"

What do writer Maya Angelou, comedienne Ellen DeGeneres, singer Gloria Estefan and actress Demi Moore have in common?

If you are interested in or intrigued by the life stories of accomplished women, then you've landed on the right blog. My name is Marilyn Murray Willison, and my new book (The Self-Empowered Woman) addresses the question: What circumstances and characteristics help create a high-achieving woman?

Together we can use this space to examine the lives of accomplished women around the world, and at the same time I can share with you the lessons I've learned about publishing my own book for the first time (my four earlier books were published the conventional - old fashioned - way).

Please visit my website http://www.marilynwillison.com/ to learn more about my background, and I look forward to hearing your answers to the question that will appear at the start of each blog entry.

If you've ever found yourself fascinated by a high-achieving woman's remarkable life - think Coco Chanel, Golda Meir or even Cher - then you're really enjoy our time together.