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Unlike most journalists, ASJA member Julie Patrick-Barnhill puts the cart before the horse; that is, her speaking platform drives her writing rather than the other way around. Early in her career, her talks on motherhood and anger resulted in the explosively successful She’s Gonna Blow! Real Help for Moms Dealing with Anger, which along with her 10 other titles has sold a cumulative total of over 200,000 copies. Mother of three grown children, she found their toddler years especially tough, particularly since the first two were only 21 months apart. “I was having dark thoughts and couldn’t find anyone to talk to about it,” she recalls. Being part of the Christian community added to the challenge in some regards. “This was before every parent on the planet had a Facebook wall or blog. And it was long before Christian women felt they could talk openly about such struggles and failures, making it even harder for moms to be honest with each other.”
“I’ve always been one who made people nervous because I’m direct and to the point,” she continues. So she took the leap anyway, sharing her struggles with not only Christian women but women in general, resulting in a speaking career that has taken her to four continents, from London to Beijing to Johannesburg, among dozens of other places. Her too-many-to-count TV, radio and print appearances range from the Wall Street Journal to “One Tough Mother” a featured column in MomSense Magazine (circulation: 100,000+ ) to regular radio interviews with Dr. James Dobson and the inspirational staple “Focus on the Family Daily Broadcast” and includes the Holy Grail of writers everywhere – an appearance on the original “Oprah Winfrey Show.” Naturally ASJA Confidential had some questions:
So with so many speaking engagements, not to mention family responsibilities, how did you manage to pen 11 books on parenting and spiritual development?
I just sat down and did it. I told myself, you’re the adult, quit whining and get to it. If want to do what you love – which is speak, share your message and help other women– you’re going to have to accept the less pleasant part of the job, which is write.
I also came to writing books in an unconventional way. I think I may have attended one writer’s conference before sending my proposal for She’s Gonna Blow! to my publisher in 1999. But I had a strong angle and had established a niche with women. And I had an incredible editor who was a genius in turning my thoughts into clear and readable prose. Editors aren’t paid nearly enough.
How did you snag an appearance on “Oprah?”
She’s Gonna Blow! was cresting in 2002 and I really believed it could change the world. So my goal was to get it on both Dr. Dobson’s show and “Oprah”….when I found out that it had strong sales at Walmarts nationwide, I reached out to a producer [from the latter] and they called me the next day. I’m not going to lie; the producers were a little afraid that I might be a Jesus freak but it went very well in terms of production and both audience response and sales. I had obviously struck a major chord with women, regardless of their beliefs.
You mentioned a dry spell that caused you to cancel book No. 12. Could you tell us about that and how you overcame it?
I was going through a tough time with my youngest child and found myself creatively flat. I was writing pap and told my agent to cancel the book…the agent warned me that this could be the end of my career and publishers might not want to work with me again. My reply was if that’s the way it is, so be it. And for a while I sat in my house and watched Netflix. I believe I was directed by God to step away from everything and regroup.
This lasted about 4 ½ years. But then my child grew out of his difficulties and I started to wake up and begin to want to spread a different message, one directed to spiritual development for women in their 50s and beyond. Women, you might say, whose cheese fell off their crackers. So I started organizing women’s retreats in Florida, where there’s sunshine and sea. And I began speaking again and am considering doing another book on the thinking Christian woman and how she can realistically wrestle with life’s difficulties.
What tips might you have for writers wanting to ramp up their own speaking careers?
- Own your voice and style. Focus on your message rather than what others might be thinking of you. You are the expert and have been asked to speak for that reason!
- Work from an outline but don’t read from it. While I was extemporaneous in the beginning, starting in my mid-40s, I found that I needed an outline. But I only refer to it when necessary, because to surprise myself also entertains the audience.
- Know your audience and make sure they are suitable for your message. There’s nothing worse than bombing with people who have no idea about or interest in what you are trying to say.
- Make sure to get 50 percent of your fee upfront and the rest 10 days before you speak. Even if it means not cashing the second check – refundable to the client in case of unforeseen circumstances – until after the talk
- Create a business assistant even if you don’t have one. This gives an impression of success and professionalism when contacting potential venues; you can sell yourself without them knowing it’s you. Plus you save yourself their commission or salary!
- Believe in the worth of your message, even if you have to fake it at first. If it’s coming from the heart, you’ll soon be convinced and so will the audience.
Have you heard about ASJA’s Chicago Conference? For two days in November, we’re hosting two very special events. Spotlight on Ghostwriting takes place on Friday, November 17, and Boosting Your Content IQ will be held the next day, Saturday, November 18. Sign up for one or both days. Registration is open now!