Interview: Annette Fix and The Break-Up-Diet (launches today!)

Annette Fix is the Senior Editor for WOW! Women On Writing (do check out the site if you haven’t already) and I’ve included links to some of her great writing-related articles at the bottom of this post.

In addition to working on WOW!, Annette is an author and spoken-word storyteller and her book, The Break-Up Diet, launches TODAY. Here’s the description from the The Break-Up Diet Amazon Page:

“In her hilarious and heartbreaking memoir, The Break-Up-Diet, Annette Fix shares her story about how she always believed in happily-ever-after and was busy working her Five-Year Plan: marry her golf-pro boyfriend, homeschool her preteen son, become a famous writer, and retire to Fiji.”

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing stories for myself since sixth grade and had teachers and college professors who supported me all along, but I grew up in a blue-collar family in a desert town, and becoming a writer wasn’t something that was encouraged. It wasn’t discouraged; it just wasn’t given any thought at all.

Everyone assumed that I would become an English teacher—I think I thought so too. I didn’t seriously consider the possibility of a writing career until I was thirty. That was ten years ago, and I’m just now beginning to feel like I’m getting a grasp on the craft. But, that’s probably because I’m an education junkie—and I never feel like I know enough.

What inspired you to write this book?

I got dumped off the back of the happily-ever-after horse. The idea for The Break-Up Diet came from that experience: picking myself up, and still believing that there might be a prince out there for me somewhere. It’s amazing to me how something as emotionally devastating as a relationship break-up can turn out to be a creative blessing.

How did you sell this book?

On the side of the freeway, with a tin cup and a cardboard sign. Seriously though, when my agent shopped the manuscript around, it didn’t get picked up. Certainly not for her lack of trying! And I still haven’t sold it yet. At least, not to a traditional publishing company.

I established my own indie company, bought an ISBN block, and spent a year learning the business while I moved my manuscript through the editing, design, and production phases. I’m happy to say that I’ve gotten some really solid and wonderful early reader reviews. And I’m excited to see where this adventure leads!

What are you working on now?

Right now, I’m in marketing mode. But, I’m really looking forward to finding more time to work on my next book—a short story collection inspired by The Tao of Stripping, a personal essay that I’ve been performing at spoken-word salons in Los Angeles for about a year. I never thought I’d expand it, but the response from the audience has been so encouraging—they’ve wanted to hear more of the stories. So, who can argue with that? ☺

Anything else you’d like to tell us about?

I’ve started a project that I think will be a lot of fun once the word gets out. I created a www.mybreakupstory.com
Break-Up Story Forum where women can go to read and share their break-up and dating stories. I’d love for your readers to check it out and join the fun!

For more info:

Book Website
The Break-Up Story Forum
Book blog
MySpace page for the book
WOW! interview with Annette Fix

Some writing-related articles by Annette:

How to Capture an Agent: Hunting in the Wild (an excerpt from The Hungry Writer’s Guide to Tracking and Capturing a Literary Agent)
Exploring New Territory (the flagship article in The Self-Publishing Travel Guide)
Drawing from Life to Create Your Story (on memoir writing)
How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal (an excerpt from The Hungry Writer’s Guide to Tracking and Capturing a Literary Agent)
Online Book Reviews (a guide to seeking online book reviews, includes resources)