What was your favorite part about writing this book? Your least?

My favorite part of writing the book was the editing process. I loved to see the way our raw ideas became wonderfully crafted works of art through as we employed techniques using stories and humor, as well as focusing on natural cadence and interesting word combinations. It is this process that makes the writing so much more than just capturing words and thoughts on paper. Turning a piece into something others find to be worthwhile reading is (or should be) one of every writer's goals.

Brainstorming the format for the book was a long and grueling process, though I must admit, I still enjoyed it. We had so many tips to convey and spent several months working on the best way to organize and present them. Finally, with the help of our agent and editor, we came up with the very reader-friendly month-by-month format.

Was this book, at first, rejected by publishers? If so, how did you cope with that rejection?

The Frantic Woman book was originally presented to publishers through our agent as The Frantic Woman's Guide to Christmas. Many publishers found the idea too narrow for a first book in a series. At the suggestion of an editor at a major publishing company, we broadened the scope of the book to be The Frantic Woman's Guide to Life. (This was actually one of our very first proposal ideas, but we thought the Christmas book might have a longer shelf life, receiving renewed interest every holiday season, so we went with that idea instead.)

Our agent was put in a particularly awkward situation and faced with the decision of whether or not to re-present the new idea to editors. Thankfully, she decided to take the risk and was able to convey her genuine enthusiasm for the project to the staff at Warner Books. Not long after, we were signing a contract including a decent advance (for nonfiction and relatively unknown authors). As far as coping with rejection, we believed so whole-heartedly in the project that we never lost hope it would sell. We graciously accepted suggestions from our agent and potential editors and edited accordingly. Our goal was to sell the book and we trusted that these people knew best what would help to sell it to the reading public.

Why do you write?

I absolutely love and enjoy the creative writing process. I delight in capturing the raw expression, in fine-tuning and editing (hence, I run a successful critiquing service), and in researching and marketing. I get up before dawn (and before my husband and my three elementary school-aged children) to work on my writing projects, and I go back to it every chance I get--niggling plot problems and gathering ideas while driving (I dictate to my kids and they take notes) to and from practices, games, lessons, school, and doctor appointments.

My brother-in-law once said to me, "If writing shakes you out of bed at 5:00 AM, you must be doing what you love." And that, I am.

What are you working on now?

I am currently interviewing experts and sister Frantics, gathering material for another Frantic Woman book. In addition, I've been working diligently on my suspense novel about a young woman whose career and life are being threatened, not by a stranger, but by someone in her inner circle of friends.

Do you have any favorite writing books?

I have several faves, but Stephen King's On Writing tops the list. I have read this book at least three times and listened to it twice on CD. Why? Because it skips over the basics (which you can get from any of hundreds of books on writing) and gets to the core: the motivation and the just-do-it-iveness which is what separates successful writers from those who wish to write or those who write but don't sell.

I also recommend: Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas, Writing for Children and Teenagers by Lee Wyndham, and Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why by Jeff Herman.

What advice would you impart to new writers?

As I say in my writing lectures and classes, set goals for yourself and meet them. Read a couple of how-to-write books and attend a few conferences. Then, roll up your sleeves and get down to it. You can procrastinate away many years without ever getting much done. So make a deadline to finish and submit an essay by the end of this month, to write and send out five article queries by the middle of next month, or to complete your novel by mid-summer. Assign yourself daily page quotas and milestone rewards (e.g. after I've written 10,000 words, I'll treat myself to a new writing book).

The greatest challenge new writers face isn't struggling with self-editing or even finding an agent. It's getting something written that other people will want to read. And the only way to accomplish that is to write, edit, and submit in that order. Best of luck!

You can read more about Judith and her work at http://www.fatplum.com/html/judy.html and www.FranticWoman.com.

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Diane Domingo is the owner of Bookshelf Editing Services and is also a regular contributor and editor to WritersBreak.com. Diane can be contacted at editor-dd@earthlink.net.