If it’s going well, I don’t want to stop—I can edit later, but if I’m struggling, then I keep retracing my steps until I find my direction.
Linda I. Meyers – 1 June 2018
The Back Flap
Linda I. Meyers was twenty-eight and the mother of three little boys when her mother, after a lifetime of threats, killed herself. Staggered by conflicting feelings of relief and remorse, Linda believed that the best way to give meaning to her mother’s death was to make changes to her own life. Bolstered by the women’s movement of the seventies, she left her marriage, went to college, started a successful family acting business, and established a fulfilling career. Written with irony and humor and sprinkled with Yiddish, The Tell is one woman’s inspirational story of before and after, and ultimately of emancipation and purpose.
About the book
What is the book about?
The Tell is the story of before and after my mother’s suicide and how her death changed my life. It visits Jewish Brooklyn in the ‘30s, bungalow colonies in the ‘50s and the women’s movement in the ‘70s. It tells the story of how, after her suicide, I left my husband, began college and started a family acting business. It is a story of emancipation and purpose.
When did you start writing the book?
I started writing the book after my husband died in 2007.
How long did it take you to write it?
About nine years.
Where did you get the idea from?
It is a memoir. I wish I’d known more about my parent’s and grandparent’s lives. I wanted to provide that for my grandchildren.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
It was hard to about my difficult marriage to my children’s father. I struggled with how to tell the truth as I lived it from the truth as they imagined it.
What came easily?
Surprisingly, and for reasons I don’t fully understand, it was easy to write the chapter of my mother’s suicide.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
Jo Ann Beard’s Boys of My Youth was an honest exposition that modeled the use of the compilation of personal essays into memoir.
Do you have a target reader?
Women who have overcome tragedy. Women who are interested in the women’s movement of the ‘70s and women who appreciate that coming of age takes a lifetime.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I begin by reading memoirs. It is other author’s stories that trigger an idea that gets me off the couch and to my desk.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I don’t outline. When the writing is going well, it is dictated by my unconscious.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
It depends if I’m in the flow. If it’s going well, I don’t want to stop—I can edit later, but if I’m struggling, then I keep retracing my steps until I find my direction.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
Bach and Rachmaninoff.
About Publishing
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I decided to go with SheWritesPress, a hybrid press, because I wanted professional guidance and a quick publication. I did not want the book to be in publication as long as it was in gestation. I wanted to see it in print.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
It was done by SheWritesPress. I think they did a beautiful job.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I have hired JKS Communications as my publicist.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
I would definitely recommend a hybrid press.
About You
Where did you grow up?
Brooklyn
Where do you live now?
NYC
What would you like readers to know about you?
That I’m having a very exciting third act.
What are you working on now?
After the promotion of The Tell is over I would like to write a memoir about the years I was stalked by a former patient.
End of Interview:
For more from Linda visit her website or like her Facebook page.