Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi everyone! I’m an author, playwright, and television & film writer. I’ve had three books published so far, with three others soon to come out. My newest book is “How to Live Like a MILLIONAIRE When You’re a Million Short.” It’s an information-packed guide with tons of money-saving tips on Entertainment & Travel, Shopping & Fashion, Health & Beauty, Home Décor and more. The book also includes many of my true-life experiences, which have been exciting, fun, and often funny, too. My first book was a humorous relationship book, “Never Kiss a Frog: A Girl’s Guide to Creatures from the Dating Swamp.” I’m happy to say it has been published in ten countries. My second book is “MUTTweiler: An AutoDOGography,” cowritten with my dog, Boomer. I did the typing; he did the dogtating!
I’m also a writer for television and film. I wrote a family movie that came out last year online and on DVD. “How to Beat a Bully” is a “Home Alone” type comedy with an anti-bullying theme. On television, I’ve written for numerous series, including Murphy Brown, FAME, Sherman Oaks, Friday the 13th – the Series, and Carol & Company, starring Carol Burnett and Jeremy Piven. I was fortunate to receive a Luminas Award for the Positive Depiction of Women in Film and Television, and the Writers Guild of America honored me as a writer of one of the 101 Best TV Series of the Past Seven Decades. As you can imagine, it was extremely gratifying.
One of the things people always find interesting is that I didn’t study writing or literature or film in college. In fact, I have a Master’s Degree in Biology and Physiology! I worked for a brief time in Washington D.C. at the National Academy of Sciences as a Biomedical Information Specialist. Then one day I decided, I didn’t want to be a scientist – I wanted to be a STAR! So I quit my job, sold my furniture, sold my boyfriend (didn’t get much for him) – and moved to New York to become a star. I worked as an actress, and even did stand-up comedy for a while. I used to go on back-to-back with Jerry Seinfeld. Then, one day I decided I either had to take a vacation or get a job! Duh, not much of a decision. I took a vacation and went out to Los Angeles, and never went back to New York. Although I thought I was going to do acting in LA, I switched to writing and that became my passion.
In addition to my books, television and film, I’ve also written a couple of plays, and two Web Series that are based on my books, Never Kiss a Frog and “How to Live Like a MILLIONAIRE When You’re a Million Short.” In addition, I’ve written over 100 travel and entertainment articles for different magazines. However, my favorite things to write are screenplays and books.
I’ve lived in quite a few places: I grew up in Philadelphia, then went to graduate school in Boston, after which I moved to Washington, D.C. and then New York, before moving to Los Angeles which I currently call home.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is How to Live Like a MILLIONAIRE When You’re a Million Short — and it’s easy to say what inspired it. For over 20 years, I have been living like a millionaire even though I’ve never been close to being one. I have a beachside apartment, a cool car, and designer clothes. The only thing I don’t have . . . is a job. The strange thing is that most people I know have steady jobs with regular paychecks every month, and they never seem to have any money to do anything. Yet, I don’t get a monthly paycheck – or sometimes any paycheck – and still I’m able to enjoy life, even the high life, all the time. Everyone has been asking me how in the world I do it. So, I finally decided to reveal my secrets – by writing the book and telling everyone how I do it – and how they can, too!”
In the book, I tell lots of my personal experiences, plus I give tons of money-saving tips on entertainment, travel, shopping, fashion, beauty, health, home décor, celebrations, charity and more. I also include many opportunities to go exciting places and get fabulous things for free.
The book is especially meaningful for authors and others in the creative arts, because we don’t have that steady job or steady paycheck. We might get a chunk of money for one gig, and then not work again for weeks, months, even years at a time. Yet, I have found the ways to go out and have all kinds of amazing experiences and buy whatever I want, without spending a lot of money. The opportunities are out there, but most people don’t know about them. These days so many people don’t have the money to do things that would bring them joy – and now, in my book, they learn they can do them — all sorts of incredible things – without having to spend a bundle. In fact, I even tell how to spend 6 nights at a 4-star resort in Spain… for FREE!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
When I’m writing solo, I tend to stay up till the wee hours of the morning. For screenplays and television, I often write with a writing partner, and that’s fun, particularly with comedies. For my books, I’ve written several alone, and with a couple of them I’ve actually teamed up to write with partners. I know that having a partner is not as usual a practice for authoring books, but I enjoy the collaboration of working with a partner. It’s not as lonely, and you always have someone to run things by and brainstorm with — and someone to make decisions with, be they creative or business decisions. Of course, if you write with a partner, you also have to split the money! Although when I co-wrote with my dog, he didn’t want any money – he just wanted extra treats!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite book is Roget’s Thesaurus. Okay, I’m joking, but it’s sort of the truth. Of course, these days there are many thesaurus choices online, and they are terrific for authors. Powerthesaurus.com is my favorite. I also like the Online Slang Dictionary and Thesaurus at http://onlineslangdictionary.com/thesaurus/ and http://urbanthesaurus.org. In today’s world, so many new words and phrases are being coined all the time, and I think it’s important for authors to stay up-to-date and keep their writing fresh, especially if their books are about contemporary topics.
As far as my favorite fiction authors, I tend to like those who combine fascinating stories with lots of humor. I always loved Nora Ephron’s books. Carl Hiasen and Dave Barry are other authors I enjoy for the wit and creativity in their novels. I also love a good thriller. Although I read it decades ago, the novel “Coma” by Robin Cook was one that has stuck with me through the years.
What are you working on now?
I am working on two novels – one is set to come out at the end of October. It’s a multicultural thriller about a beautiful surgeon with a secret, a tough detective with a cold heart, and the murder that brings them together. I’m using a pseudonym, because it touches on a controversial subject and it is so different from my other books, which are lighthearted and fun.
I’m also completing the novel version of “How to Beat a Bully,” which is the movie I wrote with a writing partner that came out last year. We will be ready to publish the middle-school novel later in 2017. So many stories of bullying are sad or distressing, we wanted to create one that could provide kids and parents with smiles and laughs, yet still promote the idea, “It’s better to be friends than bullies.”
I also have a romantic comedy movie that is soon to go into production as well as a buddy comedy and a thriller. I often have many projects going at once. The truth is you never know which one is going to take off first.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve just started promoting it, via Facebook and direct emails and doing this Q & A! I also answer HARO requests. I did a radio show this morning and hope to do many more. In addition, I am sending out press releases every day. That can be expensive, but here’s something I just found out about and it’s my top recommendation to other authors: 90 DAYS OF FREE PR Releases: www.Expertclick.com/Discount/Marilyn_Anderson
Do you have any advice for new authors?
My advice is to just love what you’re doing and be passionate about it, because it’s a ton of work and you never know if it will pay off… or how, or when! Also, if you believe in your work, never give up.
I had a couple of screenplays that I truly believed in; they got optioned numerous times but never made. One was finally produced 20 years after I wrote it. My newest one, How to Beat a Bully, was optioned eight times by Hollywood producers and never made. I finally decided “no more options.” That’s when things took off. I found an investor, teamed up with a production company who brought in a second investor, and we were cast and in production in six months! The movie came out on Amazon and iTunes and the DVD was picked up by Walmart! That was a real coup for a little indie film. The truth is there are always ups and downs, and craziness in all aspects of the business. You just have to keep believing in yourself and in your work.
As far as other advice for authors – know that there is no specific timeline. Sometimes you will have an idea, and it might marinate for years before you actually sit down to write it. Live happens, and we don’t always get to things as soon as we’d like to. For both my first book, Never Kiss a Frog, and my latest book, How to Live Like a MILLIONAIRE When You’re a Million Short — I had the ideas long before I started writing the books. I knew I wanted to write them, but other things came up that took precedence. Then, when the time was right, I just put my mind to it — and focused on writing the book.
Also, I would advise authors to always have several people read the book when the first draft is finished. Not your mother or your best friend, but several other authors or people in the industry. Get feedback. Listen. If several people have the same issue, know that they may be right. Don’t be resistant to rewriting. That’s a major part of writing (although certainly not MY favorite part.) However, you want to be sure that when your book does go out, either to agents or publishers – or to the world – that it’s your best work.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Some wonderful advice I’ve received many times is that writing the book is the easy part. It’s the publicity and promotion that is the hardest, but often most important part. You can have the greatest product in the world, but if no one knows about it, it won’t go anywhere. So once their books are published, authors must be prepared to really get out there and promote their work.
The other life-changing advice I received was after I wrote my first book. I was invited to several other cities to give presentations, but most of the time I had to foot the bill for all the travel expenses myself. A book publicist suggested I contact a hotel and tell them I was an author of a book and that I would write an article about their property. The hotel hosted me for free. It was such fun, I decided to do more of it. I created a travel column in an online magazine, and went all over the U.S., staying at wonderful hotels and eating at fancy restaurants that I never could have afforded on my own dime. I wrote over 100 articles and had a blast while doing it!
What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading tons of books on marketing and selling books! So much goes into getting a new book out and there’s so much information – I’m trying to learn as much as possible about it. I’m also reading a lot of screenplays. I’ve been a judge for several important screenwriting contests for many years, and this is the season for those contests. So that keeps me very busy between writing my own projects.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m always working on numerous projects. I have a new thriller novel that I’ve started, so I want to complete it and get it published. I also have a few new comedy screenplays in the works. Since my new book, How to Live Like a MILLIONAIRE When You’re a Million Short just came out, I’d really like to find the way to license it and have it come out in different regions as a series: How to Live Like a MILLIONAIRE When You’re a Million Short in New York… How to Live Like a MILLIONAIRE When You’re a Million Short in Chicago… in Atlanta… in London… in Paris, etc. I wouldn’t write them all, but I’d get experts in the various cities to do editions there that would use my title and original format. Also, since the information is so timely, new editions could come out every year or two. That would be my dream as the writer and creator of this project.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Okay, the first book would be: How to Get Off a Desert Island! If that one isn’t written yet, perhaps I would start writing it. What other books would I want? Sign me up for a few thrillers, some humorous novels, and maybe a fascinating biography. I might want to read one of Mindy Kaling’s books, since she’s clever and funny. Can I join the five-books-a-month club and have them sent to the island? This is one tough question. Hopefully, I will never need to know the answer, since I don’t want to be stranded and I tend to get seasick and stay away from boats, so I don’t know how I landed on the island in the first place.
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