Chit Chatting with Claudine Wolk
Chit Chatting with Claudine Wolk
Interviewed by: Jill Sheets
J: Tell us about your book/audiobook: It Gets Easier!....And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers.
C: I always thought that the book, first published in 2009, would make a great audiobook because as the cover suggests, it’s advice from a girlfriend, or any other woman you trust, and hearing that advice in digestible chapters, in your own time is the perfect audio book. It wasn’t until I completed voice acting lessons and completed a demo that I had the confidence to pitch it to my publisher. I offered to do the narration of the audiobook myself and sent my demo. The publisher, Harper Collins, liked the idea. Always take a chance and ask!
J: How did you come up with the idea to write this book?
C: As a new mom who was a career gal first, I thought motherhood would be easy. Ha! I was shocked at how hard it was. This little baby - who mostly cried, slept little, and came with no instructions - was a mystery to me. Determined to figure out a better way, I interviewed moms anywhere they would talk to me - family member moms, girlfriends, moms at the ymca, moms at parks, strangers on planes - any mom who would give me insight. They started with offering advice on burping, rocking and sleep schedules and the advice morphed into keeping your marriage/relationship fresh and holding on to your own dreams. The information was so helpful to me I felt I had to get it out there to other moms! Honesty and humor paved my way to happy motherhood - I had two more children!
J: What are some of your favorite topics you cover in your book?
C: The basic baby care information is so important in those early months – the tips on burping, rocking and sleep schedules. A reader emailed me recently and asked for the baby schedule that I wrote about in the book from the 60’s. Baby sleep is still very much an issue. But my favorite parts of the book are in the second half where the advice is real and honest - keeping your relationship fresh, holding on to your own dreams and examining the differences between stay at home mom choices and working mom choices.
J: What would you have liked to know before you became a parent?
I would have liked to know more about the baby schedule from the moment of my son’s birth (instead of 4 weeks in) and I would have treated myself with more kindness. I did not take enough time for myself so that I was energized to handle the difficult job of new motherhood. In short, I felt like I needed to do it all by myself. I should have asked for more help.
J: What would you like people to take away from your book?
C: Humor and honesty go a long way to adjusting and to enjoying motherhood. Motherhood is a huge and abrupt change of your life. I encourage you to ask for help and don’t give up your own dreams. Remember that you are an important member of your family and that your needs matter. Most importantly, remember that your children are lent to you for a period of time. Keep your own interests so that when they leave the nest, which you really want them to do, you can live your life fulfilled!
J: What are you currently working on?
C: I have a new book coming out in September titled, Get Your Book Seen and Sold. It might sound like a strange follow-up to It Gets Easier! And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers and I suppose it is a little strange. The truth is that both books are fun, practical guides and use stories and examples to teach.
Many of the interviews that I conducted as a podcast and radio host over the past four years have been with experts who wanted to be authors or authors who jumped headfirst into self-publishing and missed opportunities to market their books. After answering their questions and offering book marketing suggestions and resources it finally hit me that a book marketing and publishing guide was needed to give these books the best chance to be seen and sold.
I also write a Substack newsletter (free) for subscribers where I post book marketing ideas, interviews, and videos titled Get Your Book Seen and Sold at claudinewolk.substack.com. I also co-teach a master class called Sit & Write with my colleague Kate Brenton, for writers who need help completing the first draft of their book and want to learn essential book marketing techniques at an early stage of book development.
J: Tell us about being a radio talk show host.
C: Broadcasting a radio show is so much fun. It was a definitely a career pivot from an early career in accounting. It just goes to illustrate that it is never too late to try something new. Once I learned how to work the broadcasting board, it was smooth sailing. Finding and booking guests and prepping for interviews is a challenge but conducting the actual interview is exhilarating. It is so much fun to meet new people and learn new things.
J: Tell us about your podcast. Where can people find it?
C: I have two podcasts – Get Your Book Seen and Sold is specifically about book marketing – lessons, tips, resources and book marketing expert interviews. Stories and Strategies for Women Podcast features interviews with amazing women who share positive stories about their life, businesses, or expertise in specific areas that are meaningful to women. My hope for both podcasts is that the stories inspire action! Both are listed on most podcast channels: Apple, Spodify, Google, etc.
J: Are you on any social networking sites? What about an official website?
C: You can find me at claudinewolk.com, claudinewolk.substack.com, Facebook: Claudine Wolk | Instagram: @ClaudineWolk and Twitter: @help4newmoms
J: Anything else you would like to add?
C: Thanks so much for the great questions! Drop me a note on my website contact page https://www.claudinewolk.com/contact with any questions, interview ideas, or just to say hello! Keep writing!
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