Elizabeth’s circuitous career has taken her from published leprosy researcher to stay-at-home mother, to community activist and leader serving on nonprofit and corporate boards, to ham radio operator, to freelance writer/editor and blogger at Heartspoken.com. Above all, she is a connector and encourager whose expertise and passion for note writing is coming at just the right time to a world made keenly aware by pandemic that we humans are hardwired for connection. What better way to connect when we’re forced to stay apart physically? Elizabeth is the right person at the right time to help readers find their own heartspoken voice and learn to harness this powerful tool for nurturing their most precious relationships.
Hello Elizabeth, welcome to BrandEducation! What themes or messages do you hope readers will take away from your work?
My book and my brand, Heartspoken, are all about how to strengthen Connection in a digital world, both at home and at work. We humans are hard-wired for connection, and learning to strengthen the connections that mean most to us in life should be the focus of our life’s work. And it’s not just connection with other people. The essential connections in my own life also include connection with God, connection with Self, and connection with Nature. I find that when my life is off-kilter, I can almost always find one of these four essential connections that needs work.
My interest in the writing of personal and professional heartspoken notes came directly from the theme of connection with others. It is a powerful and often overlooked connection tool. I liken it to a superpower, and learning to write heartspoken notes more often and more skillfully maybe the closest most of us will ever come to being a Superhero.
Are there any specific authors or books that have influenced your writing style or storytelling?
I have studied and admired nonfiction writers who write in such an absorbing or riveting way that their work reads like fiction. These include Hampton Sides, Erik Larson who bring history to life without sacrificing accuracy. Gretchen Rubin and Malcolm Gladwell both have a gift for taking research data and making it not only accessible but also compelling.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
I love to read, write in my journal, take walks. I enjoy backyard birdwatching, and I play the guitar and piano. My husband and I are also both Extra Class amateur radio operators (my call sign is W4EHC), so that takes the theme of Connection in an entirely different direction.
What challenges have you faced as a writer, and how have you overcome them?
I supposed the first is overcoming the negative voice in your head that tells you you’re not good enough or that the world doesn’t care what you have to say. Testing and feedback helped me overcome this – the way people responded to my ideas. I also cling to the belief that even if something has been said before, it’s never been said BY ME before. Besides, the audience pool is always changing and morphing.
The second challenge has been to figure out how to publish and market my book. The publishing decision was attained by research and talking to more experienced authors. The marketing is an ongoing challenge, but I have decided to take the long game and pay attention to which of my efforts is effective and which isn’t. What works for other authors may not work for me – I find that true especially for fiction writers compared to nonfiction writers. Their audiences are often quite different.
Can you discuss the role of research in your writing? How to you ensure accuracy in your work?
As a nonfiction writer, research is critical. I try to verify all sources. I wouldn’t introduce anything as fact unless I had verified it from at least two different sources. Quotations are especially tricky, because so many are misattributed and then the Internet spreads the mistake far and wide. I use Google Books, QuoteInvestigator, and Snopes to try to identify errors. ChatGPT can help, but it makes mistakes too!
What advice do you have for aspiring author who are looking to get their first book published?
I hesitate to give advice except to say “Believe in yourself,” and “Don’t expect to get wealthy from book sales.” The statistics don’t lie, and many authors never even earn back their costs, especially if they spend a lot on marketing. But some do, so do your homework, talk to others who have used publishers you’re considering, and make the best choice based on your budget and your time sensitivity. I no longer feel a traditional publisher is the way to go unless you have a huge platform or connections. And there are lots of indie authors who have done well on shoestring budgets. Find reliable sources of information (e.g., a trade association, a writers group).
Do you have any upcoming projects or future writing plans?
At age 74, I am not aspiring to create an authorial empire. My approach as a nonfiction writer is to take the content of my book and build on it – make sequels that apply the principles to different audiences – create courses for those who want to learn more – offer workshops and speaking presentations. All of that will be posted to my website https://heartspoken.com and to subscribers of my newsletters, especially “Today’s HEARTSPOKEN Note,” https://heartspoken.com/thn.
Are there any books or authors that you revisit or re-read for inspiration or comfort?
I have a few authors whose books I always read, but I rarely re-read the same book again. I can’t live long enough to read all the books on my TBR list now! But those authors include Jodi Picoult, James Davison, E.A. Coe, Cara Achterberg, Hampton Sides, Erik Larson, Douglas Preston, and Louise Penny.
What role do you believe literature plays in shaping society and culture?
Literature plays a huge role in shaping society and culture. Each work is like a mirror that reflects and refracts the light of society and culture, and each reader, in receiving that light, reflects it again in their life.
What are your thoughts on the future of publishing and role of technology in storytelling?
The industry is changing so fast that it’s dizzying, and at my age, I can hardly foresee what it will look like in 20 years. I think as authors – and as humans – we need to try to stay on top of trends in technology, embrace the tools that work for us and discard the rest. I use AI as a brainstorming partner and research tool, but I understand the potential to abuse it. My response to that is to echo what Joanna Penn – host of the Creative Penn podcast – says about it: “We just have to double down on being human
Find out more about Elizabeth at: https://heartspoken.com/