Ask the Author: Fred Colby

“My 2nd Edition is available in ebook, print, and audiobook now, with 60 additional pages of research, feedback from fellow widowers, and discussion of topics not covered in the first edition.” Fred Colby

Answered Questions (3)

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Fred Colby You can imagine the writer's block I had to cope with since I was writing while also going through my grieving period. It was rough. There were days when I could not write anything, and others where I would sit down and get lost in my writing... suddenly looking up and finding that hours had gone by.
I think the best strategy is to have a good clear outline for your book, and use that to prompt you to engage each day. Don't get bogged down in the details in the first draft... just get your ideas down. Then you can take it one section at a time and flesh it out, fill in the gaps, add color, add research, etc.
Fred Colby Once I decided to use my blogs as the centerpiece for my book, the rest unfolded naturally. I built the research, lessons learned, stories from other widowers, and words from various therapists around each blog to support and explain what I had gone through.
Fred Colby Widower to Widower came out of my frustration over not being able to find good books, articles, or research on the widower's experience. After complaining about this to my therapist a few times, she finally said, "Why don't you write the book you would want to read, so others can benefit from what you have learned?" After some consideration, I decided to take on the challenge.
I was not afraid of writing as I had written thousands of pages of newsletters, fundraising letters, political appeals, and grants. The difficulty was, "Where do I start?"
The answer for me was in the 30+ blogs I had written before, during and after my wife's passing. These served as a foundation upon which I built the book.

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