Carol Cox: Hear how one idea became a signature talk,
a speaking platform and a published book with
my guest, thought leader Academy grad Melania
Murphy. On this episode of the Speaking Your
Brand podcast, more and more women are making
an impact by starting businesses,
running for office, and speaking up for what
matters. With my background as a TV political
analyst, entrepreneur,
and speaker, I interview and coach purpose
driven women to shape their brands,
grow their companies, and become recognized
as influencers in their field.
This is speaking your brand,
your place to learn how to persuasively
communicate your message to your audience.
Hi there and welcome to the Speaking Your
Brand podcast. This is your host,
Carol Cox. Today we're going to talk about a
thought leadership, a journey from just an
idea to a signature talk to a published book
in just a matter of a year or two.
My guess is thought leader Academy graduate
Melania Murphy, who went through our program
back in the summer fall of 2024.
Then she attended one of our one day
in-person speaking workshops that we hold in
Orlando, Florida.
And then she also attended a writing and
speaking retreat that I co-hosted with book
coach Tiffany Hawk, who is amazing.
I'll put links to those podcast episodes I've
done with Tiffany in the show notes.
But Melania, I and I am so proud and excited
of all the things that you have done since
I've gotten to know you, and I'm excited for
us to talk about your journey from idea to
signature talk to book,
because I feel like so many of the listeners
of the podcast want to do the same thing.
They want to put their message out in a
bigger way. They want to have a positive
impact on their audiences with their
speaking, but also potentially with a book.
So we're going to dive into all of that here
together. But first, I want to know.
Tell us a little bit about your book.
Give us the title, and then we're going to
talk about what it even means and where this
idea came from.
Melania Murphy: Okay, great. Well thanks,
Carol. I'm so excited to be here.
It certainly has been a journey with you.
I remember my first call like,
I don't know, is this really right for me?
And you were so encouraging and so
supportive. So I really appreciate that.
It's really helped me to get to the finish
line here. So my book is called Bound by
Love, Not Tradition Empowering Women through
Mary Named Choices. I just got my printed
copy just two days ago,
so I'm really excited about it.
So yes. So my book is about married name
choices and really kind of doing a deep dive
into the options that we have,
the traditions that our society has,
you know, taught us some unconscious,
some ingrained, some, you know,
very on the level here.
But, um, it's just really about looking at
all the options that we have.
And for women thinking about what's most
important to me as a woman,
and, you know, how do I how do I empower
myself to get what I want out of my name and
at the same time being loving,
compassionate and being very equal with my
partner?
Carol Cox: Okay, so I this topic is so fascinating to me
because. So I have been with my husband since
I was in college, so a very long time now.
I won't even disclose what the actual number
of years is. Uh, so a very long time.
But we didn't, uh, decide to actually get
married until about 14 years into our
relationship. And so, you know,
by then I had been to graduate school,
I had started we had started a business
together. We didn't have any children,
and we weren't planning on it.
And so when we got married,
I literally did not even think twice about
keeping my family name,
my given name, which is Carol Cox Cox,
of course, being my father's last name.
And so I didn't even I didn't even think
twice about it at all.
And also being a feminist and like,
and I really wanted to keep my name because I
like my name and it felt so much a part of my
identity, plus the legacy of my father,
who had passed away actually about six weeks
before I met my husband.
And so I really wanted to honor my father and
my family, but then also honor my husband.
So my my husband was perfectly happy that I
kept my name. He had no problem with it
whatsoever. But I know from talking with you
that that is unusual.
I think the statistic is pretty high as far
as how many women do indeed take their
husband's name upon marriage.
So can you tell us what that stat is and tell
us about, like, how does this come about and
and what does it take to actually start
having conversations about what name to
decide to go with?
Melania Murphy: Right. Yeah.
So the current statistic and and to tell you
the truth, it's a little bit old. It's the
Pew Research study that was done in 2023,
but it's the one that most people refer back
to. And that is that 80% of women,
you know, even in today's society,
still drop their name and take the husband's
name. And back in the 1970s,
when Ms. Magazine came out and there was that
second wave of feminism and,
and they really started promoting the Ms.
prefix and keeping your maiden name.
In the 70s, 17% of women actually kept their
married name. So we really haven't moved that
mark very far in the last 50 years.
And but there is a small percentage of men
who are now changing their names.
Before it was 0%.
Now it's like 5% of men are willing to either
take their wives name or hyphenate their name
with her name, or create a new name.
You know, both of them together.
So that part of it is shifting a little bit.
And the younger generation,
uh, you know, the 20 and 30 year olds now,
they are very into personalizing their
wedding and looking at all the different
traditions to decide what what tradition
works for them and fits with their
personalities and which ones don't.
So more couples are starting to look at the
tradition of the woman taking the man's name
too. So there are slight shifts,
but in my opinion, not enough yet.
Carol Cox: Well, 80% that that surprises me that it's
still that high. Like you said, not much
movement over the past 50 years.
Why do you think that is?
Why is the default still to take the
husband's name?
Melania Murphy: You know what? I have been surprised at?
How many couples still don't even have a
conversation about it.
It's still just assumed that the woman will
take the man's name.
And unfortunately, it is up to the woman to
to kind of start the conversation and say,
hey, let's let's sit down.
Let's talk about all of our married name
choices and let's, you know,
each look at our names,
what's important to us in our names and what
legacy we want to leave with our names and go
from there. Because the majority of men like
all the men, they're not going to bring it up
there. It's just the way that we've been
raised in our society.
It's still so ingrained in our society that
women drop their name and take on the man's
name. I mean, you know,
you think about it. Even in elementary
school, most of the teachers are women and
most of them are young women.
So even in elementary school,
the kids are learning.
Oh, you know, she's changing her name.
That's that's what happens when they're very
impressionable, when they're nine,
ten, 11 years old.
It's like, oh, that's what happens when you
get married. You know, the woman changes her
name. So and, you know,
in movies, in, in, uh,
just everything that, that we see,
it's still just very assumed that a woman's
going to change her name.
And it's it's like I said,
it's starting to change a little bit,
but, um, I think it's a I think it's an
important topic to really look at from.
It's a very complex tablet,
very personal, very complex topic.
And so digging into that,
it's actually fascinating and it's a lot of
fun.
Carol Cox: Well, where did this topic come from for you?
Like, you know why why did why did you decide
that this was the idea that I wanted to build
my message around and write a whole book
about?
Melania Murphy: Yeah, it's, um, you know,
I guess it came from a couple of different
places when I grew up.
My dad passed away when I was,
um, when I was three, and then my mom
remarried when I was seven,
and she dropped her name and took on my
stepfather's name, and we blended a family.
Well, he he had a son who was still living in
the house. So the three of them had one name.
My mom, my stepdad and my stepson are my
stepbrother. And then my siblings and I,
we had a different name.
So it just kind of it's like,
well, that's just the way it is,
you know? And for a while we were living with
my grandma, who she had a different last name
too. So to me, I just kind of grew up with
the notion that, you know,
what a family it does.
We don't all have to have the same last name
to be a family. And then to as I,
uh, as I studied, I went to college.
I got a degree in applied behavioral science.
So that's really looking at the relationship
of people and how people interact with each
other, and it was just really interesting to
me how this tradition.
It's still it's still like there's a sheet
over people's eyes and they they just don't
see any other options or any other
possibilities.
So I, you know, started digging into that and
trying to find out why.
Why are people still hanging on to this
tradition so strongly and,
and what does it mean to our society.
Carol Cox: And what without giving away too much of the
book, because we want listeners to go buy the
book, what are some of the reasons what that
you discovered from your research and from
talking to people as far as either why they
just didn't even think about having the
conversation in the first place.
But even if they did think about it,
why it was still, you know,
80% of women drop their name and take their
husband's name.
Melania Murphy: Mhm. So like I mentioned before,
it's just so ingrained in our society way
back hundreds of years ago when,
you know, our founding fathers,
you know, came over from,
um, and brought over the the British laws,
they brought over the law of coverture,
which means that a woman,
um, you know, she goes from her father's
responsibility, financial safety,
security, all that kind of stuff to her
husband's responsibility.
And so she's covered, you know,
from one man to the next man.
And, uh, but those coverture laws also also
said that it was the man who needed to now
her husband, protect his wife.
But that also meant she didn't have any
financial, um, rights,
any any rights to her body.
And he and he writes to her,
her children, you know,
any of that. So as, as those laws came over
to what is now the United States,
um, it the tradition continued.
And it wasn't until, well,
way back in 1855.
That's when the first lady is.
Her name is Lucy Stone.
She was acknowledged as the first woman to
keep her maiden name when she got married.
And it was a big deal,
you know. But it was because her husband,
too, was very.
He he he was a feminist.
And in that he felt that he and his wife were
equal partners.
And so he felt that they she didn't have to
give up her job. She didn't have to give up
her career in his eyes,
because in society, in law size,
they she would have to do that once she got
married. So and then in the,
you know, of course, in 19,
in 1920 we got the right to vote.
And but it really was in the 1960s that the
women and men started breaking down some of
these laws that were holding us,
holding us trapped in coverture.
There are still, you know,
kind of remnants or ghosts of coverture today
out there still. But you know,
but the laws were really holding us back.
And then once the laws were abolished,
it was still it was still just the way that
you did things in society.
And it took a long time to change.
Carol Cox: You're right. I still blows my mind that only
50 years ago.
So, you know, my mother's generation,
women could not open a bank account in their
own name without their fathers or husbands
approval. Get a mortgage,
get a credit card.
All these things that we take for granted,
which provides us with that sense of economic
independence, weren't even legally possible
for them.
Melania Murphy: Right, right. And it wasn't until 1983 that
the last of the 50 states it was Alabama,
had took the law off their book that a woman
must take the man's name when she gets
married. So 1983, there were still in there
were all 50 states.
You couldn't just choose whatever name you
wanted to. You still had to take the man's
name. So it's.
And it wasn't it wasn't always.
You know, women have to take the man's name,
but it was like you said,
if you don't have your husband,
if you're married and you don't have your
husband's name, you can't get a voter's
registration card, you can't open a credit
card, you can't do all these other things
because you're married and you don't have his
name. So, you know, the laws are kind of it,
didn't they?
Most of them didn't specifically say you must
take his name, but basically you can't do
anything unless you do.
Carol Cox: Okay. So that now that makes a little bit
more sense why the number is still so high at
80%, because it really wasn't until Gen X,
like my generation, generation X,
and now millennials, who are really the first
generations to legally not even be required
to have to do that. And of course we know
that. Yeah.
Go ahead.
Melania Murphy: Right. A lot of laws or a lot of states,
the laws off the books much earlier.
But, you know, there was still the the lone
holdout, Alabama, in 1983.
It was still a law there.
Carol Cox: And it takes a while for culture to catch up
with law. So just because the laws have
changed doesn't mean that the way people
think about things or the way that their
families expect them to do things necessarily
change. So in conversations you've had with
both women and men, what are some things that
come up that they have shared with you as far
as maybe some doubts or uncertainties about
what what name to take?
Melania Murphy: It's interesting. I just read an article
today from the Washington Post.
There's a a columnist,
Carolyn Hax, and a mother wrote in and she
said that, you know, when she and her husband
got married, they they both chose to keep
their their birth names,
their birth last names,
but now they're having a child together.
And so, you know, the mother says,
I want my name to be in my our child's name
too. And and a lot of.
So the husband said, well, how about we give
the child my last name,
you know, his name. And for the middle name
it could be your, you know,
birth surname.
And she's like, well, no,
that's still that's still the past tradition.
You know, that's still like putting me second
or that's still not equal.
Like our names, our ancestry,
our identity were were equal.
So, you know, I really feel it's important
that we hyphenate our name or come up with a
new name combining our two names.
So our child has that name,
and, you know, she's like,
well, if you want, you know,
if we really want a child to have just one
last name, how about we give the child my
name, the mother's name,
and we give the middle name,
your name as a middle name to the child And,
you know, people are still just kind of like,
wait, that's not how it's done.
That doesn't seem fair.
That doesn't, you know,
when you kind of reverse it or flip it,
it becomes a little bit more obvious how
unfair it is.
But because this is just the way it's been
for so long, you know,
women just kind of grow up thinking, well, I
guess that's what I'll have to do.
And that's what my book is really what I want
to get across in here,
that I want women to feel empowered to say
no, my name, my identity,
my ancestry is just as important as yours.
Let's. And this isn't a power struggle on
either side. It's just like,
let's sit down and discuss all of our
options. How are we going to handle this?
It's like saying, do we want to go to,
uh, I don't know, New Mexico,
not New Mexico. Nobody goes there for a
honeymoon, but go to Europe for a honeymoon
or go to Hawaii.
You know, it's not like one is right and one
is wrong. It's just two people having
different opinions. And how are we going to
settle this situation?
Of course, with the tradition of the
surnames, it gets a lot more complex because
there's a lot of more a lot more cultural
significance to it.
And it does, you know,
it does go back to the whole patriarchal
system. You know, it goes back to the
coverture. It that's just the way it is.
But a lot of those, those laws have all
changed. Our society has changed.
You know, when my mom got married in 1959,
she's not the same kind of couple who is
getting married now.
You know, she didn't have a college degree.
She was very dependent on my dad for
financially, you know,
and again, the laws, she couldn't get a
credit card. I do tell the story in the book
that and I can tell this one story that,
um, so like I mentioned,
my dad passed away when I was three,
so here she is. She's got three young kids,
you know, under the age of four,
and she's pregnant with her fourth child,
and now she's a widow and she's trying to,
you know, maneuver, trying to figure out how
am I going to survive, how am I going to move
forward? So she does go to get her own credit
card. And they said, you're you're
technically you're married,
so you need to have your husband's name on
the credit card to get the credit card.
And she's like, um, but he's dead.
You know, he he just passed away,
you know, and they're like,
well, just sign his name on here.
So she she literally had to sign my,
my deceased father's name on the credit card
application so she could get a credit card,
you know? So, um, those kind of laws have
changed luckily.
And so I mean, the the couples who are
marrying now are, you know,
they're more they're more equal.
A lot of them bring in financially.
They bring in the same amount.
I know for a time I was the breadwinner.
For a time my husband was breadwinner. You
know, it kind of goes back and forth. You
know, we make decisions together.
We. It's not father's no knows best.
And it stops with the father.
It's it's an equal partnership.
And and a lot of couples want their name to
represent that, too.
Carol Cox: Well, I think what's important about this
message is that is is so that both the women
and men know that this is a conversation
worth having versus just assuming that this
is the way it's going to be and literally not
not even either crossing their mind,
or perhaps for the woman to be a little bit
hesitant to bring it up because she doesn't
have she hasn't read your book yet and she
doesn't, you know, have this kind of the
research and the background and the history
to know, like, why, why is this the default
and what are some other options. So that's
why I'm glad that you're putting this work
out. So let's talk a little bit about why you
decided that now was the time in your life
that you wanted to really work on this.
So as I mentioned in the intro,
you joined our Thought Leader Academy in
August of 2024.
And so that so I think you had been working
with our book coach Tiffany Hawk before,
then found out about me and speaking your
brand from Tiffany and decided to join our
Thought Leader Academy. So tell us a little
bit about your journey to decide.
Okay, now is the time that I want to put all
this together.
Melania Murphy: Well, actually, now wasn't the time like five
years ago was the time.
But I didn't have all the tools and the
resources and the expert coaching advice,
advice of you and Tiffany that I found along
the way. So I think, like a lot of people
during the pandemic, having time at home,
um, I know my, uh, what I did with when I
found more free time is to start working on
my book and like, you know what?
This, this thought, this idea has been
lingering around for a while,
and 2020 was the year that I started to
figure out, well, how do I even go about
writing a book? And, um,
you know, of course, there's a lot of
resources out there.
I went with, um, hay House and they had a I
think it was a three day boot camp.
Of course, it was free.
And of course, you know, I wanted to do all
the free stuff, you know,
because it adds up quickly.
So I, I took their course and it kind of
broke down, you know.
Who's your audience?
What's a hook? You know,
all the very basic things of of what you need
to know to write a book.
And so then I created my book proposal,
and then I kind of graduated from the hay
House group to another group that was really
into creating the book proposal and your
cover letter, because you need the book.
Mine is nonfiction.
So for a nonfiction book,
you don't write the book ahead of time.
You write the proposal and then you write,
like sample chapters, and then you need to
find an agent, and then the agent helps you
find a publisher if you go that traditional
route. So that's where I started putting all
my focus into is trying to get an agent and,
uh, get a publisher.
And as I went through that process,
I kept getting the same response that my
topic was more of a magazine article.
It wasn't worth a whole book,
which I obviously disagree.
So I, you know, and about that time,
that's when I found Tiffany.
And so she, you know, helped me along with
everybody else in, in her,
uh, course that we're taking to develop the
book proposal and then the platform.
And again, a lot of people think the platform
has to be just social media,
but there's a lot of other,
ways to build your platform.
And one was, um, getting bylines in articles.
So I started doing that,
started getting articles published.
And that was that was a great journey.
It's so fun to see your have a byline in like
HuffPost or today or, you know,
some of those other things.
And then, um, you know,
being guests on podcasts.
So thank you for this.
And, you know, and I kind of,
again, sort of finding my voice through these
podcasts too, and start talking about my
book. So that was that was a great thing too.
And through that, uh, that journey,
then I found you and it was about trying to
again talk about my book and get out there in
front of people. I'm talking in front of
people is not my favorite thing.
So. But going through your course,
oh my gosh, I gained so much confidence.
And I thought, you know,
I thought it was all about creating a
PowerPoint and being very organized and just
going through my PowerPoint.
And when you told us to get up on stage and
just tell a story without any notes or
anything, I'm like, oh my God,
then what have I gotten myself into?
But it was it was great.
I was I was just so amazed with myself that I
could actually do that.
I could get up there and I could tell a
story. And so when I did,
when then when I started giving my talks and
it was, I didn't even use the PowerPoint,
it was just like, okay,
I want to talk about this,
and then I want to tell this story and then I
want to talk about this,
you know, just like you taught us. But then
creating that signature talk that you and
Diane helped me create the signature talk and
just putting it in that organized structure
and kind of knowing what audiences want and
filling in the stories,
filling in the research,
filling in all the information that I've
already gathered and researched,
it just all started clicking together and
then I, uh, you know, so again,
I'm like, well, I guess I just need to to
just sit down and write this thing.
But to me, it was it was kind of boring
because it was coming from my logical brain,
kind of like, well, here you need to know
about the laws first, and then you need to
know about the history, and then you need to
know about this. But then it clicked that,
oh, I could just take this signature talk,
and that could be the structure of my book.
And it's, you know, set in a way that it's
it's geared to the audience.
What does the audience need and what are they
going to react to?
And that's how I came up with a book.
Carol Cox: Oh, I love hearing that because that's,
you know, that is how I think about the
signature talk that it really because it
follows narrative structure,
you know, three acts based on traditional
storytelling structure,
but that kind of but with more of like a
psychological marketing perspective,
right. For the audience because we're not
doing a fictional novel,
but it's more like, what does the audience
need to know to buy in to this idea,
to get them to want to learn more and how it
applies to them?
Melania Murphy: Yes. Yes. And I wanted it to be entertaining.
I didn't, you know, my target audience is
brides to be. I you know,
I would love for every bride to just put on
their wedding to do checklist,
you know, discuss married names because I'm
still finding, you know,
talking to people, reading articles that
they're like, yeah, we didn't really decide.
And but now later on, you know,
when it comes to changing the name on the
paperwork, you know, a lot of brides are
still like, I don't know,
I just don't I'm not sure.
And and so some guys, it just,
you know, obviously it kind of takes them
back. They think they think they're going
down this road that she's going to take his
name. And they haven't talked about it
really. And then after the fact after they're
married they're like, wait a minute.
This is not kind of a deal breaker,
but like, we should have discussed this ahead
of time. We should have discussed.
And if you're going to keep your name, how
are we going to name our children? You know,
because these are important things.
So I just love that, um,
you know, brides are I've had,
you know, advanced readers and the brides are
like, yeah, you know what?
I, I can see now why this is so important for
me to figure out what I want and stand up for
myself, you know, and and again,
it's not a power struggle between the husband
and the wife. It's it's just the the
acknowledgement of what you want,
what a woman wants and learning how to have
that conversation with him.
So, um, you know.
Yeah. So it is it's a quick book.
It's only, uh, it's 112 pages,
but it's for the brides to be.
And they're they're busy right now.
They're, you know, what they're planning and
they're researching and there,
you know, everything else.
So I didn't want this to be a really heavy
academic book.
It's more fun and it's fast paced.
The people who have read it have said,
you know, they're like, oh, wow, I started
reading it and I couldn't put it down, you
know? So a lot of people there,
you know, they read it in a weekend or
something because it's just it keeps moving,
you know, and um, they,
they find it really interesting.
Carol Cox: Well, I'm one of the advanced readers because
I'm on your street team to help you out.
Hence, you know, doing this podcast episode,
pre-ordering your book,
reading your book so that I can put a review
on Amazon when it gets published.
Which publication date is March 1st,
2026? So for those of you listening,
make sure to pre-order the book if it's prior
to March 1st. When you're listening to this,
the link is in the show notes, and if it's
March 1st or later, go ahead and you can get
the copy and start reading today and we'll
give you the links and again in the show
notes and here in just a moment.
But So I want to chat with you a little bit
about the publishing process and now about
the promotion process for the books.
I think this would be helpful to people
listening who maybe want to do something
similar. So you mentioned that if you if
someone wants to go down the what is called
the traditional publishing route,
they're probably going with one of the top
big five publishers.
You know, it's a longer process. You need an
agent and an editor, and then you got to kind
of pitch the book idea with the book proposal
to the publisher, get selected.
So that's, you know, that's the whole thing.
And there's definitely a time and place for
that. And I also feel like there's also a
good publishing route that is better than
just trying to figure it out and DIY it
yourself. But instead of hiring a publisher
to help you with that, so can you tell us
about how that process worked?
Melania Murphy: Yeah, that's the route that I decided to go
with because I was I did get involved with a
two other women, um, probably like in March
And again, we all wanted to get our book
done. So we're our accountability partners
and but both of them had businesses,
so they wanted this book to,
um, provide credibility for their business
and to kind of maybe use it to promote their
business. So they had a different,
um, a different reason for their book.
And so they decided to go more the Amazon
route. So they were able to just put it on
Amazon. And then Amazon does,
um, uh, print on demand orders.
And so they did their own editing.
They did their own cover,
and they went that route.
I decided to hire a publisher because,
um, my, this may be my only book.
I don't know, but it's something that has
been near and dear to me for so long that I
really wanted it to look professional and
really be clean and polished and something I
could really, really be proud of.
So I hired a publisher,
um, and they helped me.
Uh, they created the cover design,
but again, it was back and forth.
They said right off the bat,
you are the publisher.
We're just here to help you out,
you know? But but they didn't.
They didn't hold my hand.
They weren't like, you know.
Okay, Melanie, now, today we're going to do
this. You know, they kind of expected me to
do all that research and everything,
but they designed my cover.
We did multiple rounds of editing with a
professional editor.
They created the interior design to make sure
that was professional,
the back cover.
And then, um, they had to go through the
printer and make sure that was all good.
And then I started working with a
distributor. They shipped it off to the
distributor, and the distributor is,
uh, distributing it to,
you know, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles,
um, Bookstore.
Com getting everything in place like behind
the scenes. And then they will work on that
distributing part.
So that part of it all,
you know, costs money.
But it was worth it to me to make sure that
it was professional and well done.
Carol Cox: Yes. Especially things like the cover design
and then the layout, both for the print and
then for the Kindle versions.
Those are things that you really need.
Someone who's who's done that before and
understands exactly how to do it.
Okay. Let's talk about the promotion piece.
I know that having talked to authors,
how important it is to get the word out about
your book and to and to encourage pre-orders
and to have, you know,
this like pre-launch team or street team to
help you out. So tell us a little bit about
the promotion partner that you have who's
helping you. Because it is a lot of work,
right? A lot of emails you're sending to
people. And then how are you recruiting
people for your street team?
Melania Murphy: Right. So yeah, what I learned too,
is that the promotion and the marketing
starts at least 6 to 9 months before,
before your launch date.
There are some places that,
um, like do book reviews.
And of course, I'm an indie author that's
putting out all the money ahead of time.
So I, of course, went with the,
um, the free review.
And then I started reaching out to places
that that need like six months to review your
book. Um, there's a lady who does,
um, Tampa Bay reads down here,
and she's like, well, send me your your press
release and your, um, advance copy,
like six months before I'm like,
oh, I'm already behind.
But, you know, we'll just work with that.
And and getting this arc together,
you know, that it was the distributor that
like, well, how are you doing on your Arcs?
And I'm like, um, my what?
You know, so I mean, everything is such a
learning curve, but having these advanced
reader copies and, and,
um, you know, there's so many different ways
to get this information out to.
But again, it's just kind of to generate,
um, generate the buzz and try to try to get I
just want so many brides to read this stuff
because you're going to find it fascinating.
It's just so much fun.
So but of course, you know me just saying buy
my book. You know, that's that's not the best
approach. So, um, I'm reaching out to places
that maybe I could speak.
And because my target audience is brides to
be, I've been talking to bookstores or not
bookstores, I'm sorry,
bridal stores and saying,
hey, you know, I wouldn't be fun to,
you know, have a book signing here or a
Women's History Month event here.
And, um, because, you know,
Amazon, Barnes and Nobles,
all those big bookstores,
they take like 40% right off the top.
So I know. Right.
So you have to kind of price your book,
kind of look at what other books are being
priced at and price your book accordingly
because they take so much right off the bat.
So now as I go around to bridal stores and
other vendors, photographers and florists
saying, hey, can I sell my book in your
store? You know, and I let them know they'll
they'll get 30% of the book because I'm going
to have to give it to somebody,
you know. So that was that's one promotion
tactic. But but yeah, just getting friends
and family involved and just,
you know, asking them to read your book,
um, an advance copy, asking them to put
reviews out. Um, there's a lot of great
resources online.
It can actually be kind of overwhelming.
But, um, yeah, there's,
there's I probably put in at least two hours
a day, like promoting and reaching out to
people and networking and,
you know, just finding all the different
options that are available to promote my
book.
Carol Cox: Well, I am so excited.
Congratulations on this accomplishment.
Really? I mean, when I,
when I ever I see someone who has written and
published a book, I'm really impressed
because it's not easy.
You know, it takes a lot. It takes a long
time, a lot of dedication and like,
you know, sitting down and doing the work
week after week. So congratulations on this.
Melania Murphy: Thank you very much.
And I'm still waiting for your book.
Carol Cox: It was. Yeah, I know I didn't want to mention
that, but that's that's why I'm so impressed
by it. It's coming, it's coming,
it's working its way out. It's working its
way out. All right, so where can listeners go
to get your book?
Melania Murphy: Okay, so my website is millennial.
Com and of course, you can,
uh, buy it right there on my website.
And um, it is on Amazon.
It's on Barnes and Noble's.
It's on bookstores.
Um. And or if you live by me in the Florida
area, let me know and I'll bring you one so
you can buy it.
Carol Cox: Oh, I love that.
Well, I need a signed copy at some point.
I've already pre-ordered my print version on
Amazon, so that will come once it gets
published. And so next time we see each other
in person, I'll make sure to bring it so you
can sign it.
Melania Murphy: That sounds great.
Definitely a deal.
Carol Cox: All right. Well, thank you so much for coming
on to the podcast sharing this fascinating
topic. I have I have learned so much by
getting to know you over the past year and a
half, and I'm excited for more brides and and
more grooms and just more families and people
to understand the choices that they have and
to have these conversations.
So thank you.
Melania Murphy: Thank you Carol. This has been fun.
Carol Cox: Until next time.
Thanks for listening.