Melissa Desveaux is an Australian author and self-publishing consultant from Sydney. She wrote her first memoir, My Life of Loss, after experiencing three miscarriages and a stillbirth. She then compiled two collections of pregnancy memoirs — Comfort for the Tears, Light for the Way and Comfort for the Tears — featuring stories from women who have been through miscarriage, stillbirth, premature births, and IVF. In 2017, she won an Australia Day award for her dedication to helping families with pregnancy and infant loss. She now helps others write and self-publish their personal stories.
Host: Richard Lowe | Guest: Melissa Desveaux
Interview Transcript
Richard: What is your story?
Melissa: I started writing when I was 28. I had a miscarriage and then a stillborn baby in 2008. To help me grieve, the only thing I knew how to do was write. I thought it was the only way I could express my feelings. I had three months maternity leave and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I didn’t want to sit in bed and mope or walk around crying all day. So I went out and bought an album, took photos of all the gifts I received, jumped on my computer, and started writing everything from the time I found out she wasn’t going to make it.
After that I had another miscarriage, then was blessed with my first son. While looking after him, I started writing a blog, which became a fundraiser. Then we decided to have another baby, and I miscarried that one as well. A year later I had my second son. When he was about nine months old, I decided to write my memoir.
I took everything from the blog and tweaked it into the book. It was released in 2014. After that, things just snowballed — media contacted me, I landed an article in Women’s Weekly, which is a big magazine in Australia, and a charity organization asked me to become a guest speaker. I compiled two more books featuring 20 different women’s pregnancy stories in each, to help other families going through similar experiences read how other people navigated their grief.
Self-Publishing Through Ingram Spark
Richard: Did you self-publish?
Melissa: Yes, all self-published. My husband helped me with the first one, which we did through Blurb. The other two were done through Ingram Spark. I used InDesign to put them together and did the covers myself in Photoshop using Ingram Spark’s template.
The printing quality from Ingram Spark is fantastic — both the hardcover and the journal I created as a companion piece. The cost isn’t as much to print either. I was very surprised by how well they turned out.
Promotion Through Community
Richard: How are you promoting?
Melissa: Mainly word of mouth through Facebook. The women who contributed to the compilation books bought many copies for their families and posted pictures on their Facebook pages, which created a lot of organic interaction. I’ve also got an Author Central account on Amazon so anyone who sees one of my books will find the others. I’m working on creating offers — the journal that goes with the book, a self-help guide through pregnancy — but I’m still learning. Marketing is probably the hardest part.
From Blog to Book
Melissa: Because I was writing a blog during the process, it helped me put the book together. I reused what I’d already written and tweaked it. It covers each pregnancy — from my stillborn daughter and miscarriages through to both my sons. It goes from a sad story to a happy one.
I’d never written a book before. It’s only about 40 pages. But I didn’t realize something like that could help not just me but other people as well. That’s why I decided to go on and help others through writing.
Advice for Writers
Melissa: If you have a story to write — if you’ve gone through an experience you need to get out into the world, or even if you just want to write it for yourself for healing — don’t hesitate. Don’t wait another 10 years. Just write a little bit every day. If you write one page a day, in a year you’ll have 365 pages. Believe in yourself and just write it.
Learn more about Melissa Desveaux at melissadesveaux.com.
Find Richard Lowe at TheWritingKing.com.
Video edited by Bonnie Dillabough.