I am new...been reading for hours and more confused than ever

Sandyz · Feb 2, 2009

I posted this on "what is your book about." I will delete it from there so this will not be a double post. I need suggestions. I am more confused than ever.

My manuscript almost fell prey to Publish America...I found this site just days before contemplating rather to sign the contract or not. After the dust settled I am in control of my work.(I didn't sign the contract) I have been debating rather to go forward once again and try the traditional route to get published by a "legit" publishing house, or...self publish. I came here for some much needed advice. I realize I know so little about the publishing process...I am here to learn.

My manuscript has only 28,000 words...not very big for non-fiction. It can't be called a novel I don't think.

I found several possible publishers on PE but when checking "submission guidelines" the required word count...mine was not long enough.

My story is a memoir of sorts and I have been bouncing the idea around to self publish through Avid Readers Publishing Group. (Has any one had any thing published through them...or know of any one that has? Was their experience positive?)

The cost would be low and they format for you...I played around on Lulu and got so lost trying to format myself (No cost if you can do this)...I started looking elsewhere for an affordable self publishing place.

After my near miss with PA I got to thinking I might be better off trying to publish myself.

I asked myself...

Who might buy my book:

I have two on-line writing blogs...there is allot of traffic on both and all readers know I "almost" got published and they wanted to buy my book.
I belong to three stop smoking blogs
I have family: in CA, FL, IN, MS, TN, PA, AR, MI, (I might have missed a state)
I have 3D and cyber friends all across the US and Down Under.

Even if only a hand full bought my book I would break even.

I don't care if I don't make a living writing...I only wish to tell my story...maybe I could help someone who has battled through the grieving process. I am a great grandmother...the clock is ticking.

Through this self pub place my books would be affordable...only around $8.00 (not bad for an unknown) I would feel sick at heart having a friend or family member pay around 20 bucks or more.

Most important I do not want to fall victim to another scam of sorts...I suppose like many writers I just want to be heard.

Here is what my story is about...

August 22nd 1996 my nine year old grandson’s life ended abruptly on a country road in Southern PA. He and two friends were riding their bikes when a car came over a hill missing two of the boys and striking my grandson head on.

While spiraling downward to depths of depression the only thing I took with me was pen and paper. I wrote to keep from spinning out of control and found myself foundering through a world I no longer understood as the cycle of life reversed. When the foundation of faith was shaken our close knit family begin to unravel. I continued to try and write away the pain in an desperate attempt to make sense of a world I no longer wanted to be apart of.

While sifting through the hour glass of time I wrote this story of truth filled with vivid recall of each day we stumbled through, weird dreams that dominated the nights, divine intervention’s and my personal spiritual journey. This is my perspective during a time when life and faith was shattered into millions of fragments.

Writing this manuscript has taken years, the pain too great at times to continue the back slide into the past. During many attempts to heal and move forward this story always found its way back to my heart. I dreamed of the title and had a unexplainable drive within to complete this book. During these past few years we lost yet another child and our life together started to disconnect. We lost our home, jobs, health, and made several reckless moves. When it appeared we were given too much to handle...our marriage nearly ended.

My journey has been filled with grief and sorrow but weaved within is wonderful memories. Against all odds my husband and I reunited at a place where beginnings became endings…and even today we are healing, rebuilding trust, and hold dear to faith that all things happen for a reason.

If this story touches one soul or helps another find their way from darkness to the light of love and forgiveness my passage will not have been in vain.

I believe the Lord touched my heart in many ways giving me the courage to complete this story that has no final ending until the breath in me is silenced.

My story is about love…about loss…about life.

Thanks for any help...or suggestions,
Sandyz

Lauri B · Feb 2, 2009

Hi Sandyz,
Are you looking for advice regarding whether or not to submit to publishers or go the self-publishing route?
I think only you can answer that. I will say that personal memoirs are a very hard sell under most circumstances. Your story sounds like a very emotional one, but primarily emotional to you and your family. That may make it a difficult sell to an agent or publisher, who needs to think of a market beyond people who know you. If you write a proposal in order to pitch your book to a publisher, you'll have to think about (and explain) who your market is for this book, so it's something to really ponder now, as you weigh the pros and cons of self publishing vs going the traditional submissions route.
Good luck!

cpickett · Feb 2, 2009

Hi Sandyz,
First, Welcome!
Next, you are on the right track in deciding to take a step back and educate yourself more so that you are more comfortable in the decisions that you make to go forward. Yes, it can be confusing, and overwhelming because there's a lot to learn.

Laurie B is right when she mentions figuring out your audience if you want to try the traditional route. You need to be able to clearly identify it as well as prove you have the connections to them to sell. It sounds like you do have a start with the things you mentioned, again if you want to try pitching an agent or publisher, make sure you have such information solidly prepared. From there, there are many places to find examples of query letters/book proposals. Those are other concepts/resources you'll need to grasp if you want to try traditional.

If on the other hand you want to try independently publishing or going POD, there are totally different resources you'll need. I recommend reading up on/studying one group at a time to try to keep the info under control.

One other thing I'd like to mention is that you noted you feel the Lord touched your heart/encouraged you to write. You might also want to visit the forums at http://christianwriters.com for encouragement and fellowship as you walk your publishing journey.

I wish you the best,

Sandyz · Feb 3, 2009

Lauri B.

Are you looking for advice regarding whether or not to submit to publishers or go the self-publishing route?
I think only you can answer that. I will say that personal memoirs are a very hard sell under most circumstances. Your story sounds like a very emotional one, but primarily emotional to you and your family.

By reading about the traditional publishing process on this board I have come to realize my story would be a difficult "sale" to a publisher or agent. I have listed all the groups of people this type of memoir could be marketed to. Your statement is what I am finding out while mulling this through my mind. It is an emotional book, but primarily to those close to me or others that have shared their grief during my years of blogging.

As far as mass market...I stumble there.

I suppose in my heart I wanted to follow the traditional route but a "knowing" made me realize it would be a difficult sale to an agent or publisher. I have written several proposals all with the encouragement of friends, but as I read them even I have doubts if this is a book with the potential to be snatched up by someone trying to sell to a large mass of readers.

You are so right...it is a difficult decision but one I must make on my own. It almost feels like I am "giving up" when thinking of self pub. There seems to be a stigma attached to marketing your own work when you find yourself paying to see the book in print.

When this book was in very rough draft my children wanted to read it…at that time it was around 15,000 words. They begged me to complete it and get it published…over the last year I did as requested ending word count at around 28,000 words.

I had several readers that read my manuscript and encouraged me to move forward…as nervous as I was I started the search back in October. Thus…finding my manuscript accepted by PA. The negativity surrounding this publishing place and their extremely high priced books was a difficult pill to swallow. The horror stories I found reading through every thread over the last four months I knew this was not a place I wanted to place my work in their hands.

I also realized through my research my book did not have the potential for a mass market. Sick at heart I told every one that I declined the offer…now that was hard. It did leave me once again questing what to do.

Cheryl Pickett

One other thing I'd like to mention is that you noted you feel the Lord touched your heart/encouraged you to write. You might also want to visit the forums at http://christianwriters.com for encouragement and fellowship as you walk your publishing journey

.

After reading your message I sat back and thought about the context of my book. It is a spiritual journey filled with “conversations” with the One I chose to call God. It is a personal struggle with faith some face when one is confronted with the inconceivable. I suppose it falls in line with Christian/spiritual belief.

Thank you both for your suggestions and advice. I need to continue to search within and around me for the best path to follow. As you have advised…look one way before looking the other to keep from becoming overwhelmed and confused by possibilities.

A heart felt thank you…

happywritermom · Feb 3, 2009

Have you considered trying some agents who specialize in Christian writing first and then trying the self-publishing route if that fails? Yes, your story is an emotional one, but I don't think it necessarily relates only to you and people you know. I do not write Christian fiction or Christian nonfiction (Heck, I don't even go to church!), but I'm sure there are folks out there who would find inspiration in your story. Your book is short, but that shouldn't stop you. It might be a good fit for Christian gift stores, etc. I does no harm to try the agent route first or the small publishers. You'll find lots of great information on the "Bewares" board and I'm sure that Christian writers forum will help as well. Don't underestimate yourself. Aim high. Watch out for Living Waters though. You'll find a thread about that publisher on the Bewares board. I haven't read much of it, but I know there has been some controversy.
Good luck. I'm sorry for your losses, but happy to know that the pen and paper could help pull you through.

cpickett · Feb 3, 2009

You mention you feel as if you might be giving up if you do anything but publish traditionally. That is simply not true. There are several paths that an author and book can take. While some feel that one way is the only way, it really isn't one size fits all.

There are plenty of people who have reached what they deem success by either going with a POD/fee-based publisher, or going independent. While there are certain goals that can likely only be met through traditional, those aren't necessarily every author's goals.

As you continue to work through the decision making process, it is so important to know what you want to accomplish with your book. You've mentioned several such things already, make a list and then pare it down, add to it until you're comfortable. Then figure out the best means to make those things happen.

You cannot do a good job of picking a vehicle until you know where you're going.

Lauri B · Feb 3, 2009

If you have a book that you know will appeal to a small but targeted group of people and you have a way of reaching those people, then self publishing might be a really smart way for you to go. The difficult thing about self publishing is that you are your own marketing and sales force. That can be an overwhelming challenge for some people. On the other hand, if you have a book you know is for a specific audience, you know your market and have a known means to reach them and actually get the books in their hands in an efficient and cost-effective manner, then why bother jumping through the traditional publisher hoops?

The other thing that people seem to worry about a lot is whether self publishing one book will be held against them later if they decide to try publishing with a traditional house on subsequent books. That really seems to be going by the wayside. The reason self publishing had such a stigma is that a lot (LOT) of self published books are awful. But a lot of people have written some really good self-pubbed books, the technology has gotten better as has the layout and design options, and those books are getting noticed. If your book is good and you happen to self publish because you don't need a traditional publisher, then it' s not an issue for you. Don't worry about any stigma if you know what you want.

aka eraser · Feb 3, 2009

What Lauri said.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's at all reasonable to hope that a commercial publisher will take a serious gander at a 28,000-word book.

LindsayM · Feb 4, 2009

Welcome SandyZ, and congratulations on completing your manuscript.

aka eraser is absolutely right - it's extremely unlikely you'll find a commercial publisher for such a short work.

That doesn't mean your manuscript doesn't deserve to be published. Although there are so many factors that should be taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to self-publish, my gut instinct is that self publishing is, in fact, the best option for you. You've got a small, set audience and a completed manuscript, and you're obviously more passionate about getting your story into the hands of your family and friends than becoming a bestseller.

WHICH self-publisher or small press you should use is more complicated - please feel free to e-mail me off-board for some suggestions.

Sandyz · Feb 5, 2009

Thank you all for even more helpful thoughts and suggestions. I am finding out checking on PE that on many submissions forms most are asking for longer manuscripts. Some however are not. But his is the general feeling I get from what publishers are looking for…

Lindsay/Eraser...

aka eraser is absolutely right - it's extremely unlikely you'll find a commercial publisher for such a short work.

Thank you for this message it is an accomplishment to have found beginning, middle, and end and to make it flow. I felt a bit sad once I sat back and thought…“the end.”

Welcome SandyZ, and congratulations on completing your manuscript.

Louri, thank you for adding this to your response…I do feel much better than at first when thinking of self pubbing.

The other thing that people seem to worry about a lot is whether self publishing one book will be held against them later if they decide to try publishing with a traditional house on subsequent books. That really seems to be going by the wayside. The reason self publishing had such a stigma is that a lot (LOT) of self published books are awful. But a lot of people have written some really good self-pubbed books, the technology has gotten better as has the layout and design options, and those books are getting noticed. If your book is good and you happen to self publish because you don't need a traditional publisher, then it' s not an issue for you. Don't worry about any stigma if you know what you want.

Lindsay, I will be contacting you soon via e-mail…thanks for the offer. Thanks for offering me even more advice.

Regardless of what I decide…I feel I have more knowledge and can make a choice I’ll feel good about.

Thanks again…

underthecity · Feb 5, 2009

Sandy,

This could be a stretch, but I wonder, if you were to make some cuts, if it could be a candidate for one of the Chicken Soup For The. . . books.

You might want to check the Self Help section of your bookstore and see what kinds of other personal growth type anthologies exist for stories like yours.

Sandyz · Feb 22, 2009

I haven’t fallen off the grid, nor have I abandoned thoughts of publishing my book…I am learning so much from this web site while reading about publishing experiences others are willing to share. Via personal e-mail’s I have also been blessed with several people offering helpful suggestions on the right path to follow. Many thanks to everyone that has taken the time to respond and help guide me. My thoughts at this time is taking me down the road to self publish…I am excited about this concept but realize I must be certain my manuscript is one of perfection.

While learning as much as I can digest about this often confusing world of publishing I have been working once again on my manuscript. Allowing myself time to absorb informative information; my attention is also focused on tying up what appears to be loose ends throughout my work. I resent my manuscript to two people dear to my heart to help me through the edit process. However there is a place within my thought process that feels I may need to find a professional editor…one familiar with editing without changing my “voice.”

I feel this is a fascinating wake up call realizing my writing was not ready to put between the pages of a book. I have learned patience, perseverance, and the willingness to accept constructive criticism that has allowed me to enhance my work.

I have found awesome examples for an authors BIO, acknowledgments, self marketing tools, possible low cost printing presses, book’s of assistance concerning the publishing world and most important answers to questions that have haunted me for several months. This site has been a God send for me…and I am grateful.

There is no doubt in my mind my manuscript will one day be in print and I will be proud to place my name beneath the title. I no longer have thoughts of rush-rush time is a speed boat. I have learned the importance of the title, one that will reach out and capture a heart…a sub-title is important for my work to help explain the inner ticking of the book. Much thought is going towards this decision.

My decision to self publish was a difficult one but once I decided this approach, I feel at ease.

Not enough words express my sincere thanks to everyone that has shared their experience, given advice, and for this site that has opened my eyes allowing me to remain cautiously optimistic. As I read on a message board...“Enjoy the ride.” And…Lord knows I will.

Sandyz

I am new...been reading for hours and more confused than ever

Sandyz

Saved from PA by AW-thanks

Lauri B

I Heart Mac

cpickett

Sandyz

Saved from PA by AW-thanks

happywritermom

cpickett

Lauri B

I Heart Mac

aka eraser

Fish Whisperer

LindsayM

Sandyz

Saved from PA by AW-thanks

underthecity

Finestkind

Sandyz

Saved from PA by AW-thanks