Self Publishing
Putting it on My Calendar-You Should, Too!
The 3rd annual Atlanta Writers Conference is happening this month on May 15 at the Westin Airport Hotel. I plan to be there to listen to publishing gurus share their tips on getting published. Six literary agents will be available for Q&A. David Fulmer, award-winning fiction writer, will be presenting a couple of workshops. I am just a little upset I waited too long to sign up for the critique and pitch sessions with the agents. Sorry, the slots are all filled. But, I can only blame that on my busy schedule. And, I am thankful for a busy schedule.
In the meantime if you are self-published, Writer’s Digest has extended their International Self-Published Awards contest through May 17. I don’t plan to miss that submission. Guess what I am doing this weekend.
Not only that, Gwen Richardson of Cush City is busy putting the finishing touches on the National Black Book Festival in Houston on May 21-23rd. If you are in the area, don’t miss it. If you are writer, don’t miss it. I plan to be there with my book, Dreams Thrown Away. Hope to see you there, too.
Have You Ever Quit Just Before You Realized Your Dream
Have you ever quit just before you realized your dream? Then heard a little voice saying, “if you had just hung in there just a little bit longer, you would have made it.” I work full-time as a manager, but my heart is in writing. Between the obligations of my job, the obligations of my home life, and trying to manage enough rest, I sometimes let myself slide away from my dream. But, a spark of determination rises back up within me and I set out to seek that dream once again.
I believe in persistence. I don’t believe in giving up. I know part of getting to that dream is the choices we make along the way. I had a lively conversation with Dr. Empowerment on her BlogTalkRadio Show about all the things I have listed above. Why? Because I was promoting my book DREAMS THROWN AWAY, where the main characters would always be just within the reach of their dreams, and either made or did not make a choice that prevented them from reaching those dreams. What are you doing? Are you going to persist today? Are you going to make the right choice today to accomplish your dream? If you have dreamed it, don’t give up. Don’t hear that little voice saying, “If I had just hung in there just a little bit longer.”
I posted the above on Written Mag recently, and I keep thinking about it everyday. What is the difference between the person with the dream who never reaches it, and the person with the dream who gets the opportunity to live it? At first glance, the answer is persistence. One gives up before the other. Some may even say it’s luck, one person may have been in the right place at the right time. But, I believe it is all of the above. A dream is just another term for faith. If you have faith that what you are dreaming is yours, and you persist in that faith, you will find yourself in the right place at the right time.
“It’s Never Too Late”
Recently, I was thrilled and honored to attend a friend’s premier of her independent short film entitled “It’s Never Too Late.” Dee Robinson wrote and produced this poignant short film about a man who loses himself in a bottle of alcohol. The story not only focuses on his battle with his alcoholic demons, but his eventual homelessness. I have worked in healthcare many years; and one of the processes we use to determine how to prevent a repeat of bad outcomes or adverse events is called a root cause analysis. This powerful short begins with the man’s childhood, his beginnings, and finds the root cause for his inability to cope as an adult. One of those causes was a trauma he suffered alone at an early age, making him feel vulnerable and unworthy.
But, the premise of this story is that he is not alone. And, this is a reminder to all of us that we are not alone. When we see the homeless, the downtrodden, the man or woman with the empty eyes, we need to reach out and let them know they are not alone.
The matriarch is Dee’s film was a strong grandmother with a powerful love, and a persistent faith. She knows we have to share that faith and uplift each other. Dee’s story propels that faith into action so clearly, not only for the character, but for her as well. After the film was shown, Dee, the cast, the director, and the cinematographer were all introduced. Each person expressed how the movie affected them and how much they enjoyed working with Dee. As for Dee, she expressed what I have heard time and time again, that she didn’t know how her dream of creating this film would happen. She just knew it would happen. And it did happen, first with faith and persistence, then with an unexpected helping hand. She was not alone.
Dee’s mini-motion picture is a must-see and a reminder that we are our brother’s keeper, that we do not exist in a vacuum. I heartily recommend this movie, “It’s Never Too Late.” It will be shown again at the (Women of Color Arts and Film (WOCAF) Festival in Atlanta on Saturday, March 27, 2010. Go to Iyalode Productions to get more information. Don’t miss it.
Bigger Than Life and Stronger Than the Grandest Oak
My great-grandmother was the type of woman who was definitely bigger than life and stronger than the grandest oak. This magnificent woman, named Minnie Edna Moment Rutherford, was born on May 1, 1873. She walked this earth for 103 years, had thirteen babies, and so many descendants that we lost count or lost touch. When she died, she ended an amazing legacy of five living generations. I was one of the few of the many descendants that knew her well. She taught me how to read before I was five. She gave me the gift of storytelling, for she was a master storyteller. I loved my great-grandmother fiercely, and she loved me and all of her babies.
Minnie Edna was lovingly nicknamed “Richard”. Back in the 1950’s, there was song with the lyrics “Open the door, Richard.” My aunt who is exactly 20 years older than me was a teenager trying to sneak in the house after a late night date. My great-grandmother had to let her in the door, and thus creating the only name I knew her by, until I was old enough to learn her full-name, and the only name she was called until her death about fifty years later.
Richard was a joyful woman, especially over her evening snack of cornbread and milk. But, she was also a lonely woman with a long history of sorrow. But, you would never know it. She greeted everyone with a smile, and her wit made you walk away laughing and feeling joyful, too. I think that must have been the God-centered heart inside of her. She wasn’t one to quote scripture, but you knew she had a relationship with the powerful One.
Richard was born to a woman whose mother must have been a true African woman, because Richard said she couldn’t understand anything the woman said, and that the woman scared her as a child. I wish I could remember all the stories Richard told us. If only I had had the presence of mind or the interest to write it all down or even record it. But, that history is loss.
Richard wasn’t a slave, but she descended from slaves and was raised in the same county where they were slaves. The environment must have been harsh for her and her family during that time. Her father was lynched when she was a young child, but not so young that she couldn’t remember the event. Later as a young teen, she married an older man and gave birth to thirteen children, eleven boys and two girls. All but two of them moved away as soon as they were old enough to leave. One by one she either lost touch with her children, or saw them less and less. By the time she passed away, she had outlived at least eight of those children. All the while, she held onto her joy, her hope, and her expectations. Her strength was a quiet strength that she passed on to her children and their children and their children and their children.
Tidbits
- Writer’s Digest announced The Self-Published Book Awards. It’s deadline is May 3, 2010 and its entry fee is $125. Grand Prize is $3000, in addition to Writer’s Digest endorsed submissions to major review publications like the New York Times. The contest is open to books published between 2005 and 2010. Go to Writer’s Digest for a list of categories and to enter.
- Beginning of an interesting series of blogs called “The Seven Book Marketing Mistakes That Authors Make” can be found on BookBuzzr. I have a portion of my book, Dreams Thrown Away, formatted for viewing by Book Buzzr. They create a wonderful widget with an inside look of your book. You get to choose the number of pages you want to share, and you can place the widget on your own website. See the product below:
- Sign up for Sandra Beckwith’s e-newsletter at Build Book Buzz. The most recent newsletter had an excellent article on book reviews. Her blogs are filled with outstanding advice. Stop by for a visit.
- Want to be interviewed on the air? Try ArtistFirst. Listen to the many interesting author interviews. Schedule yours.
Self-Publishing and Print-On-Demand – Is There a Difference?
A year ago, I was re-writing Dreams Thrown Away, my suspense novel with a dash of romance. The main character is a young woman who, weeks before going off to college, is left tragically without family or anyone who really cares. Her anchors in this world have dissipated. She is just out there, alone fending for herself. That is the feeling I have now that I have self-published a novel. Self-publishing fiction is a lot different from self-publishing non-fiction, but I wasn’t aware of the differences. Nor was I aware there was a difference between self-publishing and print-on-demand.
If you are considering swimming in the waters of self-publishing, look carefully to make sure you are prepared to go in. It could be a deep jump or a shallow jump depending on your resources and desires. First of all, let’s talk about fiction versus non-fiction. Fiction is a lot harder to sell without an anchor, the traditional publisher or the large distributor. Your mainstream bookstores don’t want to touch you and your Indie stores want to sell on consignment. Though, non-fiction that has a niche is a shoo-in (not necessarily with the bookstores, but for other reasons) and probably the best way to go as a self-publisher. I had read reference to that, but my head was like that of a teenager with a new toy. And, I couldn’t fathom waiting to go through the traditional process. I had to learn the hard way. So, I am sharing what I have learned.
Self-publishing is different from your typical print-on-demand, yet it is the same. True self-publishing means the author takes on the project of the whole book, creating a publishing company, looking for printing presses, designing the cover, page setting design, typesetting, formatting, locating distributors, purchasing your own lot of ISBN’s, submitting the paperwork for copyright and Library of Congress, creating your index, choosing the manufacturer, and more. Paying for each piece separately, hiring professionals to take on separate chunks of the project, and then pulling it together for your finished product. There are some excellent books out there to take you through each step in much greater detail, but you get the picture. You are responsible for the entire production, as well as the marketing, publicity, and sales. And, don’t forget inventory. You may order X amount of copies to store in your garage until you sell them. You become the distributor paying for shipping fees to you and shipping fees to your customer. Or, if you are really good in the non-fiction arena, all you have to do is sell them in the back-of-the-room of your speaking engagement, a popular way of selling niche books.
Now, what does print-on-demand self-publishing offer? It depends on the self-publishing company you use. Whether it is an established giant like Xlibris, iUniverse, Authorhouse, or Outskirtspress or an almost freebie, bare bones company such as Lulu.com and Createspace.com, your product is self-published in a format chosen from a menu of services to build, market, and sell your book, then sent to Lightning Source Ingram to print one or two or two thousand copies as ordered and shipped directly to your consumer, whether it is a bookstore or you. No inventory required.
All self-published and traditionally published authors are responsible for letting people know your book is out there. So we are all on the same playing field when it comes to marketing and publicity. The biggest difference is how much it is going to cost you in getting your product (book) developed, who is going to distribute it, and is your price right for the market. Self-published novels can run into a costly sum, requiring a price that may keep you from being market competitive. Something else to consider. However, if you have that great niche non-fiction book under your belt that people won’t care how much cash they are peeling out of their wallets, self-publishing may be just right for you. You will be able to control your profit margin, and increase those back-of-the-room sales as a bonus.
In essence, self-publishing is becoming more user friendly and easily accessible. It still has its reputation to overcome, and not so easily accepted by mainstream book stores and media outlets. But, its there and its industry is growing. Don’t count yourself out, if you want to self-publish. Just don’t forget to take a close look at your options.
Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Opened to Self-Published Authors
If you self-published a novel in 2009, don’t miss this opportunity to have your work recognized for its exceptional storyline and quality. Put yourself in the running for a $15,000 contract with Penguin USA and distribution by Amazon.com. For more information on how to enter the contest, go to www.createspace.com/abna. The contest opened January 25th at 12:01 am and ends February 7th at 11:59 am. Don’t delay, only the first 5,000 entries in each category of General Fiction or Young Adult Fiction will be considered. I have already entered Dreams Thrown Away by Dilsa Saunders Bailey. Wish me luck. Good luck to you, too.
Comma Ze This, Comma Ze That-Itis
I hate commas, and I love commas. Commas are the source of my greatest weakness in writing. That is why, I hate them. Commas are also the greatest source of my research, so I love commas. I don’t know why, but commas cause confusion in my overly active, highly distracted mind. I have always been under the assumption that commas were meant to either separate singular words, phrases, or clauses or, they were meant to indicate pauses in a sentence. When writing fiction, I write the way the character speaks or thinks. So, there are places I might automatically insert a comma for a pause effect. Where’s the buzzer, let it buzz loudly(NOT!). Just because the pause sounds perfect in my mind as I write, it does not mean it is the perfect place to put a comma.
Just in case, you suffer the comma ze this, comma ze that-itis that I suffer from (where’s my editor), here are a few tips on comma usage I have learned along the way.
1. A series of three of more items should be separated by commas.
The roses in the vase were red, pink, and white.
2. Commas separate related adjectives that modify a word. If the adjectives are not related or connected in meaning, commas are not required.
The tall, thin man leaned against the wall.
The tall tan man leaned against the wall.
3. Commas follows words, phrases, and clauses that have an introductory function.
Finally, Jim scored a home run after striking out the whole season.
As a result, the whole class began to follow the teacher’s lead.
As if that wasn’t enough, the dog barked louder than ever.
4. Stop. Interrupt a sentence with a comma.
The hurricane, unfortunately, turned back toward the shore.
The school, that held the highest scores for the SAT’s, was located in a surprising location.
5. Commas separate two independent clauses separated by a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so).
I could have sworn I heard a train, but it was actually the screeching sound of a low flying airplane.
6. Commas separate the ordinary (this is probably where I got the pause theory from).
Hold still, Kathy, so I can take a great picture.
Stop running inside, Johnny.
The source of my comma tips range from many websites to many books. My favorite book for learning to write effectively is an old text book called “The Confident Writer” by Carol Kanar. I love writing and do my best to alway find time to jot down a few words here and there, even if I have to use commas.
