1. Conventional or traditional publishers
There are two choices here. (1) You submit a proposal to a recognized publishing company and it is accepted; (2) The publisher assigns the book to you as a writer for hire and pays you a set fee. In both cases, the publisher assumes all publishing responsibilities. The publishing industry is highly competitive, and many of the larger houses are gobbling up the smaller ones. Publishers are in business to make money, and they look at your book as a commodity. They ask one question: will it sell?

2. Self-publishing
You take on these responsibilities by forming your own publishing company. For advice on how to do this, check out Independent Publishers’ Association (PMA) or its local chapter in your city. The guru of self-publishing is Dan Poynter, whose book, The Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Book, has become the bible for self-publishers. As a self-publisher, you are responsible for printing, warehousing, marketing, and distributing your books.

3. POD/Subsidy Publishers
Author services companies until recently were called Print-on-Demand (POD) publishers, but that designation is changing. POD is a digital technology that prints anywhere from one to 1,000 books at a time. The rest of the time your book is stored as a digital file on a large server. This eliminates the need for large press runs and storage space. Most author services companies, such AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Infinitypublishing.com, Xlibrus, and PublishAmerica offer a variety of packages to authors and contract out the actual printing to Lightning Source or some other digital printer.

4. Co-publishing
The publisher provides many of the necessary services, such as the ISBN number, production, and printing, and puts up the money on the front end. You, as the author, pay it back out of sales.

5. Independent publishers
These are generally small houses that handle from 10 to 20 titles a year, usually in few selected genres, such as African American literature, spirituality, inspiration, and religion. An “indy” publisher must put out at least 10 ISBNs a year in order to be accepted by a major distributor, such as Ingram or Baker & Taylor. This a growing segment of the publishing world. Most independent publishers belong to PMA.

6. Electronic Publishing
Your book is published as an electronic or eBOOK through an e-publisher, on your own website, or on CD-ROMs. Or, it can be self-published and distributed through other appropriate websites, listserves, or chat rooms. (E-publishing looked like it might be the wave of the future, but it languished a while and seemed to be going nowhere. Now, due to new technology and renewed interest, it is making a comeback.

7. Do nothing
Ninety-five percent of authors do nothing. That means more than 400,000 manuscripts go unpublished each year because, when authors get to this point, they simply stop.

Each one fills a particular set of needs and preferences. For some authors, nothing will do but a well-known, New York publisher on the cover of their books. For others, it’s the creative control or the profit that matters. For some doing the work involved in finding an agent, approaching a publisher, or learning the ropes of self-publishing is just too intimidating. That’s why it is important to know what you want or don’t want in the publishing process before you get to far along.

Bobbi Linkemer is a book coach, ghostwriter, editor, and the author of 16 books under her own name. She has been a professional writer for more than 40 years, a magazine editor, and a book-writing teacher. Her clients include Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals who want to write books in order to enhance their credibility or build their businesses. Visit her Website at: www.WriteANonfictionBook.com.

I’ve spoken many times to libraries and book conventions about how it is to work with another author. Many questions have been asked about the process. I’ve narrowed the list down to the eight most voiced and will share them with you in two separate posts. Below are the first four questions and my responses to them.

1. What do I know about this author?
2. How will their strengths play to my weaknesses?
3. Can our voices blend to create a third voice?
4. Can they commit to, and keep a writing timeline?

Question one. What do I know about this author?
This isn’t so difficult if the author is someone you know. My last two co-writers, Maggie Pucillo, with whom I wrote, A Spiral of Echoes and Randolph Tower, with whom I wrote, Ice, are both from my local writing group. I am familiar with their writing styles. Even then A Spiral of Echoes almost didn’t happen.

With Darrell Bain, with whom I wrote, Shadow Worlds, the situation was different.

We met online through EPIC (Electronically Published Internet Coalition). I had already read one of Darrell’s books. I liked his style, but I read two more before committing to write, Shadow Worlds, with him. That co-writing went well. No so for another author who I will call Matt. Even though I’d read Matt’s book ahead of time and was intrigued by his characters and suggestions for a book together, it didn’t work. More about that in discussing further questions.

Question two. How will their strengths play to my weaknesses?
This balancing act makes for a great plotline. What does the other author bring to the table?

Randolph Tower is a wealth of knowledge about many things. He was a fighter pilot in Viet Nam, spent some time working with the CIA and traveled to many foreign countries.

What did he need from me? Randolph tends to write in white rooms, no setting, no background, he likes talking heads. I’m good with detail. We balance each other out.

On the other hand Maggie likes too much detail. I kept our writing tight. Along with Maggie came the setting for, A Spiral of Echoes. She has a house on the beach in Baja, Mexico where the book is set. Between Maggie and me, I was the one with the publishing connections.

With Darrell Bain, he wanted to write a science fiction thriller dealing with quantum physics. I knew nothing about the subject. Darrell did. Darrell needed a little help with dialogue and setting from me.

Question three. Can our voices blend to make a third voice?
This is the number one thing two authors should be striving for-a third voice. That was where Matt and I had the problem. He did not want to lose his voice. If that is what you want, then co-writing is not for you. A reader should not be able to tell who wrote what in a co-authored book. With Randolph it came easy. With Maggie it was more work to find that third voice.

Question four. Can they commit to and keep a writing timeline?
It doesn’t make any difference if your writing partner likes to write in the middle of the night, or at dawn, as long as you can agree to meet a writing timeline. Nothing is more frustrating than to have one writer holding up the process. Of course things can happen and you have to be flexible, but this something you should know about the other author before you even start.

Barbara M Hodges http://barbaramhodges.com

As a parent, we are always thrilled when our children take an active interest in their own education. Heck, we are even thrilled when they play with something “educational” (while we call it a “toy”). After all, playing does teach children, and sometimes “play” involves coloring and writing.

Two of our children, Frank (age 11) and Ali (age 13), are currently co-authoring a book. I won’t tell you the title because it’s “top secret.” What I can tell you is that this book idea and the subsequent burst of creativity it has created has generated a great deal of excitement for not only Ali and Frank, but for the rest of the family as well.

Since Ali and Frank are homeschooled, we have added the book to their curriculum. It has replaced their daily journal entries for the time being. They have assigned “entries” to themselves and know they must write one entry per day, Monday through Friday. And as they write each day, they see their manuscript growing…quite quickly in fact!

In about two months, their book will be complete. And, while this may be just a proud Mommy talking, I must say that their work so far is excellent! Children seem to have an easier time expressing feelings and situations that most adults just can’t seem to put into words. Once the manuscript is finished, they will edit it together. They are also going to design the cover themselves. When it’s all completed, we will publish it as a glossy paperback via POD and will, of course, send copies to the grandparents. Since the book does have a consumer slant, we will also put it up for sale online (via Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, etc.) and will, of course, sell it through Booklocker.com. As an author, I know the rush of pride and accomplishment you feel when you hold your final book in your hands for the first time. I can’t wait to see Ali and Frank’s faces when their first print copy arrives in the mail!

Encouraging a child to finish a book manuscript will not only contribute to their creativity and language skills, but will also boost their self-esteem and teach them the joy of planning and completing long-term projects.

Angela Hoy is the publisher of Booklocker.com, Inc., an author-friendly POD publisher that takes no rights, pays high royalties on a monthly basis, and treats authors like people, not numbers. Booklocker.com is happy to work with the parents of child authors! She also publishes WritersWeekly.com, the free marketing emag for writers, offering paying markets and freelance jobs every Wednesday at no charge.

1. No one will want to read it anyway.

2. I’m not good enough.

3. I don’t have time to be creative.

4. I have to take care of everybody else first.

5. I’m just too busy to go on book tours.

6. The sun is in my eyes.

7. Starbucks has run out of coffee.

8. I don’t know what to write about.

9. No one will understand me.

10. I don’t think I can handle success.

11. I don’t think I can handle failure.

12. If my parents had encouraged/would encourage me more, I could do this.

13. If my spouse/children/teachers/friends would encourage me more, I could do this.

14. Writers are naval-gazers.

15. I like money too much to become a starving artist.

16. It takes too long to learn to write well.

17. I don’t like criticism.

18. There’s a ballgame on.

19. I don’t like to read.

20. My twitter followers need me to tweet about what I had for lunch.

21. See #1 on the list (it’s worth repeating).

22. The spell-check on my computer is set to British English.

23. I don’t want to have to promote my own book.

24. I don’t really have anything to say.

25. Everybody says I should write a book, but I don’t believe them.

26. See # 7.

27. I want to save on electricity.

28. I can’t find the pencil sharpener I used in 3rd grade.

29. The back of this envelope isn’t big enough.

30. I can’t afford the gasoline to drive to Starbucks.

31. There are no comfortable chairs in my house.

32. It’s too cold.

33. It’s too hot.

34. My facebook friends need me to post something every 5 minutes.

35. I work fulltime.

36. I’m already better than all those bozos writing today.

37. If I can’t have fame and fortune, I don’t want to bother.

38. Writing is the get-rich-slow-or-not-at-all plan.

39. 99% of all writers get their work rejected by publishers.

40. I’ll do it when I have more time to devote to it.

41. I’ll do it when the kids are grown.

42. I’ll do it after my divorce is final.

43. I’ll do it after I am independently wealthy.

44. I’ll do it after I get everything finished with the house.

45. I’ll do it after everybody I want to write about is dead.

46. I need my down time.

47. Most of the writer’s I know are mentally unbalanced.

48. I’m too tired.

49. My neighbors are too loud.

50. Is that a dog barking?

51. I need to go out to get a drink with my neighbors.

52. I have a cut on my finger.

53. My back hurts.

54. My ghostwriter has disappeared.

55. Sarah Palin has already said it all.

56. John Grisholm doesn’t answer my emails.

57. Oprah’s show has ended, so my book won’t be a book club pick.

58. I don’t have anything to wear to the Academy Awards.

59. My cat won’t get off my lap.

60. repeat # 6.

61. I need to wash my car.

62. Somebody’s got to make a living.

63. The coffee shop doesn’t carry my brand of tea.

64. My writer’s group is full of critics.

65. Writer’s conferences are a racket.

66. I have a cramp in my big toe.

67. It’s that time of the month.

68. My bowling team will think I’m a sissy.

69. I won’t have anyone to sit next to at the National Book Awards.

70. I’m shy.

71. I need to make a list of excuses for my blog readers so maybe they’ll laugh and maybe even buy my books.

72. I can’t afford to live in New York City where all the famous writers live.

73. I don’t have time to find an agent.

74. Creativity is over-rated.

75. I’m sleep-deprived.

76. Hemingway killed himself.

77. I don’t have enough self-esteem.

78. I’m a woman.

79. I’m a man.

80. I’m not white.

81. I’m not a person of color.

82. I’m thirsty.

83. Time to eat.

84. I need to see who wins American Idol.

85. I secretly find myself boring and have absolutely nothing to say.

86. Virginia Woolf drowned herself.

87. I don’t want to become an alcoholic.

88. I don’t want to give up drinking.

89. I’m much better than a lot of writers out there; they’ll be jealous.

90. I don’t like competition.

91. The publishing companies only want stories about vampires.

92. No one is getting published these days.

93. I ran out of my medication.

94. If I had had a better childhood, I could do this.

95. My therapist is on vacation for the next two months.

96. I have to write the next great American novel.

97. I’ve never read a great American novel.

98. see # 83 and repeat.

99. I don’t like writers.

100. Is there an app for this?

Now add your own number one excuse for not writing that book, poem, article, screenplay, or other creative endeavor:

101. ——————————

Are there any excuses from the list that you particularly resonate with? We all make excuses. But let’s face it, excuses are boring, and my guess is that you really do have something to say. So why don’t we collectively bury all those excuses in a cyber box in our cyber backyards and get on with it, shall we?

Susan Gabriel is an author of fiction for adults and children. Her latest book, Seeking Sara Summers, is gaining acclaim in diverse circles. More info at http://www.susangabriel.com. Gabriel works and plays in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Tons of vanity presses make it easy to publish a book. These companies charge tens of thousands of dollars by preying on the fact that naïve authors will pay and do just about anything to be in print. I know of companies that charge $12,000 for 500 books. That’s $24 a book! As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, “Vanity, vanity all is vanity!”

Subsidy presses will offset, or subsidize, a portion of the publishing expenses. The author pays for editing and printing, the press pays for marketing; however, they will also participate in the proceeds for each book sold.

An independent or small publisher usually focuses on a specific genre. These publishers may or may not pay advances and often have fewer than twenty authors on the roster.

Print-on-demand (POD) publishers are better described as high-priced printers than publishers. These companies charge exorbitant fees and act more like the middle man on a book project. One of my clients paid $150 to copyright her title through a POD. Had she done it herself, the cost would have been $35 (that’s a markup of almost 500%).

I am a proponent for self-publishing because you control the process. You decide when the book releases, the cover and content, the retail price, the printer and the marketing strategy. As a self-published author (self-pub), you can expect to spend about $3,000 to publish 1,000 copies of your title (or $3 a book). And if you sell those copies for $10 each, you’ll gross $10,000!

Sidebar: Regardless of the publishing option you choose, your books will not automatically fly off the shelves. You will have to market, promote and sell, sell, sell!

Let’s take a look at some differences between self-publishing and PODs:

1. Many PODs do not provide a comprehensive edit although they charge like a professional, developmental-writing editor who’s providing personalized coaching and a manuscript critique. Self-pubs can find competent editors for a fraction of the cost.
2. PODs use templates for book covers. I have a client whose inspirational book has the same cover image as a book about demons, witches and warlocks. She was horrified by the discovery. Self-pubs can contract with graphic designers to create customized one-of-a-kind covers for as little as $300.
3. Now for the real deal: making money!
   1. If you’re in business to make money, it’s almost impossible with PODs. Thorough self-pubs can acquire books for less than $2 each; however, the POD cost for a comparable book often exceeds $10. Doesn’t sound like much, but when authors try to market to bookstores, libraries and distributors, they soon learn that it’s not cost effective. To make money, bookstores charge 40% of the retail price and distributors up to 70%. So, if a book is priced at $15 and the author has to give up 60% (or $9) to a distributor, the gross profit is $6 ($15 retail price – $9 to the distributor). If a POD printed the book, the loss is $4 a book ($6 gross profit – $10 POD print cost). As a self-pub, each book sold results in a net profit of $4 ($6 gross profit – $2 printing cost). I have a client who went with a POD—against my recommendation—because she wasn’t charged any upfront fees. I admonished her to find out her cost to purchase books, but she was too ecstatic about “the savings” to read the fine print. Well, as I expected, they got her on the back end. The POD charged her $25 to buy her book which should retail for $12.95. The cost made the book a hard sell, so she packaged it with trinkets to enhance the perceived value, sold it for $20 and lost lots of money.
   2. PODs don’t pay royalties on books purchased by the author and most books sold through PODs are purchased by the author. Go figure! For the few books that are sold by the POD, the author earns a whopping $110 in royalties on average. The earning potential for self-pubs is limited only by the author’s persistence and ability to creatively market and sell books.
   3. PODs charge excessive fees for promotional material and marketing. One of my clients purchased business cards through her POD. They charged her $200 for 200 cards (at $1 per card, they’re too expensive to give away) that didn’t even have her contact information. To add insult to injury, the cards directed the consumer to the POD’s site, so she paid to advertise for the POD. Awful!

The only plus to PODs is the ability to print small quantities. For writers who want to test the market or print copies for family history, POD may be a viable option. If you absolutely must go POD, go straight to the source, Lightning Source. Most of the PODs contract with them to print books and then markup the fee to authors.

If you’d like a FREE list of PODs or want us to rate your publisher, visit the Contact Us page at PenOfTheWriter.com.

As a bestselling author and award-winning publisher, Valerie J. Lewis Coleman has helped thousands of aspiring authors navigate the challenges of self-publishing. With over ten years of experience in the book business, this expert divulges industry secrets on avoiding the top five mistakes made by new authors, pricing your book to sell and identifying dishonest publishers. Her dynamic presentation and knowledge of the business takes writers from pen to paper to published as they master self-publishing to make money! To learn more about Valerie, her books and succeeding as a self-published author, visit ValerieJLColeman.com, PenOfTheWriter.com and QueenVPublishing.net.

Copyright © 2010 by Valerie J. Lewis Coleman

At some point, almost everyone has had to apply for a job. Being able to do a job requires being able to follow directions, and the same rule applies to authors—to get attention for your book, follow directions—whether you’re submitting your book to agents, publishers, book reviewers, or for media coverage.

At one point in my career, I was responsible for hiring people. If I put an ad in the newspaper that said, “Submit a resume and cover letter with three references, no phone calls,” I would invariably get people calling to ask about the job. Because they did not follow directions, I would get their names and then discard their resumes. Often, I would get resumes without cover letters or references. I would discard those as well. Then of the people who followed directions, I would eliminate people who didn’t take the time to proofread their work. Following directions are basic if you want to get a job. I was not being harsh in how I eliminated people. I only had one job to offer and fifty applicants; if people couldn’t follow directions in their applications, I knew they wouldn’t be able to follow more complicated directions on the job.

Recently, more and more authors have also decided not to follow directions. At Reader Views, we clearly have on our website the instructions for submitting a book for review. On our home page is a link to the submission directions page. It’s at the top of the page and very clearly says, “Submit a Book.” Nevertheless, I get emails from authors asking how to submit a book. It takes more time for these authors to write me an email than to read the submission guidelines. And it takes longer to find my email address on the website than to find the submission guidelines.

My friends who are literary agents or publishers experience the same thing. People send them manuscripts when they request only query letters. Publishers who specialize in romance novels get mystery novels. A friend of mine who is president of a publishing association in the Midwest for Midwest authors gets emails from authors in California asking for help promoting their books. Another reviewer I know was sent a children’s book he did not request for review and was not queried to review. When he emailed the author to explain he did not review children’s books, he was sent back a form email saying, “I love your review. Please post it at Amazon.” Sometimes, you have to wonder that some of these authors even know how to write when they clearly can’t read.

But I’m not here just to complain. My point is that following directions is extremely important to get your book the attention it deserves—whether by publishers, literary agents, reviewers, newspaper reporters, or television producers.

Yes, it’s easy to compose one email or letter and send it out to everyone. And it’s then equally easy for those who receive it to see it is a form letter, and to realize you didn’t bother to read their submission guidelines or look at their website or research which types of books they review or represent. What is “easy” can be more work and more disappointment in the long run if you don’t get any results from your form letter.

All publishers, agents, and book reviewers have specifications for how they want to receive books. A few basics across the board for making submissions are to include your email address, your phone number, your book title, your mailing address, and your book’s category (fiction, non-fiction, biography, romance, fantasy etc.) when you send in your book. Beyond that, publishers and reviewers vary in what they require.

Some publishers want only query letters, some agents only want the first three chapters and not the entire manuscript, and some book reviewers only want published books, not manuscripts. Because these guidelines differ by company and individual, I can’t give you specifics on how to submit your book or manuscript. You need to read the instructions which are usually easily found on the company’s website. Only if the instructions are not perfectly clear do you email the publisher or reviewer for clarification. And never disregard the instructions, thinking if the agent wants only three chapters, those three chapters aren’t representative enough of your book so you’ll send the entire manuscript. Trust me, the agent probably won’t even read the three chapters if she gets the entire manuscript.

Chances are if you submit your work and don’t follow instructions, you will never hear from the publisher or reviewer—not because they are rude but because they have so many submissions and so many people who don’t follow instructions that they simply cannot respond to everyone and still get their real work done of finding worthy books to review or publish.

If you do get a negative response, such as a request for more information because you did not follow instructions, or simply that the person is not interested in your book, be polite, thank the person for his or her time, do what you can to resolve the problem, or simply move on, having learned from the experience what not to do in the future. Be sure not to repeat your mistake.

The same goes with anyone with whom you work in the publishing world. A bookstore owner I know recently told me about an author who yelled at him because the store was not selling more of her books. This same author would come into the store and move her books from their shelf to where she thought they belonged in the store—she did not own the store, so by doing so, she was not playing by the bookstore’s rules. When her second book was published, guess what happened? The bookstore refused to carry the book.

Good manners in the publishing world consists of being polite, but also following directions. Woody Allen once said that half of success is just showing up. In the book world, half of success is just following basic guidelines. By being an author who follows directions, you’ve already beat out half your competition.

Irene Watson is the Managing Editor of Reader Views, where avid readers can find reviews of recently published books as well as read interviews with authors. Her team also provides author publicity and a variety of other services specific to writing and publishing books.

1. Everything I have read says you need an agent. I wouldn’t know as I don’t have one. I have been rejected by them. At last count it was approximately eighty seven times. Of that, some of the rejections were multiple times as I can be persistent. I still don’t have an agent. I will write about this more later. Also I will cover getting your own contract.

The problem is agents don’t really want you until you can prove it’s worth their time and they can make some money off you. I have come to the conclusion they are literary pimps who, because of the times and state of the industry, can pick and choose who will be the money makers in their stable. There is a market for fresh flesh but what really pays for the BMW is the money makers. What is a money maker? Someone who has established their own client black book.

So you don’t have a black book and you don’t write fresh vampire novels you find find your self realizing that maybe self publishing is the way to go. I mean it’s not so bad now, right?

My research told me I had two choices; Lulu and Amazon. I have used both. Amazon is the best because they are the market now for what you will be producing. I have actually liked my Amazon experience for a number of reasons. The main one is that it works. Before we go there I want to tell you about getting your book ready for both paper and ebook sales.

Paper. A real book. That is what I think of when I say I am a writer. It is also going to be less than half your sales. Paper is dying but right now it still has a place. You are going to need a decent computer, some computer skills, and up to date word processing software. I have WordPerfect, Word, and OpenOffice and prefer OpenOffice.

1. Get a good editor. I know. They cost money. Get yourself the best editor you can find. Why? If you don’t and you start selling books your reviews on Amazon will be bombed by grammar Nazi’s. Reviews are very important. You do not want this to happen. I know this the hard way.
2. The cover. Unless you have some money to burn you are going to be stuck using the Amazon templates. They’re not bad if you can come up with your own graphic. Don’t use a copyrighted one. Besides being cheesy it is not a good idea.
3. Formatting. Createspace wants an HTML document these days. It does ugly things to your Word formatting. Such is life.
4. Remember to save the preview copy of your cover to a file. You will need it for your ebook.

Ebook

1. Well, at least you are Kindle ready but what about the rest of the world? I use Smashwords for the creation of the other formats. Don’t do text or PDF. There is only seven people in the world that would buy it and I feel like why make it easier to be given away.
2. Smashwords is pretty crappy as everyone is using it. Don’t be surprised to find yourself #754 in the queue for the formatting process. Also, the software ends up having a problem with your formatting it will reject you. That means getting back in line once you fix it.

Steve Campbell is the author of “The American Apocalypse” book series. He writes under the name Nova. You can learn more about Steve and his books at http://theamericanapocalypse.blogspot.com/. The American Apocalypse books are available at Amazon.com.

Getting your thoughts, stories, and ideas in print and being recognized for those intellectual contributions and can seem like a daunting task.

The admiration you receive from others when they learn that you are an author is also a bonus. Given the millions of existing books in circulation, you may feel that you have nothing new to add. However, these sentiments are far from the truth. There are many new technologies that can help get you published and recognized as an author faster than you think. In some cases, within a month from now, you too can be a published author. Find out how.

Step 1 Review your material

First you need to determine what you want to write about if you have not done so already. Then select the genre that it belongs. What qualifies you to write the book? Frequently you will be asked these questions by agents or publishing houses, so begin to prepare yourself. If you have material already, review it carefully to ensure it is error free. If you have not began to write, now is the time to write your book and perfect it.

Step 2 Get the book

The next step is to invest in the book entitled The Writers Market, which is available at amazon.com and other major retailers.

You may also visit your local library to find a copy. The book is full of addresses of agents, publishers, and advice on submitting your material for consideration.

Step 3 Submit your materials

Now that you have found agents and publishing companies from the Writers Market, you need to submit your work to them for review.

This is a slow process and can take up to six months before a response is received.

Step 4 Do it yourself

If you want to publish right away and do not want to wait months before receiving a response from an agent or publisher, then you can always self-publish.

Lulu.com and winghill.com are the best sources to help you get self-published without any fraud attached. The two programs also have the most equitable royalty payouts.

Step 5 Promote yourself

Whether you decide to self publish or if you are accepted by a publishing house or agent, you will still need to promote your work.

Use Twitter.com and Facebook.com to get the name of your book out in the eyes of the public.

Reprinted from “Rick Frishman‘s Author101 Newsletter”
Subscribe at http://www.rickfrishman.com and receive Rick’s “Million Dollar Rolodex”

I definitely had a story that I loved, and that my mother loved, but I couldn’t seem to find an agent who loved it to the exclusion of all else. I had run through every personal contact I had, and that was a handful—more than many would-be authors, thanks to my alumnae network and a couple of personal friends. My boyfriend at the time urged me to send the manuscript to 50 agents, so sure was he that I would ultimately find someone who would pick it up. Of course I wanted to project confidence in my abilities, and a fighting spirit and all of that—he was still a boyfriend, after all, and I am not getting any younger, but I knew that I was destined for the slush piles of those fifty agencies and with Mom’s diagnosis, I felt a severe time pressure. At around that time, I got spammed by a self-publishing company called BookSurge, a subsidiary of Amazon.com. For only $800 I could publish my book, and if I signed a contract right away, I would receive twenty free copies of it! I gave the idea under 60 seconds’ thought, for this was exactly what the doctor ordered—a book with my name on the cover in time for the holidays, possibly my mother’s last. And twenty Christmas presents ready to wrap.

There were additional costs, but they were of my own making—I paid my out-of-work brother-in-law to proofread the manuscript, what would have cost a lot more had I gone to a professional, and he is as thorough as any pro—and I paid a writing teacher of mine to read the finished product. I gambled that he would like it well enough to give me a quote for the back cover. His quote ended up being worth ten times what I paid him as a standard fee to read and comment on a student’s work: “A bright, insightful novel that is laugh-out-loud funny.” And this from a former writer for the Mary Tyler Moore Show! That’s like Moses telling you you’re a good person.

I already knew exactly how I wanted the cover of my book to look. I envisioned a pair of shapely legs decked out in a sequined hemline, standing barefoot in a sandbox. I even knew the legs I wanted to use—a perfect pair I admired in a class I was taking, belonging to a fashionable young woman who didn’t seem the least bit surprised that I wanted to borrow her legs for the cover art of my first novel. I paid her $80 for the time she spent on the photo shoot, and a friend took the pictures. Incidentally, the design team assigned to my book gave me an alternative idea for the cover as part of my $800 package that was actually much better than the one I had conceived. I love to be bested when it’s for my own gain.

So maybe I spent more like $1,200, but it was worth it. Not only have I have made every dime back and then some (I make $5.40 for every book sold on Amazon, and upwards of $8 for each book I sell out of my trunk), but you couldn’t put a price on my mother’s beaming face in every audience I addressed that first year after the book came out. I always introduced her as the original “Muth” — a humorous character who was a lampoon of the feisty old lady in the wheelchair in the front row. I continue to address audiences, having developed a talk on building community that I illustrate with choice passages from my “laugh-out-loud funny novel.” I miss Muth more than I can describe, but she lives on in her spirited, fictional counterpart. On balance, I would definitely call it a happy ending.

Joan Bigwood’s novel, Co-opted, may be found at http://amzn.to/ggG31D, and her blog and news of her speaking engagements and other projects may be found at http://JoanBigwood.com.

Ingredients:

• Book (preferably in .doc format) – see detailed formatting guidelines below
• Cover picture (in jpg format, max 1200 pixels high)
• Short book description (400 characters max)
• Proper book description (up to about 2,500 characters)
• About the Author summary
• Book categories (i.e. Young Adult, Fantasy, etc.)
• Decision on selling price of book