Article about seeking a career as a book author.

Today I received an email from a young person thinking about pursuing a writing career. They ask me for advice. The following was my answer:

Ah, to be 22 again and face this decision! I was 22 and a talented writer myself. Many of my articles, poems and etc. were published. I had the ability, but I lacked self- confidence.

Advice is not easy to give. The best advice I can give you comes from the prospective of being 53 years old, looking back. I ask myself, "If I could go back what would I do differently?" When I ask that question the answer is always the same. I'd pursue my writing career at a much earlier age.

Writing is very personal. In writing a novel, especially the first novel, we put a part of our self into the book. Not just our efforts and our imagination, but parts of our personality and parts of our life. It may be fiction but a part of our true self is very apparent.

I can only speak from a personal point of view. The first novel I wrote was very much like a child to me. I put so much of myself into the writing. I put my time and energy into creating the story. I worked on it each day, nursing it along, day by day, watching it grow and develop. When I'd hit a snag in the writing, I'd work through the problem, time and time again, as a mother would with a child. I have no idea if other authors develop such a close relationship with a novel, but I did. The book became a part of me. I found it difficult to part with my manuscript. In fact, the novel was put away for years. I kept it buried and shared it with very few people. I took the novel out at age 52 and read it again. The story was so intriguing, I knew it was a winner. It needed to be rewritten and updated. I had many years of experience by now and had learned a lot about writing. I took the novel out, spent a couple weeks rewriting every chapter. I polished it up, edited it over and over until I felt it was ready to go out to the publishers. After I was sure the manuscript was ready to be viewed, I wanted to stop and not take the chance. I was so afraid of failure, of rejection, that I came close to burying Only a Game. My husband intervened this time and insisted I send the manuscript out. I was almost physically sick when I sent it out! It was at this point I realized that failure had been mine all these years because I was so afraid of failing that I was unwilling to take the chance on success! I had defeated myself because I was unwilling to face the possibility of failure. This is something I try to warn every young person about. Deep within our psyche we often defeat our self by failing to try.

We each have a few stars passing over our head. The star of opportunity comes and then quickly vanishes. Never be afraid to reach up and grab your star and go for a ride! You never know where that star will carry you. Those who find success early on are the people who are NOT afraid to try! Those of us who achieve success in our later years are the ones who were a bit slower to realize that success is possible for anyone and everyone, but you have to be willing to work for that success. You have to be willing to take the chance!

If you are a naturally talented writer and your work is good, don't be in a hurry to pay someone out there to publish the book for you! Once you go the route of the self- published author it's hard to get the attention of the big publishing houses that might be willing to pay you for those talents.

There are very FEW publishers willing to take a chance on an unknown author. It's a catch 22 situation for most of us. We have the talent, we have the ability to see a novel through from beginning to end, and without a GOOD agent it's almost impossible to get our foot into the door of the big publishing houses.

Most of the big publishing houses will not accept unsolicited manuscripts today. Their doors are closed. They will only look at a manuscript presented to them through well-known agents. From that alone you can see how tough the market is to break into.

I researched the market so many times I sometimes feel I can quote it! What I found, and this is just my opinion, is that for the new author trying to break into the market, there is a new option, and I don't know if it would interest you or not.

I went with Publish America. There are others I'm sure. I call this the in-between type of publisher. They require a finished manuscript. They are the most outstanding publishing company that is willing to take a chance on a new, unknown author. This type of publishing house is different than the old time, big publishing companies, but many steps above the big time POD companies that abound on the Internet.

If your manuscript is accepted by Publish America, they pay you. It's that simple. They offer a decent contract, fair and above board, for the first time author. They offer a decent percentage on royalties for the book sales, for book clubs, and movie or TV rights. There are no HIDDEN costs for the author. You pay for your copyright. They pay the cost of publishing your book. They include a cover design for you or you may submit ideas of your own. They do some awesome covers! They will send out flyers for you to 100 people that you include on a list for them. They do a lot of things for the author. When the book is done and ready for the market, they list it on the big Online Bookstores for you and take care of all the details.

They also print your book as it is sold. There will not be any big warehouse full of books being shipped out to bookstores across the country, in hopes they will sell. Some call this POD, but actually it's different through P/A. They do sometimes print up a quantity of books if need be. They have the capability of handling a novel however it needs to be handled. They are not strictly POD. They are simply incorporating new technology into how they publish their books.

I feel it is important for any new author to know that their work is good enough that a publishing company is willing to take a chance on them. A new author needs to know a publishing company is willing to pay all the cost for the author. If our work is good, we do not have to pay a publisher to publish our book. There is no need for a good writer to make any financial obligation to get their book on the market!

Are there disadvantages to going with a company such as Publish America? Sure there are! Along with all the wonderful and exciting things, come a few things that we need to think about as well.

There are not the BIG DOLLARS behind the company to be spent on advertising. They do advertise their new authors and promote them on their website. They also provide information to the booksellers for us. There is no big promotion to back you up. You are going to do that yourself. Book signings, advertising, setting up your own web page and so forth is going to be things you do for yourself.

Supplies for your book signings, bookmarks, handouts, posters, business cards and so forth are going to be costs out of your pocket. I have found that I can print up some very nice looking business cards on the computer and think it would fun to do the same with bookmarks. Putting out flyers will also be up to you and the cost will come out of your pocket as well.

With Publish America you can personally order however many books you want for yourself. You get a nice big discount on these books and they can be used at book signings, fairs, or whatever. There are many ways to work these angles. Personally I look at this part of the 'business' as general business expenses. I think it's like any new business. If you try to go into it with no money to invest into the business then it may not fly. I feel that this is the one area we can afford to make an investment. The more we are willing to invest in advertising our book, the more books we sell. If one looks at this as a small business adventure, then success may be better in the long run.

Whatever you choose, whatever direction you choose to go with your writing career I wish you the best success that is possible!


Sherry Gibson
www.autorsden.com/sherrygibson
www.sherrygibson.com
Only a Game
Publish America