I've Written My Book, Now What Do I Do?

The Now What is a huge question. Do you try to find an agent to help you find a publisher? Do you try and self -publish? Who can you contact for help?

I’ve been there, done it and gotten a T-shirt. My T-shirt says Print On Demand. I am always looking for the universe to send me signs, and my sign on how to publish my book came in the strangest of places.

September 2009, my first draft was almost completed and I had decisions to make on what to do next to get my book published. I spent hours online looking for answers. Knowing I still had work to do on the book did not stop me from fretting how to get it into the world when it was finished.

While doing my research I read how long it can take to get an agent. Then how long it can take to have a publisher do something with your book; if they want it at all. Be prepared for third party edits of your ideas. Allow at least two years for the book to go into print. If you are not in the top percent of books the publisher wants to promote, you are still doing much of the work. None of this agreed with me. As a widow I needed something to do, and taking charge of my book was my bridge to my new life.

So the sign. Let’s get back to that. It was a miserable rainy day. I had a cold. The mailman had left a registered letter slip. I was curious what was so important that required my signature. I threw on my raincoat and headed to the Post Office. Standing in the long endless line at the Post Office I saw an old friend several people up. We frantically waved at each other.

“Hey,” she shouted across all the people in front of me. “What are you doing?” She was loud enough that everyone turned to me to see what I had to say.

“I’m almost finished writing my widow book.” I yelled back to her.

The woman in front of me smiled. “I’m a writer too.”

How nice, I thought.

She continued. “There’s a class on publishing at Emory University this week.You should check it out. The teacher is from out of town and only gives this class once a year.”

That got my attention. I was so confused on what to do with my book and here, at the Decatur Post Office, a stranger had my answer.

As soon as my feet hit the house I raced to my computer, got online and registered for the course. Three nights later I was sitting in class on the Emory campus. The teacher was Tom Bird, a publicist with the Pittsburgh Pirates, turned writer many years ago. This evening his subject was Print On Demand (POD). Similar to self-publishing, but you don’t have boxes of books in the basement and the cost is much less expensive. I was excited!

I looked up Print On Demand on Wikipedia to give you a more formal defination. POD companies offer “services directly to authors who wish to self-publish, usually for a fee. These services generally include printing and shipping a book each time one is ordered, handling royalties and getting listings in online bookstores. The initial investment for POD services is usually less expensive for small quantities of books when compared with self-publishing that uses print runs. Often other services are offered as well: formatting, proof reading and editing, and so on. Such companies typically do not spend their own money on marketing, unlike traditional publishers.” Books are not printed until an order has been received and the books are printed using digital printing rather than traditional printing methods.

There are many POD companies. The teacher that night talked about Lightning Source as his choice. Lightning Source is owned by Ingram, one of the biggest book distributors in the U.S. The costs to use them were less than the company I ultimately chose, Outskirts Press, but I would have to do my own PDF. Sadly, I am technically challanged and this obstacle seemed overwhelming to me at the time. Outskirts Press, for a larger fee, did the work for me. All I had to do was submit my word document with instructions. They designed the print ready PDF with my directions on what I wanted.

My book was ready to market within six weeks from submitting the word document. The time frame would have been shorter, but I had eight rounds of edits that slowed down the process.

Was I happy with my experience? Delighted. Outskirts Press did an exceptional job of printing my book. There were some pitfalls, but they were my own doing. Typos and punctuation that I am in the process of correcting. Outskirts Press offered editing services which I did not use.

The most valuable lesson I learned is do not edit your own work. I discovered I can’t spell and the word punctuation is not in my vocabulary. I realized spell-check only gives you the correct spelling of the word, not the correct usage of the word. My biggest typo actually made it to a website discussion on the Top 10 Worst Self-Publishing Mistakes - Explained on The Book Designer. This has been a good laugh for those who know me! My error: crotch vs. crouch. A chapter in my book The Unfaithful Widow hits on my early dating years. I tell about 'A country boy who would grab his crotch when he talked, kind of moving his 'package' around. It was not a sex thing, but his thing.' Of course, I spelled the word crouch (not crotch). Right spelling, wrong word. Gee, thanks spell-check!

From the same site The Book Designer, I found a wonderful lady Betsy Gordon and her website Publishing Gurus. She will be editing my next book, Covered In Fur, which I am working on now.

I love self-publishing, but next time will go a different route. I know more now than when I started the process a year ago and there are many avenues to pursue. I have learned to let the professionals help me with the technical stuff rather than just send a word doc out without having it reviewed. I can do a PDF and/or have someone help me. It will be my own words, but I am letting someone (Hi, Betsy!) check my spelling. I will try a different method of self-publishing. I will be even better with some guidance. I will still honor sentence fragments.

Do your research. Here are two great sites that will give you the inside information on self-publishing and the tools you need to do it right! The Book Designer, a wonderful informative web by Joel Friedlander and Michael Marcus' blog Book Making which will also link you to Michael's books on self-publishing on Amazon.

I started marketing my book before I finished writing it. My first blog Confessions of The Unfaithful Widow began December 2009. I have been promoting online ever since. It is paying off. Sunday I fly to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to meet with the folks on The Balancing Act , a womens' morning show, on Lifetime Television, for a book interview which will air in September.

Check back again. I will share my TV interview filming experience with you (my 5 minutes of fame, literally) and recommend some great spots to check out to market your book.