by Classics author, and guest blogger, Raining Deer ©2011
The Road to publishing your own work is a journey of the good, the bad and the in-between.
The GOOD is the Creative Process — writing as a craft/art. If you are a skilled writer, expressing your thoughts or storytelling may be a fairly natural thing for you. I always say, “if you can talk, you can write,” i.e. – you should be able to write what you say. But that’s not always the case.
For some, who don’t speak “the King’s English” writing may be more of a challenge. Nevertheless it is always necessary to convey your thoughts from the “reader’s” perspective. With that in mind, whether you consider yourself a writing technician or someone who just likes to tell a good story and will leave the grammatically correct aspect to an experienced editor, remember to write in such a way that the reader fully gets the point of what you are saying.
The BAD in publishing can be lined with rejection – letters that is, if you are seeking a publisher. This can be a lengthy, tedious process, and you might need to grow an extra layer of skin to soften the blow of rejection. You could seek out a literary agent to run interference, but there are costs associated with having an agent represent you. And still, you may not get a deal within the timeframe that you set for yourself.
If you don’t have or want an agent, are thin-skinned, or you or your agent don’t think your material will grab the attention of a small or large publishing house, self-publishing is always a good alternative. Especially if you have a story or a topic that you simply must write about and it’s just oozing out of your pores, so to speak, self-publishing might make the most sense.
The IN-BETWEEN is that, in any event, you must understand that you are a writer, but you will be in the business of marketing. For some this is a hard concept to grasp. If you get a book deal with a publisher, your job will still be to market your book. If you self-publish, your job will be — to market your book. Today, even if you have limited financial resources, with desk-top publishing and a plethora of electronic avenues for getting exposure for your work, self-publishing is a proverbial snap.
Once your manuscript has been written, edited, proofread, priced competitively, printed or set up as an e-book, you establish a website, start a blog and start some chatter on face book, Twitter, LinkedIn or some other popular on-line sites, and you’re good to go. At least the ground work is all done. Then comes the networking. Actually, the networking should have begun from the moment of conception – or your book topic, because when you decide you want to write a book you have to know your audience, — i.e., who will be willing to pay money to read your work, and have a plan for accessing that audience.
In any case, see the good and don’t let the bad or the in-between deter you from following your passion. As they say, “Don’t die with the music in you” or in this case, don’t die with your story in you. Get it out. Write about what you know and get it out.
Raining Deer is the author of BCV – RITES OF PASSAGE FOR BREAST CANCER VICTORS, which is available at Classics, , 117 South Warren, downtown Trenton, book_cellar@mindspring.com. You can learn more about Raining Deer at http://rainingdeer.com/.
