[callout]Would You Be Willing To Help Me?
If you are a writer, blogger or a wannabe, I am doing one-on-one Skype calls March 14th, 15th and 18th to help gain insight on writing a course on self publishing your book. I want to learn about you and where you are at right now in your writing/publishing journey. I would love to know how I can help. To schedule your 20 minute Skype call click here. Also, for anyone wanting to learn how to find their writing voice, download a free copy of my e-Book, Missionary Writing. [/callout]
If you are a writer who is unpublished, you might be puzzled as to how do you get your book in front of agents and publishers. After trying to get a book in the hands of traditional publishing experts several years ago, I learned the hard way of what didn't work to publish a book.
I have stacks of rejection notices from agents and publishers dated back in 2006 and 2007 when I was sending in queries and proposals. I received lots of positive feedback back then from those rejection letters that helped me land an agent in 2015. Without an agent and a publisher I decided to self publish then using an author services company that no longer exists. The book cover was beautiful and the formatting was excellent all the while selling a grand total of 300+ copies. After thinking about the experience during the next several years and becoming a intense reader of publishing books and joining many online writing and publishing communities, I decided I would try this writing/publishing thing again.
I read four books over and over again that electrified my thinking; Platform by Michael Hyatt, The Well Fed Self Publisher by Peter Bowerman, How Do I Decide? by Rachelle Gardner, and Ape:How To Publish A Book by Guy Kawasaki. Each one of these books educated me on the rise of self publishing and the how the publishing paradigm has shifted in the positive to self publishers. What this meant for me was that I was going to have to set up a publishing company, get my own ISBN numbers, hire an editor, a designer for both the cover and the interior layout and figure out how to market this new book.
So, before going the self publishing route again, I decided I would send out some emails to the agents whom I had queried several years earlier to see if there would be any interest in this new updated book I was titling, Uncluttered: When Spiritual Baggage Hinders God's Vision For Your Life. Over the next several weeks my email began lighting up with agents who were interested in talking to me and finding out more about the book, myself, and other future books I might have in me. I was humbled to have some of the top agents in Christian publishing be interested in my writing. After prayerful consideration, I decided to accept the offer from Literary Management Group and Owner Bruce Barbour. Bruce is a stalwart in the Christian publishing industry. In 1870, his great-grand uncles, Fleming H. Revell and Dwight L. Moody, started publishing Christian books and founded Revell Publishing. You would think that I would have been ecstatic to be one of the lucky ones who lands an agent. But, after much consideration, soul searching, and prayer, I cancelled my literary contract and decided to move forward with self publishing. If you want to learn how I landed a literary agent read this blog post.
All These Reasons For Self-Publishing You Have Heard Are True:
You control all the process of publishing your book. From the design of the cover to the design of the page layout and style.
You retain all the rights of your work.
You keep all the profits, not 10% of what the book sells for minus agents cut minus cost of production and discounts. You are not going to make tons of money this way.
You control the success of your books. I know this might be debatable, but publishing houses are not going to put tens of thousands of dollars into marketing your book.
Your book can be published and hit the market much sooner!
It is easy. You can make it hard, but there is no reason to.
Self Publishing is fun! It feels pretty cool to create something and be the one who makes it happen.
You are able to put your own special thumbprint on the project. That is powerful!
[callout]Would You Be Willing To Help Me?
If you are a writer, blogger or a wannabe, I am doing one-on-one Skype calls March 14th, 15th, and 18th to help gain insight on writing a course on self publishing your book. I want to learn about you and where you are at right now in your writing/publishing journey. I would love to know how I can help. To schedule your 20 minute Skype call click here. Also, for anyone wanting to learn how to find their writing voice, download a free copy of my e-Book, Missionary Writing.[/callout]
