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You are here: Home / Archives for writing business

writing business

Thoughts on Self-Publishing

November 3, 2009 by admin

Back from vacation, I’m trying to figure out where I left off with my various projects. Exodus is ready for fresh eyes, as is Blood and Loam. There’s also the updated version of When a Grandchild Dies. I also explored a few new ideas while I was gone, and one of those is ready for some good ol’ uncensored creative writing.

Most exciting, though, is that Patchwork and Ornament, Jeanette Feldman’s memoir, is on its way. As with When a Grandchild Dies, I am both excited and nervous. Part of me says, “What was I thinking?” Initially, P&O was meant purely for family, as a way to preserve my mother-in-law’s writings and art in book form for future generations. Still, I couldn’t let go of the nagging thought that others outside the family might find it interesting as well. When I handed the manuscript over to others, expecting a quick, cursory “that’s nice,” I found that readers didn’t want to put it down. Still, as the books make their way from Canada to Houston, I know that the real work has just begun.

As I go forth to market this book, I am aware of strikes against it. We all know that self-published works tend to be dismissed as being of poor quality, especially now when anyone and everyone can put a book out there.

Here’s the thing, though. As part of my research into this market, I read some of those self-published works. One in particular grabbed my attention. The author didn’t bother to get the book edited, and it was filled with typos and other errors. It had a plain cover, just a single color with an uninteresting title. Yet when I read it, I found it a compelling read, and I let go of my editorial eye as the story swept me away.

Maybe I part company with some of my writer friends, but I believe that the one prerequisite for putting a book out is to believe in it. I learned that from When a Grandchild Dies. Bookstores didn’t want me to come in to hold signings because “it might depress our customers.” Bereavement organizations aimed primarily at parents didn’t want me speaking, because the parent/grandparent relationship can be rocky. Even at a conference for bereavement professionals, one therapist told me, “I saw the subject of your book and almost didn’t come over to talk to you because I’m a grandparent, and I can’t imagine anything more devastating.”

In other words, getting the word out to my audience, the bereaved grandparents, wasn’t easy. I had to work hard and persist to find speaking opportunities and ways to find the people who needed the book. Yet I did so, and WGD has done well.

WGD is a self-published book. Ten years later, as I work on updating it, I know I’m a much better writer than I was then. Although I’m still pleased with the book overall, some areas need substantial improvement. Yet I have received enough letters from people who read the book to know that my efforts are appreciated. Had I waited for a traditional publisher, I might still be waiting yet today, and those grandparents and other family members who benefited from WGD would not have received the help they needed.

I agree that writers should take care that their book is of high quality by utilizing editors, cover designers, etc. We should try to elevate our work to its highest and best potential. However, we should not hold back our ideas because they might not sell, or maybe they’re not “good enough” somehow. One never really knows what’s going to sell anyway! Also, although I am pleased with WGD’s sales, that has never been my measure of success with the book. The lessons I learned, the growth I achieved, and the knowledge that I helped people in the process is what matters most to me.

Patchwork and Ornament is a different kind of book. It doesn’t have the specific niche that WGD has. That will make it both easier and harder to market. That said, I have done my best with P&O to make it beautiful, and I will do my best to find its audience. That’s the best that any of us can do–and it is what we must do, whether or not there are naysayers.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, creativity, independent publishing, jeanette feldman, jenny feldman, memoir, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, patchwork and ornament book, publishing, self-publishing, writing, writing business

The Novel Approach

August 14, 2009 by admin

A year ago, I pulled a novel draft out of a drawer and began retooling it. Blood and Loam, as I call it, tells the story of a confused, dysfunctional young woman who must find her inner strength to save a small farming community from a villainous “land vampire.” The idea has haunted me for years, and I am pleased to have finally found the path of the story.

Writing this novel has been a real education on what not to do, and even after a year of dedicated, hard work, the story still has problems. Part of me has wanted to put the story back in the drawer and write it off as my “practice novel.” It may still end up that way, but I’ve had enough good feedback on the story to not give up just yet.

Earlier in the year I submitted the first few chapters for critique in a novel writing class. I also submitted the first ten pages to a contest. In both cases, I received helpful feedback. Problem is, the story careens off track later on, in places no one has yet seen. I have bumped up against my limitations as a fiction writer, and I realize that I need help to take it to its next level…help that will allow me not only to improve my skills with this story, but also to make writing the next novels (I have three more ideas so far) easier, faster, and better.

This week I took the brave step of hiring a freelancer to provide a manuscript evaluation. I went through Elance, and I was impressed to find several bidders with impressive qualifications, including published and well-reviewed books of their own. It was tough to make the final choice. The woman who won the bid not only is a published author, but also has a mental health background, which I thought would be a great bonus for the psychological elements in the story. In about two weeks, I hopefully will have some guidance on what to do with my story.

I had mixed feelings about taking this approach, but seeing the quality of some of the bidders has changed my mind. I’ll pass along the results of this venture once I get them, and we’ll see if it was worthwhile, but in the meantime, I feel like I have taken a positive step with my writing. Stay tuned!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, novelist, novels, rough drafts, writing, writing business

The Right Tools for the Job

August 4, 2009 by admin

As a writer, I know the tools for my job:  my computer, notebooks, red pens, writing reference books, informational podcasts, etc.  I carry these tools in my writer’s tool belt, and I look for new and better tools so that I gain skill in my craft. I’ve learned that I don’t necessarily need the Snap On tools, but a nice Craftsman makes my life easier. In other words, I may choose to read a book rather than pay for a workshop, or vice versa, depending on the situation. I’m looking for the best value, but I will not sacrifice quality to save a few dollars.

Now I’m  learning how to apply this philosophy to book production.

I’ve been getting bids from printers for Patchwork and Ornament. P&O is a different animal from my first book, one with a color interior (we are adding 30-35 color images to go with the text).

Unexpectedly, paper selection has become a Big Deal. We need something more opaque than what comes with a black-and-white book. I must decide between a matte and gloss finish. And, curiously, the paper used most often for color is thinner, so I need paper that will give me enough spine width so that people won’t think the book is absurdly overpriced.

I went back to the printer I wanted to use and asked for a different paper, one with the qualities I wanted but a lower page per inch.  They balked.  Turns out they don’t stock a lot of different papers, so if I work with them, I am stuck with a paper I don’t want. My rep and I found ourselves at an impasse, and her response to my concerns was to keep steering me toward that which I have rejected.

Tools…paper is an important tool to the job of book production. And, while I am at times accused of being a bit of a control freak, I know what I want, and since I am investing thousands of dollars of family funds to do the job, I feel like I need the tools that will work for me.

In the meantime, I contacted another printer that I found in various resources for small publishers. I saw a book that they had printed, one filled with vivid, clear color images and cool paper. I looked at their website and found a massive paper selection, including the number of pages per inch. This got my attention.

When the rep called me, I felt like I was working with a  real guide. We explored a number of options. She offered to send a paper sample book. She made suggestions. She is providing me with a number of different quotes with a variety of scenarios so I can decide what I want to do.

I haven’t seen the quotes yet, but I will tell you this: this company is simply better equipped to do what I need done. Many companies advertise that they do color printing, but this experience feels like I’ve moved from a plumber’s apprentice to a master plumber. The other company has a great reputation, and I hope to use them on some black and white projects that I’m working on for the future…but for Patchwork and Ornament, it was a matter of finding the right tools for the job.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, independent publishing, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, publishing, self-publishing, writing, writing business

The Exciting World of Online Permissions

July 21, 2009 by admin

Ten years have passed between the printing of my first book and the upcoming printing of Patchwork and Ornament, and a lot has changed! I’ve had to research independent publishing all over again to make sure I’m up with the technologies and possibilities. This week, I think I found my book printer, and they even have a cool program so you can upload your files and make sure they are compatible with their systems.

But the real excitement came today! In the book, Jenny (my late mother-in-law, for those joining these blogs late) quoted the poet Yehuda Amichai. I had two choices: delete the poetic reference, which wasn’t completely necessary, or get permissions. When I published my first book, I had to get a lot of permissions, and it wasn’t always a pleasant experience. I remember having some rather nasty back and forth with one publisher that wanted control over my entire text before I decided just to drop the reference.

Still, the Amichai lines, while not essential to the story she told, did add some lovely flavor to the essay. I flipped to the back of the book for the publisher’s website and went online. Lo and behold, you can do these things instantly now! I filled out a form, paid $14, and presto, my printer spit out a license for my records. Instead of waiting weeks or months for permissions, mine took about ten minutes.

What a cool time we live in.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, independent publishing, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, publishing, self-publishing, writing, writing business

How Much Independence is Too Much?

July 17, 2009 by admin

Last night I tossed and turned, worrying about my book layouts. I’ve been zipping along, learning the ins and outs of Adobe InDesign, and I’ve been pretty pleased with my results so far. And those who know me can attest that I am fussy about what my work looks like. So all along, I’ve had confidence in my ability to do a nice layout. And I like doing layouts. Learning new software appeals to my geeky self, and sometimes I even alter the text a bit to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

However, I have images to take care of, and this is new to me (as is Photoshop). Morever, these images are of my late mother-in-law’s art, and she was very particular about color. I want to represent her work in the best possible light. And last night I met someone who knows what he is doing, and I began to doubt myself. Hence the tossing and turning.

Here’s the problem: I am not visual. In order for me to know what I want, I have to set it up myself, so even if I hired someone, I would go through this entire exercise just so I could say, “See, this is what I had in mind.” I also know that my eye is pretty good–I have seen books put together by “professionals” and knew that I could do a better job.

I respect my independence, but I also know that it gets in the way sometimes, that I could get better at asking for help from time to time. I’m trying to find the balance, which of course, is the ongoing theme of my life! I’ve decided, then, to do the best I can, and then hire a designer to mop it up, and in particular, to help with the images. This feels good. I still get to play with all the toys, but then I get to share–and to make sure I haven’t done anything stupid.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: art, books, independent publishing, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, publishing, self-publishing, writing business

Finding Printers

July 9, 2009 by admin

The layout to Patchwork and Ornament is coming along really well. I’m about to add the various color images, photographs of Jenny Feldman’s art. I have enough done to know how many pages the final product will be — 168 including front and back matter — so I’m in the process of getting quotes. While I’m at it, I’m also getting quotes to reprint my first book, because I’m almost out of stock and need to figure out what to do with it.

The world has changed in the past ten years since I self-published my first book. We can get quotes online instantly from all over the world. I’ve been told that color books such as P&O are best printed in China, so I’m looking into it, but we’ll see. Apparently Canada and Italy fit somewhere in the middle of the pricing spectrum.With digital printing options, I can get small print runs (1,000 or less) done fairly quickly and easily in the good ol’ USA–but the prices may be a lot higher.

When pricing a book, one has to take into consideration the discounts to wholesalers and distributors. Amazon, for example, gets a 55% discount. If you’re going to use a distributor and/or fulfillment center (both good ideas), deduct even more. When I published my first book, I priced it too low, making my book an unintended non-profit project. If my print costs are too high, then I could conceivably price my book out of the market. It’s a tricky business.

I’ll pass along the price comparisons once I have them. In these tough economic times, I’d love to support American business.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: books, independent publishing, memoir, nadine feldman, nadine galinsky, publishing, self-publishing, writing business

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