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kowalskil
February 28th, 2011, 05:55 PM
1) Self-publishing is good, for an unknown author, when s/he already knows who the readers will be (family members, students, etc.) But I would not recommend it to anyone who wants to reach a wider audience. Last December I self-published "Tyranny to Freedom: Diary of a former Stalinist." It has been available on http://www.amazon.com (and positively reviewed by several readers) but the number of copies sold was very small. Bookstores do not order self-published books written by unknown authors. Finding a reputable publisher (a very difficult task indeed) is the only way to proceed.

2) Disappointed by the situation, I decided to "compete with myself." I improved the book a little (based on comments made by readers), changed the title, and made it freely available over the Internet. Fortunately, I can afford to do this; my goal was to leave a testimony, not to support myself. The new title is “Diary of a Former Communist: Thoughts, Feelings, Reality.” The link is below the signature. Attempts to self-promote (mostly via the Internet) my two free self-published books, are not very effective. Only a small number of people know about them.

3) Major newspaper editors were asked to review my autobiography but not a single one responded. I am now thinking about combining the existing books into one and finding a publisher who advertises aggressively. Naturally, I would discontinue making my self-published books freely available on-line.

4) Sometimes people ask me why are the books free. The answer is always the same--writing was a moral obligation, to my parents and to millions of other victims of Stalinism. In other words, my goal is not to make money; all potential profits are already donated to a scholarship fund at Montclair State University. Literary agents usually take 20% of royalties. I am willing to triple this, if a traditional contract is signed with a reputable publisher. Please help me to find a literary agent. My email address is below the signature.

Thank you in advance,

Ludwik Kowalski
Professor Emeritus
Montclair State University (USA)

BlueStar
February 28th, 2011, 06:35 PM
Hi Ludwik

As an aspiring writer I agree with you about the extreme challenge of breaking into the publishing industry. You're right, there is a discrimination against self-published books; a lot of people assume that because something hasn't been put out by a big publishing house then it mustn't be any good. Now in a lot of cases this can be true, but there are also many brilliant books that simply haven't appealed to publishers because it hasn't struck them as having enough £££/$$$ potential. The publishing industry is like a pimp - pimping out material more based upon commercial appeal than artistic merit. But that's just the way it is I guess.

I hope that you find someone to publish soon. I'm sure the fact you have a name for yourself will be of help in the process. Good luck :)

MystEerieUsOne
March 3rd, 2011, 03:35 AM
If you go to one of the major bookstores, such as Barnes & Noble, near the reference sections for study guides and practice tests, such as for the GRE (Graduate Records Exam) prep and the like, you should find the books for potential writers of everything from stage plays to poetry to writing for television, etc., and with those are books that are constantly updated every year, and are filled with pages upon pages of publishing companies, including names, addresses and, I think, phone numbers.

It has been a while for me, but I think they also include a synopsis of what each company is looking for or requires.

Likewise, with these are also pages upon pages of literary agents' names and addresses and contact information.

Everything is there for you to prepare your book in the manner acceptable to a publishing company, so you can send off many copies to various publishers all at one time.

It is never advisable to send an entire book that is unsolicited. They will not send it back and will not read it. Instead, they want a quick-access/quick-glance preview in a particular format, such as ...(been a while, so I'm trying to remember here)... title page, table of contents, sample illustrations, and a few chapter synopses, and perhaps a simple paragraph about yourself and your purpose.

I had written several books in the 1990s and had been rejected by quite a few publishers (about 12 to 15) for a two-book set I'd written, teaching Consciousness in everyday language, one to be read, the other a workbook walking the reader through every section, complete with work to do to *experience* everything for themselves. I was in the process of preparing my books for a publisher, based on very specific requests they'd made after accepting my synopses, when September 11th happened, and I lost interest in publishing my books at that point. The books had included the physics of precognition, including specifics relatedly, and I just lost my spirit for the process afterwards. Had they been published sooner, September 11th may not have happened! Probably good they weren't published sooner, because they were a little too revealing and I may have regretted not protecting myself. But they were really good books, were hugely popular among my friends, including one who couldn't put them down and carried them with her everywhere, and were even read and loved by "top secret" nuclear physicists I knew. So, keep in mind that publishers also need to be those capable of grasping what you are pitching to them, because if it's over their heads, they're surely going to assume it's over the heads of potential readers! I rewrote my books several times to "dummy them down" for a general audience.

The process I was preparing, though, for the potentially-accepting publishing company (actually, there were two companies requesting that same style prep) insisted on what is called The Chicago Manual of Style (http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Manual-Style-Essential-Publishers/dp/0226103897) format. At the time, I read that most publishers use that format. (Both potential publishers had contacted me to request I resend my work using that!)

You can buy the book by that title on amazon.

I was close to my relentless taking of graduate school courses at the time, doctoral level psychology, and I was used to the theses preps, such as The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, but the publishers wanted Chicago, so Chicago they were getting, :ohyea: , until I lost interest. :confused.3: I was just in no mood for a book tour, that's for sure. I was furious and fuming by then (I'd pre-realized just about every detail of that nightmare, but...well, you and the world saw the results.)

I would advise you to get the latest update book(s) of the publishers' and agents' contact info, newly put out every year (year date is on the front cover), and to prepare your synopsis, and at least try a few publishers before heading for an agent.

Don't despair if your book isn't readily accepted. The extremely famous and prosperous "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book, which went on to become an enormous series, was rejected 125 times before finally being accepted.

And...for the fun of it, didn't Decca Records reject the Beatles? :angst:

Don't assume it's yourself with every thin envelope that follows. :)

Good luck!

By the way, if I ever write a book or set again and choose to put it out there, I may consider self-publishing just for the fun of it, but if I do that, I would create a website for the books with sample readings and a few opening chapters, a twitter account for them, get them on a social network, like it or not, and do all the other "sidewalk" pounding required to get them noticed. Another option would be to subscribe to lots of writers' magazines, and to attend writers' conferences. There used to be a hugely popular one on Maui in Hawaii, and also check out conferences and symposiums on University campuses, and even consider holding your own workshops. You may also look into writing articles for a local community newspaper. They are often looking for writers, even if you just have to intern for a while. Best of luck.

Whew! Just rereading this to check my spelling, I feel exhausted. Soooo glad I am not in the mood for writing books right now. Love it, though! Very cathartic.

kowalskil
March 3rd, 2011, 02:41 PM
If you go to one of the major bookstores, such as Barnes & Noble, near the reference sections for study guides and practice tests, such as for the GRE (Graduate Records Exam) prep and the like, you should find the books for potential writers of everything from stage plays to poetry to writing for television, etc., and with those are books that are constantly updated every year, and are filled with pages upon pages of publishing companies, including names, addresses and, I think, phone numbers.

It has been a while for me, but I think they also include a synopsis of what each company is looking for or requires.

Likewise, with these are also pages upon pages of literary agents' names and addresses and contact information. ...

Thank you very much, MystEerieUsOne. I will certainly use this information. And I hope you will finish what was abandoned after 9/11.

Best regards,

Ludwik

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