Thirteen writers attended tonight’s meeting, including a first-time attendee, Lin Maloney. We hope our writers will help Lin find answers to her issues.
The following is an outline of the subject discussed at this meeting.
So, you want to publish your book. How do you get started? How would you like to publish it?
Traditional publisher?
A. Be sure you’ve finished your book, is it edited, and formatted to a publisher’s standards
On the internet, there are loads of ads wanting to publish or represent authors
Be very careful; some ads are simply scamming to take your money
1. Look up the publisher you’ve chosen. Most publishers list their standards for submission on a website or in a Publishing Guide. Please read and adhere to them carefully, or they won’t even look at your offering.
2. Many publishers require you to have an agent.
a. Use similar methods to find an agent as you used to find a publisher.
b. Literary agents often represent specialized genres. Read their standards carefully before sending off a query.
c. Don’t get discouraged if many agents do not respond or do not choose to represent you. Do not expect an instant response. I know writers who have set off over a hundred queries without acceptance and received answers to less than a quarter of the queries.
d. Legitimate agents do not charge an up-front fee to represent you; they do charge a percentage of the income generated by your work (sometimes as much as 25%).
Self Publish?
A. How much would you pay to publish?
1. Research
a. On the internet, there are loads of ads wanting to publish or represent authors
b. Be very careful; many ads are simply scams to take your money.
c. Check your local library. Books listing agents and publishers are available but change often. Check the date of the book; if it’s over six months old, it’s probably out of date.
2. What services do you need to be sure your book is ready for publication?
a. Is it edited thoroughly? Editing is important. Again, many editors want your business and advertise on the internet and in publications. Be sure you check them out entirely. Will they give you the edit you need?
b. Is the formatting correct for publishing
c. Have you had beta readers read your work, and have you made the necessary corrections?
A. Would you consider free publishing?
1. There are free publishing sites out there. Amazon KDP, Dorrance, Lulu, Blurb, Book Baby, and Ingram Spark are a few. Research! Are they truly free? Many have hidden costs, and you learn about them after signing a contract.
2. Check each of them out. These have standards and rules, as does any publisher
B. How do I market my book?
1. Write a blog. Blogs are a great way to explain your book. As an author, you can share advice or experiences on what you’ve learned. Post the first chapter.
2. Talk to people; Colleagues at clubs or work; Use LinkedIn, Instagram, and other social media to search for people who might be interested in what you’ve written.
3. Schedule local events; speak at neighborhood meetings; does your neighborhood have a book club?
4. Check with your local library; do they sponsor readings?
Our discussion about publishing took up the first hour of this meeting. We had some positive comments. Remember, research regarding publication can make a big difference in the quality of your product and its performance.
We moved on to the reading portion of our meeting. Two of our readers requested some extra time to read a longer piece. Dennis Cathcart was called upon to read first as he’d not had the opportunity to read at a previous meeting.
As Dennis Cathcart came to the podium, he explained he was about to read a very personal and intense piece. He said, “It will be a struggle to read. Dennis is working on the second of his Koule’v ADVENTURES of an AMERICAN SNAKE HUNTER books. Reading Chapter 104 entitled, Hearts Divided. Being in the field while on an expedition to find snakes is not a pleasant way for some to spend their time. After spending time alone while her husband was off on his reptile safaris, Dennis’ wife chooses to accompany him on a two-month-long sojourn into the wilds of South America. It’s hot, humid, and ridden with insects varying in size from tiny to borderline gigantic. Unlike in the movies, the equipment and porters were few, and the tents were not luxurious accommodations. The party consisted of six people and two tents, one for the women and one for the men. A few times, rooms in a local village were available, but they were small, not always pristine, and not private. Mrs. Cathcart did not feel as though she shared her husband’s enthusiasm for reptile hunting. His passion for his profession was something with which she couldn’t compete. Their marriage was strained and destined to fail. To those who find yourselves in competition with an overwhelming passion, seek a middle ground.
Ernie Ovitz brought a chapter of his Constantine saga confronting a delicate issue to us this evening. How do you handle incidents prior to the period in history in which an author set his story? Especially if those events might have set a precident for behavior by the citizens of his story. Do you take the time to describe the incident? Do you refer to the incident and move on, causing the reader to research the issue? Is the middle ground feasible? Can you mention the incident and assume readers will read on accepting the premise, “all is normal.” I think my brain stripped a gear.
For Those Who Trespass Against Us is the title of a story by Richard Cope confronting an ugly part of our past. For those of us raised in the South of this great country, especially the rural South, we must remember a time of racial and religious strife. A cancerous tumor of hate and injustice grew from organizations hiding behind radicalized religion. And faceless men lurking behind hoods and robes brought fire and hatred into our communities. Fire consumed hastily constructed crosses and rough dwellings of poor working men persecuted because of their race. Richard’s story lays bare the stench of this time as seen through the eyes of a young man from a small town in the rural South.
Writing from the perspective of having lived the life of an addict, Tish McAuley brings us the story of Angel. She is struggling to keep her life on track. Abused and constantly afraid of losing her freedom and her child at any moment, she seeks to gather 25,000 dollars to post bail for her drug-dealing husband. The once abundant cash flow dries up as Law Enforcement impounds a quarter-million dollar drug shipment. Angel tries to find the cash. Who are her friends? Who will turn her over to the law? Is there loyalty in the drug world?
Poetry is a tricky genre. Scott Anderson is a magician with words. Reading three poems this evening, he has taken everyday happenings to a new level. Landscape artists tend to paint in the open air. The light is true. Its purity makes the colors more vibrant and less distorted by artificial luminance. Scott thought maybe a poet could benefit from the Au’Natural. The result was his work, A Musing en Plein Air. Scott now prefers to work at his desk in an air-conditioned room. Being caught in a rainstorm brought about the second poem, Downpour. As a person caught in sudden rain, a poet sometimes is bathed in words as they descend upon him. Who knew a simple short burst of words could be so beautiful? Try to find Scott’s poem, Five Petal Red Roses.
Closing out the night’s readings, Don Westerfield enthralled us with the story of Benjamin’s Monkey. A P-51 Mustang pilot in the South Pacific during WWII had a reputation for being, for the lack of a better word, lazy. He found a friend in the form of a pet monkey named, of course, MONK. After many failures, Ben taught that monkey to fly the airplane. Surely that can’t be true. Legend has it that the squadron ran into a swarm of Japanese Zeros on Ben’s last mission. All the planes came home safely but two. Ben’s plane was smoking badly and going down, but nobody saw it crash. Nearly a half hour passed, and watchers spotted a Mustang on a long low approach to the field. A dense trail of smoke spewed from the engine. The runway ended on the beach. The plane drew closer but didn’t lower its wheels but settled down in the shallow surf. It bounced off the water and skidded across the sand, coming to rest in the middle of the runway. Out from the shattered window of the cockpit, little Monk leaped to the field and raced toward the nearby jungle. The rescue crew ripped open the canopy. Ben was at the controls, quite dead.
Well, that does it for this evening. Next meeting, Bruce Haedrich and Peter Frickel are first to read as we ran short on time this evening. Until then, KEEP ON WRITING!
