[stylist] copyright/publishing questions

Mon May 30 23:05:12 UTC 2011

Dear Donna,
I want to thank you so much for your detailed letter to the new member. I am
in that category also. I have a poetry manuscript and decided to enter it in
contests as an alternative to publishing. That was primarily because
Publisher, in Word, is not JAWS compatible, and I am not so adept at book
formatting on Word alone. 
I set a goal of ten copies of manuscript out and I have heard from nine
back. It is discouraging when I read the backgrounds of the contest winners.
Most are MFAs and college or University teachers of poetry and award winners
from many contests  There have been an average of about 1000 manuscripts
submitted in each of them. 
I have had about fifty poems published, and have a local reputation, but my
book is a difficult subject. Domestic violence is an ugly subject and not
something one ordinarily writes poetry about. 
I smiled when I heard your age. You are a kid. I am eighty-two and am just
now learning about the difficulties you have outlined. The scariest for me
is that publishers want to know they have a winner that can keep producing.
Also, you mentioned that you have to assist actively in the marketing. That
is difficult when you cannot travel, read your own poetry and do book
signings.
There has to be a way, and one has to believe that the journey itself is
worth it as you meet so many unique people and learn so very much as you
progress.
Again, thank you for your work, Donna, and I admire your productivity and
skills.
Jacqueline Williams

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Donna Hill
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 8:45 AM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] copyright/publishing questions

Hi new member,
Welcome to the list. Sorry, I can't find your name. I self-published 3
recordings and write for an online magazine. Copyrighting online is
accessible, though the form is complicated. You will upload your document,
and they accept quite a few file formats, so I think you'll be OK there.

As far as publishing ... Obviously, with your own work you can market it in
any way that suits you -- e-mail, subscription website or whatever. The
issues are distribution and promotion. You don't like the idea of a
publisher getting profits, but a publisher pays for the upfront costs of
producing the book and often is able to place them in brick and mortor or
online stores. 

My first novel is done, and I intend to publish it later this year or early
next year. I will either have a literary agent by then or will have decided
to self-publish in which case I'll probably use Amazon, which has several
options for self publishing, which include distribution and hosting on the
Amazon website. 

For me, the clock is ticking because I'm 61, and I'd rather pay for it and
get it out before my sister's kids are out of school. If I were younger, I
would probably give getting an agent more of a shot. Nowadays, even
established publishers spend very little on promotion, so writers are
expected to do the marketing. 

I would suggest that, if you haven't already done so, that you read some
books on the publishing industry. NLS has "Getting Your Book Published for
Dummies," and there are several others between them and Bookshare. Bookshare
has "The 2009 Guide to Literary Agents" & "The 2009 Writers Market," which
though dated are the standards in the field. They also have "Creating Your
Own Website" which might interest you. There are also inexpensive e-books on
marketing your writing such as: Purple Snowflake Marketing's "How to make
your book stand out in the crowd" By Dave and Lillian Brummet. Writers
Market has a subscription site ($30 or so), which has good info and
up-to-date contact info for magazines and such.

If you want an actual ink and paper book to sell or an e-book people can
download or a website more complicated than Word Press, you will have to
shell out some cash or get a publisher to pick up your book. There are a lot
of sharks out there who make pie-in-the-sky promises just to get your money.
Make sure you are well grounded in the practices of the industry, so you can
spot the predators. Publishing is a business where there are essentially
half a dozen major companies which do over 90% of the business, and within
them a half a dozen authors which comprise 90% of their business. These
companies won't talk to a new author without a literary agent. 

Best of luck and let us know how things are going.
Donna Hill

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of harprworker27 at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 3:12 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] copyright/publishing questions

Hi all,
New member here. I know you all are writers, and I'd like to 
copyright/publish some "how-to" and resource manuals to sell. I need to 
know the best way to save money or do this at no cost to me. I know I'l 
pay the $35 for copyright per document/book that's fine, but publishing 
seems extremely expensive. Can I copyright a document from 10-300 pages 
long and just put a copyright statement on the first page and 
distribute via e-mail after the customer has paid, or do I have to 
publish? If I have to publish, what's a free or low cost way to do so 
and make at least $30 per manual/book in take-home money? I don't want 
to give publishers at least half of my profits, so please let me know 
what I can do. Also, can I just make it into a website people have to 
subscribe to and pay for a one-time subscription to the contents, and 
if so, how can I do that? Has anyone sold books online? What's the 
easiest, most cost-effective way to accomplish that? Please let me know 
any/all info you think would help. Thanks and have a nice day.

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