One of my monthly indulgences is a professional pedicure. There is a salon here in Tucson that I prefer going to because they do a great job for not too much money. One of the drawbacks to the salon though is that the fashion magazines at the drying table are incredibly out of date. I actually found one in the stack from 1997!
In order to not fidget and smear my nails, I generally strike up conversations with the people around me and this past weekend was no different. I was chatting with this nice lady next to me and we did the standard oohing and aahing over each other's color choices and then settled in for the "getting to know you" chat ... where do you work, blah blah blah.
She happened to be an English teacher and was very interested in Wheatmark and what our company did. She had no idea that the independent publishing industry had progressed so far as to make it possible for a classroom of kids to potentially publish a book.
I talked to her at length about what we did, told her about other companies that she might want to look into, and wrapped up the conversation.
One of the last things she said to me was, "I want them to realize that being a writer is like playing an instrument: not everybody gets to be a rock star."
"Wait!" I said. "That's exactly what I'm talking about! With modern publishing services like ours, you do get the chance to be a rock star, well at least a potentially famous author! It's up to the writer and the reader, not a publishing house that decides who gets to be published. It's really cool!"
It always amazes me how excited people get when they find out that publishing has become such an available process. I know families that have used Blurb to publish their family blogs and given them to grandparents for unique Christmas presents and authors who have used such sites as Lulu to upload a Word document and make a nearly instant book.
Publishing service companies are not created equally and different ones offer different levels of services. For example, Wheatmark is where you go if you are serious about being an author and want the utmost levels of service available to you before, during, and after the publishing process. The thing they all have in common though, is that you don't need an agent to help you shop your manuscript to a traditional publishing house in New York that may or may not choose your book and give you a nominal sum of money only to turn around and only sell it for a few months.
The new world of publishing makes it open season for authors. And yes, you CAN become a rock star of the book world. The best part is you get to do it on your terms with your book and have full artistic control.
And that truly rocks.
You can learn more about what it takes to become a successful self-published author by enrolling in our free minicourse on the Wheatmark homepage. Already ready already? Fill out our Project Assessment Form and see if Wheatmark is the right company for you!
In order to not fidget and smear my nails, I generally strike up conversations with the people around me and this past weekend was no different. I was chatting with this nice lady next to me and we did the standard oohing and aahing over each other's color choices and then settled in for the "getting to know you" chat ... where do you work, blah blah blah.
She happened to be an English teacher and was very interested in Wheatmark and what our company did. She had no idea that the independent publishing industry had progressed so far as to make it possible for a classroom of kids to potentially publish a book.
I talked to her at length about what we did, told her about other companies that she might want to look into, and wrapped up the conversation.
One of the last things she said to me was, "I want them to realize that being a writer is like playing an instrument: not everybody gets to be a rock star."
"Wait!" I said. "That's exactly what I'm talking about! With modern publishing services like ours, you do get the chance to be a rock star, well at least a potentially famous author! It's up to the writer and the reader, not a publishing house that decides who gets to be published. It's really cool!"
It always amazes me how excited people get when they find out that publishing has become such an available process. I know families that have used Blurb to publish their family blogs and given them to grandparents for unique Christmas presents and authors who have used such sites as Lulu to upload a Word document and make a nearly instant book.
Publishing service companies are not created equally and different ones offer different levels of services. For example, Wheatmark is where you go if you are serious about being an author and want the utmost levels of service available to you before, during, and after the publishing process. The thing they all have in common though, is that you don't need an agent to help you shop your manuscript to a traditional publishing house in New York that may or may not choose your book and give you a nominal sum of money only to turn around and only sell it for a few months.
The new world of publishing makes it open season for authors. And yes, you CAN become a rock star of the book world. The best part is you get to do it on your terms with your book and have full artistic control.
And that truly rocks.
You can learn more about what it takes to become a successful self-published author by enrolling in our free minicourse on the Wheatmark homepage. Already ready already? Fill out our Project Assessment Form and see if Wheatmark is the right company for you!
Labels: book publishing, how to publish a book, independent authors
posted by KatG on 8/17/2009
Permalink
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home