Seeking advice on getting my book edited and published
Hi I am a mother of four. Two twins- that are 9 wks., old a 2 year old and and a 11 year old.
I recently wrote a book and am now in the process of looking for an editor along with publishing information- whether self publishing or commercial. Please help if you have any suggestions. The book is nonfiction dealing with motherhood.
I recently wrote a book and am now in the process of looking for an editor along with publishing information- whether self publishing or commercial. Please help if you have any suggestions. The book is nonfiction dealing with motherhood.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Suze Allen on -
Hi, I have a non-fiction book coming out on Mother's Day that my co-author and I self-published - The Time-Starved Woman's Guide to Emotional Wellbeing. We looked into commercial publishing but wanted more control and higher profits so went the self publish route. We used Peter Bowerman and Dan Poynter's books for research and great advice. I'm also a copy editor and have gotten a book proposal for mindful motherhood accepted for another author at New Harbinger Publications in California. Let me know if you could use my services. I have two children and do a lot of writing about motherhood as well.
Congratulations on having the stamina and the drive to get a first draft out!
Sincerely,
Suze
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Permalink Reply by leesa on -
Hello,
My name is Leesa , You definetly have your hands full. I have been kinda watching some of the groups and moms, looking for the same info you are. If you have any luck with getting some info , would you mind sharing. I will keep looking and will let you know if I happen across anything we could use.
Congrats on completing your book, and Good Luck !
leesa
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Permalink Reply by Christine Belfrey Johnson on
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Thank you for responding! Do you have any information available on your copy editing services and yes I am thinking of going the self publishing route as well, after doing a bit of research
Suze Allen said:Hi, I have a non-fiction book coming out on Mother's Day that my co-author and I self-published - The Time-Starved Woman's Guide to Emotional Wellbeing. We looked into commercial publishing but wanted more control and higher profits so went the self publish route. We used Peter Bowerman and Dan Poynter's books for research and great advice. I'm also a copy editor and have gotten a book proposal for mindful motherhood accepted for another author at New Harbinger Publications in California. Let me know if you could use my services. I have two children and do a lot of writing about motherhood as well.
Congratulations on having the stamina and the drive to get a first draft out!
Sincerely,
Suze
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Permalink Reply by Suze Allen on
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Hi Christine,
My company is called Manuscript Mentor and I offer affordable copy editing and writing coaching. You can look at my website, www.manuscriptmentor.com to find out more. If you want to read samples of my writing you can go to suzeallen.com. I can also send you my updated resume. My LinkedIn site has some recommendations - www.linkedin.com/in/suzeallen - if you want to see what people are saying who hired me. Do check out those books I mentioned, they are very helpful and for all our research, we really liked what LuLu and Infinity Press offered for self-publishing.
You can email me directly at manuscriptmentor@gmail.com, if you want to talk further.
Sincerely,
Suze
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Permalink Reply by Heather Binning on -
I'm in the same boat. I'm writing a book for moms of special needs children. I have an agent, but every reply I receive from the publishers is "This is great! Good topic and style. Does she have a platform?" Well, no, I'm not a celebrity, but there are 9 million parents of special needs children in the US alone and I know we are all looking for help. My next move is self publishing. Thanks for your advice!
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Permalink Reply by Ayani_Meli on
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Hello Christine,
Please check out our site... Http://www.revolutionarydisciples.com. We would love to speak with you. If you think we can help, that would be great. If all you need is some advice, we can help you with that as well.
Be blessed,
Ayani_Meli
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Permalink Reply by Pauline Baird Jones on -
In our book, MANAGING YOUR BOOK WRITING BUSINESS, Jamie and I talk about how to figure out what you want/need/have a hope of getting when you seek publication for a book. You need to look at your own finances and your expectations.
As you can see from the replies to your question, there are several different routes you can pursue to publication. Securing an agent is a good first step if you want to work with a major publisher, but as Heather is discovering they often want to see evidence of your ability to promote (a platform is basically a market/buyers FOR the book and the ability to reach that audience. Your platform might be people at your church, twittermoms, your church, school, etc). Some publishers will ask for a marketing plan with your submission.
As noted, you can self publish, or you can pursue publication from a large or a small press. If you want to self publish, then you need to research self publishing venues. Angela Hoy has an ezine and she talks a lot about diff self publishing options.
To subscribe, http://www.writersweekly.com
amazon (booksurge) and lulu.com are a couple of places you can self publish.
a good place to find small presses is www.epicauthors.com. click on resources (I think) and scroll down to publisher listings. if you want to go with a NY publisher, a good place to start is the bookstore. Who is publishing books like yours? The Gila Queen Guide to Markets is another resource for finding markets. She does specialty mailings and I believe one month is non-fiction. If you google the name, the site comes up.
Self publishing is good for people who want:
*to get the book out now
*to control the book and have the time and energy to promote the book
*to invest in themselves/their book, have the funds to do that and the business savvy to manage their writing business
Traditional publishing is good for people who want:
*to write, but don't want to deal with the technical details of getting a book into print
*don't have the money to self publish
*the *opportunity* to have their book in bookstores (it is harder to get a self published/small press published book into bookstores)
No matter which form of publishing you choose, if you want the book to sell, you have to be prepared to promote it and willing to learn how to do that effectively. :-)
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