Storytellersunplugged

By Sèphera Girón

Over the past few weeks, I have managed to meet a few people who want to write books, or have written books, or parts of books, and now want to get published.

I don’t know why it is so hard for people to understand that just because I have over ten published books to my name, that I’m not an editor, a publisher, nor am I rich and famous, for that matter. And looking for my next book deal ranks at about the same level of difficulty as it was for my first book deal, except now I have a mediocre track record of finishing and selling books, so the doors may open a tiny bit easier, but I still have to hit the ball out of the park.

I don’t know why people think that just because they’ve put some words on paper, that these words are meant to be shared with anyone at all.

And don’t get me started on the writer’s favorite line, “I’ll give you a best seller idea if you write it and we can split the profits!”

Writers and profits seldom go hand in hand.

Poetry books are not likely to get on the bestseller list, even if they manage to find a mass-market publisher. I don’t care who you are. In fact, it can be hard enough to sell a single poem, let alone a whole book of them. People just don’t read how they did before; they have computers, games, television and so on. They can write and perform their own songs in minutes through modern technology. They don’t care about wading through poetry books, no matter how brilliant.

However, one thing that a couple of these people I met over the holidays had in common was that they were not only offering a book idea, but also a lifestyle idea.

Now this is somewhere, the ONLY PLACE, I believe, that self-publishing just might come in handy.

If someone gives a lot of workshops, lectures, and has a private practice in, oh, let’s say reiki, or past life regression or some other new age concept, he or she might do well in having a few self-published tomes on hand for clients.

It can be hard to get some new age books published, and if someone has a specialty where they do a lot of speaking, and can put the ideas into a small book, the chances are that person may be able to sell a few copies.

Maybe enough to get his or her investment back.

But unless you have an AMAZING concept, and an even more AMAZING book, consider breaking even akin to being a millionaire.

Maybe selling the little self-published tome as you make your lecture circuit, will give you bigger and better ideas for a book to be published by a “real” publisher. You may get feedback on what works and doesn’t work in your book. You can gather more ideas to create a bigger and better book, to sell to a publisher.

I still would recommend trying to get someone else to publish your book first. Go to the small presses if the big ones are taking too long.

Submit a professional proposal. For a non-fiction book, here is what I usually submit.

Synopsis
Table of Contents
Chapter breakdown
Sample Chapter
An Overview of the book
A Market Report about where your book fits in the market
An Author Bio slanted towards the Book
Resume

It is fine to ask other writers what works for them, what strategies they use, where the latest market reports are kept, but really…be realistic. Do you think Stephen King sits around publishing his own books, making his own book covers, selling his books out of his car, and collaborating with people who have never finished a book on their own?

Common sense, people. And before common sense, you need to educate yourself on the job description of a writer.

Be professional. Act professional. Submit professional proposals. Be confident in your work. FINISH your work. Say something new and interesting, and there should be no reason that the money shouldn’t flow TO the author, and not away.

Sèphera Girón

http://www.myspace.com/sephwriter