Name: M. J. Joseph
Book Title: The Lübecker
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Peppertree Press
Thank you for your time in answering our questions about
getting published. Let’s begin by having you explain to us why you
decided to become an author and pen this book?
Is this your first book?
Author:
This is the first book I’ve chosen to publish. I’ve really never been motivated
to share my work with the public, but, answering the question, posed by a few
friends, “What have you been doing with yourself, lately?” forced their next
question, “When may I read it?” and later, “You should have this book
published!” prompted me to offer the book for publication.
With this particular book, how did you publish – traditional,
small press, Indie, etc. – and why did you choose this method?
Author:
One cannot simply “have this book published”. I offered the book to a few
traditional publishing houses and literary agents and received some
encouragement, but no commitments. With
that, I lost interest in pursuing the matter further and decided to simply have
a few more copies of the manuscript printed at a local office supply store to
give to my children and some friends in Europe. Finally, the continuing encouragement
from my small group of readers revived my interest in publishing and I began
exploring opportunities that could offer some of the advantages of traditional
publishing, with the provision that I pay the associated costs. Since it was
not necessary that I realize significant income from publishing The Lübecker, and I had the means to
pursue this method, I settled upon a small press that would review the book and
decide if it would worth putting into their list.
Can you tell us a little about your publishing journey? The pros and cons?
Author:
I have no interest in pursuing traditional publishing in the future. Traditional
publishing may pursue me, however. Even
if my work would prove acceptable to a major publishing house, I’m not certain
that the guarantees that I would demand would encourage an agreement.
I
would, however, suggest to anyone wishing to pursue an approach to publishing similar
to mine, to begin by contacting individuals working in ancillary professions to
the independent publishing industry for advice. Speak with several experienced
publicists, owners of printing companies and owners of independent bookstores
before committing to a publisher. These
professionals love their work, are generally very approachable and know that
successful authors enhance their own success.
What lessons do you feel you learned about your particular
publishing journey and about the publishing industry as a whole?
Author:
I learned that an author should engage an attorney specializing in contract
negotiation and litigation to review any contract offered by a publisher, being
particularly careful with the numerous timelines that are generated by the
process of getting a book to market. The attorney should send correspondence
declaring their review of the proposed contract, and any questions they may
have, to the publisher. Stipulate that
the publisher shall facilitate on behalf of the author the freedom to work
directly with an editor, graphics professional and printer. In this scenario, after all, the author bears
the expense.
Would you recommend this method of publishing to other authors?
Author:
This method of publishing may be appropriate for the author possessing sufficient
financial resources to pursue the process. There are other ways to publish a
book, depending on the author’s expectations. I am not inclined to encourage
anyone to submit their work to agents and editors working within the
constraints of traditional publishing, given my experience, but I recognize
that for thousands of authors, traditional publishing is still viable.
What’s the best advice you can give to aspiring authors?
Author:
Write your book, submit your book to someone capable of copy editing your book
and only then consider publishing opportunities.
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