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“In Southcentral Alaska, not one door has been closed to me. Everyone is friendly and willing to help. If I don’t sell many books, it won’t be because I didn’t get a chance.”

— Sherry Tomlinson

By Sherry Tomlinson

For twenty years as a bed and breakfast hostess, I said to myself, “People’s stories are great; I need to write this down.” A friend’s advice was, “If you want to write that book, treat it like a job. Don’t let anything stop you from writing every day.” It took a year to draft, a year to revise. When I sent my manuscript to a northwest publisher, it was eleven months before I received a “sorry” letter urging me to self-publish.

Most writers get to experience rejection. No matter how you prepare yourself, it’s a kick in the chops. I shelved my project for a couple of days, but it felt like I’d swallowed my dream, and it stuck in my craw. I had to finish what I started. I would do it myself.
I started by reading and talking to other people.

Being your own publisher is a daunting process; one I’d like to make a little easier for other Alaska writers. Here are some of my thoughts:

• Advantages of self-publishing: It’s great for control freaks. Would you like to select the cover and title, the font, and how the book is going to look, or let someone else make those decisions? Authors with a publisher don’t get many choices. You will have to do the marketing, but once again, you decide how hard you want to work. Whether or not you are self-published, everyone has to market their own book to some extent. If you’re adventurous and have some time to spare, you’ll enjoy it.

• Cost: You pay the upfront costs and take the risks. Use the telephone and talk to people personally. I never paid full price for any service. I use the word, “budget” when talking to people who can help me. Editors and printers want your business. Negotiate.

• Choosing a publishing method: A relatively new technology, POD (Print on demand), is faster and cheaper than a traditional publisher. POD is great for family memoirs or very short runs. They will edit, design a cover, print, and put your book into distribution channels. You order, and they print the number of copies you need as you go. No stacks of books sitting in the garage. The downside is each copy costs considerably more than traditional printing. I couldn’t figure out a way to make a profit. The salesman for iUniverse had almost convinced me to “think outside the box,” when I went into their Web site one more time and found the word “receive” spelled “recieve.” I took that as a sign and opted out of POD.

• Research: There are many primers out there. I like Judith Appelbaum’s plain speaking, resource-rich book, How to Get Happily Published. It will help you understand the lingo of publishing.

• Manuscript edit: I paid for what I call a “conceptual edit.” The editor read the book and commented on writing style. I had a problem finding a “voice”. She encouraged and gave suggestions. Although my skin thickened with the effort, I was grateful for her honesty.

• Copy edit: I once heard a writer say that this was just “vacuuming.” I disagree. This critical step will reveal the many stylistic conventions of the publishing world. Typos are the embarrassing signature of a self-publisher.

• You will need an ISBN. You must buy ten sets (Ouch!) at www.bowker.com, the official U.S. agency for assigning ISBNs. (Editor’s note: To get around this bulk purchase issue, some writers have formed publishing cooperatives that allow individual writers to share a set of ISBNs at a time; in such cases, the cooperative becomes the “publisher.”) Once you have filled out their form, they’ll get your number to you in about ten days. Without it, you can’t sell in bookstores. At this point, you must commit to a price. You will need to balance the price of the actual printing, your development costs, and the percentage a distributor or book/gift store owner will want (40 to 60 percent).

At this point, you may feel overwhelmed. You need to ask yourself why you want to publish your book. The money won’t help you retire early. If it’s ego, forget it. People care less than you think they will. It’s going to take a lot of your spare time and pocket money to hold that book in your hands. AlaskaWriters coach Sonya Senkowsky gave me an excellent prompt. She advised, “Why don’t you publish a short run — like a thousand copies — and just go out and have a good time?” That’s an excellent launching point. Enjoy the process.

• Choose a printer: Once again, research. Although there are printers in Anchorage, I chose to outsource to Canada. It was a bit cheaper, but in the end, the shipping from either Canada or the continental United States can be an unpleasant surprise. Get written estimates from different printers. It’s important to remember that a printer doesn’t edit or design your book. You’ll get what you submit.

• Book design involves the cover and the typeset manuscript. To do it yourself, you need to be computer-smart and buy spendy software. Because the cover is so important, I hired an inexperienced, but recommended designer, who charged me half the going rate. She also designed the book itself, the style and page layout, and converted the book to a format suitable for printing. My designer and the printer communicated with each other at this point. Meanwhile, I started my marketing research.

• Marketing & Web promotion. I established my information site that will also serve as a storefront at www.alaskawriters.com. It gave me a feeling of confidence to be able to refer potential buyers to my own Web site.

You can promote your Web site with two new tools: http://resources.hostway.com/ezsubmit and www.alaskancommunities.com. (Note from Sonya: Be careful not to overuse automated submission tools such as the ezsubmit site. Some search engines will withdraw your site from their records if you bombard them with submissions without new content being added to your site. A good rule of thumb is to make a submission only when you add new content. Also see my article on promoting your Web site.)

Make lists of bookstores, gift stores, and search out special niches for sales. We all have friends and acquaintances who can help us meet someone else. Start talking to them. Write a brief cover letter to send with advance copies to selected newspaper editors. (Go to www.usnpl.com/aknews.html for a list.) Editor butting in again: A free, but more time-intensive, source is also available in the library reference section; see the Editor & Publisher’s Yearbook. Or, for Alaska-only info, seek out the Alaska Media Guide. Make up a short, informal press release with a picture of the book cover, ordering information, excerpts from your book and a “blurb.” Call and visit people. Take advance copies and a press release with your writer’s Web site on it, and go out and meet your new friends.

• Contact local distributors. I need to mention that I’m marketing my book at a regional level. Some stores are willing to buy your book directly from you, and although it gives you a better profit, it creates extra paperwork for them. It will help you sell if you can point your buyer to a distributor. One Anchorage distributor requires a contract that encourages you to market your book but penalizes any direct sales you wish to make. The author will get approximately 39 percent of the price of the book under that contract. Be sure you fully understand the advantages and limitations before signing such a contract. News Group, which sells to grocery stores, does not require an exclusive contract. Wizard Works is a respected distributor that takes an upfront fee for their catalog, but lets you market on your own. Everyone expects you to honor returns.

• Believe in yourself. Every writer has those down days. Take a walk, relax, and allow yourself to regenerate.

Here’s an amazing fact. In Southcentral Alaska, not one door has been closed to me. Everyone is friendly and willing to help. If I don’t sell many books, it won’t be because I didn’t get a chance. After my first few encounters, I held my self-published head higher and relaxed. I left a friend with sample copy of my book while I answered the telephone last week. I could hear him laughing while he read. Just hearing him enjoy himself made the whole experience worth it.

About Sherry Tomlinson
AlaskaWriters member Sherry Tomlinson and her husband, Derek, have been hosting travelers in their Anchorage, Alaska home since 1986. After guests have a good night sleep and a plateful of sourdough pancakes, Sherry enjoys the time when she can linger over a cup of coffee and swap some tales. If you have ever been a bed and breakfast guest, considered running one yourself, or are curious about life in Alaska, you’ll want to take a peek between the covers of You Wouldn’t do it for the Money! Tales from an Alaskan Bed and Breakfast.

(Excerpts available at her site, http://www.sherrytomlinson.alaskawriters.com.)