Self-Publishing for all the Right Reasons (Reporting on The Writer's Center's "Publish Now!" Seminar)

Last month I gave a talk for the Writer's Center's "Publish Now! digital publishing seminar-- such a hoppin' topic that it sold out before I could even alert my own writer friends and workshop students. Unlike how-to-get-published conferences of yore, which inevitably featured the panels of nose-in-the-air agents and the other panel of nose-in-the-air editors, all trying to out-groan the others about their Himalayan "slush piles," this one had, among the attendees, a number of previously well-published authors-- and by well-published I mean, you know, the big famous NY agent, the big famous NY publishing house, reviews in the New York Times, and so on and so forth. (Wannabes might imagine glowing reviews and invitations to glamorous parties falling like little showers of lotus petals upon said authors' heads... Uyy! That's another blog post.)

One of the speakers at "Publish Now!" was my fellow Writers Center board member, historical biographer Ken Ackerman, who found that his big NY publisher wasn't interested in reprinting his Young J. Edgar Hoover-- even though the Leonardo DiCaprio movie was about to come out (!) In the seminar, Ackerman talked about how he then plunged into self-publishing and, step by step, put together the paperback POD (print on demand) editions of Young J. Edgar Hoover-- and his other biographies, all then languishing in publisher's warehouses or effectively out-of-print-- through CreateSpace and Lightning Source, plus ebooks for Kindle, iTunes and Nook. He held up the four self-published new paperback editions of his books and my, they did look beautifully designed. Seriously, Ken, you are an inspiration.

As another well-published writer friend of mine put it, we authors are suffering from "an erosion of support" from our publishing houses. Well, in my own case, this is indeed the case with some of my publishers, but certainly not all. Over the years I've had several books placed with an array of publishers, from international corporate behemoths (Planeta and Random House Mondadori) to university presses (Georgia and Utah), small presses (Milkweed Editions, Unbridled Books, Whereabouts Press) and.. drum roll... yes, I have self-published.

It used to be that self-publishing was for those whose work was not up-to-snuff or who were too naive or lazy or easily intimidated by the traditional publishing process. Yes, there has always been some work of great but not commercial value, but in a word, "self-published" was not a label anyone with a shred of ambition would want-- unless they were Walt Whitman, but that's another blog post. And today self-publishing is wide open-- it doesn't even require money to do a Kindle, and compared to the past, very little to do a paperback, so just about anyone can publish just about anything. And therefore, we have an unimaginably vast and exponentially growing mountain of... well, let's just say I do not know how to appreciate most of it.

But I did self-publish back in the Crustaceous, I mean, 2002, with The Visitors / Los visitantes, which is the second chapter of my memoir, Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico, a book that was published by the University of Utah Press in 2002 and Milkweed Editions paperback in 2007. (And much later, the ebook of Los visitantes, pictured left, by Yours Truly.) It was both time consuming and expensive-- back then POD wasn't really done, that I know of, so I had a professionally designed cover and interior and the whole thing was offset printed in Canada. (And not to mention the design and printing, boy howdy was shipping expensive.) But I was able to sell a few of the books and give away more, and no doubt this helped more readers find Miraculous Air. In all, a learning experience. I was not eager to repeat it, however. But ebooks, that is another story. Yes, some headaches with formatting and figuring out to work with the iBooks Author app and Kindle. But in all, compared to the past, it is jump-up-and-down cheap and easy. I love it! Why?

(1) No cash.
(2) No expensive designers.
(3) No printing.
(4) No shipping.
(5) No having to give up space in the garage. And best of all,
(6) NO PAPERWORK HEADACHES DEALING WITH FULFILLMENT.

In other words, when someone orders one of my ebooks on amazon.com or iTunes, all I have to do is wait... I will get paid. I don't have to provide an invoice to individual customers, I don't have to ship anything. Oh, wonderful, wonderful.

Basically, once you get your ebook up there on amazon.com or iTunes, what you have is a variable rate annuity. Probably with a very low yield-- indeed, for most authors, a Kindle edition of their book won't earn back the cost of their time and trouble. But should things change, the upside is the moon. What's interesting-- to say the same thing a little differently-- is that the marginal cost of increasing supply to meet any increase in demand is essentially zero. Whether one person or 100,000 people download your ebook, it doesn't matter; they click, they get.

Another speaker at Publish Now!, also a fellow Writer's Center board member (bless his heart), was novelist Neal Gillen, author of the memoir 1954 Adventures in New York. He gave us an overview of his experience and the various pros and cons of the the various self-publishing services. (Takeaway: you're probably going to be happiest with amazon.com's Createspace.)

Barbara Esstman

Of course the importance of editing-- that step so disdained, and to their detriment, by most self-publishers-- was underscored by novelist and freelance editor Barbara Esstmann.

For last year's "Publish Now!" seminar I gave the talk-- her title-- "The Manuscript is Ready -- or Is It?-- What's Next?".

My own talk focused on travel writing and interactive books. I mentioned my own ebooks, Podcasting for Writers, From Mexico to Miramar or Across the Lake of Oblivion, and others, and for examples from the cutting edge, Mary Lynn Patton's children's iBooks with sounds, including Sounds of Mexican Beaches, and Rich Shapero's Too Far.

P.S. I lifted that title, "self-publishing for all the right reasons," from Kevin Kelly. Check out all he has to say about his latest nondigital self-publishing venture here.

More anon. Much more.

COMMENTS

Journeys Through the MFA and Beyond @ The Writer's Center October 13

Though I've managed to publish several books and a wheelbarrow full of stories, essays and poems in literary journals, I did not do an Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) in creative writing, which I do not regret and there were several reasons for this, some of which might be yours, and some of which might not. On the other hand, many of my contemporaries and indeed, one of my very favorite writers and editor, Dawn Marano, earned an MFA, and have told me it was a great decision. Every writer is different, and so if you're considering an MFA, my main advice to you would be:

1. State your intentions clearly (if only to yourself);

2. Explore your options and do your research. I mean, really explore and really research-- these puppies ain't cheap.

There's a splendid and very economical opportunity to explore and research MFAs in the one-day seminar which will be held this October 13 at The Writer's Center, just outside Washington DC, so check it out:

The Writer’s Center presents Make Lit Happen: Journeys Through the MFA and Beyond.
9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday, October 13.  

This one-day seminar will examine the value of MFA programs, the differences between low-residency and traditional MFA programs, and alternatives to the MFA. The seminar will include two panels focusing on MFAs and alternatives.

The first panel, “MA & MFA Nuts & Bolts,” will include directors of local MFA and MA programs and will meet from 10 am to 12 noon. The second, “Personal Journeys,” will meet from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., and will include individuals who’ll relate their particular journeys as writers and the role the MFA played, or did not play, in the process. We’ll have a 1-hour break for lunch in-between the two panels and a wine and cheese reception for informal mingling and networking after the second panel. We will also have light refreshments -- muffins, orange juice and coffee -- at 9:30 a.m. before the first panel meets. 

This seminar is for anybody who is: 

•curious about an MFA program 

•already in a program 

•considering other intensive writing workshops 

•seeking to maintain focus in a stimulating environment after having completed an MFA. 

Panelists will include Michael Collier, David Everett, David Keplinger, Eugenia Kim, Tim Denevi, Tarfia Faizullah, Barbara Klein Moss, Jenny Moore, Amber Withycombe and moderators Amin Ahmad and Nicole Idar. 

Location: The Writer's Center
4508 Walsh Street
Bethesda, MD 20815
Fees: $50 ($35 for members and educators, $20 for students).

www.writer.org

More information and to register online

---> So if I didn't do an MFA, how did I learn to write fiction and creative nonfiction, and find an agent, and all that stuff? More anon.

Guest-Blogger Author and Survivor Joan Young's 5 Inexpensive and Unexpected Tips for Healthy Living

I met Joan Young at the recent "Publish Now!" seminar the Writer's Center and when she told me about her book, Wish by Spirit: A Journey of Recovery and Healing from an Autoimmune Disease, I was fascinated. It's an eye-opener of a memoir, and for anyone suffering from a serious health condition, a walloping dose of inspiration. 

Read excerpts from her book, and also, be sure to check out her links page for alternative health resources, on her webpage, www.gemwrite.com .

5 Inexpensive and Unexpected Tips for Healthy Living

 By Joan Young

For the last 20 years, on my quest to remain healthy, I learned of many ways to avoid pills and take control of my body in a more natural way. I love these might-help-can’t-harm techniques and am pleased to share some of them with you.

Irrigate your nose – Drip warm salt water through your nose and spit. Sounds awful, but is really quite soothing. Based on an Ayurvedic (ancient Indian) medicine tradition, this technique has been used for thousands of years to help prevent colds and sinus infections, mitigate allergies, and keep the nostrils open for easy breathing. 

Chew your food – Not the usual 4 or 5 chomps per bite, but 20, 30 or more helps you lose weight, improve digestion, and kill bacteria. 

Regulate your breath – Breathing is the only autonomic nervous system function that works independently AND that you can control to regulate body functions such as blood pressure. Use breathing techniques to both energize your body and reduce stress. 

Cleanse with oil – Swish a tablespoon of vegetable oil in your mouth when you wake up to jump-start your metabolism, improve dental health, and clear those toxins from the body….another Ayurvedic tradition.

Drink hot water – Ditch the ice cubes and fire up the tea kettle to help detoxify your body and improve digestion… surprisingly helpful, even in the summer. Add a little lemon for an extra healing boost. 

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---> For the complete archive of Madam Mayo guest-blog posts, click here.
--->Recent guest-blogs include Ellen Cassedy on 5 Links to Learn Yiddish; Peter Behrens on 4 Canadian and 1 Irish Writers You Must Read; and Harry Morales Celebrates Literary Translator Gregory Rabassa on His 90th Birthday.

Literary Travel Writing Workshop on September 8th at the Writer's Center, Bethesda MD

Rainbow in Camp Denali, July 2012 (c) C.M. Mayo 2012

Take your travel writing to another level: the literary, which is to say, giving the reader the novelistic experience of actually traveling there with you. For both beginning and advanced writers, this workshop covers the techniques from fiction and poetry that you can apply to this specialized form of creative nonfiction for deliciously vivid effects. 

One day only, Sunday September 8 from 1 - 5 pm
The Writer's Center
4508 Walsh St
Bethesda MD (just outside Washington DC)
www.writer.org

About the instructor:
C.M. Mayo is the author of the novel The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, which was named a Library Journal Best Book of 2009. She is also the author of Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles Through Baja California, the Other Mexico, a travel memoir of Mexico's Baja Califorinia peninsula; and Sky over El Nido, which won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. She is the editor of a collection of Mexican literature in translation, Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion. For more about C.M. Mayo and her work, visit www.cmmayo.com.


>> For more information about this workshop and to register on-line click here.

We'll be looking at a variety of techniques, mainy from fiction and poetry, but one of the most basic for beginning a draft is simply noticing specific detail that appeals to the senses. From my notes from a recent journey to Alaska (you'll see it's not brain surgery):

Denali, of course. Spatulated lavender.
Other sights: 
receding moose; levering hind legs
polkadots of Dall sheep on green
3 blues of Wonder Lake

Heard:
eeee  eeee eeee
gravel underfoot
freeway roar of distant river

Smelled:
wet moss
drying socks
hot chocolate

Tasted:
cloudberry (spit the pip!)
Hoof N Woof honey (flowers of a season ago)
cinnamon gummy bear 

Felt:
unfriendly bear pelt
chocolatey-suave beaver pelt
sinking into spongy tundra mosses

Bright on the ground:
monk's hood; mushroom caps, sparkle of water

In the sky:
eagle; rainbow; moon

New to remember:
charismatic megafauna
braided river
Michio Hoshino's photographs and mini-essays



+ + + +

For further surfing:

>From the Workshop: Literary Travel Writing by C.M. Mayo, Writer's Carousel, Spring 2009

>Listen to my most recent Marfa Mondays podcast, "We Have Seen the Lights"

>Read some excerpts from my memoir, Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico. 

>Recommended travel memoirs.

> Questions about this workshop? Just ask!

May 2012 Newsletter, News on Publish Now and Marfa Mondays Podcasts

The May 2012 newsletter just went out last week. There's plenty in here for writers interested in exploring the possibilities on the digital frontier, Mexico and its great literary artists, the Orphic Journey and the wonders of the Sierra Gorda, and that world waiting for a dream, far-out & far West Texas. Oh, and the Afterlife, too. More succinctly: It features news about the June 23 "Publish Now!" conference at the Writer's Center (in Bethesda MD, near Washington DC), the latest Marfa Mondays podcasts, and Conversations with Other Writers. Read on.

I send subscribers the newsletter as an email via mailchimp.com (a great service, by the way, I highly recommend it) that includes the link and passwords for a free ebook with tips on writing. So sign up, whydoncha. I'd be delighted to see you on the list. I send it out a few times a year, and you can unsubscribe or re-subscribe automatically anytime (that's mail chimp.com for you).