Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Faith as Fact - and the Facts About the Book Business

Kathryn Vercillo has posted my interview with her at Diary of a Smart Chick, where we focus on the writing process as well as the content of Original Faith: What Your Life Is Trying to Tell You.

Excerpt:

Kathryn: What is the one key thing that you would like a reader to take away from Original Faith?

Paul: That faith is a fact - whether or not we connect faith with a religious belief system...

The Realities of the Publishing and Self Publishing Worlds

For a discussion that includes the topics of trade publishing and self publishing, see my Tuesday Sept. 29th interview with Mary Jo Campbell at Writers Inspired.

Book giveaways at both sites, and I'm happy to answer follow up questions about anything discussed in these interviews on their comments threads.

7 Comments:

Bawstongirl2010 said...: Paul,

I cannot even begin to imagine the journey envolved in self publication of a book.

I am in the midst of embarking on a soul searching journey and expression via poetry - I have never given up on my dream of writing and publishing a chapbook of my poems.

Any advice?

~Kerry; 3:12 PM
Pauline said...: Can't wait to read my "won" copy of your book! I didn't find self-publishing difficult, just time consuming and expensive for someone on a shoestring budget. It was worth it though. My book helped me to win a college scholarship and sold well enough in local bookstores and by word of mouth that I made back my initial investment.; 4:11 PM
Paul said...: Kerry - Before becoming housebound when I was living in DC I noticed some bookstores had poetry readings open to the public. I was having too much trouble getting around to go, but that's something I'd take advantage of - any place you might have a chance to read some of your poems and bring chapbooks with you to sell.

Be wary of PODs like iUnivers, Lulu, etc. - the big names of self publishing. Long story short is they make money by selling authors on bogus marketing programs and not by selling the books of their authors.

Google Victoria Strauss for the very best info I've found online about self publishing and publishing. She has a website and also a blog. She's especially good at pointing to the sharks in the waters – it seems to be a real cause for her…

Pauline - You should get it by Tuesday. My email is martin22204@yahoo.com, I'd be interested in what you thought of it if you get a chance, especially since it has so much on the natural world even though I don't know as many plant names as you do... no "skunk cabbage," woodbine, concubine etc...

Breaking even is great for self publishing. Had you already been writing your column at that point?

And approaching local bookstores... I’ve seen that recommended as a good strategy and it’s one of the things we definitely would have done if not in over our heads with my deteriorating health situation and our mom’s – I’ve got just one the one sibling (who put up this web site for me…); 7:35 PM
Pauline said...: Paul - it was because of the column that I even got into self-publishing. Many people kept asking me to put all my columns in a book so they wouldn't have to save shoe boxes of clippings. I collected forty or so of my own favorites and those of my family and friends and then set out to find a printer (I've written over 700 columns and dozens of feature stories). I may put my poems in a collection and try self-publishing those, too.

Send me your snail mail and I will send YOU a copy of MY book :) My email is pclarke122 at hotmail dot com; 3:45 PM
Paul said...: Pauline - Wish I could do that but it's been many years since I could read - I can't physically handle books. In the last few years I don't even read much online - nothing of any length - because of so few productive hours in a day.; 7:28 PM
Hayden said...: Paul, I'm puzzled by that quote. Doesn't make sense to me.

Faith may be a fact for some, but I don't see it as a fact for all.

How are you using the word "faith?"

I understand the word to mean "trust in an ineffable source or god."; 9:52 PM
Paul said...: Hayden - We are profoundly trustful and hopeful in relation to the big picture, the full context of life or being. Some people believe God is part of that picture and some don't. Either way, faith is a fact of human experience. To become faithful is to become aware of this dimension of who we are.

(If you have the book, see The Fact of Faith chapter...); 1:46 AM