When I started writing my book "A Sacred Place" six years ago after my father passed away, I had no idea how I would publish or who would publish I was just confident that I would publish. I wasn't writing it to print off the computer and place in a three-ring binder, I wanted to go all the way, to hold a real published book in my hand. My intentions for writing the book was to share the stories and pass down a lifetime of history about my family hunting camp to my daughter and my future grandchildren. My dad was the last living in his family of nine sibblings, Mom was aging and I knew I needed to record the stories now before they were lost for good.
Upon it's completion last spring, I turned to my author friend Jane Kirpatrick for advice on how to proceed. She gave me the name of another author Roger Hite, who had published 12 books with a Print on Demand company. Roger offered to assist me in any way I needed. And so my journey began. With a couple of e-mails to Roger he walked me through the process and made some good suggestions then I was off and running on my own. The experience was positive and exciting. The process allowed me as much control as I wished and gave me complete creative freedom. I was able to design my book and the cover using my photography knowing that they, (the POD publishers) would not let me make a drastic mistake, at least not without warning me first. They wanted me to have a quality end product. In the end, when I received my final proof and clicked on the "accept" button, I felt confident that I had a professional looking product, and I did.
My biggest concern now is marketing. In order for a POD book to be seen and purchased, you have to do the marketing. Unlike having a publisher who advertises for you, With POD you have to promote your product yourself. I am not a salesman, nor do I have the knowledge to know how to internet market or who to approach. Other than selling my books from home to friends and family, things on Amazon have been slow. I believe in this book. I know it is a well written product with contents that some people would be interestd in reading, I just have to fingure out how to get their attention.
Upon it's completion last spring, I turned to my author friend Jane Kirpatrick for advice on how to proceed. She gave me the name of another author Roger Hite, who had published 12 books with a Print on Demand company. Roger offered to assist me in any way I needed. And so my journey began. With a couple of e-mails to Roger he walked me through the process and made some good suggestions then I was off and running on my own. The experience was positive and exciting. The process allowed me as much control as I wished and gave me complete creative freedom. I was able to design my book and the cover using my photography knowing that they, (the POD publishers) would not let me make a drastic mistake, at least not without warning me first. They wanted me to have a quality end product. In the end, when I received my final proof and clicked on the "accept" button, I felt confident that I had a professional looking product, and I did.
My biggest concern now is marketing. In order for a POD book to be seen and purchased, you have to do the marketing. Unlike having a publisher who advertises for you, With POD you have to promote your product yourself. I am not a salesman, nor do I have the knowledge to know how to internet market or who to approach. Other than selling my books from home to friends and family, things on Amazon have been slow. I believe in this book. I know it is a well written product with contents that some people would be interestd in reading, I just have to fingure out how to get their attention.
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