Publishing my first book

mademoiselle_r

Hi,
I'm a 24 year old girl with experience in TEFL, Digital Marketing, Business Administration, am going in to 3rd year of a degree and among other things I ghostwrite online for money.

I am sick of getting crap pay for writing several thousand words and not gaining any credentials.

When I was given a task to write a 30,000 word piece about a mental health issue the idea suddenly struck me that maybe I should abandon this and write MY own book, because once I started writing the words kept flowing out of me easier than ever, and the story is true because I have experienced a lot of different issues (depression,anxiety,ocd,insomnia) and Anorexia which nearly brought me to death's door.

I would love to write my story and try to help someone suffering find solidarity or be inspired to seek help.

I sent a sample to O'Briens publishing company a week ago but how long should I expect to hear back from them?

Also-are there any other good publishers? or is it better to self-publish on amazon?

If you self-publish on amazon can you still sell print copies in a shop?

sorry for all the questions. I am ambitious and finally confident in myself that maybe I have a shot at getting somewhere with this.:D

Das Kitty

mademoiselle_r wrote: »

Hi,
I'm a 24 year old girl with experience in TEFL, Digital Marketing, Business Administration, am going in to 3rd year of a degree and among other things I ghostwrite online for money.

I am sick of getting crap pay for writing several thousand words and not gaining any credentials.

When I was given a task to write a 30,000 word piece about a mental health issue the idea suddenly struck me that maybe I should abandon this and write MY own book, because once I started writing the words kept flowing out of me easier than ever, and the story is true because I have experienced a lot of different issues (depression,anxiety,ocd,insomnia) and Anorexia which nearly brought me to death's door.

I would love to write my story and try to help someone suffering find solidarity or be inspired to seek help.

I sent a sample to O'Briens publishing company a week ago but how long should I expect to hear back from them?

Also-are there any other good publishers? or is it better to self-publish on amazon?

If you self-publish on amazon can you still sell print copies in a shop?

sorry for all the questions. I am ambitious and finally confident in myself that maybe I have a shot at getting somewhere with this.:D

The O'Brien Press site has the answer:
http://www.obrien.ie/submissions

If you didn't read these guidelines prior to submitting, that would be my main advice for any further submissions. Make sure you know how they want their submissions. If you do it wrong, a lot of publishers will route it straight to the bin without reading it.

To find other publishers who might be interested in your book, go into a bookshop and look at books similar to yours and take a gander at who published it.

Make sure as well, that in your cover letter you're clear about what's different about your book from the others out there right now. The publishers are there to make money, and you need to convince them that your book will do that.

You also shouldn't include much about yourself that is not relevant to the content of the book you're writing. (ie, if you're writing a book about mental health, they don't need to know about your unrelated day-job, partner, kids)

My other nugget of advice is: give every submission your best, and expect to be rejected. Most submissions are.

mademoiselle_r

Das Kitty wrote: »

The O'Brien Press site has the answer:
http://www.obrien.ie/submissions

If you didn't read these guidelines prior to submitting, that would be my main advice for any further submissions. Make sure you know how they want their submissions. If you do it wrong, a lot of publishers will route it straight to the bin without reading it.

To find other publishers who might be interested in your book, go into a bookshop and look at books similar to yours and take a gander at who published it.

Make sure as well, that in your cover letter you're clear about what's different about your book from the others out there right now. The publishers are there to make money, and you need to convince them that your book will do that.

You also shouldn't include much about yourself that is not relevant to the content of the book you're writing. (ie, if you're writing a book about mental health, they don't need to know about your unrelated day-job, partner, kids)

My other nugget of advice is: give every submission your best, and expect to be rejected. Most submissions are.

I did check O'Briens site but I was just wondering if anyone had dealt with them in the past.

As regards being turned away, I have the self confidence now to not care if it takes me five times until I find a publisher who'll take me. I'm not OVER confident either and have written a piece of crap that is incoherent or boring etc. but I think my book would sell ok among ED sufferers.

People who have Eating Disorders themselves tend to read a lot of other peoples' books to find solidarity or to find help/find out more about their conditions.

EileenG

Unless O'Brien or some other publisher think the book will be a credit to them, they won't take it, even if it's a subject that is likely to sell.

Have you had a proper editor have a look at it?

And to be honest, if you only get five rejections, you're exceptional.

Kalona

I don't have answers to your questions other than to say J.K. Rowling herself (I know you are in a totally different genre but just for prospective purposes) was rejected twelve times before becoming the first billionaire author so never give up and keep that confidence flowing. I would also suggest getting others you trust to read it and involving an editor. Best of luck.

Runner Mojo

I would self publish since it's easy enough - just remember a good title, good cover, good blurb and then take the time to market the book yourself. Do you have an eating disorder blog, Facebook page or GPlus presence? That can affect how a publisher will view you - these days apparently they want to know the author is willing to help market their own book and having a ready made following helps.