How I wrote a book, got it published, and changed my world. Or something. Part five!

Hi Stephanie,

I am in the process of reviewing your manuscript. Your book is really funny! The publisher and I would like to know a little bit more about your publishing history and background. You had mentioned publishing through PublishAmerica and I was curious if it was this book that they published or a different book. I would love to call you and talk more about your book and your goals in publishing. Would there be a good time I could reach you?

There was slight error in that email. I've never published with PublishAmerica and had, in fact, heard many negative things about them. I won't get into any of that here, because this is certainly not the place and also because I don't have any personal experience with them. But I've never published with them. Maybe other people have had positive experiences. I don't know. But I'm not getting into that. The publisher for my other book (the one about my hometown) has a name that's sort of similar, so I think that's where the confusion came in.

I emailed back and gave her my phone number, clarified the thing about the publisher and told her it would be okay to call me.

Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for clarifying about your forthcoming book – I simply misread the publisher’s name. The publisher and I both love your book and are excited to talk with you about your plans for your writing and for this book in particular. Do you have any kind of sequel planned? I look forward to speaking with you soon.


This? Was getting interesting.

In the meantime, I started googling the company and found out they did some subsidy publishing. Rather, they did a hybrid of this, with some services that authors pay for and some they pay for. They also did "traditional" publishing (where the authors get royalties and all that good stuff).

I wasn't sure I liked that.

Because, well, there is nothing at all wrong with self-publishing. But I didn't want to do it. First of all, I didn't have the money to do it. Second, well, I just didn't want to. I wanted someone to believe in my book and, in doing so, believe in me. I wasn't sure what kind of contract they would offer me. I wasn't sure if they wanted me to pay to be published. I didn't know how I felt about all of this.


I was mulling that over in my head when I got a phone call.


To be continued...