Today it is with great pleasure that I welcome back to 'The Secret Writer' the author Raji Lukkoor. You may remember that Raji paid a visit to 'The Secret Writer' not so long ago, for an author interview with myself. If you are interested, you can view my interview with Raji by clicking on the following link:
http://thesecretwriterblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/interview-with-raji-lukkoor-author-of.html
When talking to Raji, I discovered that she had written a very interesting article on how she went about publishing her first book. Raji has very kindly agreed to share this excellent article with us all here at 'The Secret Writer'. The article will be published through a series of three posts, the first of which appears here today. The second and third parts that make up the complete article, 'The Pre-publishing Check-List' and 'Writing a Solid Book Proposal', will be published here over the next week.
All I have left to say now is a great big thank-you to Raji for sharing her article with us. It is very much appreciated. I hope you all enjoy reading this article as much as I did!
Publishing the First Book—How I Did
it
“I am pleased to confirm the publication of your
book.” A trip to space would have been less euphoric than the rush of emotions
those words—that my would-be publisher conveyed in a single-line email
confirmation—triggered in me. In fact, I’m still trying to absorb the fact that
I am now a published author.
I started exploring publishing options for my
spiritual memoir in January 2010. Just seven months into the process, I struck
publishing gold…like they say. Nine months thereafter, my book was in print. With
the book on the market, my concerns about acceptance dropped away. They were
immediately replaced, however, by a whole new set of challenges connected to
the marketing process—an issue I will capture in detail in a future post.
Every writer aspires to be a published author. And
why not? A compelling story you’ve written has you utterly convinced of its
publishing appeal and Harry-Potter-like potential. You contact publishers, only
to receive rejection upon rejection. You question the authenticity of your
talent; you examine the effectiveness of your storytelling; you lament on your
bad luck. But what writers often fail to understand is that most publishers—and
bookstores—are in it for the money. Publishers and bookstore owners want
something that will sell, in terms of
number of copies, and frequency and longevity of sale. Sustaining the business
is their bottom line and as the publishing industry reassesses its future in
the digital age, works that don’t meet their revenue projections get chucked
down the rejection chute.
The first thing I acquired when I thought I had a
somewhat-complete draft manuscript was the services of an editor. I live in the
San Francisco Bay Area and, upon a friend’s referral, I contacted the Bay Area
Editor’s Forum (BAEF)—an association of in-house and freelance editors from a
variety of publishing and publications settings. A posting on their jobs line
generated over thirty responses in just forty-eight hours. Then came the
challenging task of narrowing the selection, followed by interviewing the
individuals to determine the editor who was right for my manuscript and fit my
budget. Buying membership at a local writers’ club and attending their meetings
is also a way to access the editing circle.
Heed my advice and hire a professional editor as
their feedback is worth its value in gold. My editor did a meticulous job,
scrutinizing every word and sentence formation, correcting erroneous and
inconsistent syntax, examining the logic of my argument, highlighting glaring
gaps, and providing suggestions for improving my prose—all while retaining my
original voice. Overall, her input enhanced my writing and gave it a
professional polish. When the second draft was ready, my editor advised me to
seek “wise reads” on my manuscript from subject matter experts in the
community. As a result, I was able to connect with two outstanding individuals
who willingly provided “wise reads” for my manuscript, free of charge, in a
very timely manner. As an extra bonus, my editor shared a template to help me
develop a book proposal, and then she reviewed my draft proposal. May be this
is just her, but my editor also supported me during the entire “publisher hunt”
process. She’d checked-in with me from time to time, offering a subtle tip or
two that would change the direction of my search. She consistently made herself
available to answer and/or redirect my questions. She genuinely rejoiced when I
informed her of my finding a publisher. When I needed a read for my “About the
Author” and “Author Bio” blurbs for my book jacket, my editor once again jumped
right in, at a moment’s notice, and offered her insight. The bottom line is,
get an editor!
So, the manuscript is now professionally edited, reviewed by
subject matter experts, and ready to be moved forward. The next step is to
either find a literary agent or explore publishing options on your own. A
literary agent is the way to go, especially for works of fiction. The big
publishing houses—Random House, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, to name a few—
work almost exclusively with agents. A search on the Internet for literary
agents should yield a list of agents. The Literary Market Place (the LMP) is a
reference guide that contains a listing of literary agencies, available for
purchase at any bookstore and for checkout at any library. Authorlink is
another source for information. The Writer’s Market directory at
www.writersdigest.com is yet another resource. Personally, I didn’t use an
agent. I wanted to explore the industry on my own, but would have sought an
agent had things worked out differently.
An aspiring author must prepare three things prior to establishing
contact with publishers. That is an independent topic and is addressed
separately as the second post in this particular series ('click here' to view).
Another point worth addressing is Copyright Registration. The
author is the copyright holder of his/her work(s). Retain your copyright
privileges for a small fee by registering your work(s) with the US Copyright
Office.
Learn how a ten-day vipassana meditation retreat transformed Raji
Lukkoor.
Watch the
captivating book trailer on Raji Lukkoor’s YouTube channel.
© Raji Lukkoor, 2011-12. All rights reserved.
