Guest Blog: Along the Self-Publishing Path by Laura McHale Holland
In the mid 1970s, when San Francisco MUNI rides were a quarter, and you could rent an entire Victorian flat for $225 a month, I came to the city by the bay. I thought I would stay for a year, maybe two, and wound up staying for almost three decades.
I didn’t arrive with a list of goals written in a journal or eloquent intentions firmly emblazoned in my mind. It isn’t that I rejected such things; I knew nothing of them. I pined for happiness, peace, fulfillment, but didn’t know how to pursue them. I longed to write with originality and grace; instead, I meandered along, oblivious to many dead-end signs, making myriad mistakes.
The United States is different now, in many ways less forgiving. It’s harder for young folks to be footloose, to buy an airline ticket or drive across country on the spur of the moment and find a new home and job, essentially a new life, within weeks. Yet the present offers delicious possibilities: technology makes it easy to research just about anything, stay in touch with friends, work from home and even publish your own book, which I did this year because I was gun-shy: the first publisher to offer me a deal went bankrupt while I was reviewing the contract. I signed with another publisher, who sat on my manuscript for four, long years. Looking for another publisher just didn’t seem as appealing as going it alone.
So in this fast-paced, always-on, volatile age, I am trying to figure out how to market my memoir. The Internet is filled with advice on how to build a platform, become adept at social networking, position yourself as a subject-matter expert, write press releases, set up book signing events, run a business. And I read about all of this voraciously.
I have goals, written down (although I often misplace my lists). I check in with a buddy every morning to share a few objectives for the day ahead. I belong to a supportive writers club. I have a beautifully produced book in paperback and electronic forms, bookmarks to give away, a killer book trailer, more than 1,000 Facebook friends, enthusiastic reviews on Amazon.com. I’ve been posting a new short story each week on my blog. Oh, and I’ve done Internet radio, too.
Will all this catapult my book onto any best-seller lists? It’s too early to tell. But I’ll keep plugging away. Why? Because the project is as adventure-filled as any new locale I explored long ago. And, though times have changed, my life is the same journey it’s always been. I am a writer, true, and like others in the literary tribe, I want my work to have meaning for a wide, appreciative audience. But I’m also on a quest for something deeper than soaring book sales. I hope to be alert enough to grasp the life-lessons the independent publishing path brings me, bitter or sweet, as I pursue my dreams.
Laura McHale Holland's fiction, features and essays have appeared in Every Day Fiction Three, Wisdom Has a Voice, the Vintage Voices anthologies, NorthBay biz magazine, the Noe Valley Voice and the original San Francisco Examiner. Her memoir, Reversible Skirt, won the RockWay Press International Writing Competition and is a finalist in the 2011 Readers Favorite book awards.
A beautiful and inspiring piece, Laura. Thank you.
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Beautifully, beautifully said, Laura. I shook my head ruefully at descriptions of meandering and (big quotes here) "mistakes," wrong turns. Not-so-ruefully at your hopes for your writing, which I share. Thank you.
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Thanks for taking the time to leave your appreciativecomments, Kathy and A.
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Laura - as always, you spoke eloquently about your dreams and ambitions, and your book is a real winner. I can see Reversible Skirt bcoming a bestseller. I wish you a clear path to success!
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Thank you, Lynn. Your remarks are most uplifting.
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I'm so glad you came to the City by the Bay and decided to stay! Your love for adventure and your consistent delight in life's journeys is a real treat for us, your readers. Thanks for sharing your deep observations with us in your memoirs and fiction pieces. The adventure continues: See you at the book festival tomorrow!
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The adventure continues, indeed, Kate. Story by story, step by step, blog by blog we proceed, figuring it out as we go.
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Laura, Stories of persistence like yours are what keep us curled over our keyboards. Thank you.
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Well done, Laura. Thanks for sharing your insight.
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Thank you, Brenda and Barbara. I like the vision of so many of us "curled over our keyboards" pursuing a craft we love.
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Laura, you give those on the path behind you hope and solace. Thanks for contributing here.
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Thank you, Angie. I'm gratified that my contribution to this blog has meaning for you. I wish you al the best in your writing and publishing endeavors.
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