Reader's Question Answered

I was recently asked by a reader how the logistics of publishing Moth at the Window. What follows in this post are the nitty gritty details and some ideas for you if decide to pursue a project like this.

I signed on to self-publish with Xlibris when they ran a 50% off sale back in 2011 - THREE YEARS before I finished the project!  LOL.  I had a good experience working with them. If you decide to go that direction I can give you specific advice at each step. 

There are many companies for self-publishing your book. If you want to get your work in print quickly you can’t beat doing it yourself. Some have extra services like editing, etc for an extra charge. Some names you might know:

• Xlibris
• Amazon
• I-Universe
• Create Space (thru Amazon I think)
• LuLu.com

One disadvantage of self-publishing is the promotion is on you. You become the writer, marketer and promoter. You serve as your own agent and press release writer.

Smaller publishing houses will also expect you to do much of the footwork yourself. 

There are a few small publishers in the Hartford area (the reader who posed the question was from Connecticut) that you might search for online including ANTRIM HOUSE BOOKS.com and GRAYSONBOOKS.COM 

Other larger publishing houses are KENYON REVIEW, HUDSON REVIEW, ANTIOCH REVIEW and TUPELO PRESS. Those are just a few. Often the larger places will indicate in the submission guidelines when they ‘read’ certain types of submissions. Follow the guidelines carefully or they might just throw your work out. 

Also, if you can, it is plus if you can get some reviews of your manuscript before submitting it (to use as blurbs for the back cover) or if you can get some of the poems published (even online in a literary journal format).  Those things could be a key to getting your work into a larger house that would do more promotion for you. 

Good luck with your project and I'll try to answer any other questions you might have. 

All the best-

~Mary

Follow me on Facebook @ Moth at the Window

Author Website: www.MothAtTheWindow.com

Website: www.MaryLachman.com