Comments on: Helena Harper on the importance of research

By: Helena Harper

Helena Harper — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:31:23 +0000

Janet, feel free to put my poem on your wall! And thank you Debra, Karen, Martha and Brigitte for your comments.

Karen, I think the idea of doing a spreadsheet to compare different options is a great idea, particularly when you’re a first timer about to take the plunge into the choppy waters of self-publication. And you have to be clear in your own mind about what you expect from a publisher.

Helena
http://www.helenaharper.com

By: Liana

Liana — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:27:46 +0000

Aaa…excellent article, and lovely poem Helena!
Liana

By: Dallas Woodburn

Dallas Woodburn — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:48:43 +0000

Those are great questions every writer should ask of a potential publisher! I also LOVED your poem at the end of your bio, Helena! Thank you for sharing.

By: Brigitte Thompson

Brigitte Thompson — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:31:50 +0000

Excellent advice! I enjoyed your poem. Thank you for sharing.

By: Martha Swirzinski

Martha Swirzinski — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:54:25 +0000

Love the article. I’m self published myself and currently looking for a publisher for my 4th book so the information is very eye opening.
Thanks for the information and I love the poem

By: Karen Cioffi

Karen Cioffi — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:15:04 +0000

Wonderful Post, Ladies!

Helena, I self-published and did a lot of research into pods and other options. I even created a spreadsheet and compared each of the companies. As you mentioned, this is a key step to publishing.

I love the poem!

Karen
http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com

By: Debra Eckerling

Debra Eckerling — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:41:38 +0000

Thanks for sharing your experience, Helena. Such an important reminder to take as many steps – and do as much follow-up – as necessary when considering publishing options, especially in this digital age where self-publishing is more accepted in the mainstream.

Thanks, Gayle, for sharing!

By: Helena Harper

Helena Harper — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:40:15 +0000

Thank you, Gayle, for hosting me and for everyone’s comments.

Mayra, I couldn’t believe it either! You could have knocked me down with a feather when I read it, but it certainly opened my eyes to the attitude of certain publishers.

Dana – ‘Send me a check and shut up about it’ sums it up very, very well! As far as publisher no. 1 is concerned, I decided to go with them to publish my second book, Family and More – Enemies or Friends? (which is an ebook at the moment), as a paperback. If that all goes well, then I might very well submit my 1st picture book to them once the illustrations are complete. They don’t accept any and all manuscripts by the way – you have to submit a manuscript for acceptance.

Kathy – I’m so happy my poem made you smile on the inside. That’s a great compliment! Thank you!

If anyone is interested in reading any more of my poems, then you’ll find excerpts (and much more) from my first two books here:

It’s a Teacher’s Life…! http://www.freado.com/book/4280/Its-a-Teachers-Life

Family & More http://www.freado.com/book/4283/Family-and-More-Enemies-or-Friends

Helena
http://www.helenaharper.com

By: Janet Ann Collins

Janet Ann Collins — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:40:12 +0000

Your beautiful poem should be on every writer’s wall.

I’m glad I went with a small press instead of self publishing.

By: Darcía Helle

Darcía Helle — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:20:39 +0000

Great article, Helena. An excellent reminder that there are pitfalls with traditional, subsidy, and self-publishing and we should never jump into anything blindly.

Gayle, thanks for taking the to time share this with us!