Edmonds, Washington Presenter Reveals Her Personal Journey Into The World of Independent Publishing

Sept. 30, 2011 - PRLog -- It was 2009:  I wanted to have one book published (just one) – as a “legacy” for my grandchildren. In the process of pursuing this dream I began a post-retirement career and the most exhilarating stage of my life – Self Publishing!  As I step up to the podium as one of this year’s presenters at the City of Edmonds writer’s conference, ‘Write On The Sound’, I celebrate one year in business as an ‘IndiePub Coach’.  

This is my story:  As a hobby genealogist, I spent seventeen years unearthing the origins and roots of my Baltimore ancestors. Like most family historians I have made amazing, actually unbelievable discoveries, about my family’s past. These discoveries have confirmed that truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction.  An inveterate storyteller, there was a moment when it became clear to me that I needed to write down my ancestors' stories.  For instance, I have uncovered how James Ryder Randall spent his time in the weeks before writing Maryland’s state song, “Oh Maryland!”  Mr. Randall is an ancestral cousin of mine, you see.

Now available on Kindle  (http://www.amazon.com/Self-Publish-September-Independent-...)

In January 2009 I was employed as the facilities manager of a large insurance brokerage. Getting to the office involved spending two-hours a day on a commuter bus. It struck me that those two hours would be well spent writing.  And so, for twelve months, I wrote every day, filling one spiral notepad after another – fourteen in all. But, my hunger for writing the history of my father’s Baltimore family didn’t stop there.

In the middle of the night I would pad down to the den, turn on the computer and transcribe the words I had written that day.  Over several months my “legacy” project grew from its intended one-hundred-page “story” to a 300-page novel. I simply couldn’t stop; the project was beginning to take over my life. I happily retired from the brokerage firm and in December 2009 began enjoying my real passion – writing full-time.  At the age of fifty-nine, a fresh start stretched in front of me.

The summer of 2010 I registered for the PNWA conference, “Finding Your Agent”. The PNWA kick-off luncheon featured Pacific Northwest writer, Bob Dugoni, author of Bodily Harm. At the conclusion of his remarks Dugoni graciously asked the sea of five hundred attendees, “How many of you, this year, have found your agent?” Five attendees raised their hands; one percent of the conference attendees.  He had a follow-up question as he searched the crowd over, “…well, how many of you have published your first book this year?” Four attendees had published their first book between July 2009 and July 2010. This, obviously, represented less than one percent of the attendees.

I left the PNWA conference convinced that the hunt for an agent and publisher might be both impossible - and passé. Using Boyd Morrison’s business model I was convinced that my future lay in learning as much as I could about independent publishing.

My library soon expanded with titles like “Publishing for Dummies,” and my time in front of eHow and Askville increased. I read blogs, networked and began penciling out a sequence of what one needed to do in order to independently publish. I kept folders, met vendors, and slowly the vision of being not only an author, but also a publisher began to take shape.

Besides a number of well-attended book fairs, annual writer’s conferences in the Seattle area also include the Northwest’s exclusive “Write on the Sound” (WOTS) conference, hosted by the City of Edmonds. WOTS registration is limited to two hundred attendees. My first WOTS conference included the misunderstood seminar, Small Press Publishing. The room filled to capacity to hear from the owner of an elite small publishing house that curries to National Award Winning poets.  After listening to his not so generous comments about self publishing, the militants among us gathered and traded eMail addresses so that we could encourage each other’s dream.

Finally, in December 2010 I realized my goal of self-publishing an historical novel that had been peer reviewed, edited, and which had enjoyed the benefits of a book designer.  'Jenkins: Confederate Blockade Runner' - about the struggles of one family through the Civil War - and available on Amazon.com is the result of that effort.

Now available on Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/Jenkins-Confederate-Blockade-Runner...).

In the past eighteen months I have written four other books, smaller eBook formats.I have also started a coaching business for a new category of writers:  IndieAuthors.  

I now coach writers who – like me – realize that the days of the query process are fast coming to an end.  Teaching the “All Smart Cookies Can Self Publish”method now fills my days – as I coach – privately and over the internet – those writers whose dreams of being published are as valid as mine.

I ask every writer I meet:  Why ‘query’ when you can go straight to ‘publish’?  If you are a motivated writer, willing to include an editor and someone with cover design skills in your publishing process, be “A Smart Cookie”!  Self publish and direct-earn your royalties.  I invite you to contact me.  My email address is ‘info@avHarrison-publishing.com’.

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A.V. Harrison Publishing features ground-breaking topics from emerging authors. Its books are distributed by Ingram, available on Amazon.com and B&N Nook. Owner, Emily Hill, invites submissions and can be contacted at info@avharrison-publishing.com.