SHARING THE JOURNEY: THE PATH TO
SUCCESSFUL SELF PUBLICATION

I fell in love with Cassie and Jaimè as Only in the Movies evolved from a sketchy idea to take on a life of its own. After penning “The End” and attempting, unsuccessfully, to market the book through traditional channels, I packed it away in a box in an upstairs bedroom. But friends and family asked to read the manuscript, and each time I tucked it back into its box a bit of the narrative stayed with me. I couldn't leave Cassie and Jaimè entombed in their cardboard coffin, but how could I orchestrate their escape?

That’s when the words of a writer-friend opened the doors to a world of discovery: Why don’t you self publish?

Over the following months I googled “self publishing” sites, I read books, I devoured articles, I subscribed to blogs: I became an explorer journeying through a strange new world.

Much as when our forefathers had set forth on their treacherous journeys along the Oregon and California Trails, I encountered misleading guides, forks in the road, and links to blind canyons where unscrupulous bandits were waiting to steal my money and condemn my book to their limbo.

My presentation, “Sharing the Journey: The Path to Successful Self Publication,” chronicles many of the challenges and the joys I discovered on my way to becoming an author, and has been well-received by audiences throughout Northwest Ohio. To quote Gail Phipps, Adult Programming Librarian, Swanton Public Library, "...Your presentation was entertaining as well as informative and you relate to your audience very well. I very much appreciate your sending us the fliers and cards to use in advertising. Thank you, too, for donating your book...." It is my hope that by sharing my experiences I will be of help to others contemplating their own route to self publication.

I am available at no charge for presentations on self publication and/or signings at libraries, bookstores, specialty shops, and to book clubs and organizations within a three-hour radius of Bowling Green, Ohio.