Posted on 02/21/2008 3:44:09 AM PST by 60Gunner
You and the rest of us!
• Marketing is more difficult than writing.And I would add these points:
• An agent is pretty much indispensable.
• The non-fiction may be better received than fiction.
Good Luck, and keep us posted!
P.S.
“The Book Begins
2/21/2008 | 60Gunner”
That’s a novel start ...
I don't know anything about getting a book published but I hope you get lots of help from those who do know.
I just know I would buy your book - I'm an RN and I'm very interested in your stories. I can relate - and sometimes I can just imagine what you go through since I don't work ER - I just get their admissions!
I wish you all the luck and I would buy your book plus some as gifts! You are really a great writer!
Dr. Nolan’s books are inspiring and informative.
I’ve got “Making of a Surgeon” and “Surgeon Under the Knife,” and have read each at least 10 times. Great books!
Well finally! Whichever route you chose, I will happily buy a dozen so that I may have my own and pass out the rest to friends and family. Your stories are a real treasure and I would consider a bound collection a worthy gift to my reading friends.
I love your “voice,” and I hope you stick with the vignette format. With no idea how talented you might be at composing fiction, I *can* say that’s a whole nother animal. I advise you to wait until you have an agent or legal advisor to learn if you must go to the trouble. Write what you know. You are a natural at it!
Well-written fictional characters ... well, sometimes after you breathe life into them, they scatter in directions different from what you envisioned at the start. And some storytellers who are wonderful at recounting an actual event are stilted at creating a tale from whole cloth. Do I mean to be discouraging? Certainly not. I am saying, “Why fix what ain’t broken (until your editor says it is)?”
That said, the publishing world has several options.
1. Vanity Publishing: The bargain basment, DIY pay-as-you-go option. Quality in printing and binding varies between companies. Persons who simply MUST be printed - as a matter of vanity or to satisfy demand from an indulgent coterie of relatives - often go this route. Persons who aspire to write for a living, to be known as talented authors deserving of an audience, do not. Any and all promotion is up to you. If you are willing to work hard at your own promotion, you could reach the moment at which you must worry about your patients snapping back on you, for the easiest route to signings and personal appearances is as a “local author.” Kinda hard to do that anonymously, no?
2. Get a literary agent with an eye toward publishing for profit: Follow advice already posted in this thread with regard to an outline and first chapter submitted as a package, adding a short bio blurb that makes it clear you are writing what you know. Be brief and non-specific with that bio. As for any other job, cater to your audience. Rather, pick an agent to cater to you. You wouldn’t shop your stories to an agent who specializes in bodice rippers, would you?
[Hmmmmmmmm, let’s address that bio as relates to patient privacy and your legal liabilities. IANAL but here are issues to consider: -You know what? That’s what the publishing house’s legal team is for. They will take care of all that *and* save you from agonising over which path to choose. -However, they should cover THEIR butts by having you check your contract or hiring agreement as to whether you are bound from profitting on your work experience (beyond what your employer provides to all employees).]
3. Um, I wouldn’t bother submitting directly to a publisher. They are business people, not readers. They get an unsolicited package from someone they never heard of, into the circular file it goes. If they’re feeling generous, they MIGHT grace you with a “Phffft - another rank amateur” as they do so.
4. In utter contradiction to number three, consider putting out feelers to various magazines yourself. By “various” I mean popular with the general public and known for including short stories for reading pleasure in each issue. My instinct says to avoid serious-minded periodicals geared to the health care professional. Also, there exist magazines published by and for aspiring writers. (Cemetery Dance, specializing in the horror genre, is such a magazine. It gets read by major names in the genre; it publishes major names in the genre. The stories and articles appeal to fans of the genre.) Follow their instructions to submit a story. Prior to submitting directly, do the poor man’s copyright by signing a separate hardcopy IN THE PRESENCE OF A NOTARY, who in the course of his duty must date it. Costs all of what, five dollars? Worth the peace of mind if you run into an unscrupulous representative. Inclusion in periodicals is a time-honored tradition for now-famous authors. Or if you desire, it’s the writer’s equivalent of struggling actors you meet in the food service industry. Don’t be too vain to be printed in a girly mag, though a “fetish specialty” mag would mean a rather small readership. Ah, who am I kidding? A readership of zero unless your story is illustrated. ;o)
Part of your gift lies in making yourself understood by us layman types - drawing us in to the humor or the tragedy, such as the case may be. I think you would translate well into the format of a magazine. Magazine story inclusion is not an end goal, but is a stepping stone to name recognition and future publishing glory.
Get to know your audience, which for an aspiring author is the publishing and agent world. Attend a local writing workshop but be prepared to rub elbows with people who couldn’t get published in your local paper’s op-ed section. What you’re looking for is a legitimate contact. Your local library is free and a knowledgeable librarian is worth her weight in gold. At her direction, you can find agent/publisher contacts for free. If memory serves, they print a list every year.
**Er, technically all of the stuff you’ve posted here is “published.” I dunno how an agent would regard that. Professional publishers can be funny about wanting to be “first.” They take a dim view of trying to sell what can be had for free elsewhere. Good thing is that you could probably call in a zot on your stuff here. (Please don’t do that prematurely. Just be aware it could happen.)
Written with the beginning writer in mind, “On Writing” by Stephen King (yeah, the horror writer) is a great resource to start with. Borrow it from your library. King has dabbled in many mediums, including online publishing. BTW, I know of aspiring writers who do the online thing. I just don’t see much profit in it. The WWW spawned a free-wheeling culture in which the most adept users expect things for free. Nuttin wrong with that, and you may be creative enough to make it work as a marketing tool. Just don’t settle on it as an end.
I hope this helps. I sure have typed more than I initially intended.
Oh, and thank you for what you do. Clearly you take joy in your work and are good at what you do. May I be so blessed as to have nurses like you should the need arise. Take care,
TM
“There’s a line between sizzle and flaming.”
Haha! Well it was what popped into my head and not meant to be sexually related. Y’all just have a dirty minds. :P. But come on, don’t tell me that if you were walking down a non fiction isle and saw that title you wouldn’t stop and at least read the jacket. Perhaps even the first chapter. Granted I don’t get tugged by titles when it comes to non fiction since I am looking for specific topics and books that are recommended on that topic. But you never know.
Your writing is great. I will buy the book!
Neb gets it, got it all along. And Neb’s right, it does play on “dirty minds” and that’s what gets peeps to pick up the book in the first place. Once in the hand it has a better chance of making money!
I did as Grizzled Bear suggested, and found your essays.
I bet I read over a dozen of them last night.
They were wonderful, and each was unique.
Some were funny, some were intense, and some were sad.
But, each story was different.
You have quite a collection of essays.
WRT the book...I say go for it!
My favorite was the story of the young, pregnant homeless girl, and how y’all helped her.
That story brought tears to my eyes.
Thank you for giving us a peek into the life of an ER nurse, and how y’all truly help the whole patient.
Thank you, and your colleagues, for all that you do.
I’m going to try to read the rest of your essays tonight!
I think this link came from a self-publishing or bookbinding topic on FR. Best of luck.
Do It Yourself Book Binding Andrew Seltz: The Go-To Guy!
http://www.andrewseltz.com/2006/05/26/do-it-yourself-book-binding
I would like to provide you with some words or encouragement in hopes that you can achieve you goal. (Our goal for you.)
Your writing style is already entertaining and you know how to bring us from laughter to tears and back.
Maybe write a few stories each way and see what feels best for you.
Best of luck in this endeavor
I just remembered reading a book a long time ago the was written by an ICU nurse by the name of Echo Heron. She has written several books. If she can do it, so can you. There is a market for it.
http://www.echoheron.com/index.htm
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