Congratulations on the terrific success of your self-published family cookbook. Sounds like Granny’s Drawers is a successful role-model for everyone who wants to publish their book independently. You’ve done everything right.

So why would you want to do the sequel any differently? I don’t think an ebook format is something you need to worry about at this point. Ebook sales are still only 00.0005% of all book sales and whereas you’re right, they’re going to grow a lot, cook books will not necessarily be the best format for digital publishing until it doesn’t matter if you spill a cup of tomato sauce or drop a raw egg on your e-reader or cell phone. And when we do tip the balance on digital versus print publishing what’s going to happen is that readers will have a choice of formats and platform. We’ll be able to buy a digital version for our hand-held e-reader or a good old book you can have on the table next to the mixing bowl.

More joyful journeys to you,

Alan

I’ve self-published and sold 55,000 copies (seven printings) of my family’s cookbook, Granny’s Drawers (http://www.amazon.com/Grannys-Drawers-Karen-Harris/dp/1886690502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249485579&sr=1-1). I did everything from book signings (15 in NC, SC, and KY), radio interviews (15), television interviews (5) and nationwide publicity (which generated three magazine articles). As a result of these efforts, I sold 15,000 copies of my book to Sam’s Club (less than 100 copies returned) and 5,000 copies to Cracker Barrel (a restaurant/gift store chain). I also worked with my gift distributors at the Atlanta and Dallas Gift Marts, where I hand sold my book to gift store owners (great annuity accounts w/no returns). I spent at least 95% of my time marketing my book and perhaps 5% of my time writing it. It was a joyful journey.

As I contemplate publishing a sequel cookbook oriented toward healthier eating, I seriously question what form of delivery I should use. An ebook format perhaps? The new Kindle appears to have been the tipping point for acceptance of the ebook. More recently, Barnes & Noble made their ebook announcement and Sony announced their new readers with lower prices. These readers along with portable devices–iPhones, Blackberries, etc.–seem to be the new wave, don’t they? Any thoughts on the ebook revolution and where/how to position in the tsunami?

I enjoy reading your blog!

If your journal entries are intended primarily for your children there’s no need to let anyone else read them. But if you’re interested in putting them into a book for general distribution, either through independent or commercial publication, you’d better get used to critical feed back, which might even be useful.

Be careful, though, and don’t feel coerced to pay for services you don’t want or need. Dorrance, for example, says on their web site that they’ll review your book for free.

Also remember that the job of a good book doctor or developmental editor is to help you express you feelings more effectively, so your book can inspire others if that’s your intention.

Alan

Yes, the publicity aspects of being an author (however published) take time and work. I never thought I’d have the facility with Dreamweaver I do or run a stable of 52 URLS. I’ve discovered that I enjoy being on radio and connecting with people who really like my work. They give something to me, and I give something back. And––being a small press owner is a perfect outlet for my obsessive compulsive tendencies.

I loved your post on keeping one’s confidence up. I have an MA in Marriage, Family, & Child Counseling, in addition to a larger bag of tricks. Those counseling skills are so valuable, for self management if nothing else. I changed the goals of my writing recently. I discovered that what I really want is longevity: shelf life. I want my words to be valuable to people. I want them to come up to me ten or twenty years after I’ve written a piece and say, “Boy, what you said really helped me.” That happened recently. I created a new blog because of it: Your Shelf Life: How Long Will You Last? yourshelflife.com Promotes sanity for authors.

I’m glad I found your blog. Many thanks.

I’m a big believer in authors reaching out into communities of bloggers who are related to their topics. As an editor at Jossey-Bass/Wiley, I do try to help with specific ideas for joining in on forum discussions. For example, we advise authors not to try to sell their own book but instead only to comment on the topic under discussion with a specific new idea or useful contribution of some kind. This can be anything from how to help your child to sleep at night (for the many mommy/parenting blogs) to how to show someone how you love them (for the many relationship blogs).

What I’ve also found to be true among some of my publishing colleagues at conferences is that 1) they don’t believe anything that can’t be quantified, whereas the kind of sales generated by commenting on a blog is usually indirect and can’t be traced; and 2) they aren’t comfortable with the online universe and have a lot of residual skepticism and disbelief that the world is really changing and they’d better get on board.

Thanks for the comment.

Alan