Independent Vs. Traditional Publishing - Author Interview: Debra Ann Pawlak

The questions posed to each author are at the bottom of the first part of this series. To see the article and questions, please click here:  Independent Vs. Traditional Publishing

 Debra Ann Pawlak,
Author
Bringing Up Oscar,
The Men and Women Who Founded the Academy

USA Book News announced their 2011 book award winners and finalists yesterday--'Bringing Up Oscar' was the winner in the 'History: Media/Entertainment' category! That makes two awards for Oscar this year! Very exciting!

My publisher is Pegasus Books, LLC of New York. I received a 'nice' advance (according to Publishers Weekly) and Pegasus came highly recommended by my agent, Mr. Peter Riva. Previously, I had two books published (without representation) via small presses who offered no advances, so I was pleased with my contract--after all, everyone has to start somewhere. This contract only addressed Bringing Up Oscar, The Men and Women Who Founded the Academy but another Hollywood book in the series is currently under consideration.

My book debuted in January 2011. Hardcover and electronic versions are available with a paperback scheduled to come out in January 2012. Pegasus Books has been wonderful to work with. They took care of sending out advance reading copies and contacting major media outlets. I worked well with my editor, who not only answered my questions thoroughly and promptly, but helped worked through unexpected issues when they arose.  I could not have asked for better.

I do have a Facebook page called Hollywood:  Tales from Tinseltown. I update daily with interesting movie trivia from silents to sound, as well as book news when it is warranted. I love interacting with and getting to know my members. My publisher has worked with me in setting up book signings, interviews, etc.

I have been featured in USA News on a couple of occasions. Publishers Weekly also gave Bringing Up Oscar a fabulous review. The book was also named Runner Up in the nonfiction category of the 2011 Hollywood Book Fesitval. I have also written guest blogs for The Writer and Angela Hoy's Writers Weekly.

I have no intention of self-publishing at this time. For me, the support of a good agent and traditional publisher has been invaluable as I navigate through the world of publishing. There is just so much to learn from their collective experiences.

Money aside, writing this book has been a wonderful experience. My main goal was to present the thirty-six founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and how they helped shape the film industry we know today. Most people have no idea how or why Oscar came about--even though a couple of names (i.e., Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks) are familiar. Their contributions to filmmaking have been mostly forgotten but these thirty-six people were at the top of their Hollywood game in 1927.  How they got there and what they did makes for a compelling and unique tale.  They should not be forgotten!

I was given the final cover for approval/input. I am not a marketing expert, but with Audrey Hepburn on the cover, I couldn't go wrong! I was not involved with the pricing.

Author Interview: Dorinne Davis  Click here

Author Interview: Sally Franz: Click Here
Author Interview: Geoffrey Hopf Click Here

Author Interview: Betsy Balega Click Here

 

Independent Vs. Traditional Publishing - Author Interview: Dorinne Davis

The questions posed to each author are at the bottom of the first part of this series. To see the article and questions, please click here:  Independent Vs. Traditional Publishing

Dorinne Davis

My field is sound-based therapy.

http://www.dorinnedavis.com/

http://www.thedaviscenter.com/

After sending my book to a publisher and waiting for six months for a rejection response back in the early 80's, a friend who had self-published suggested I find a book broker who would help me find a printing company.  I had a friend do the editing who had done this as a profession before retiring. Then we gave it to the broker who found the best deal for me. I formed my own company, got my ISBN numbers, found ways to sell and broker the book through the big companies like Barnes and Noble. This worked well so I did another book. By the time my third book was written, I wanted to go the traditional route. I had the manuscript into three companies this time. One was interested and I was waiting on their response during the month of September 2001. Well, 9/11 hit and so my book was not given a chance.  At that time, my topic was slightly different and a mother of a client of mine offered to 'take on' the project as she had been a Senior Editor at Lippincott prior to having children. She has some personal challenges and the book took three years to get printed. During those three years, I formed a company with my husband anticipating that I would write more books on the same topic and interest others in publishing with us. That went well until the divorce. Prior to the divorce though, I self-published my fourth book. It was easier to do than to get the rejections from the publishers.

For me self-publishing wasn't about going to a company that allowed you to publish any book on a pay as you print basis.  My experience with self-publishing was before this phenomena was created. Social media wasn't in existence either. However, I do use it now for the same books I published earlier and to spread the word on what i do.

I like the personal touch that small publishers have but think mid-size publishers can get you more clout when trying to promote your book.

Haven't tried high profile media yet with my upcoming book but didn't have too bad an experience with my third book. I did get to be on a few TV shows.

When first starting, my advice is to self-publish.

Author Interview: Sally Franz: Click Here 
Author Interview: Debra Ann Pawlak Click Here
Author Interview: Geoffrey Hopf Click Here

Author Interview: Betsy Balega Click Here

Independent Vs. Traditional Publishing - Author Interview: Sally Franz

The questions posed to each author are at the bottom of the first part of this series. To see the article and questions, please click here:  Independent Vs. Traditional Publishing

Sally Franz
http://www.sallyfranz.com/
Amazon Best Selling Author: Scrambled Leggs

My first publisher was a small Mom and pop shop out of Reno, Nevada: Beagle Bay Books. They were fantastic to work with. I co-authored the book and we each received a small advance (under $500). However, they were committed to show our book at book conventions, entered and landed a book award for us and ran a full page for us in Radio and TV Reports. This resulted in at least twelve radio interviews, at least eight magazine and blog entries. They also helped organize speaking events at book stores.

Our book Monster Lies... A Woman's Guide to Controlling Her Destiny was published in 2002 and for the last nine years Beagle Bay has continued to list and show our book. They made it easy to get bulk copies for our speaking engagements and have always listened to our ideas for marketing. Great people. They show our book at book seller shows, have it listed on their web site and  work closely with us if we get on radio, blog radio or are in local press as a visiting speaker. We were mentioned in Woman's Day Magazine, on several major city radio drive shows and in the Independent Publishers Awards.

I have  this book listed on my web site, Google, Amazon and blog about it when given guest blog rights.

We were contracted to do just one book but my co-author went on to publish with them one more book in our genre: motivation for women. I have migrated from motivational books to humor. Their interest was motivation for woman. My latest book, Scrambled Leggs....a Snarky Tale of Hospital Hooey is a fictionalized memoir. It was not in their area of interest, so I self-published.

The recognition of being with a traditional publisher is fantastic. Although I do not know how much longer having a REAL publisher will matter. There is still a remnant of people who respect an author who has been published traditionally. In fact, I was included in a special group of published authors at a monthly luncheon in my home town. I would not have been included if I was "only" self-published. For me it was not the money (which was modest) but the position it put me in to talk to other publishers and agents. As a published author I was able to sell a small three book deal on humor to a UK publishing house, Nightingale Press. 'Previously published' opens a lot of doors.

With a traditional publisher, I had no control over the book cover and pricing. That was a tough one to swallow, but hey, they were paying for the paper and binding, shipping and selling, so I gave them that. It was their investment on the line, too.

Author Interview: Dorinne Davis  Click here
Author Interview: Debra Ann Pawlak Click Here
Author Interview: Geoffrey Hopf Click Here

Author Interview: Betsy Balega Click Here

 

Independent Vs. Traditional Publishing

I am an independently published author. My company ARK Stories is run by my mother Ann Werner and me. Ann writes fiction and together we put out Reality Books.

Our decision to self publish with our first joint effort, The Virgin Diaries stemmed from a few things.

We had a difficult time finding a literary agent and we wanted full control. Ann published her book The People Next Door in 2000 with iUniverse. She had some sales but her experience with them was less than thrilling. The percentage of royalties is quite small, on par with traditional publishing and she still had to do all the heavy lifting with marketing.

With the new wave in the publishing world and more specifically with eBooks, the landscape has changed dramatically. When choosing to independently publish, the authors have all the control with content, formatting, covers and pricing. We have recently discounted our paperbacks for the holidays. Something you cannot do with a traditional publisher.

Recently, I received some interest from a good, mid-sized publisher for my blog; Here She Comes. A Tasteful and Titillation Exploration Of The Female Sexual Response. I researched the company on the Internet as well as contacting someone who currently has his book published with them. He reported that he is very happy with the look of his book, the cover and interior but he does all of the marketing. He also explained that if he sells 500 books, he sees $17 in profit. They also hold the rights to his eBook.

Now that I have two books on the market and the benefit of a much higher royalty, I started to wonder if I really wanted to go with a traditional publisher.

Pros: Placement of paperbacks in brick and mortar locations. Slightly more prestige as the mainstream media gives more merit traditional publishers and they often send ARC's (Advanced Reading Copy) to the bigger newspapers for review. In some cases authors receive a cash advance, though if their book doesn't do as well as hoped, they will either get a smaller advance for the next book or nothing at all.

Cons: Your percentage of royalties are significantly less, you still have to market like a demon and you don't have as much control.

I decided to put out the call to both kinds of authors to see what their experience has been. I have received more replies than I expected. Some indie, some traditional and some who have done both. I wanted to see for myself what others have to say and also share so that the other writers out there, especially the ones who don't know which way to go, can make a more informed decision based on other people's experience.

Some of the interviews surprised me and once I finish posting this series, I will let you in on which way I will proceed.

The Questions:

Indie Autors
Why did you decide to self publish?
When did you self publish and which company did you use
What has your experience been? Do you utilize social media? If so how?
Would you prefer to go with a small to mid-size publisher?
Have you been rejected by high profile media outlets who you've pitched because you are self published?
What is your advice to a new author investigating the choices out there?

Traditionally Published Authors:
- Who is your publisher and what kind of deal did you get? (If you got an advance, you don't have to disclose the amount unless you want to) but let the readers know if it was small or large. Please tell us if and how many books you were contracted to write at the time of signing.
- How long have you been published with them and what has your experience been?
- Do you utilize social media? If so how? How much does your publisher market your book for you and how?
-  Have you been featured in any high profile media publications or web sites as a result of your publisher or being published?
- When your contract is up, will you stay on or self publish and why?
- Have you sold enough books or gotten the recognition you've wanted enough to justify the smaller royalties?
- How much control did you have with the book cover and pricing?

To see more information about my books, please visit: arkstories.com 

Why I Write Reality Books

I wrote this post for someone who was interested in possibly posting it on their blog. It was rejected because I have a blog on the female sexual response. As you will see, this post is not sexual or salacious. It constantly boggles my mind that people have such an uptight opinion where sex is concerned. It's in our face everyday, all you have to do is turn on the computer or TV. The person who rejected my entry said she had no personal problem with what I've written but was afraid her readers might take offense.

My thoughts are; If the content in this post describing what my blog is about is too offensive, then, you don't have to click the link to it. Sex is why we are all here and I see no shame in it.

In January of 2004, I had the idea to interview people about what it feels like emotionally to have first time sex. I remembered what it was like to be a virgin and no one ever told me what to expect. I got a lot of misinformation from my friends and other than the "sex talk" from my mother, I was left to figure it out on my own. After a long conversation, my mother who writes fiction, Ann Werner, suggested a book would be the best way to go about it. People would probably wish to share only if their anonymity was guaranteed.

Initially, I had no real intention of making an actual book, I just wanted to see if I could do it. I never aspired to be an author. So I set out to interview women. As the stories came in, I decided to open it up to men because they also have an interesting story to tell. I received one story from a gay female and I then put out the call for gay stories. I would drop the project for a time and then pick it back up. In August of 2005, my mother (who writes fiction thrillers) joined me in collecting the stories. We put out a call on the Internet and it took a few months to have enough to make a book. We pitched it to agents and publisher with no success.

While compiling these stories, I had a vision of making Reality Books. I didn't know what direction I would go in but I have always enjoyed asking questions. A lot of questions. Everyone has a story and I like to get it out of them. In order to fulfill that dream, I needed to get this first book published. In 2009, I became aware of the new wave of independent publishing that was happening and I loved the idea of having total control. I knew it would be a tough road but I also knew that if I had gotten interest from a small to mid-size publisher, I would still have to do much of the marketing myself.

The Virgin Diaries was released in April of 2010 as well as the launch of ARK Stories, arkstories.com, the publishing company I run with my mother. TVD has been well received by my target audience; Virgins as well as parents hoping to educate their teens in a sex positive way. Most parents are afraid of the book but when they give it a chance, they see the value it has.

The idea for my next book came from a friend. In our discussions about men and how much they confuse women, she suggested I interview them on what they go through when they suffer from a broken heart. In December 2010, the call went out to men and by May of 2011, I had thirty-eight stories from anonymous men that surprised me. The candor and eloquence of the stories they shared is so moving and quite eye opening. A decent portion of the men report they were not intimate with a women after a hard break-up for many years. WOW!!!! News to me! Women are often under the impression that men have it so easy and Ain't No Sunshine: Men Reveal The Pain Of Heartbreak shows that males have a harder time because society calls for them to appear strong and macho. They claim to do much of their suffering in silence but they do have a lot to say about it. Once again, the veil of anonymity gave them the freedom to be very honest. I like to say that it's a rare glimpse into the elusive male psyche.

I currently run three blogs where I am collecting stories as well. The Body and Self Image Blog is really a labor of love for me. I was an actress and worked on the daytime drama Days Of Our Lives for seven years. My experience as an actress was fun but hard on my self image. I always battled with my body and the way I look. I saw actresses who were bone thin and tiny. I am 6 ft tall and though I am slender, I have never been skinny.  When I started the blog that will later be a book, I wanted the focus to be both men and women and ask people to write about whatever they wish. The result is fascinating. Some of the topics include: Male Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Thinning Hair in Both Genders, Cancer, Weight, Acne and so much more. Most choose to be credited but some choose to post anonymously. The one thing I have found is that we all feel inadequate in some way. Some people have overcome their obstacles but most deal with it daily. \When I read the stories as they come in, I am always moved and it makes me feel less alone when I am feeling insecure. It goes to show that there IS comfort and healing in sharing.

I dove back into the sexual arena with  Here She Comes! A Tasteful And Titillating Exploration Of The Female Sexual Response. I am collecting stories from anonymous women and they tell men exactly what to do and what not to do in the bedroom. I got this idea because of my conversations with so many women over the years about sex. They would admit that they were not getting the same pleasure their male partner does when it comes to sex. They also express inhibition when bringing the subject up for fear of being rejected. The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became and saw a need for this to be in the open. Why should women feel scared to tell their mate what works for them? If the men are never told, they really have no idea they are not satisfying their partner. Resentments can build up and their sex life suffers. It's my hope to provide these stories so that couples can start a dialogue in a positive way and incorporate fun back into their sex lives.

My latest project is Mom. I want to get stories from and about the moms of the world. There are many mom blogs out there dealing with parenting and I wanted to put my spin on "Mom." My mother and I have a very close relationship. I can only imagine what great stories will come in. I am excited to read them and looking forward the the eventual book.

I love asking questions. I love the answers people give. There are many books out there written by experts and they have merit. It is usually from one point of view. I like to provide many different opinions and views. I provide very little commentary. By sharing our stories, we can all learn and empathize as well as maybe even seeing something in a new way. This is what motivates me.

I don't expect to change the world but I do hope to inspire, entertain and inform. I try to pick subjects that are interesting to me and have a universal appeal. I think people are interesting. Everyone has a story. What's yours?

The Peacock Mating Ritual And How It Relates To Women!

Today I met a woman. I will call her Brenda. We were discussing Here She Comes: A Tasteful and Titlating Exploration of the Female Response, and how it's such a shame that women don't feel empowered enough to speak up in the bedroom. Brenda brought up an excellent point. She talked about how it is in nature, more specifically the Peacock Mating Ritual. The male is the "beautiful" one. He has all the feathers and when it comes time to mate, he shows the female his beauty and beckons her. Watch him here:

 

With humans, it's the opposite. The women are the ones to primp and woo the men. When it comes time for intimacy, women tend to stay quiet about their needs. Brenda mentioned that she is not one of those women and feels, in part, that is why she is single. Her belief is that most men don't really care or want to know how to properly please their mate. I thought about this and it made me angry. WHY IS THIS???

In the stories that have come in so far, women have reported that in some instances when a woman expresses her sexual desires to her partner, the man gets defensive or simply refuses to satisfy her in the way that will guarantee her an orgasm. He gets one every time. EVERY TIME!

I pose this question to the women: What if, all of a sudden, every woman from now on, insists on having an orgasm every time she has sex? Sure, it's fun to be intimate and feel the closeness of another human being but if he isn't doing the job, why really bother? A good toy can take his place when it comes to the climax. If every woman refused to have sex unless she got hers, how do you think men would react? Would they give up? Turn gay? Masturbate? No, they would step up to the plate because there is no substitute for real breasts and a real vagina. But it is really up to the women!

In the seventies, we burned our bras, we started taking birth control and it was empowering! We made great strides as a gender. Unfortunately we are still letting many men get away with being lazy in the sack.

For those who feel like I am male bashing, I am not. I know not all men are only out for themselves but more importantly, for the most part, men haven't had to make the effort because NO ONE is telling them to.

There is a revolution going on now in the world with the banks. People have had enough and the movement is global. Am I so egocentric to think that my blog is going to change they way men and women have sex all over the world overnight? Of course not but it has to start somewhere. Why not with you?

Take a clue from the Peacock. The female has to be convinced. So do we!


Find out how you can contribute your anonymous or credted story and empower the women!
Click the link for the guidelines: Here She Comes!

Kimberley A. Johnson: Here She Comes! The Blog! 2

To read Kenya's post, click the link: Kenya's Story