#41 in "Letters From Winnie" Series

In no particular order (and from 2019) – the 41st piece representing correspondence/advice to potential, and very diverse, book/writing-related clients over the years.

(I have reproduced no clients' emails to?me?– and have removed all identifying factors from my own letters to them; also, some letters are composites.)

2019

"Hi....

"...So sorry if you feel overwhelmed – I do try to present lots of options, esp. if an initial plan may prove to be a challenge!

I really feel the stresses you have gone through, not only in your young life so far, but in struggling to create your book against so many challenges. And I know you're really trying to fight your way through this world of mental illness, to bring your story to connect with others, too.

One thing to keep in mind, though: likely your book would not be available in bookstores (except in a rare instance or two, like persuading your local bookseller to carry it).

This (i.e., not available in bookstores) is also the case with most self-published books – and even many traditionally-published books (as the sheer number of published books makes 'shelf space' impossible). Bookstores buy from distributors, and carefully choose what they will actually buy to have in-store (and with most of them, Amazon is seen as a competitor).

However, people can order almost any book *through* a bookstore, because everything is hooked up via computer today. And of course many, many people just buy their books off Amazon.?

If you publish your book through Amazon, there may be some kind of deal you can make with them, in purchasing many books (put aside some money for that, i.e., printing, shipping etc.!) so you can have them for talks, TV appearances, promoting to organizations, having local book-signings in a cafe, etc., etc,

While an e-book can be 'inter-active' – a truly moving and learning experience for the reader – there are some great print options. Some might involve less writing, with approaches like a graphic novel or comic-book approach – meaning not that it's comical, but tells a story/gives a message through a sequence and flow of illustrations, with text.

A hip, even occasionally tongue-in-cheek, approach might work well. (It's the sort of thing a graphic-design student/grad might be keen to do, with writing help. And I have an illustrator/design colleague who does this for a biz.)

I've also seen really tiny little books (even in the library system) that tell a complete story, but concisely. And in fact, maybe if you just downsize the kind of book you want, pages-wise, it might be possible to do for a more modest writer's fee. Picture a slim little book, tough and bright and hard-hitting, filled also with inspirational quotes, little poems etc., to provide additional interest for the reader.

The thing is, personal/memoir books dealing with mental illness/mental health – and even if they're very inspirational – can be difficult to attract and captivate a lot of readers and buyers (esp. with a longer length), unless there's something really different and unique about them.

So a quirkier kind of format might do it, and maybe along with much less text than you'd envisioned. It might help balance the monster of mental illness, make the book more accessible and less intimidating.

In any case, you could always do (or have me help with) lots of writing on the website you'll create for your book (every author today needs one). Things can be expanded upon, on the site, and you can begin to create more books and blogs there.

Like I said...lots to think about!

And yes, the Amazon free publishing would be 'free' in that you don't have to pay to upload your book to Amazon – but they certainly will take a major cut of each book sold – and before that, ideally, you'd be using a professional designer for formatting, layout, the cover, etc. (and of course that costs, unless you end up using something like a free Amazon template).

The alternative to Amazon, i.e., to get a book out there quickly, is to pay a publishing-services company to put the book together (and that can cost a lot). In either case, you could get a 'major print book.'

But I think what I was referring to, earlier. was the cost for the writing of the book. Normally, I'd have to charge a fair amount for doing a 'major' book, i.e., 75,000 words or so (a challenge to go below $_____ for that). But could see doing a much shorter e-book of around 20-25,000 words,- for 1/3 of the cost or even a bit less (esp. if we were able to take some of the short cuts I'd described in another email).

So it seemed to me the obvious way to go, at least for now, if you were able to raise only a few thousand $$ by crowdfunding (and some of the funds could be earmarked for a professional designer/illustrator).

I understand doing a short e-book is not where your head and heart are right now ;) but still, keep it in mind. It's something that conceivably could be done on a modest budget. It also would involve less time (whereas a longer print book could take 3 - 6 months or a year).

Again, it's not to say the book ends there. The e-book could be really just the beginning, the appetizer to the main course.?

Actually, I thought of something else: a client whose book I edited a few years ago, first did, with her print book, what she called a 'sneak peek,' a slim little book with the first two chapters of her full book. The cover of each book was the same, and the 'preview' book gave people something to get into without being too much, and stirred interest and paved the way for the biggie.

This could be one way to make the often quite terrible saga of your mental illness, a manageable reading experience in what is a crowded arena of such books.

Maybe your ultimate book could be 'divided' into a few sections, or start off as that kind of initial 'short book.' My costs for doing that would be reasonable, and in the meantime, things might pick up financially for you to do the rest of the book.

Another thing to keep in mind: if it turns out that the budget for your paying a?ghostwriter?is only $____, yet you do want a full print book (taking months to do), you might be able to find a very affordably-priced?ghostwriter. I know there are lots of them out there, on writers'-directory sites, etc.

Some of these writers might be young and fairly new to the game; others might be comfortably secure and able to take on lower -paying book jobs with great enjoyment. There's always the caveat that you may get what you pay for, but you can try.

"Lots of options, and I really want to try to help you succeed with your book, however it's done..."

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