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Editor's Note: Mary Elizabeth Webb is one of those women who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'No'. She has been taking the bull by the horns following the self publication of her book, Tomorrow's Promise and is WORKING IT up and down the east coast to promote her message of hope and faith. She is truly an inspiration and we all feel lucky to know her. We caught up with her to ask her about her experience with self-publishing and to share with us some tips and inspiration that we could share with you.
I never imagined it would have been so difficult to catch the eye/ear of a traditional publishing company. I wanted desperately to have my story picked up by one of the hundreds out there, but it was daunting. The majority of major traditional publishing companies work in conjunction with literary agents. I decided after ten years of writing proposals and rewriting them over and over till I got perfection (and only getting ‘your story does not fit our needs at this time’ letters,) that my story was too inspirational to keep it to myself.
The key to getting noticed by either is writing an excellent query/proposal. It has to exude amazingness if you aren't a celebrity or the cast from Jersey Shore or if you haven't had a mysterious homicide movie like drama just happen in your life. These companies and agents are looking for the bottom line--SALES. No matter how well written or great your tale may be, if they don't see it being an excellent seller, then you get the "your story does not fit our needs at this time, but continued success in your publishing quest" letter or email!
I went with self-publishing. I went with a well-known traditional Publishing Company, who just opened a self publishing division, because they saw the need for that area. There are too many authors who wish to get published, who may have a good story and even lots of money to drop down on their dream.
Self-publishing is basically where the author pays for everything. The only problem I found was that if you have an unlimited budget, then you may be able to succeed and get noticed. I did not. I had the money to produce/edit the book, but then any publicity/websites/promotion/marketing (which is how your book gets noticed, so you can sell them) is another chunk of money. I could not invest any more cash in that area and took it upon myself to do what I could to get my story told. That is how I found tinshingle.com. It was a great place for me to find great connections all over the media industry. I love the hope and inspiration they have given me and my dream. I didn't become an author for the fame and notoriety, I just felt I had powerful message to share with the world and just because I couldn't hook the major publishing companies didn't mean I wasn't suppose to reach out to others who have lived and experienced similar paths as mine. I wasn't listening to, "I am sorry, but", and I didn't. I couldn't. I was driven.
My best advise after learning and researching all that I have over these past years is, if you are serious about getting published, fine tune your proposal/hook, stay focused on your goal and what it is you want. Publishing Companies only take on a few stories each year and I guess there are zillions of hopefuls, including myself, that really want to have their book on store shelves or to be interviewed on a talk show or to spread a message of hope with others.
Research, research and read books like the 2012 Writer's Market Book. Learn all you can and unless you are a celebrity writing about some random subject--maybe about puppies, or lipstick, you won't get noticed unless you do your homework. Ask questions of other published authors, or agents you may know. It's a journey just like any other in life; there are going to be ups and downs, stay on track and never stop believing. Most importantly talk to the ladies at tinshingle.com...you won't be disappointed.
