You may be right about Westbow Press and the credibility factor. But it may be more of a function of seminary book buyers only buying from publishers they already have established relationships with. If they don’t buy from Nelson anyway, for instance, then even if you published with them, it wouldn’t benefit you.

So you need to find out, first, who publishes the kinds of books seminaries and Bible schools use. Then you have to see if they’ll publish you. If you’re not a well-known name in that market, you lessen your odds of getting published.

You can call Terry Whalin at Intermedia and ask him what are the odds that they can get your book into seminaries. My guess is they don’t have connections, though Terry might, since he was an agent in that market for a long time. If you yourself have connections with any seminaries/Bible schools, that may help. Ask the person if they would consider using your content for a course as a pilot or something. If you can get even one school behind you, you can take that to a traditional publisher.

I”m afraid, though, there’s no way around the publishing time, or the authority over design, etc. It is THE main tradeoff. (You also get lousy royalties on a traditionally published book–but then, you don’t have upfront costs.)

Baker is one of the main houses that supply seminaries, I know. They are pretty picky–you need a platform (as in previously published, successful books, or a current following) and/or a PhD/seminary degree.

Everything in life, just about, is a tradeoff….

Author House’s sales reps will relentlessly pursue you and flatter you. They will promise you they will get you in bookstores and market you. Don’t believe it!

Though, i would like to ask you something about another publisher. I’ve checked out Intermedia, and frankly i dont understand how they work. Then again, this is my first book, so i still have a lot to learn. Anyway, on to my question.

I’ve been considering going through a company called AuthorHouse, and so far i like what i see. But i’m still nervous. Though the man from AuthorHouse i talked to made it seem like any easy decision, i still want to be sure my book is in the right hands, if you know what i mean, which i’m sure you do. Have you heard of them? Has what you’ve heard been good or bad? I dont need details, just a straight yes or no on whether or not they’re a good choice.

I’m young, i dont know much, and i really dont have a lot of money to work with. But, i know i’m a good writer, i know my stories have great potential, and i do have enough money saved up to publish my first book, around 3,000$. Or i think that might be enough. What’s the round-about cost to publish yourself anyway? No one ever answers honestly. Really i just want to know so i can save up more if i need to.

Also, (sorry, i know i keep going on and on) do you know how to get a mentor? Is there a site where you can look for mentors, send them some of your stuff and see if they would like to mentor you? I only ask because i know i still have a lot to learn, but really dont have ways to learn. I live in a small town, with only one college and they dont offer any type of writing classes. I’m big on learning every chance i get. But right now it seems i dont have the option. Any kind of help would be great.

Thanks!
Kaycie

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Thank you and God bless.

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I am not a fan of these kinds of book projects. I do not think they really do much for an author who is involved. To me it’s more of a money-making scheme for the one putting together the book. They get paid for someone else creating the content, their publishing costs are covered, but for the author participants–I just don’t think it’s all that impressive to people to be given a collaborative book that you wrote a chapter for.

You might get mileage out of coauthoring one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul derivatives, but that’s a different kind of thing. If you’re going to put down $5000, do it for your own book, with Intermedia. You’ll get a lot more out of it. I don’t even know how many of the collaborative authors actually mail to their lists about the book. It’s a nice idea, but … the price tag too high for a good ROI, in my opinion.

I think it’s a good idea to hire a good content editor. I just finished doing that for a client, as well as shepherding the book through the IM process. You definitely need an experienced, objective eye to help you shape your material.

Intermedia can help you find a person (but only if you become a client, which I can’t blame them for). Or you can ask other authors for referrals. Look in the Acknoledgments pages of books that are similar to yours; often editors are mentioned. Even if they work for traditional publishers, they might freelance on the side or be able to recommend a good freelancer. I have some people I can recommend, depending on your project.

If you go through email/skype, that’s fine. Just make sure you get the editor’s credentials and ask for references of authors who have worked with them. Ask about how much they edited, whether they faithfully preserved the author’s “voice,” and how timely they were in turning the project around. (Don’t ask me, by the way–I don’t do editing. This latest case was an exception.)

I want my book taken seriously, and i’ve heard from many authors that if you want your book taken seriously, you need to get some serious editing done. This is something i agree with, but i wonder which is the less expensive? Letting a self-publishing company do the edit, or hiring someone else to do it?

I just cant seem to finger out the math of it (i was never very good at math).

Also, is there a site where authors or anyone with expreience can look over your book, and tell you if it needs more work, is good as is, or is simply not worth publishing? I think i have a good story, and that i cant write it well. But, i’m a new writer, and what i think is good might not be for readers or publishers. I was hoping to find an author to help me, give some much needed advice sort of thing. But i have no idea where to start, having no contacts in this business. Any advice? I would really love for someone who know’s what they’re doing to read at least part of my book.

My own tip for saving time is (now this is if you live with other people) set time aside where no one is allowed to bother you. I used to have such a hard time (being a college sutdent still living at home) with writing, because every time i would sit down to get started, someone, mainly my mother, would interrupt me.

Finally i’d had enough. So one day i wrote a note on my door saying, “Do not disturb until (insert time here). Thank you.”. And, to my surprise, it worked. My mother didin’t bother me, and even stopped others from doing the same (i do have an awesome mom).

I’ve notice i can get a lot more writing done now, and my writing even seems to turn out better the first time around, where normally i would have to read over it a few times and make changes.

Being in the middle of self-publishing my first novel, i need all the time i can get, and this was a huge help!

Thanks so much for all your advice, by the way. I’ve only been reading some of your blogs and articles for a week or so, but already i’ve noticed my writing become easier and even better! Lets hope my story is as good as i think it is, yeah?