by Linda Herman

“ I could write a book!”  At one time or another many of us may have thought about doing just that.  Everyday we read the words of talented writers in Parkinson’s online communities, such as this one. Writing about our personal experiences with Parkinson’s  can be of great help to others, especially the newly diagnosed.  It can often be therapeutic for the authors themselves. Writing is also an effective form of advocacy - by fostering greater public awareness and knowledge about Parkinson’s Disease.  

So how does a fledgling author find a publisher who is willing to even consider an unknown writer?  Unless your name is Hillary Clinton, it is unlikely any publishers will be knocking down your door with book offers. But as Barbara Blake-Krebs and I learned, it IS possible to get your book published -  by doing some research, having lots of  persistence  and even more good luck. I’ve often been asked for advice by new authors in search of a publisher and would like to share these suggestions based on personal experiences.  

Getting started:

A published mystery writer (whose husband is a PWP) highly recommended the book, How to Write a Book Proposal by  Michael Larsen. Barb and I found this work to be a valuable guide. It explains and gives many examples on writing publisher query letters and proposals, capturing editors’ attention, marketing your book ideas, preparing a manuscript and much more. The book is available in public libraries, bookstores, on Amazon.com and other online booksellers. A new 2003 edition will soon be available.

Identifying possible publishers:

Having written an enticing book proposal, your next step is to identify publishers who are most likely to consider your work.  Most first-time authors are unlikely to be even get a glance from mega-publishers such as Random House. You are more likely to find acceptance with a smaller publishing house, especially one that specializes in your subject area. We sent out about 25 query letters, and all were rejected until we found Hunter House Publishers, a small press in California. They specialize in books on health and community, and had recently published a book about an online support group for women with MS. I happened upon a book review of the MS book, and had a hunch that Hunter House could be a perfect match for us  - and they were!

It takes some research to identify possible publishers. You’ll want to discover in what general subject areas they publish, how many new books they publish each year, how long it takes from acceptance to publication (some can take up to 2 years!), if they accept unsolicited manuscripts, and how their royalties are computed, contact information, etc.

 Two good sources for this type of  information are:

Literary Market Place and Writer’s Market.

Both of these books are published annually and are also available in most libraries or bookstores.

Don’t limit yourself to only health or medical publishers or those who have published other works on PD – look for other possible special interests and tie-ins. For example, if your work focuses on your experience as a parent with Parkinson’s, look also for publishers of books on parenting and family life. Do you write about your participation in a sport? Consider publishers of sports and recreation books. Also, look into publishers of books about people with disabilities, patient advocacy, self-help books, etc.

Narrow down the possibilities by learning more about the publishers:

What books have they already published? What is forthcoming?  What are their publishing guidelines (often on their web sites).  Try also to identify how your book is different from what has already been published? What need or niche does it fill? What makes your story unique?

Some good places to look are:

Amazon and other online booksellers;

Library catalogs,

Publisher web sites

Reading lists from organizations

Book reviews  in the New York Times, Library Journal, Bookmark, Publisher’s Weekly, etc. (available at most libraries and some online)

 

Other very helpful web sources on writing and publishing:

Parkinson’s and therapeutic creative writing – by Murray Charters

http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/033.html

 

Bookspot – links to publishers web sites

http://www.bookspot.com/publishers.htm

 

Bookspot – links to writer’s resources

http://www.bookspot.com/writerresources.htm

Other options:

The Internet has really opened up many additional possibilities for writers. In addition to traditional publishers, consider e-book publications, and print-on-demand book publishers. There is information on these options on Bookspot (see above). Also, consider writing for web sites (such as Virtuality and the Grassroots Connection) and  for Parkinson’s newsletters.

Barb and I worked on WHEN PARKINSON’S STRIKES EARLY  for 2 ½ years. I have to say it was more work and harder work than I had ever imagined. But it was a labor of love for both of us, and finally holding our book in our hands and turning its pages made all the effort worthwhile. I hope many other PWP authors will be able to experience these same rewards, and hope these suggestions will be helpful. Please contact me if you have any questions. 

Linda Herman

Ljherman1@juno.com