That Monster Under the Bed, Publishing And How Amy Dale Wrangled the Beast

Remember as a kid when your imagination got the better of you at night? When you just knew there was something under the bed and if you peeked an arm or leg out, that monster would get you?

But if you got brave and hung your head over the side of the bed to look underneath…nothing.

The elusive, sneaky…

This is publishing. At least for me. Maybe I’m not alone.

No matter how many times someone explains the whole process to me, traditional publishing is that sneaky monster. It’s a huge beast that you should be able to hit with a blind shot but any author can tell you horror stories of sending out proposals and missing by way of rejections and silence.

It’s like waiting with your leg out from under the sheets for the monster to bite. And yet it never does even though you just know the monster’s there.

It’s a lesson in patience in a society that loves instant gratification.

So what other possibilities are there other than waiting out the monster?

Self publishing? Enter the bed monster’s brother—that creature in the closet.

One thing’s better about it, you can stare at the closet door without leaving the comfort of your bed. But if you want to assuage your fears, you have to invest more. I.E. Leave the warm bed, expose yourself to the dark room and go open that door.

I’m talking about investment. Self publishing not only requires up front funds for help with editing and printing but also demands time. Insane amounts of time to design the book and market, market, market.

So what else is there?

What if there’s another way?

Perhaps there is if you’re willing to put in the time for marketing anyway.

In many ways, I’d call this pure genius. It’s like turning on the light in your bedroom and exposing both the bed monster and his brother.

I came across this because of Amy Dale with her book Off With Her Heart.

It’s called kickstarter.

You see, Amy’s running her book through kickstarter, which takes the writing straight to the readers, eliminating the whole agent and publisher process like self publishing but also allowing readers to weigh in by investing in the project.

If you believe in Amy’s book, you invest and get the book, printed through Amazon’s Print on Demand Service. If you don’t, than no investment.

But then Amy doesn’t sink thousands of dollars into a book that might not sell and doesn’t have to be privately rich to print the book if it is popular. Her readers speak for her. All she really has to do is get the word out. Tell mom, dad, brothers, sisters, friends, pets. You know, anyone who will tell others because they love what you do. If readers like the project enough, lo and behold, their support speaks to publishers. It’s marketing research with a guarantee.

Now the light’s on, the closet monster’s in a choke hold and the bed monster’s been caged.

You can sleep tight.

Blessings,

Jennifer

P.S. This is my shout out for Amy and her bit of genius. Check out her kickstarter or her blog.

Her book, Off With Her Heart, is the Queen of Heart’s side of the story. Check out the book trailer on the kickstarter.

Disclaimer: I have backed Amy Dale’s book and received an e-version.