Dear Lit Loves,
One of the questions I am most being asked by readers, librarians, family, friends, acquaintances, book club members, students, and others is the following question: WILL NORTH CAROLINA READERS AND READERS FROM OTHER SOUTHERN STATES SUPPORT AND EMPOWER A SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHOR?
Initially, my first reaction is generally that I would not have worked to publish this book if I didn't think it had the content and relevance to appeal to everyday readers' lives, particularly women, and be embraced by the reading public, in particular, southern readers. My specialty is communicating real life events in a manuscript format that is not sugar-coated and that speaks to many important issues (feminism, workplace inequality, domestic violence, and the reality of teachers working in public schools today). I initially tried for five years to pursue publishing this book via the traditional route by querying agents, connecting with editors and other authors, and writing four other manuscripts during the quest to achieve publication in the traditional fashion. It should be noted that I pursued both large and small presses in my publication efforts. When I discovered the simple fact that primarily because I was not a partaker of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), I was also being disqualified from entrance to traditional publishing, I said, "Oh, Hell To The No". I have seen Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter utilized on too many occasions to bully and ridicule people and cause students to feel so bad about themselves that they take their own lives. I refuse to participate in most forms of social media. And I have that right, folks. My uncle and many others in the military fought and died for my right to live and speak as I choose.
And because I chose to self-publish to get my work distributed to the mainstream reading community and because the method I chose to use to achieve that was Amazon, I am not going to apologize or be belittled for that choice. So it is up to my core group of readers, most southern women, to rise to the occasion and evaluate my merits as a writer. I wasn't given the opportunity to have Amy Einhorn as my editor nor do I know people in the movie and publishing business that would assist me in getting my book to market in Barnes and Noble, reviewed by The New York Times and other popular women's magazines, or have my first book made into a movie. So I'm starting from nothing and that's perfectly fine with me. I come from strong stock. I've always had to be scrappy and pave my own road to achieve what I wanted in life whether it was an education, a better living environment, a more meaningful career, etc. so that's not new to me.
So the answer to the question I am asked most lies with you the reader; you the independent owner of a small bookstore; the members of various southern book clubs; librarians; book reviewers, feature writers for southern newspapers and magazines; and most importantly in my opinion, word-of-mouth recommendations of my book. I'll promise to keep you updated as the coming months progress. And if you have already purchased my book, thank you because I do appreciate where you choose to spend your hard-earned dollar. If you wish to write me I will do my best to always answer reader email and represent North Carolina in the finest way possible as a writer.
Best,
Grace Sutherlin
(Amy)
Email: grace@gracesutherlin.com
No comments:
Post a Comment