[Tonya] Mike, when did you first realize writing was a passion for you? Along your journey, when did you decide to expand into your own publishing company? What inspired you?
[Michael] I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. When I was a little boy I used to write poems, mostly because I had to for school projects. From there I moved into songwriting, specifically as a lyricist. I wrote lyrics for a number of years while I was living in New York City. In the early nineties, having had no success writing pop music, I decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee, and try my hand at country music. I had always been a sucker for a story song, so I figured why not? I spent about 6 years in Nashville trying to break into the business when I was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome (TS).
My diagnosis was initially self-made. I then decided to make it official and went to see a doctor. After years of making strange movements and sounds, my unusual behavior finally had a name: Tourette’s. But more about Tourette’s in the second part of the interview!
After my diagnosis, I began to reach out to others with the disorder and what I found was both startling and comforting. I found that I had more in common with some Touretters, and at the same time, even less in common with others. I did some heavy research and not finding much information from the personal side of the disorder (but a lot from the medical side), I decided to put together a book project chronicling what it is like to live with TS on a daily basis. I tried to get a publisher interested, but after no success, I looked into self-publishing. I have a novelist friend, Andrew Stone, who also has TS (I learned of him through a local support group chapter). He self-published his novels, so I picked his brain about the business.
I put a call out for stories in Tourette support groups and newsgroups on the Internet. After receiving an incredible number of positive responses, I worked with several of the contributors and created Getting Personal, Stories of Life with Tourette Syndrome. As a result, I started Second Chance Publishing out of necessity and released the book in October of 2002.
[Tonya] For other authors considering the self-publishing route, what are a few pros and cons to look for?
[Michael] Self-publishing is a fascinating foray into the publishing field. I learned a great deal about the business. For me, traditional print publishing is best. In print publishing, the publisher takes all of the financial risks, from cover design to printing costs, from acquisition of ISBNs to bar code creation. Of course, self-publishing provides you with complete creative control over your book. One can also look into the print-on-demand (POD) philosophy, which removes inventory problems as each book is printed when it is purchased and the initial monetary outlay is considerably less.
What many people don’t know about is the cost of distribution. I can only speak of how it works here in the United States; it may be different in other countries. Standard distributor discounts run 55% of the retail price of the book. In the U.S. there are two major distributors (Baker & Taylor, whom I use, and Ingram). What this means is that let’s say you price your book at $20.00. You sell your book to the distributor for $9.00 (the company makes $11.00). Out of that $9.00 you have to work in your printing cost (typically around $1.50 to $2.00 per book depending upon how long the book is, whether there are photographs, how much color is used, and how many you printed, as it costs less to print more), whatever royalties you may be paying to an author (if the book isn’t yours), and your shipping and handling costs for the book. Sometimes you are lucky if you clear $4.00 per book. On top of that you have to wait 90 days for payment of your $9.00 (unless you sell through Amazon, which pays in anywhere from 30 to 60 days). So unless you are selling large quantities of books quickly (which also reduces your shipping costs as it is cheaper per unit to ship ten books as opposed to only one at a time), it is difficult to see any appreciable profits.
[Tonya] Would you recommend self-publishing? Why or why not? Can this be considered cost effective in regards to the current economic status we are in?
[Michael] I would absolutely recommend self-publishing. But considering our current economic crisis, and of course I am speaking from an American standpoint, I would suggest going the POD route it you must self-publish. It is hard enough to break into the field of writing through an agent and publisher in good times; in this uncertain age, it is exponentially more difficult to convince someone to take a chance on you, especially if you don’t have a proven track record. With over 30,000 books published each year in the United States, and the number of best-sellers being what they are, you can well imagine how hard it is for companies to justify spending capital on an unknown writer. Then again, they can absorb their failures into their successes more readily than an independent publisher, like myself, can.
[Tonya] Highlight for our readers some steps you took when publishing your first non-fiction book. Did you receive any outside support and/or marketing promotions? How was the response to the final results?
[Michael] The first thing I did was decided if I wanted to pay someone to edit my book, design the cover, and plan the internal layout of the book. As a technical writer with experience in layout design, I decided to do the internal text layout myself. I had a friend, who is also a writer, provide low-cost editing, and got lucky when I met a woman who designed books for an American company (Reader’s Digest) who offered to create the book cover for free after I told her why I was publishing the book. These services typically are quite expensive, so I was able to reduce my initial outlay.
Marketing your book is probably the most difficult in terms of financial resources. Advertising your book can be very expensive. Because I approached publishing Getting Personal from an educational standpoint, as opposed to a for-profit endeavor (my only concern was that I at least make back my printing costs, which I eventually did), I did most of my marketing through various TS support groups and state organizations. I let them know about the book and I attended a Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA) conference in Virginia right after publication where I sold some books. (You can learn more about the two TSA conferences I attended on my Website, www.secondchancepublishing.com.)
I haven’t set any sales records with Getting Personal, but from reader response I feel that I have achieved what I set out to do: educate the public about the disorder and let others with TS know they are not alone.
[Tonya] What advice can you give to our "struggling authors" who can't seem to get past that final hurtle to publishing?
[Michael] By final hurdle, I assume you mean securing an agent or publisher (if you aren’t referring to self-publishing).All I can say about that is to keep trying. I am currently pitching a novel, which is out of my comfort zone(I usually write non-fiction), and trying to obtain an agent is quite difficult. It is best to approach publishing through an agent rather than a publishing house, even if the publishing house accepts unsolicited manuscripts. A credible agent with knowledge of the publishing business will do more for you than any other person. (Of course, you will pay up to 15% of your royalties to an agent, but I think it is well worth the cost.)
[Tonya] Where do you see yourself, as an author, say five years from now?
[Michael] I would like to see myself with a successful novel, a publishing deal, and working on a second or third book for an eager, adoring reader base! But realistically, I would love to just have my work read, whether through a major publisher or my own company.
[Tonya] And finally, Mike, describe to our readers how you felt when you saw your book in final print and on the "sales shelf"? Was it fireworks and celebration or simple pleasures of satisfaction? How does the outcome of this book impact your decision to self publish in the future?
[Michael] I would be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to hold that first book in my hands. I wouldn’t say it was fireworks per se, but it was a great feeling and one I think worthy of a celebration whether with friends or alone (preferably with a drink in your hand in either case!).
As for self-publishing my novel or another non-fiction book in the future, I will probably go the POD route (or possibly an e-book, which I really don’t feel is a true “book”) simply due to economic reasons. As an independent publisher releasing your own work or someone else’s, it is important to keep in mind that unless you sell around 10,000 books quickly, you aren’t going to be able to justify spending all that money up front for the little that you make on your investment.
[Tonya] Thank you Michael.