Snapped!

More pickleball drama...On Thursday I played with a man I shall call DH. It is only the second time I have seen him, and I believe he is new to the game. He plays well, though, since he comes from a racquetball background. DH and I were partners for what ended up being his last game of the morning. It was a super-fun game, with the score bouncing back and forth between us and the other team. Pickleball is played to 11 points, but you must win by two points. DH and I won 13-11. As we were sitting on the bleachers catching our breath he says to me, "Don't take this wrong, but the ladies here play pretty well." I agreed, "Yes, they do." Then he says, "Well, the court is a lot smaller so there is less running. That levels the playing field." Really, DH? You think women can't run as much as men? I know some women that could totally kick his butt! As I was trying to restrain myself from using my paddle on a different type of ball, he left for the day. I could not even believe he would say such a thing. People have no filters these days - if they think it, they say it.

Small Works - Kim Wolterman

Striking a Chord

 Friday night was the artists' reception for the opening of Small Works III at the Webster Groves Public Library. This is a juried exhibition of works on a smaller scale, and with a musical theme. I had submitted a couple of pictures, and the one of a man sitting on the steps in San Juan, Puerto Rico was selected to be in the show. I titled it, "Striking a Chord", and had it printed onto metal. The metal really makes the colors pop, I think. The turnout at the reception was pretty good.

The Women in Focus photography group has been asked to do a show in November at the Gretchen Brigham Gallery at Union Avenue Church downtown. Hosted by the Arts Group of Union Avenue, we can each submit up to four jpgs to the juror for consideration in the show. They don't want us to use any of the photos that we exhibited in our last two shows, so I'll have to think about this one. It gets expensive to print and frame these photos for the various shows, and I have yet to make a sale to recoup any of the costs. I know our fearless leader will be disappointed if only a few of our members submit, so I'll probably come up with something.

Signing off to get back to work on my presentation for the St. Louis Publishers Association. I'll be talking about why every author needs a business plan for their book.

From House History to Family History

Schwein house

Last night I had the pleasure of presenting to one of the German Special Interest genealogy groups at their monthly meeting in Kirkwood. I was asked to discuss how to research the history of your (or an ancestor's) home, writing family history and publishing your book. A tall order, but I actually managed to make that happen in my hour long talk. It was great to have an opportunity to speak to genealogists because I was essentially preaching to the choir. They already are familiar with many of the records I was discussing, so that makes things a lot easier. I just encouraged them to look at the records in a different light. It also meant they had helpful suggestions to share with the group of 25 souls who braved the extreme cold to come to the meeting. An added bonus was that I was able to include the photos of my ancestor's home in Steinweiler, Germany along with the house history that had been prepared for me when I visited there in September. It was fun to have so many of my worlds come together in one place!

Who am I?

I have been feeling a little bit adrift lately. After my career in the insurance industry flowed seamlessly into working full time (or at least as full time as I wanted it to be) with our company Organic Resource Management, Inc., I was able to have my cake and eat it too. I worked out of the comfort of my home office and was available to our two children for carpool, field trips, being a room parent, Girl Scout leader, etc. It was perfect, and as the kids got older I was able to pursue my interest in researching and writing a book. Now our son has been married for four years and our daughter is in her senior year of college. And we sold our business last year after operating it for 18 years.

I love the fact that I can focus on my writing and publishing business now. But it is always a little awkward when we are out and someone asks me what I do. "I am an author and a publisher", I try to say with authority. And I know that I am! I guess I am just not feeling all that successful right now. Part of me has just a little built of guilt that I am not out seeking a full-time "real" job. Whatever that is. Sometimes I feel so invisible when we are at a gathering and the other people in the group are discussing the goings-on at work. Face it, not many people can relate to what I am doing. I guess I just need to hang around with more authors.

The Name Game is Over

After much research and angst, I just filed the paperwork with the state to form my publishing company. Many names I came up with were already registered with the state. What is it people say? There's no such thing as an original idea? One web site suggested using alliteration in your company name, and that struck a chord with me. That narrowed things down to looking at "p" words. It was also suggested that you try to keep the same number of syllables in each word. So ideally I was searching for a three syllable "p" word. I am excited about what I came up with, which is Provenance Publishing LLC. It was not taken in my state, nor did it come up in a publisher search on Amazon. Provenance means a place or source of origin. As a noun, it is where something originated or was nurtured in its early existence. What better way to describe the process of putting your own book into print? I have an idea in mind for the company logo, and my daughter is working with my rough sketch in Illustrator. One step closer to making this book a reality!

What's in a Name?

There is much to learn about self publishing. Most advice leans towards owning the ISBN number that goes on the back of the book. This truly makes you the publisher, and thus in control, of your book. Okay, that makes sense. But you need a name for your publishing company. "Don't name the company after yourself unless you want to look like an amateur," the sages advise. That means coming up with a different name for the publishing company. I have probably invested waaaay too much time thinking about the name. Above referenced sages speak to naming the company the same thing as your website. My House History Publishing Company? What if my next book is on how to do backyard composting? Or the history of Tuam, Ireland? You begin to see my dilemma. I don't want to pigeonhole future books that may be published from my publishing company based on the name of the publishing company alone. It seems like a pretty important decision to be made in mere minutes. Yet my indecision is holding up the process. I need to apply for a tax identification number with the state under the name of my new company. I can't purchase my ISBN number(s) until I know the name of the publishing company. I can't pay for the ISBN numbers until I have a bank account opened in the name of the publishing company so I can keep my records straight for taxes. And so on... As the book cover is in design even as I write this, time is of the essence. Now, where did I put that creative thinking cap?

Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover?

Since receiving the quote to have my book designed outside and in by a professional, I have been mulling over which way to proceed. While I do understand that the pricing I received is not out of line, or so I'm told by authors who have already trekked the somewhat treacherous path of self publishing, I still can't wrap my mind around how many books I'll have to sell just to pay the design fees, let alone the printing costs. I headed back out last night to one of the local mega bookstores to do some undercover (or should I say cover?) research. I first picked up Dan Poynter's "Self Publishing Manual" as I had learned from borrowing a library copy that it was a book I'd want on my own shelf. From there I went to the table reserved for books of local interest. I thought I would be able to pick out which ones were self published by looking at the covers and flipping through the pages. Surprisingly, I found that I certainly couldn't judge a publisher by the cover. One of the books I found to be the least attractive was actually put out by a local publisher who has turned down my book. Well, I always say that things happen for a reason and now I am grateful that the future of my "baby" is not in their hands. After that I went to the non-fiction section and began to pull books that were of a how-to or workbook nature off the shelves. It was an enlightening experience. People definitely WILL judge a book by its cover, and I realize now that I do need to put the money into a professional design. No one will pick up my book to see what it offers if they can't get past an uninspired cover.

The More I Learn the Less I Know

That pretty much sums up how I feel about self publishing. I have finished my book on how to research the history of a St. Louis County home, and had hoped that a local publisher would take it on. After all, they specialize in local authors or stories of local interest. My book satisfies both of those requirements. Alas, the owner does not feel that he can sell enough of my books to make it worth his while. I hate to admit that he is probably right. My book has a really narrow market by design. There are a lot of books out there on how to research a house's history. While some of the content is universal, those books do not help with the quirky steps which need to be taken in St. Louis County. So it looks like I will need to self publish. Sounds easy enough; people do it every day. However it is one thing to self publish when you know you have a potentially large audience. And it's another thing to self publish when you only want a small quantity to hand out to friends and family. But what if you want a book that needs to look polished enough to go into libraries for research and to be used as a textbook when teaching a class, yet still only requires a small print quantity? People are telling me that a book cover and layout design will cost me aroung $1,000. Then there is the professional copy editing to be done. How about purchasing ISBN numbers, possibly having to set up a corporation to become my own "publishing" company? How many books do I need to sell to recoup those expenses? I didn't write this book to make a lot of money. I did it because I want to help other people open the door to their house's history. But that doesn't mean I want to see my investment go the way of my 401k either. So how I do I turn out a professional-looking yet user friendly book without selling my first born? Well, okay, my second born since the first one is married off.

Taking My Boobs Out to be Pressed

This morning I took my boobs out to be pressed, which I think pretty well summarizes what having a mammogram feels like. I remember my dad saying that mom told him it was like having your boob in one room and the rest of you in another. Men should all have to get manograms (ball pressing) once just to see how it feels. Anyway, it is nice to have that annual event off my laundry list of things to do. On the way home, I stopped in at the genealogical department of the St. Louis County Public Library. With my book in hand, I explained to the librarian that I had referenced the library in my book, and I want to make sure that I was correct in my information. Specifically, I want to ensure that the materials I have said could be found there really are there, and that I didn't omit any other reference materials they might have available. The woman was very excited about my book as they get numerous requests from people researching house history. In the meantime, Ruth Ann came out of the back room of the department. She taught the first genealogy class that I took 10 or more years ago, and she now works at the library. She, too, felt there is a need for the book, and also let me know about a new web site she reviewed that will have area maps posted which cover time periods not currently available. She asked that I email her, and she will try and find out when this web site will go live so I can include it in the book. One of the pieces of advice in my book is to tell everyone what you are doing as you research. You never know what they might be able to add. This is a perfect example of why that is so important. Further, this trip to the library helped to confirm that my book is needed and will be helpful. I'm going to get this done, Virginia Publishing or no Virginia Publishing!

Borders, Book Signings and Brain Pickings

Yesterday a friend, Cindy, and I went to a book signing at Borders. The author is a friend of Cindy's, so we went to support Edna and her new book. It was a great experience for me as Edna's first book was similar to the one that I am writing, and I have wanted to meet her. She self-published her first book, and had a publisher produce the next two. When I mentioned the book I am writing, she was very excited and immediately suggested that we get together for coffee at a later date. Great! I will be able to learn a lot from her! Cindy has also published a book, so we sat in the coffee shop at Borders after getting our books autographed and I discussed my book with her. As Cindy has done a lot of house research both here and in Mississippi, she has experience in what my book is about. She reviewed my book for content, making sure that I hadn't left any critical step out. She also made some suggestions for illustrations to enhance the subject matter as well. Cindy knows a local archivist that she thought I might want to meet with for input, too, from a different perspective. As my book's goal is to make the research process as helpful and complete as possible, I welcome the opportunity to receive additional information. I am finding in this whole book writing, book publishing process that the more people you get to know, the better off you will be. There is so much to learn about how it all works, and being exposed to those who have been through it helps me make sense of all the new lingo.