#GuestPost: What to Look for in a Publisher…Tips from Author Yvette Allen Tatum
There are many ways to have your novel published. Today, Yvetter Allen Tatum, author of I Didn’t Know drops by This Writer’s Life during her Virtual Blog Tour to share some tips on what to look for when searching for a publisher.
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What to Look for in a Publisher…
Key Ingredients:
Find a publisher that fits your budget – begin by doing your research. Check with friends and/or colleagues in the industry to find out pricing and available amenities offered in publishing packages by a variety of publishers they have worked with before and who they are working with now. Check out industry statistics via research on Yahoo, Google or Bing about industry trends. This will help you to establish some pricing benchmarks and from there you need to determine how much you want to spend (your budget). Now that you know the affordability, what publishing options are important to you? By doing your research ahead of time you will also become acquainted with the industry lingo so that you can “talk shop” intelligently.
Find a publisher that can capture your vision – “Where there is no vision the people perish,” (Proverbs 29:18). You must have a vision for your project. Moreover, you have to: (1) believe in your vision. You want to avoid anyone trying to talk you out of your vision; never let anyone sell you or your vision short; and (2) be able to clearly articulate your vision. Ask yourself, who can sell your vision better than you? The answer should be no one! If the publisher can get on board with your dreams and visions and be able to communicate them back to you, then they have captured your vision and can flow with you in turning your project (dream) into a reality. Moreover, a good publisher should be able to “enhance” your vision or provoke your vision by causing you to see or think of things you might not have. Again, this is because this is their area of expertise. If they cannot “add value,” then they probably are not the right publisher for you.
Find a publisher who can offer you world-wide distribution – from conception to print “distribution” is everything. Some book stores will not offer your book for sale because they do not want the risk of offering shelf space to an unknown author. However, if you are connected to a large or world-wide distributor, some or all the following may be available to you:
Availability – guaranteed availability of your book; very important to retailers and your potential customers (fans).
Buy-backs – guaranteed buy-back of all unsold books; another important feature for retailers.
Connections – a world-wide distributor already has established relationships with large chain retailers so your book(s) potentially get in front of more people, as opposed to just being showcased in your local non-chain book store(s).
Marketing/Promotions – a world-wide distributor has cost advantages (economies of scale) due to the size and scale of their operations and therefore, can market and promote your product on a much larger scale than you can/could potentially do for yourself.
Find a publisher who offers additional amenities – besides publishing your book, what other services are available to you? Does the publisher offer “grooming” services to aid you in preparing you to sell yourself? Even if your publisher does not offer these services they should be able to direct you in the right place for these connections. For example, public speaking classes, how to develop a sound public relations campaign, how to put together a portfolio or press kit, just to mention a few.
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“I Didn’t Know” is for more than just an audience of one. If you look to your left, look to your right, or directly in the mirror, you will see or know someone who has been sexually abused… even if you look in the mirror, and the person is YOU! More than the tragedy of sexual abuse is the tragedy of the silence of sexual abuse. It must be talked about. Our stories have to be shared; someone’s life is literally depending upon YOU to BREAK THE IGNORANCE OF SILENCE! “I Didn’t Know” brings to the forefront the many hidden faces of child sexual abuse. The author, Yvette L. Allen-Tatum, shares not only her story, but the compelling testimonies of others–everyone from the actual victim, to the offender, to those who standby by in disbelief and allow these heinous crimes against our children to continue. Our voices have to be heard, our children must be free or freed to tell the TRUTH: that someone touched them. Who can they run to? Will it be you?
About the Author:
Author, Teacher, Conference Host, Public Speaker, Encourager, Motivator, Ordained & licensed Minister of The Gospel, Radical for Christ, undercover Comedian and the list goes on…
Yvette is a graduate of Grace Christian College where she earned her Masters of Divinity and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology. She is also a graduate of University of Richmond, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Concentration in Finance and a Minor in Leadership Studies. In addition, she has 30 plus years of experience in income tax preparation and bookkeeping.
As the Founder of Surrounded by Faith Ministries, Yvette has had the opportunity to touch and transform the lives of many women with the Word of God. This mighty Woman of God has a prophetic teaching anointing which has enabled her to cross many boundaries. As such, the Call of God on her life has broadened from transforming the lives of women to transforming LIVES with the Word of God. While she still holds a passion to train and equip women in the life study and application of the Bible, her ultimate goal is to strengthen families. To do so her platform is geared to men, women and children.
From The Author
I Didn’t Know – Identifying, Confronting & Overcoming Child Sexual Abuse – the title is indicative of the subject matter. In this book the author brings to the forefront the many faces of child sexual abuse; those of the victims and the abusers. Yvette Allen-Tatum boldly confronts her past of child sexual abuse to demonstrate that TRUE deliverance is possible. Yvette believes that we ALL (victims, abusers, enablers, nay-sayers, etc.) can OVERCOME the horrible effects of child sexual abuse.
This book proves that true healing is possible and necessary for us to become more than CONQUERORS through Christ Jesus.
As a community, we have to:
Identify Child Sexual Abuse –
We have to talk about it (raise public awareness)
Know the signs & symptoms
Confront Child Sexual Abuse –
Error on the side of caution – THE CHILD
Be quick to BELIEVE the victim and make all necessary inquiries
Studies show people are more apt to believe the innocence of the accused; this has to END
Overcome Child Sexual Abuse –
We overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the WORD of OUR TESTIMONY
Connect with Yvette….
Website Facebook Twitter Email
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MJ
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