I recently shared that I have finished the first draft of my memoir. I’ve wanted to share my story about how I gained the weight, what inspired me to lose it, and how I lost over 100 pounds on my own. For over a year now I’ve been sharing my weight loss story on this blog and I am so happy that I’ve been able to inspire so many people!
I’m looking for advice from any publisher authors. How did you find a literary agent and/or publisher? Have you self-published?
Please contact me!
Big News
Nancy B. Kennedy
Congratulations on your tremendous achievement, Lisa! I’m sure you’re finding the road to publishing a difficult one. Finding an agent/publisher is a full-time job in and of itself, never mind the writing. My book of weight loss success stories, How We Did It (Leafwood, 2011), was many years in the making. It took a year to write, I got a contract and then lost it in negotiations, the manuscript languished on my desk along with the economy, and then finally my publisher picked it up, at which point I spent another six months rewriting. I don’t really have any advice other than to persevere. And, having lost 110 pounds, you know how to do that! Good luck to you.
Caroline Morse
As far as publishing goes, the first thing that comes to mind is the Kindle program – KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin . I haven’t had any experience with it myself, but I have done some grammar/spelling proofreading for someone who uses it. I also belong to several groups/ programs/ lists that promote Kindle books (mobileread.com, library thing, Pixel of Ink, etc.) Several people I know have gone from either Kindle books or audiobooks (podiobooks.com) to “regular” publishing (Nicholas Smith, J.C. Hutchins, Scott Sigler – and J.A. Konrath is a huge proponent of electronic publishing, as an established author, offering most of his books on his website.)
Hope some of this helps! I read a lot in electronic format and would love to read your book. Let me know if I can offer any more assistance.
Lisa Eirene
Thank you! This is great info.
caren magill
Congrats on your book and what an amazing story you have!! I’ve also got a (half-written) memoir that I’m still searching for the “happy ending” to. LOL… it will come one day.
I don’t have advice on self-publishing, but I do follow Brooke Warner. She’s got tons of memoir specific advice on publishing.
Good luck and congrats again on what you’ve accomplished!