Many of today's creative industries are flattening. As the vertical hierarchies crumble, more and more artists are going directly to the market with their work, bypassing the previously required managers, agents, publicists, and contracts. For J.M. Norwood, who works in the music industry and just self-published her first book with AuthorHouse, this trend couldn't be more obvious.
"I realized a big company may publish your book, but that doesn’t mean they will promote it," says Norwood. "They can put your book in the store, but that doesn't mean anyone will buy it. They can give you a big advance, but you may end up owing the company money."
Rediscovering her Youth
Norwood had always been interested in writing, first inspired by C.S. Lewis and other fantasy writers as a child. Though she started writing her own stories when she was a teenager, they sat unread by anyone for years. When Norwood attended a high school reunion in 2006, she not only remembered friends she'd long forgotten, but also began thinking about a manuscript she was working on all those years ago. "It brought back that whole era of my life, and I decided I would find this manuscript and start working on it," says Norwood.
Though she had never told anyone that she was writing fantasy stories, she shared her newly revised manuscript with a friend who worked for a magazine. "My editor, R. Crick, encouraged me to keep going, so I kept writing and rewriting," she says. She had always been working on the story as an allegory of the relationship between God and man, but approaching the story with a fresh adult perspective brought a new depth of meaning. "I always thought about religion and theology, which is unique for a 14-year-old girl," says Norwood. "When I started working on it again, it just all seemed to click. I didn't want to seem preachy; I just wanted to put a religious story in a different context so people could approach it."
Direct to Market
From the minute she started working on The Twelfth Window, Norwood was determined to publish the book. "I learned pretty quickly that the publishing industry is very similar to the music industry," says Norwood. "So many readers are buying books online, just like they are downloading music rather than buying albums in record stores. In light of that, I didn't want to go through the rigmarole of finding an agent who may or may not get the book published, or an editor who may change the work significantly. So I appreciate that I had complete control over the final product and could go directly to the market."
Norwood believes the publishing industry is suffering from placing too much importance on hype rather than providing new artists a chance to shine. "The traditional publishers aren't nurturing new authors, they are going after celebrities who write books," she says. "I think going to AuthorHouse shows that an author really believes in their work. When a book is straight from the author to the market, from the cover to the layout to the content and rights, it's the author's voice, not the publisher's voice."
With a story she believed in and a desire to control the financial planning and rights to her work, self-publishing especially appealed to Norwood. "I got it right away. After researching the publishing industry, it was an obvious choice to go directly to the market and bypass the middleman," says Norwood. "If your product is compelling enough, it will sell. At the end of the day, I wanted to be responsible for the message of my book; that's my voice.”
Twenty Years in the Making
After waiting more than twenty years to publish The Twelfth Window, Norwood was eager to get her book on the market. With Rapid Release publishing, she was able to accelerate the process and have a book in her hands within a month. "I recommend Rapid Release to anyone," says Norwood. "It was a great experience; the galley was turned so quickly, and my design team did such great job, I gave them credit on the inside of my book."
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Like many published authors have experienced, seeing her words in print for the first time was an emotional experience. "When I saw the galley, I started crying. My designer understood the layout isn't just words, it the presentation of my story. When people see the book, the reaction is amazing. People are drawn to my book wherever I take it." |
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With her childhood dream finally a reality, Norwood began to get the word out and market her book. "I've done most of my marketing online, as that's where most of my book buyers shop," says Norwood. To get readers interested in her book Norwood has three blogs, one on her AuthorHouse site, http://www.twelvewindow.com/, and two others related to her books. "Blogging is a great way to spread your message; it builds over time. I keep my Google search material growing, and AuthorHouse already has my book on all the major online retailers. It seems like it's all over the place, and with the international sites I'm overseas."
Norwood also used contests as a tool to market The Twelfth Window. "I knew that AuthorHouse has worked with ForeWord magazine. I picked up a copy in New York. The literary world reads that magazine; I sent two copies of the galley." Her efforts paid off, when ForeWord announced that The Twelfth Window was a finalist in the Book of the Year Award for 2007. "I think part of doing well is knowing what genre your book fits in, and the competition. You have to know your audience, and who wants to read your story."
With critical success and a book available across the globe, Norwood encourages other writers to achieve their publishing goals. "You have to believe in your story and stick with it. You have to believe the world needs this story," she says. "If I had to do it all over again, I would certainly choose AuthorHouse. I'm going to publish my next book this year." As Norwood's success accumulates, she is proof that the publishing paradigms are shifting. "The self-published stigma is falling away. The quality of the writing and the compelling stories speak for themselves."
For more information on J.M. Norwood and The Twelfth Window, please visit www.twelvewindow.com or www.12thwindow.com.
