Publish or Perish: Author Chuck Igo on Writing and Publishing
Publish or perish. That’s the catchphrase heard often in professional circles for those looking to boost their standing within their sphere of comfort.
In my particular case, I am a working radio professional, an industry that in the past 10 years has gone downward in terms of compensation. I not only felt I had a story to write, but also needed to make my own luck to try to produce some extra income for a growing family with 12 years of college ahead. As a radio production director, the challenge is to write snappy, peppy ad copy to keep the paying clients happy. “If you’re in the market for ad copy”—avoid anyone who ever uses that sentence as an opening line. Likewise, any commercial that begins with a question—when the answer is “no,” you’re wasting the next 57 seconds. My goal was to come up with copy that was creative and, in its finished version, fun to hear.
My first novel, Taken Identity, took three years to complete, begun during stolen lunch hour moments at one job, and continued after I had shifted jobs to Boston from Portland, Maine. The two-hour, one-way nightly drive provided plenty of time to run through plot and character developments. Completed in 1998, I hastily printed a copy and mailed it to the Library of Congress to make sure that my story was, and would be, my story.
The next step was the pitch to a literary agent. Even though I thought the story was okay, I was floored when, on my first try, that assessment was agreed to by a regional literary agent of some renown. The agent’s list of clients and successes was most impressive, and the agent did not ask for a penny of my money. If the novel’s pitch to a publisher was successful, there would be time enough to sort out the money issues.
After eight years of a nibble of interest here and there, and even an “almost deal” for the movie rights for my second novel (a sequel to the first), it was time to move on. Most other agents I attempted to contact along the way were swamped or overbooked with fiction writers and not accepting new clients.
My experience with AuthorHouse rep Rich VanLue has been extremely cordial from the moment I first heard from him by way of a direct-mail piece in 1999. To Rich’s credit, he was extremely patient—there was never, ever a “hard-sell” moment. At least once a year, I would touch base with him to see what my options were and, most importantly, what the financial outlay would involve. A growing family with bills to pay does not a pile of disposable income make.
This spring, I finally gave in to my desire to see this project through. As always, Rich was patient, understanding and knowledgeable. Even with our eight-year “relationship” at work, I still did homework. I checked into a number of self-publishing outlets. Some had prices that were far more affordable, but the level of knowledge of their own product was red-flag-raising lacking. Others had the spit-and-polish image, but were far too often comparing themselves to AuthorHouse.
Once I convinced myself it was time to move forward, the process seemed at times eternally lagging, others moving at light speed. For those considering self-publishing, in lieu of a professional editing service such as that offered by AuthorHouse, simply change the font of the manuscript—size, style, layout. All of those years of what I had considered painstaking review showed a bevy of OMG-How-did-I-miss-THAT? errors when I viewed my first galley. The layout of the manuscript, when placed into a galley form showing an actual “book-looking” product, is an extremely exciting moment, especially for this first-time author, but forced me to once again comb for mistakes.
The design and layout process went extremely smooth. I had a cover in mind from day one of my writing Taken Identity. With help from my daughter’s boyfriend, we created the cover photo/graphic. The items to be included on the book’s cover and dust-jacket were fine-tuned thanks to the help of Teri Watkins, Bob DeGroff and his design team. The melding of the original graphics with some add-ons by AuthorHouse at least makes for an eye-catching presentation. In the end, I have a finished product that looks like a book, feels like a book and even (how’d I do that?) reads like a book.
I would, and already have, recommend AuthorHouse to any author looking to see his or her desire through to fruition. One friend has completed and published a children’s book. Another is a cousin who has been painfully dealing with the same issues that face me: growing family and expenses, but a project in which he truly believes. Granted, money is not the total end result of self-publishing—it’s most definitely a plus, however. The emotion of writing a compelling, thought-provoking (one hopes) story is a unique thing. To see that labor of love (and fun) in a finished form, and to know that others (even if not a great many) are enjoying it, too, is almost beyond description. However—in Maine, as they say—that feeling could be best described as “wicked good.”
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