The Perks and Perils of Self-Publishing

Author Olivia Rodan Jacobs returns as a guest blogger to share her publishing experience with Outskirts Press.  Welcome back Olivia!

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The Perks and Perils of Self-Publishing

The manuscript was complete. It was time to think about publishing, but there were challenges. My first draft had been a simple mystery. The finished product brought up controversy. I’d added factual information that gave the thriller depth and intensity, but the page count had burgeoned. The book wasn’t sexy enough for some publishers but might be considered harsh by others. And I was a first-time author.
What should I do? I would never self-publish. Pay all that money, and then what? Give a few books to friends and let the rest sit in a box in my garage? (I’d heard such tales.)
A neighbor urged me to look into Amazon’s connection with self-publishing. I ordered SELL YOUR BOOK on Amazon, by Brent Sampson. I researched self-publishers and was impressed by the POD or print-on-demand approach.
One company stood out in my research, both for professionalism and fair pricing. So I entered a relationship with Outskirts Press (www.outskirtspress.com) and submitted my manuscript to Outskirts’ review committee. A positive response included the comment, “Reads like a movie.” I was pleased. It also stated, “Needs cutting.” Hmm, maybe 480 pages was too long.
The process of revising included shifting the order of some sections. Then I proofread, spell-checked, proofread again. Outskirts offers editing services, but I was watching my pennies.
The galley stage is a “last chance” to catch errors previously missed. I saw a few typos and entered them in the edit sheet. Outskirts also offers a proof-book, as more errors might be more caught in that form. Again watching my pennies, I declined. The first five books were sent to me as a publisher courtesy. You guessed it—I immediately spotted more typos. Then my daughter suggested I add a simple map. More changes. More charges. My own fault.
The book was ready. Outskirts Press sent out press releases. And then a friend suggested a change in the appearance of the title—putting Jerusalem 3000 in italics and THE POISONER’S AGENDA in all caps to better reflect the content of the book. It was a good suggestion. Outskirts helped me make the change. Throughout the whole process, both the copy and image editors at Outskirts displayed a professionalism, patience and courtesy that was impressive.
I was a published author! But since information had been released before I decided on a cover change, the wrong image showed up on some catalog pages, and since the book was already published, these corrections became my responsibility. (I’m still working on this!)
The perks of self-publishing? No one told me what to write. I worked with fantastic professionals at Outskirts Press. The book came to print in a matter of weeks, not years. But the perils? I made mistakes. I added improvements late. Don’t let your own “rush to print” pressure you. Your book will hit the market.
Ah, but that’s the next question, how to market it? Outskirts offers a lot of help in marketing, emailing many tips. I’m also gleaning a lot from Vonnie at Ink Slinger's Whimsey. What an adventure!

Olivia Rodan Jacobs, author of Jerusalem 3000, THE POISONER’S AGENDA
www.thepoisonersagenda.com Reviews on www.writersinthesky.com and www.amazon.com.

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How a Book Was Born

I would like to welcome guest blogger Olivia Rodan Jacobs, author of  Jerusalem 3000, THE POISONER’S AGENDA.

 How a Book Was Born

It started out innocently enough. When the dinner dishes were done, my children were busy with homework, and I had finished correcting the day’s pile of English essays from my high school students, I picked up a steno pad and amused myself for half an hour by writing a story, an adventure story, a mystery—really a mystery because I had no idea where the story was going.

I guess I broke all the rules of writing. I had no outline, no list of characters, and no resolution in mind. I just curled up on the sofa and scribbled, imagining scenes in my mind, remembering settings in vivid detail from my own tramping about in Israel. The characters became composites of people I had known. It was fun.

After a few months the characters sorted themselves into heroes or villains. The plot seemed to write its own denouement. It was time to type up my scribbles. Why hadn’t I used the computer to write what somehow evolved into a manuscript of more than two hundred pages? When I began, I hadn’t envisioned a book being born. I was simply unwinding after a day’s work.

Eventually I completed the typing and went to the library for a book about agents. I sent out a few queries. To my surprise I received several requests to see the manuscript. More than one response was positive. I chose a well-reputed agent and sat back to let him do the work.

He did, and several editors asked to see the manuscript. Then the replies started arriving. “Great story, but it is not quite right for our publishing house at this time.” That was the gist of it, over and over again, polite rejections. I put the manuscript in a drawer and forgot about it.

A few years went by. Then I felt compelled to take the manuscript out again. This time I actually did have a vision. I wanted to write about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of Jerusalem. I wanted to reach readers not particularly interested in political blogs. I wanted to turn the story into a mystery thriller with soul.

I took the basic plot of my original draft and gave it depth and passion by adding factual background material. My characters blossomed. To strengthen credibility for motivation, I added flashbacks to the plot. The book gained intensity greater than that of a simple mystery.

The initial writing was a lark. Turning the story into a thriller with the dual purpose of entertaining and embodying truth was plain hard work. Nevertheless, the whole process was almost self-propelled, and every moment was full of the excitement of creation.

By Olivia Rodan Jacobs, author of Jerusalem 3000, THE POISONER’S AGENDA
Publisher: www.outskirtspress.com
Author’s website: www.thepoisonersagenda.com.
Review on www.writersinthesky.com. More reviews on www.amazon.com.

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Inside Murder: An Interview with Author Olivia Rodan Jacobs About The Poisoner's Agenda

WITS host Vonnie Faroqui and author Olivia Rodan Jacobs talk in depth about writing of Jacobs's novel, The Poisoner's Agenda.


From the Author:

I am not now nor have I ever been a spy! But it's fun to write a who-done-it, a thriller. Why set the story in Israel? What an exciting place! Besides, I've studied, visited, and "bummed around" Israel enough that I could picture all the places I wrote about. But how could I (not a spy!) write a mystery involving espionage? Well, my cousin was a real life spy, and then there's all those international intrigue mysteries I've read... To be candid, the "story" of THE POISONER'S AGENDA sprang full-blown from a careening imagination.






Click Play to Listen . . .

http://www.thepoisonersagenda.com/

The Poisoner's Agenda: A Review

Book Title: The Poisoner’s Agenda: Jerusalem 3,000
Author: Olivia Rodan Jacobs
ISBN: 978-1432759117
Publisher: Outskirts Press (August 16, 2010)
Link to purchase
Reviewer: Vonnie Faroqui for WITS


The Poisoner's Agenda, written under the name Olivia Rodan Jacobs, is an exciting tale of murder and espionage. The story is set in 1996, during the year marking Israel's 3,000 year claim on Jerusalem as the center of Jewish religious and political life. The author uses the contention and the heated religious and political differences of the time to creative advantage, treating the political and religious tumult of the Middle East with care and a measure of generosity.

Jacobs draws extensively from her own experiences of living and working in Israel to cultivate her plot. Characters feel well placed within the story, coming alive in a world that is deeply textured and realistic. All the characters including the terrorist have been given interesting and well thought out back-stories that drive their choices in a realistic manner, true to individual culture, heritage, and religious affiliation. The political and personal motives of the terrorist are woven into the story, as are those of the other main characters. Although I did not find the poisoner's character to be a sympathetic one, I did find his back story illuminating and was able to empathize with his personal story in a way that made me appreciate the book on a level I had not anticipated.

I found much in this book surprising. As a historical fiction the book is educational and relevant. As a murder mystery the focus for the reader is not on discovering who the murderer is, but on discovering the how and why, with clues dispersed throughout for reader speculation and gratification. The Poisoner's Agenda is the most effective as an espionage thriller, being quite exciting.

While I was reading I was surprised by the volume of information and historical content relayed. There was much concerning the Middle East conflict which I was previously unaware of. I found myself checking information and historical references. The author seems to have researched the historical data well.

I found The Poisoner's Agenda to be fascinating on many levels . It is wonderful book, especially for those who enjoy spy stories or who are interested in the Middle East from a historical perspective.