Our authors often share their experiences of publishing their first book with Outskirts Press. Below we share the experiences of publishing two different books, directly from the mouths of the authors, word-for-word and untouched by us. Perhaps their experiences will speak to you as they did to us.

THE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW RULES by Sally Shields

“I cannot believe how I lucked out with Outskirts Press. I always knew I wanted to write a book, but it didn't seem feasible from all of the stories I'd heard about how impossible it was to get a book published.

So, when I decided to try anyway, I went the traditional route, and over the course of a year, contacted over 100 literary agents. I was lucky enough to get signed, and thought that my dreams had come true. However, that didn't turn out to be the case! As the process evolved, I realized how hard it was, to even start the process. The agency wanted a book proposal (which is even harder than writing a book itself and often has even more pages than your book!).

Then, they wanted me to have a "platform" which is a website, but when I found out how expensive it was to build one, I was dejected. Then, I slowly realized that even if I was lucky enough to get a publishing deal, it would require signing over my rights, allowing the agency and the publisher to decide on my book cover, interior layout, formatting, pricing, release dates which could take years! I was jumping through hoops, all to find out that 15 out of 15 publishers had rejected my book.

In fact, I made friends with an author in my genre that was lucky enough to be signed to a rather well-known traditional publishing house. She had to sign over her rights, got a $3,000 advance, and that was the last she ever heard of it.

Then, I walked into a Barnes and Noble, and just for fun asked if they ever carried self-published books. The person directed me to their website, where I found an offer for a free self-publishing guide from Outskirts Press. Little did I know that I had just walked into a gold-mine, won the lottery, so to speak, the very first time I bought a ticket! I was SO lucky!!!

Within 16 weeks, I had the book of my dreams!!! My book looks EXACTLY the way I want it. It is my vision, my heart and soul, and I was involved every step of the way. The cover designer took my ideas and created something more beautiful than I could have imagined. Then, I was able to do my own interior formatting - something I never thought was possible. It is an accomplishment I can be so proud of. And I can make great money!

I couldn't believe the amount I can earn per book sold! Now I am even MORE motivated to go out and become a million dollar author!

I have a real product that is mine, I own it 100%, I can go and do special sales, I can follow my dreams. Outskirts Press, thank you for making it possible to make my dreams come true! I can't wait to start promoting my book, and THANK YOU for all of the marketing advice that I get on an almost daily basis.

Outskirts Press is heaven on earth, when it comes to publishing!!! Tell everyone you know who has the dream of writing a book that not only is it possible, it is easy and fun and invigorating and life-changing.

Outskirts Press is an ABSOLUTE DREAM!” - Sally Shields

LOST PALLIES by Susan Norgren and Harriette Schwartz

“It all began when author and psychic/medium Susan Norgren and life-long writer Harriette Schwartz met via the internet this past summer. They decided to write a book to show the world that belief in the afterlife is a valid one.

LOST PALLIES was written in its entirety via email and telephone. These ladies only met face-to-face once. Susan and Harriette knew they didn’t want to wait years to get the word out that “The Afterlife has found it voice and now it won’t stop talking!” They had a message to deliver from the other side and time was of the essence.

Doing their research, they discovered that self-publishing would be the quickest and easiest way to get LOST PALLIES to the public. Further research pointed them in the direction of Outskirts Press. When they discovered Outskirts Press, both simply devoured the website because of its easy navigation, which they quickly memorized. Susan soon discovered that not only was Outskirts Press located in the United States but also, when she called the company, a real person answered!

Outskirts Press offered so many free extras such as a web page, e-book edition, press release distribution, an audio excerpt, and best of all an ongoing marketing COACH to help these authors sell their book. September of 2007 was a momentous month for these two women authors. Once the “Start Publishing Today” button was pressed on the Outskirts Press website, they were off and running.

Susan and Harriette’s author representative, Bridget Horstmann, made the process of publishing LOST PALLIES easy and painless. In fact, it was made so easy that even these two first time self-publishers, who knew nothing about the process, were able to stay calm, cool and collected during the entire operation. Bridget was always at the ready to answer any and all of their questions.

On November 20th, publishing on LOST PALLIES was complete. Their book, which had been written in the confines of email and phone conversation, was now a reality. When the coauthors discovered their book on Amazon.com and Borders.com, they were ecstatic. Doing the happy dance and a Google search, they discovered that other companies like Target.com were advertising their book for sale as well. Even the press release, which was free with the Outskirts Diamond Package, was there on the internet for everyone to see.

Writing and publishing a beautiful book takes teamwork. The united work of the authors gave the contents of LOST PALLIES its beauty. Outskirts Press was definitely the key to making the process of doing so seamless. The high quality of Outskirts input and the author’s devotion to producing something great make LOST PALLIES a gem, which will be around for generations to come. This book will withstand the passage of time. The phenomenal and dependable teamwork of Outskirts Press in visualizing the author’s hopes and dreams for their work was second to none. Ms. Norgren and Ms. Schwartz are indebted to their publisher for helping them reach their goal.

Harriette saw their baby first. She excitedly opened the box with trembling fingers that just wouldn’t seem to work right. There just is nothing at all like seeing the fruits of your labor in front of your eyes and her joy new no bounds. Susan, who was traveling hadn’t seen her copies yet. They were waiting for her at her daughter’s house. The phone began to ring for both authors. Family and friends who had purchased copies were calling with praise for the quality and the beauty of LOST PALLIES. Susan could barely wait a moment longer. Finally, a few days later she held her dream come true in her hands. As tears rolled down her face, she beheld LOST PALLIES, lying there in her lap. She now saw their book with her own eyes and Susan agreed this was indeed a beautiful work of art.

Thank you Outskirts Press for creating a dream come true for Susan Norgren and Harriette Schwartz. We could not be happier with our self-publishing choice.” - Susan Norgren

 

Join these and thousands of other satisfied and excited authors.
Start publishing today.