From my perspective—over 50 years of living with the writer-within—I’ve come to greatly appreciate the freedom that self-publishing offers. When ideas, plots, characters and scenarios flow so quickly, there are literally flying pages circling around you. That is the time to slow down and find a home for at least one of your favorite pieces; the time to develop a relationship with a publisher or self-publishing press; the time for readers to have access to your best work.
The majority of writers I know seem to possess an extra DNA molecule, a dominant genetic inclination to create volumes of pages that literally bleed their ideas onto paper. Yet only a few—within this circle of friends—are published. Instead, most have a large file of politely phrased reject letters. For some, this file has created a trapdoor in their minds; when they fall into it, they wonder what—if anything—will ever happen to all those masterpieces.
Enter the self-publishing press—stage right. Gone is the stigma of self-publishing. A new pride now comes to the authors who take that step and release their books to the readers of the world. The doors are now wide open to every author in every field of writing. And, other creative industries are watching, especially agents looking for the next Stephen King, Ted Dekker, Dan Brown or Debbie Macomber.
Sometimes when I talk with writers I hear a slow release of energy as they express their doubt that their particular project(s) will ever be published. Then we leave the topic of publishing behind for a while and share the stories: the stories of their writing lives, the development of their manuscripts and the heart behind the imaginings that push them to write the stories. Once a writer realizes that their works are meant to be published, the progress to reach that goal becomes much easier.
Personally, I enjoy working with new authors or writers whose lives took a turn and they are just returning to their projects—writers who present me with artistically written materials in the genres of children’s books, young adult fiction, historical fiction, science fiction and especially Christian fiction and nonfiction.
Have I ever had to respectfully decline a project? Only twice. The gift of writing does not come to everyone in spite of the old saying that “every living soul has a great book manuscript in their desk drawer.” The words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, pages, must flow and offer the reader either excellent information or a moment of vision into another perspective, another life, another world. What a gift to the ghostwriter who can be part of that!
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ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward. |
Self Publishing Advisor 