Self-publishing is the way to go for many aspiring authors

By Keith Frederick
The Altoona Mirror

Debbie Devlin Zook of Martinsburg poses at Mamie’s Cafe & Bakery in Martinsburg with a copy of "Magee: The Witherspoon Healers Trilogy, Book 1," the book she wrote with her sister, Mary Devlin Lynch of New York City. Also shown are cover proofs for the next two novels in the series.Bottom of Form 2

Sisters Debbie Devlin Zook and Mary Devlin Lynch began writing by themselves, merely because they enjoyed doing it. But eventually they decided that their pastime might be something more.

"(Writing) is something we've both done for years (as part of their jobs), but we really just kind of got together one day and said 'Gee, we should do this together,'" Zook said.

So the Bellefonte natives - Zook, 61, of Martinsburg and Lynch, 58, of New York City - took a book that Lynch had begun years before but never finished. Together, they reworked it as the first part of a proposed trilogy: "Magee: The Witherspoon Healers Trilogy, Book 1."

The story, which Zook says is a combination of mystery and romance, follows three cousins from a central Pennsylvania town who inherit healing abilities that run in their family. Each book of the trilogy follows one of the cousins, beginning with Magee.

"I'd guess we've been at this for maybe three years now," Zook said during an interview at Mamie's Cafe & Bakery in Martinsburg. "We'd work on the chapters and send them back and forth - that's the miracle of e-mail.

"Even though we only see each other a couple of times a year, the e-mail has made it possible to be (checking in) almost daily and sending files back and forth," she said.

Before their book was finished in October, the sisters decided to choose a publisher. They quickly found that first-time authors have a hard time attracting the attention of national publishers.

"The publishers won't talk to you if you don't have an agent, and the agents won't talk to you unless you've been published. It's a catch-22," Zook said. So they decided that self-publishing was the way to go.

Self-publishing is an increasingly popular way for authors to get their work to an audience without support, or perhaps interference, from a publishing house.

According to one of the largest self-publishing companies, Author Solutions Inc., self-publishing is an alternative to the traditional book publishing and marketing system. Author Solutions, based in Bloomington, Ind., is the parent company of six self-publishing imprints in the United States and the United Kingdom and produces approximately 24,000 books a year.

"We can take that manuscript out of your drawer and get it out and printed in 60 to 90 days," Keith Ogorek, vice president of marketing for Author Solutions, said. "Let's say you have an idea for a manuscript. You would contact one of our brands, and you'd be put in touch with one of our publishing consultants."

Author Solutions offers what is known as "supported self-publishing." Once you have a book finished, they help edit, design, market and promote the book on such Web sites as amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Not everyone, however, needs all the services offered, Ogorek said.

"It may be as simple as getting your book designed and printed and put onto Amazon.com," he said.

Author Solutions' imprints are Print-On-Demand companies, which means they will only print a copy of an author's book once it has been ordered. Such supported self-publishing programs charge a fee for each service and take a percentage of the profits once a book is sold.

"In most cases, our royalties are 10 to 20 percent, but those are books that are sold through channels, like online or through bookstores," Ogorek said. "If you have some books that you want to resell yourself, you can order books at significant discounts and sell them at your own profit."

Such fees can raise self-publishing costs to levels that some aspiring authors find far too expensive, however.

"My sister, Mary, did a lot of the research," Zook said. "She looked up several of the self-publishing companies, then she read reviews of the writers and first-time authors about their experiences with various companies."

Finding that "the fees are exorbitant" and that some companies might take advantage of a first-time author, Zook and Lynch decided to go with a smaller company called 48 Hr Books. The company leaves all of the composition work to the authors - including editing, design and formatting - and prints the book from a completed PDF file. Then the authors need only to authorize a test copy and order however many books they want. The printing was the only fee from 48 Hr Books.

The only professional help Zook and Lynch sought was from a professional copy editor and published author Sharon K. Garner of James Creek, Pa.

"I read some of her books, (because) I actually worked with her cousin for a while," Zook said. "She was having a book signing over in the Raystown area. I went in and said 'I have four of your books. Can you sign them?' We sat down and talked and she was excited about what we were working on."

After finishing "Magee," the sisters sent Garner their manuscript. Zook says her sister was in town to visit when Garner responded with a short message: "Wow. I can't put it down. You guys are great."

"She gave us the empowerment to go ahead with this," Zook said. "We wouldn't have had that if Sharon hadn't reinforced it."

With a finished book, it's up to the author how to determine success, Ogorek said.

"Success is defined a number of different ways by our authors," he said. "Some people are publishing because they want to support a business. Some people are published because they are tired of getting rejection letters."

The former Devlin sisters have no illusions about wild success coming from their book. They're happy with even the smallest victories and are putting the finishing touches on their second book, "Melissa." Lynch has already begun writing for a second series of books.

"This is a hobby," Zook said. "We're not going to get rich; we just enjoy doing it. When somebody reads it and then calls you up or sends you a note that says, 'I loved it! Couldn't put it down!' that's what it's all about."