As many of you know, I have been working on a book called Tales From The Dry Side: The Personal Stories Behind The Autoimmune Illness Sjögren’s Syndrome. The project started in December 2011 because as I was networking and meeting other Sjögren’s patients, it became strikingly clear to me that there was a need for our stories to be told. There were so many similarities in our stories, especially in regards to how long it took most of us to be diagnosed. Some of us still do not have a “formal” diagnosis.
I went through a process of seeking out Sjögren’s patients via in person support groups, a list serve system, through my blog, and via Facebook. Including myself, there are thirteen of us who have contributed to this book. The stories are amazing and compelling. I spent the better part of a year coming up with a structure for the book and editing the contributor’s stories. Keep in mind, every single one of these contributors has an extensive autoimmune illness, sometimes more than one illness, and yet they spent countless hours writing these stories for this book.
Steven Taylor, CEO of The Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation (SSF) has written the foreword to the book and has agreed to support the book by promoting it via the SSF on their website and at conferences. His agreement to do this will be instrumental in getting this book into the hands of the people who need it most; not just patients, but caregivers and medical professionals as well.
The book is complete and has been for some time. Since October 2012 I have been sending letters and contacting literary agents to represent the book. I have attended a writing conference and met in person with a literary agent. After contacting well over twenty-five agents, I have gotten nowhere. I know this is common in the traditional publishing world however as a Sjögren’s patient with my own limited physical resources, this has been difficult. Also, I feel strongly that this book MUST get into the hands of those who need it ASAP and the traditional publishing process is not conducive to that.
I have made a decision to self publish the book. I have spent countless hours researching the process and different companies. I have poured over self published books to see what I want Tales From The Dry Side to look like. I have made a decision to self publish with Outskirts Press as they produce a quality product and have an excellent reputation in the publishing world. I will be honest, the process seems daunting to me but as you all know, I am highly motivated and this project will succeed.
Self publishing costs money upfront. How much money depends on the quality of product you want and on the services you require. I have a husband who works but I bring in a disability income and my medical expenses are a bit ridiculous. Therefore I am looking for funding to self publish the book.
I have decided to do this through a funding platform called Kickstarter.com. It is a for profit company that is designed to help people finance a variety of creative projects, including books. You can learn more about them by clicking the link above. I am in the process of setting up the project on their website and it is almost done. I also had to set up a business account through Amazon in order to obtain the funds and it will be a few more days until that process is complete. I have learned a lot in the past month!
Kickstarter is not just a site where I ask for money to fund the book. It is a lot of work on my part. There are reward incentives that I offer based on the donation level. Rewards vary from a free copy of the book to my services as a speaker at your event. It makes the process of fundraising interesting and rewarding…literally!
I am looking to raise $7000. OK, listen up because this is important!
I have to raise the entire $7000 in about 30 days or I get NOTHING…NADA…ZILCH!
If I raise $6,950, no book! This is part of Kickstarter’s policy and I have no control over it. They have found that projects are more successful with this condition. Personally, it scares the crap out of me! The Kickstarter page for the book should be up within a week and I will be posting the link everywhere so that people can read more about the book and the funding.
So this is what I am asking for, besides money. I am asking that you share this blog post with anyone and everyone. I am also asking that you be on the look out for the Kickstarter link when I post it and then share THAT with everyone you know. Getting the word out about this will be critical to the success of funding the project. It is especially important that those of you who have a Sjögren’s or autoimmune related blog and/or website share this information. If I raise the $7000, the book will be published…period.
Thank you all again for your continued support.
Much love!
Leave a Reply