I found out this afternoon that the Barnes and Noble Book edition is now available for purchase at $4.99 for all you Nook fans. You can find it at www.barnesandnoble.com
Enjoy!
Category: Tales From The Dry Side (Page 2 of 3)
Well, it would appear that Amazon is really on the ball these days because Tales From the Dry Side: The Personal Stories Behind the Autoimmune Illness Sjögren’s Syndrome is already available for purchase from their website; both in paperback and Kindle formats. There is a link on this blog page, in the right hand column, that will take you directly to the book’s Amazon purchase page. I cannot even tell you how long it took me to figure out how to get that widget on my blog….or even figure out that a widget was what I needed!
The paperback version and an eBook are also available directly from the publisher at www.outskirtspress.com.
The Barnes and Noble Nook account is still in the process of being verified, but I will put out a notice when that is set up for all you Nook fans!
The Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation has been in contact with me and their plan is to launch the book from their organization, via their book store and newsletter, sometime in February/March, which will be right before their Annual National Patient Conference in April. I will be attending that conference in Chicago in order to do a book signing during the event.
I have had a lot of help today with publicity and marketing from many of my fellow book contributors so a big thanks to them and to my family/friends who have been helping to spread the word. It has been quite an exciting day around here!
I got an e-mail today confirming that Tales From the Dry Side was officially published. Very exciting news!! It has been almost exactly two years since I first got this project underway and I have to say, this is a great day. So much work on the part of so many people: my story contributors, my family and friends, my Kickstarter contributors, and my community. I owe you ALL a debt of gratitude.
There will be some lag time until the general public can actually get their hands on the book. The publisher is mailing me a hard copy for my review so I can make sure they did not make any mistakes when it went to press. Once I review it, I will order all of the Kickstarter books and get them in the mail ASAP.
What happens is that is takes the wholesale distributor (Ingram) about two weeks from today to get the book listed with the retailers (i.e. Amazon) and then the retailers will need some time to get the book listed on their sites. You will be able to purchase the book through a variety of retailers either in hard copy or eBook format. The regular copy is $15.95 and will be available through the Outskirts Press bookstore, Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble.com. All three retailers will also provide the eBook format for $4.99 (Amazon and Barnes and Noble) and $5.00 (Outskirts Press). I will be honest: the commission I receive on the eBook is much less via Outskirts Press. I am looking to use my initial royalties to pay stipends to my story contributors, so it does matter. Most importantly, after I receive and review the hard copy, The Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation (SSF) will be ordering and carrying the book in their bookstore. If you are a member of the SSF, PLEASE purchase it through them as it will be offered at a discounted rate to you and the SSF will profit from the sale. Money for Sjögren’s research equals a win for all of us.
I will be following up with the marketing representative from Outskirts Press regarding the book going into traditional brick and mortar bookstores such as Barnes and Noble. Since I am new to the book publishing business, this is definitely a learning curve for me. The amount of information I received just today has been overwhelming, so one step at a time. The book has been priced and trade discounted to allow for maximum exposure in traditional bookstores.
I will be posting updates on this blog page regarding the book and frequent updates on the blog’s Facebook page which you can find by typing in Thoughts and Ramblings on Life, Love, and Health into the Facebook search box at the top of the page.
Thank you all once again for your support!
I got a very exciting e-mail this week from my publisher. It was notification that my galley proofs for Tales From the Dry Side: The Personal Stories Behind the Autoimmune Illness Sjögren’s Syndrome were ready for my review. This is a big step in the publishing process for me. Galley proofs are basically the actual book digitally presented for me to review; the cover, the interior, all of it.
It’s a scary process editing these galley proofs because if there are any mistakes, the full responsibility is mine. I have to say, as a perfectionist, that is much more responsibility than I want. On the other hand, one of the things I have enjoyed so much about the self-publishing process has been the opportunity to create a book that is completely and uniquely mine. With that, comes great responsibility. However, I can only do my best and in my heart, I know I have given this process everything I have. The final product, with any imperfections, will be enough. Just as I have been enough.
My goal during this entire publishing process has been to have this book, my very first book, available to customers in time for Christmas. Of course I only have so much control over that, but yesterday was my opportunity to speed up that process. So in between having some work done on my car, doing a hospice volunteer visit, taking care of a sick dog, and choir rehearsal, I worked fervently on reviewing the galley proofs. And this means rereading and editing the entire manuscript…for like the zillionth time. That may be an exaggeration, but I have read this thing more times than I can count. And last night, at 8:30pm when I was exhausted, cranky, and ready to throw my computer out the window because I would rather be concentrating on watching Grey’s Anatomy, I realized just how sick and tired I was of this whole book writing/publishing thing.
That was, until I got to Laura Jeanne’s chapter….again.
It is still surprising to me that every single time I have to review this manuscript, some part of one of my contributor’s stories moves me to tears.
Last night was no exception.
Laura Jeanne’s story is an amazing testament to the strength of the human spirit. This woman, like many of us, has gone through such hell in her Sjögren’s journey. Yet, her faith in God remains steadfast and certain. She still wakes up every morning putting one foot in front of the other. She counts her blessings and while several times has become close to just giving up on life entirely, she finds some hope and continues on her journey.
Rereading Laura Jeanne’s story last night reminded me of why, for two plus years, I have continued with pursuing this dream of mine to publish a book of personal Sjögren’s stories: to inspire, bring hope, and remind people to put one foot in front of the other. To remind them that it is possible to survive, and sometimes even to thrive.
Thank you Laura Jeanne, and thank you too all of my amazing story contributors. We are just one more step away from actual publication and one more step away from bringing these stories out into the world. There is no doubt in my mind that these stories will help countless Sjögren’s patients. These stories will make a difference. They will educate and bring awareness to the medical community. They will bring hope and comfort to the four million people diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome.
The Tales From the Dry Side stories will….
Encourage.
Inspire.
Change the world in a small way.
Thank you.
As many of you may remember, I did a Kickstarter funding campaign this past summer in order to raise money to self-publish my first book, Tales From the Dry Side: The Personal Stories Behind the Autoimmune Illness Sjögren’s Syndrome. The campaign was an astounding success and I exceeded my fundraising goal of $7000 by raising $7305.
The campaign was based on a rewards program, which provided an incentive based on the dollar amount donated. One of the incentives was that the contributor’s name would appear in a special blog entry on Thoughts and Ramblings. This is it!
I feel like I don’t have adequate words to describe the gratitude I feel towards my Kickstarter contributors. All of them believed enough in this project, and in me, to donate their hard earned money towards my dream of publishing a book that talks about what it is like to live with this challenging illness. Sometimes I lie awake at night, right before I drift off to sleep, thinking about how many people this book will help.
Tales From the Dry Side is currently in the process of being published. The interior has been designed, I have approved the final copy of the front and back covers (it looks incredible!), and the final draft of the manuscript has been edited and reviewed. I am anticipating that the final product will be available before Christmas and hopefully, even by Thanksgiving.
So without further ado, and with humble thanks, the following people donated $100 or more to the Kickstarter campaign:
Lucy Bender
William Bowers and Alisande Watterson
Nancy Crabbe
Michael and Lauren Donati
Trish Duffy and Ed Jazab
Tina Forrister
Annika Johansson
Paul and Beth Kheboian
Martha LaCroix
Joe Leonczyk
Carla Meredith
Dennis and Jeanne Molloy
Dennis Molloy, Jr.
Paul and Jean Rouillard
Dr. John Savoia, D.D.S.
Heidi Syndergaard
Jeffry and Jackie Traw
Gladys Vargas
Drew Wendelken
Steven and Karen Wilmes
Suzanne Boisvert-Wood
Carol Wood
Jessica L. Zaydak
Christine
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