Book Wisdom #1
"A good book deserves a publisher."
"So you're starting a publishing company," the copywriter/marketing guy friend emailed me. It seemed obvious to him, I was simply toying with the idea "I'm publishing a book."But the seed was planted.
And so one thing led to another. The seed took root in my mind while walking along the Scheldt, in the shower, in front of the red light,.... It became clear to me that I had to take my own book seriously. With a book that is worthwhile comes a publisher.
Rhubarb Crumble
Selling an idea for a book to a publisher is no easy task. Publishers play it safe. If you bake multicolored pies on TV, sing schlagers or are a chill, young DJ, they'll line up. But the two publishers I contacted did not respond. However, I do have an extremely delicious rhubarb crumble in my culinary repertoire. Just ask my housemates.
So between 2019 and 2022, my first two ideas for a book died a quiet death. Until a new topic presented itself in 2023. Then I thought: it's now or never. But what were my options?
option 1: knock on the door of a publisher again.
I became irritated just thinking about having to pitch an idea again. Because didn't I want to write a book just to avoid having to pitch a proposal, something I had been doing for twenty years in the communications sector?
This seemed like a heavy form of self-flagellation.
option 2 : become famous
Perfecting myself at baking cakes and signing up for a TV show and making it into the top 3.
This seemed like a heavy waste of time and a big detour.
option 3 : Publish the book yourself
Do it yourself. Decide for yourself. Making your own choices. Pumping money into it myself.
This seemed like a heavy drain on my bank account.
Today's youth
"If you don't know what to do, just write the pros and cons on a sheet with two columns," my oldest daughter said. "One column with the minuses and one column with the pluses. Then you can see right away what to do." Who still dares claim that today's youth do not think?
Thus it happened: as a compliant parent, I did as youth dictated and made a two-column magazine and penned down why I should take a third chance with a publisher or why I had better take matters into my own hands.
Conclusion:
àIf (note the emphasis!) the publisher publishes your book, they bear all the costs, but the chances of you earning anything from it are slim. And you have nothing to say about it. More than that, you lose all rights well beyond eternity.
if you spend yourself, it's your own project, but you have to do everything yourself and finance it yourself and so you can rip your pants off massively.
Youthful hubris
I chose the right-hand column, perhaps the most unwise choice. But the most fun. I think.
"So she's doing it without a publisher," I hear you thinking. Sort of. But a good book deserves a publisher. So I created one myself. Also, the person who made my first graphic novel entered that arena by putting a name on the cover. I changed it, of course. But I am always grateful to my male sounding boards for their youthful hubris and the inspiration provided.
That's how publishing house Be More Dog came into being. And I created my own website for Be More Dog - the publisher with 1 book. How it goes from there, time will tell.
