Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sohair Abdel-Rahman on December 7, 2008 at 10:10pm

I started writing poetry recently, for the last 2y.I started emailing my poems to colleauges in my hospital.They loved it,some ignored it,some asked me not to bother them because they do delete it.If I like to cretisize anything at work,it is with a poem.Soft drink machines on children hospital door steps were fought with poems,till it was changed with one sell water,juice and some soft drink,still milk has to be added.
Prepared my first book,went looking for publishers.I do not write classic poetry which is famous in Arabia.The publishers will count how many pages,ask what type of paper I want,how many copies and then give me the price I have to pay.
I published my first book ( has to be read carefully in certain governmental department before approved, page by page,then taken to the National Library to have a number,keeping copy right)
I sold 1500 copies out of 2000 copies in hospitals,money given to primary care center in the south to buy strips for diabetic children.I trust those who were handed the money,7000 Sr.
Second book,accepted by very reputable publishing firm,but I have to pay of course.They gave me 15 copies only but distributed it everywhere and they take their publications to book fairs.
I was happy to receive a call while in Egypt,they loved my third book.I got the official approval for 8 books.

Permalink Reply by Marps on June 16, 2009 at 6:14am

wow! congratulations!

It's been a few months since you've posted this, how are you doing?

Permalink Reply by Sohair Abdel-Rahman on June 16, 2009 at 11:38am

Maples,
Welcome to the silent group.Love to know about steps you took to publish your books in USA.
For me I just write like mad.I have 10 books approved by authority for publication.
My third book is ready for publication soon.
We have group:Poetry club,and Nostalgia here.Have a look and post your poems there..

Permalink Reply by Marps on June 26, 2009 at 10:55am

Well, I wrote a bunch of books throughout my teenage years, then spent some time editting them in my early twenties. Then, I spent two years submitting "query" letters to publishing companies, agents, etc to see if they would accept a copy of my manuscript for review. I would spend hours and hours looking up companies and agents who represented my genre of writing, then I would send out about thirty letters at once to 30 publishing houses... sometimes 30 per day, sometimes 30 per week. I have many many rejection letters from companies who said they just "didn't have the time" to accept a new author and new manuscript.

Well, after two years submitting letters, I finally got an acceptance. I promptly mailed out my full manuscript, along with a summary page and an objectives page to the company, and they accepted my book within a few weeks! That was in 2005. It was four years of work poured into that one moment with my acceptance letter.

Then, I did the same with the next book, trying to find a new publishing house to promote my books. It took one year to find another publishing house. I was published again in 2008.

I stayed with the second publishing house for my third book, which also published in 2008.

i am currently writing my fourth book and will be seeking new contracts.

My dream is to be accepted by someone big like RandomHouse, or Penguin, because they will be able to market me to the mass audiences- right now, I'm doing all of the work. I do my own posters, my own advertisements, my own events, my own book signings. It's a tough business for someone so new and "small".

Which is why my next book is going to be "the one" that puts me "on top." Because I know that I'm a good writer. And I know that I deserve the success that comes with my talent and hard work. :)

Permalink Reply by Sohair Abdel-Rahman on February 7, 2010 at 10:33pm

Great news,wish to read your books.
Through your books you can advocate for the cause of your interest.
Good look,always to you.

Permalink Reply by PaulaO on February 21, 2010 at 9:17pm

In 2003 or so, I wrote a short story as a mental catharsis of sorts. Then, encouraged by that, I wrote this huge honkin' novel that my partner and I had been writing aloud for years. It started as a joke with the nicknames of our dogs we had then. I expanded our ramblings into a 150K book. It stinks. Really bad.

I next participated in NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) in November 2004. During that, I wrote a simple romance. I set it aside until Jan. 2005 when I started editing it. Since it was my first endeavor at editing, it took a while. I even hired a copy editor to go over it to give me advice. Meanwhile, I wrote another novel and started several others. In Jan 2006, I decided to submit the romance to a publisher. I was not that attached to it and figured a rejection would hurt less. Two weeks later, the publisher bought it. It was released in 2007 and won a debut author award in 2008.

I've written as a journalist of sorts for a while, both in college and later. I'd written fiction a few times but never pursued publication. In college, I had some essays and poetry published in an anthology.

No matter how you journey to publication, keep a few things in mind:
1 - it won't write itself
2 - editors are a good thing. editing is a good thing. the best book in the world won't be read if the editing is bad.
3 - vanity presses (self-publication) are not bad IF and only IF they say they are a vanity press. If they say they are a "traditional" press/publisher, you should NEVER pay a publisher money to publish your book. Vanity presses, yes, you pay them. But if a group says they are traditional then asks you for money, run in the opposite direction.

Permalink Reply by Sohair Abdel-Rahman on February 21, 2010 at 9:41pm

Thanks Paula for sharing your experience. In Saudi Arabia,we have to get a permissin to publish from mimistry of media,then get a release number before we submit the book to a publisher.I pay for the publisher,stating number of copies,type of paper.They edit,correct spelling,grammer,editing,and the book cover.The second publisher distribute book nicely in many book stores all over the kingdom,and every 6 month he tell you what happened to the book. I got nothing back,but happy that many poeple read me now and now my work.