I spent this past week in California where I had a lovely time, apart from missing the Beaufort office, of course. On my plane ride back to New York, I slept soundly throughout most of the flight. I didn’t exchange words with the woman sitting next me until we landed and I awoke to the jolt of the plane hitting the pavement and the sound of her voice asking me, “Do you like to read?” This seemed like an odd question. Of course, I love to read! However, in that moment I couldn’t imagine what her motive was in asking me this question. I stuttered “Yes, um, very much so.” She handed me a card with a book cover on it, and explained, “Shameless self promotion! My book is coming out next week.” I was both surprised and impressed, and I told her that I would check it out. After all, we book-lovers are rare these days and we ought to stick together, right? It turns out she had not only self-promoted her book, but self-published her book as well, and there should certainly be no shame in that either. So, if you are read this, Susie Orman Schall, props to you, because getting a book published, either here at Beaufort or all on your own, is a grand feat. Susie recommended her book On Grace to me on the airplane, and in turn I will recommend Beaufort’s The Insider’s Guide to Book Publishing Success by Eric Kampmann and Margot Atwell to Susie and to anyone else with a passion for writing. This book is the guide for anyone who has ever dreamed of holding their own book in their hands, and even for those who have already done so. It gives invaluable advice from the experts here at Beaufort on everything from self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, to the question of whether or not to hire a publicist. I hope that Susie reads it, and is inspired to continue writing, publishing and promoting her books to strangers on airplanes.
