As is sometimes the case, future authors find Guerrilla Publishing when they are looking for someone to publish their manuscript. Sometimes, the call is short and goes something like:
ME: No, sorry, I am not a traditional publisher, but I can help you become your own small business.
THEM: No thanks.
But last summer, I got such a call from a woman in Florida who was looking for a traditional publisher to take on her manuscript. I did my disclaimer, about how I do not publish other people’s books, and she asked to hear more.
Dora and I talked for an hour as I explained how to submit to traditional publishing houses versus becoming a small business that would publish her own work. Going through the pros and cons with her, I knew that she needed as much information as possible to make an educated decision about what was best for her and her book.
Sometimes, Guerrilla Publishing is not a good fit. For example, I spoke at length with someone who had written an exposé about corporate farming. The area where she owns a small family farm has been overrun by pork CAFOs (concentrated animal feed operations), and she and her family have been targeted by them with harassment. Her book contained information that could have drawn the ire of those interests. After much discussion and deliberation with her family, she decided a traditional publishing house would afford her more protection from lawsuits and harassment than if she published on her own.
In Dora’s case, after sleeping on it, she decided to move full steam ahead with self-publishing her book, The Big Question, Why? I Have Heard the Cries of My People. From start to finish, which included content and copy editing, it took us four months to get a copy into her hands. I was even able to help her put up a website.
One of Dora’s dreams is to open a community center in her town where she can help African American youths learn their amazing heritage that is found in the Bible. As I worked on the book, I learned so much about Black history, not just in this country, but about the ancient roots found throughout the Bible. But more than that, I was honored to help Dora publish her book that she plans to use to help empower and uplift her community.
Do you have a book in you that is longing to come out? Or maybe you, like Dora, have a manuscript that you just don’t quite know what to do with. Contact me. We can talk, and at the very least, you can see if Guerrilla Publishing is a viable alternative for you.
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