By Cathy Ingalls
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 12:00 am
Debra Slover shares tips for would-be writers
Grant and curriculum writing was all North Albany author Debra Slover had tackled until friends encouraged her to publish a guide to help people improve their lives by tapping into their imagination, purpose and spirit.
"I don't even like to write," said the 54-year-old, whose life experiences provided her with the material that culminated in the book "U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within."
In her 147-page book that retails in paperback for $18.95, Slover contends that it is not life's circumstances that betray one's goals and dreams. Rather, it is a dampened spirit.
Slover believes there is a book waiting in everyone to be written, but just like her, people do not know the mechanics of getting something written and published.
Now that she is a published author, she offered a few tips to those looking to get started.
Because she had no experience with book writing, Slover believed it would take about six months to write the book and then "have someone else fix it." The time frame proved unrealistic. Those six months extended to nearly two years - going from idea to researching, to writing, to publishing, and to marketing.
In the end, the unexpected happened: She formed her own publishing company, Leader Garden Press.
"I learned that if you are really committed to something, you can cause something to happen," she said. "I know this is my best work, and I know I have a product that can stand up to the big guys."
Although Slover knew her subject thoroughly, she did not know how to present her ideas.
"I looked on the Internet to see what I could find about writing and publishing a book," she said. "There was tons of information and it was so complicated."
Rather than pursue that angle, she bought books on how to write and self-publish. Finding an agent to market her book to mainstream publishers proved difficult for many reasons so she decided to publish her own book.
Books she recommends are "The Self-Publishing Manual" by Dan Poynter and "The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing" by Tom and Marilyn Ross.
She also suggests "How to Write a Book Proposal" by Michael Larsen.
To help her develop a succinct writing style, she read "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser, and E.B. White's "The Elements of Style."
Then she read other authors in her field.
Because her book uses a farm fable motif, she researched farming practices and read about animals and their personalities. The names she picked for the animals had to fit their personalities, which required more research.
Slover said people should not become discouraged if an editor asks for a lot of revisions.
"It was a frustrating and growing process," she said.
Next, Slover looked for an illustrator to bring her manuscript to life. Then, because she selected a fable for a format, she learned to write dialog and blend that into non-fictional information.
She spent five days writing her prologue to get the essence of her book just right.
As she went along, she developed a plan to become an independent publisher so she could market more of her own books. She is now in the process of putting together a companion book to "U.N.I.Q.U.E." for children.
Rather than doing her own marketing, Slover went through a firm that has made her book available on the Internet through Amazon, Borders and Barnes & Noble.
Her final piece of advice: Never take out a business loan, just pay as you go.
She estimates would-be writers should have somewhere between $5,000 and $15,000 for a book project.
"For me, this has all been more about promoting the concept of a new view of leadership and empowering people in their lives than selling a book," she said. "It is the bigger vision and my passion and commitment that kept me going. The publishing industry is a tough business and not one to be undertaken lightly."