How I did it: I started out in 2007, in the winter, after I read Tim Ferriss's book, The Four Hour Workweek. And I thought, "Huh! I can do that!" So I got my friend Jacob to call me once a week and we talked about our goals, and held each other accountable.

Then my life imploded, and I got a new job, and a new place to live, and relationships were in turmoil, so I set the book aside.

Then I left my job in 2009, and started to work more full time on the book. Every time I got stuck not wanting to work on a chapter, I would work on illustrations for the book instead! So I made an illustration for the top of each chapter. And I took the format of "A Woman's Comfort Book" to help me parse out what people needed to do there.

So as I started to write, I realized I had favorite chapters, and orphan chapters. This was kind of a handicap for the book, because I was writing about nonprofit fundraising, how to do it, and I got REALLY INTO the conflict chapter, and the phone-a-thon chapter languished. So also I realized that I could NOT be an expert on each thing in the book. So I took out chapters on Major Gift Fundraising and Budgeting. I figured people could just find that information on their own.

Soon, it became less about writing and more about editing. And I am so grateful that I had a good editor in my friend Sue.

And then it came time to figure out how to publish the book. First I went to the Willamette Writer's Conference in Portland, Oregon in August, 2009, to talk to some agents about how to submit queries and publish my book. They looked at my book and said that I needed an editor, and that I needed to build up a substantial audience before any publishing house would even look at me. So i said, "Okay." And I launched my website in November of 2009, after I moved 2,500 miles to Austin, TX. And as of right now, I have 7,000 unique monthly readers, and 76,000 pageviews per month. And if anyone wants to know how to build an audience online, I'll happily coach you.

So, I still had the problem of, "How do I get this book published in the meantime?" Then I looked at online publishing options. Then I looked at local options. And went with a local option, McCarthy Printing, because they are woman owned, and are a green printer, and local, and I want to put money back into the local economy, and have control over how the book comes out.

I looked up the Espresso book machine, and did a sample on there, but the machine was just bad at keeping the pages bound in there, and I thought, "No, I can't charge people $40.00 for a book that has pages falling out!"

Then the online presses, Createspace.com, iUniverse.com, PublishAmerica.com, Lulu.com, one by one I considered them and rejected them, primarily because
1. No one would send me a sample for free,
2. They had MASSIVE complaints and ripoff reports online,
3. I found a forum post that said, These are basically vanity presses, and you're self publishing, you don't need them, just go to a printer yourself and get it done.
4. They offered "marketing" and "editing" help, but some people said their books came back in worse condition from the "editing" and the "marketing" had no discernible affect on sales whatsoever.

So I think if you're not tech savvy, they can help you, provide some "graphic design" of the cover and do "layout" for your book and maybe even some "light editing" but I wouldn't expect them to be a real solution for someone who wants to make money and isn't afraid of a little elbow grease to do it. For instance, I formatted my book myself, and had to look up how to get the ISBN and Barcode. I found a graphic designer. I found a picture of me from a photographer friend to go on the front. You can see the results of that elbow grease below.



So I think the graphic designer, Danielle Bardgette, did a fabulous job.

and THIS WEEK I'm picking up my book from the printers! It cost $2,000, roughly, to print 200 copies of my book, but it was still WAY cheaper than any other option I found. So just know that it's going to be more expensive than you think it is, but it's ALL WORTH IT.

A book can get you speaking engagements, invitations to conferences, and gives you a whole legitimacy in your field that you didn't have before. Not to mention it's FUN to write, actually, it really is, and you can get a lot of people to read what you write on a blog, and buy your book after that! My blog is http://wildwomanfundraising.com.

Lessons & tips: 1. It takes longer than you think it will!

2. You have to pay for your isbn and barcode. Don't pay more than $55.00 though.

3. Pay a graphic designer to help you. It's WORTH IT!

4. If you look at different publishers and none seem quite right, KEEP ON LOOKING!

5. Edit Edit Edit your book. go over every last detail.

6. Don't be taken in by scams. ALWAYS google the name of the publisher and the word SCAM to see how happy people are with them, or not.

Resources: 1. NoMediaKings website helped me. They are ALL ABOUT self publishing, and they're not trying to sell you anything.

2. How to Become A Famous Author Before You're Dead by Ariel Gore helped me.  She's clear with her advice, and interviews people too!

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Nov 15, 2010, 08:39AM PST | 1 comment | 5 cheers