My Self-Publishing Journey

by Heather A. Kendall
(Innisfil, Ontario, Canada)

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

My self-publishing journey began in the fall of 1993 when I offered to write an essay for my pastor. I have been a keen student of the Bible for most of my life. Therefore I gladly volunteered to do some research for him. At first I started in my own library, then my pastor’s, and finally in the theological libraries in Toronto, Ontario. After researching for a couple of years, I realized that I was working on a book. I knew for sure I was committed to writing a book when I traveled by bus from North Bay to Toronto to visit a library.

By March 2002, I thought I had finished writing. Therefore I contacted a small Christian royalty publisher close to where I lived in Ontario, Canada. When he rejected my manuscript, I spent another year rewriting. Then I approached a Christian royalty publisher in England. That editor rejected it also. Meanwhile I continued to do more research and more rewriting.

In the fall of 2003, I sent the first chapter to Dr. Adams of Toronto Baptist Seminary. I was very happy when he offered to critique the whole manuscript. He was mainly checking my ideas, but he did correct some of my writing also. By the spring of 2004, I had implemented his suggestions. That fall I asked him if he would write a foreword and a blurb for the back of the book, which he did. Then in January 2005 I put my proposal on the Evangelical Christian Publishers Website (ECPA). I would have preferred to send the manuscript to two Christian royalty publishers in the United States. However, both of them insisted on ten endorsements, and I only had three.

Three weeks after my proposal was on the ECPA, I received an email from Chuck Dean, an editor in Seattle, Washington. He offered to critique my manuscript for a price. I am very glad I took him up on his offer because he helped me make the book reader friendly. He told me to add my testimony at the beginning of each chapter, to choose pull-quotes from the text, and to add points to ponder at the end of each chapter. After this I could have had a contract with ACW Press, a self-publishing company in the States, but the cost of shipping the books to Canada and then back to Send the Light Distributor would have been financial suicide.

At the time I was disappointed that nobody else had contacted me from the ECPA website during the year the proposal was available. I understand now why no one did. Royalty publishers will not spend ten thousand dollars or more unless they know that they will be able to sell the books and make a profit. I did not have a platform. During the years while I researched and wrote, I did not think it was anybody’s business to know what I was doing.

Although my proposal was still on the ECPA website, that summer I decided to submit my manuscript to Essence Publishing, a Christian self-publisher in Ontario. I had seen the work of this company and liked it. One of my endorsements had used that publisher three times. By September 2005 they had approved of my manuscript and began to work on my book.

I received the completed files twice before it went to print. During this proofreading stage, I appreciated how my editor at Essence sometimes questioned my ideas. I felt as if he did more than just proofread it, as important as that is. Essence encouraged ideas for the front cover, but a professional artist designed it, for which I am thankful. Nevertheless when I showed the cover to an artist in my church, she pointed out a mistake, which would have distracted people. The artist at Essence corrected the problem. Essence has its own printing facility on site. As soon as it was printed, my husband and I rented a U-Haul to pick the books up. We wanted to cut down on costs. On March 31, 2006, we arrived safely at home with 2000 books. I bought all those books so that I would have the ability to get the book into bookstores. I knew bookstores charge 40% off the cover price.

Essence did a good job of editing and printing the book, but they do no marketing. I paid for POD with Lightning Source so that I could reach the United States market. Thus my book has two ISBN numbers—one for the hard copy and one for the Print-On-Demand. The POD version is in the Ingram database and available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and any bookstore willing to order it. The problem is that nobody knows the book exists unless I tell the person. Also selling on Amazon does not help me sell the books in my basement.

Marketing is a serious challenge for the self-publisher. I have a website and a blog. I have been trying to make connections with others in order to exchange favorite links. I do a little public speaking, but I need to be asked. I have informed many pastors in my denomination of my availability. I attend Bible conferences and hand out one-sheets to interested people. In September 2006 I joined The Word Guild, a group of authors and editors who are Canadian and Christian. Through this group I learned that many people write articles to become known before writing a book. I am doing it backwards and writing articles now.

Essence advises authors to give books away to influential people. I have tried this. Shortly after I published, I received one book review. It took two years before I managed to get another one. Then in the space of two weeks I received three more. Last year I paid for an ad in a homeschooling magazine. Recently I placed an ad in my denomination’s magazine. For the last year my book has been available in a Christian bookstore chain in Ontario. Sadly, they have just declared bankruptcy. A professor told me my book was suitable for first-year Bible college students. Therefore I have sent my information to several schools and offered them 40% off the list price. So far I have not heard from any of them. The key to success is not to give up or to expect it instantly.

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