Farewell, Lucky Press! What's next after a publisher quits?

Right in the midst of saying goodbye to friends from Tuscon on Saturday morning, I got the news that Lucky Press was going out of business – on April 30 – that's today! That announcement gave me a whole three day’s notice. What a shock and what a scramble. It took me the better part of that day, a sleepless night, and until the next morning to get over it and consider this event an opportunity, not a disaster. First, I decided my book is way too important to abandon now.

Actually I should have seen the writing on the wall when Janice, the owner of Lucky Press, informed me about a month ago that she would not produce my e-book in May as promised. She had been in ill health and just moved. Plus creating graphic designs seems to be her passion and provides her real livelihood.

However, I was fortunate that she resonated with my book and offered to publish it. Her attention to detail with my text, photos, and book design was flawless. I am very proud of the book she produced. And it got my story out and my mission to erase the stigma of mental illness and suicide off the ground.

However, the repercussions of her shutting down her business – especially with so little notice – have been horrendous:

• Do I self publish or find another publisher? I prefer finding another publisher, but we’ll see.
• Hardback, paperback, or e-book? I don’t think I would want another hardback edition. It is expensive to buy. It will definitely be an e-book and maybe both paperback and e-book.
• Are my books still for sale online? Since I have an Amazon bookstore set up I think my books will still be for sale there as of tomorrow, but I’ll find out for sure tomorrow.
• How do I fix the link that went to my Lucky Press page that as of Saturday went to nowhere. I immediately contacted my friend who created my domain name: www.MadelineSharples.com  and he fixed it to point to my blog for the time being. I’m going to ask him to build me a new website once all my ducks are in a row.
• Do I own the copyright? Yes
• Do I need a new ISBN number? Yes
• Should I take up Janice’s offer to send me all the native files with all pertaining to Lucky Press removed? Yes. I arranged that today and paid the bill.
• What about my bookmarks? This has to wait until I know if I’ll have a publisher or will self-publish.
• What about new flyers? Same as above
• And how do I even start on the road to recovery? Well, almost immediately one of my friends suggested I contact her publisher. I did that today, and I’ll follow through with an email with information about my book. I’ve also contacted a few other people I know on Facebook who might be able to help. And of course I emailed my mentor who helped me throughout my query process all those many months ago. He is as always encouraging.

I’m sure I’ll have more to say during this learning process. If nothing else this new publishing wrinkle will give me more blog fodder as the days and weeks go by.