For the last 40 years or so, I have had a serigraph on my wall created by (sister) Corita Kent with the quote from G.B. Shaw: "Some people see things that are and say why? I dream of things that never were and say why not." Seems like synchronicity to me that my new publisher is Mike O’Mary of Dream of Things.
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I met Mike through
my friend, mentor, and go-to person for all things related to publishing,
Mark Shelmerdine, CEO of Jeffers Press. I contacted Mark as soon as I heard
Lucky Press, the first publisher of Leaving the Hall Light On, had decided to go out of business. However, I
also took Mark’s advice and waited to contact Mike until I had time to distress
and unwind while on vacation. That said, I wrote to Mike the Monday after we
returned home. And Mike responded favorably from the start. I am so fortunate
for that.
Since Mike decided
to become my publisher – he’ll publish paperback and eBook editions by the end
of July – we’ve been busy. We first created a new book description with review
blurbs to post on my Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Red Room pages. Mike has
already posted them, and I think they make a big difference. And even though
Lucky Press made the corrections to the text that I had indicated and provided
me with final native and pdf files, Mike and his wife Kathy each went through the
manuscript with very precise eagle eyes.
Guess what?
They each came up
with many more typos to correct. I must reiterate here that it is so
important to have new and fresh eyes look at our material before we post or go
to press with anything. I can't tell you how many typos I find on my blog posts after the fact. It's disgraceful.
We also decided to
provide a list of book club discussion topics at the back of the book. We both
came up with a list and then Mike merged them. Finally, I decided to redo the Acknowledgments
page – you’ll have to read the new edition to see if you’re on it – and now
we’re ready to go.
I can’t tell you
how excited I am with my new publishing arrangement. Thank you Mike and Mark
for making this happen.
And now on to a marketing plan. Mike has the best ideas.
Besides the word, synchonous, I kept hearing a word and a phrase while reading your post: fortuitous (old publisher drops out of the race) and fresh air. Our human selves must go thru the gnashing of teeth phase when bad news comes and changes our lives a bit. My practice is to tune in to the spiritual self, beneath the cacophony of noise on the surface! I see this dance in your memoir, your blogs, your poetry. Thank you, Madeline! xoxoxo
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