Publishing your memoir

Posted on September 17, 2012 by moonbridgebooks

Most people think it’s hard enough just to get their stories written down on paper for the family, much less publishing them for the public. For that reason I focus more here on encouragement and not so much on the art of writing and publishing. But, if you’ve got decent writing skills and you think you’ve got a story that total strangers would want to buy, I do have articles under the Resources tab on the various ways to publish your book. There’s a lot to learn.

Family-only memoir books can easily be printed off at your neighborhood copyshop on 8.5”x11” paper with a cardstock or laminated cover. If you want something nicer like a hardcover or paperback, Lulu.com is probably still the best choice and provides nice (free) cover templates that you can personalize with photo, text, and color. Do not get carried away buying their extra services, though, as it is debatable whether they’ll really be worth the cost to you. Set your book’s account to private or it will go into their public sales database, which might be fine if you want your faraway relatives to purchase them and have them shipped directly to their homes. You can always change the account to private later. See my previous blog post on Lulu.

For those who are ambitious enough to want to learn all the publishing ropes and sell to strangers, at the moment (because the publishing world changes all the time) Amazon’s CreateSpace is the most cost-effective publishing program. Authors with more know-how often choose Lightning Source, Inc., (LSI), a printer that acts as a wholesaler/distributor that will also post the book into the Amazon system. You definitely want your book on Amazon. LSI is now often used in conjunction with CreateSpace because Amazon has been behaving badly towards other companies in the last few years, but more important is the LSI connection to the Ingram company which is a more attractive seller to bookstores and libraries than Amazon. Then there is that e-book revolution.

This Friday, September 13, 1:00 p.m. Central time, I will be a guest on a telecom with Linda Joy Meyers, president of the National Association of Memoir Writers (NAMW). Sonia Marsh, author of the newly released memoir Freeways to Flipflops, will join us to discuss what it takes to publish a book successfully, plus we’ll compare CreateSpace and Lightning Source. To me, Sonia is the poster-girl inspiration for new authors wanting to do their best to compete well in the publishing business. She’ll be my guest here on Sunday, September 23, and we’ll be talking about her delightful and revealing memoir on getting away from it all.

The “Publishing Your Memoir” telecom is for NAMW members only. NAMW membership might be a good investment particularly for those who are still in the writing (or thinking) stage of a memoir, but tips on publishing and marketing are also offered. Believe me, once your book is published, your job is not done! NAMW offers many telecoms plus workshops and conferences. At the least, do sign up for the free online newsletter because occasionally free telecoms are offered. The informative blog posts are also open to the public. Hope to hear some of you tune in to the talk and ask some questions.

Posted in publishing | Tagged | 2 Comments

Stop picking at 9/11?

Posted on September 11, 2012 by moonbridgebooks

It came up on Facebook that some think we fuss way too much about the anniversary of 9/11 when it happened so long ago. I mean, it’s been over ten years, so we should be past it. The reference was to “picking a scab.”

I put a brand new flag up on our pole this morning. It’s really a lightweight banner; so light, in fact, it floated in the wispy breeze like a kite. As I attached it to the pole and watched it billow so beautifully, I thought back to that morning when my whole body reacted to the traumatic shock of watching this unimaginable horror unfold on TV. Heart squeezed by an unknown fist, body tensed as from a chill in the air, the tears that just fell out. And how I wanted to DO something to show my support for my country and the people suffering at the sites. Standing there watching with my mouth open was not enough. And so I put up our flag. It was all I could think to do.

Then there was the post-traumatic stress that came from reading and watching too much news, reliving too much over and over through the scenes on television. Maybe that’s what people mean when they say “picking the scab.” Now, eleven years after it’s over, we’re supposed to be healed by now, leave it alone, why relive such a terrible event, why make yourself hurt again?

I would argue that history is worth remembering, good or bad, and this is BIG history in the U.S. America was attacked in a spectacular way on its own soil. It was an affront to the entire country and taught us an ocean is not enough to keep our enemies away. But memories and intense feelings fade, just as they have for the bombing of Pearl Harbor. A generation passes and dust settles into corners. Thank goodness for the newspapers on file and the memoirs written since that will keep the full intensity of the event from disappearing into complacent forgetfulness.

This eleventh year after, the 9/11 ceremonies were toned way down, if they happened at all. Politicians were not welcome at the official New York remembrance to allow the focus to be on the families who will never stop grieving. I didn’t see anything in our local news about official ceremonies in our city or its close suburbs even though a few families did lose someone in the destruction. A few small gatherings were across the river in Illinois. News media stepped in to help us all remember.

I want to remember because I think we owe it to the people who died and the survivors still affected. The number of people who died might be small compared to genocides and current mass atrocities overseas, but they are ours and 9/11 is ours. Our people and our land. The least we can do is give a moment of silence, a thought in our day. Remembering the scab and what it means, not picking at it.

Posted in bad memories, history | Tagged | 3 Comments

Basking in culture and heritage at the St. Louis Japanese Festival

Posted on September 7, 2012 by moonbridgebooks

Yes, I’ve ignored my blog lately because I was busy preparing for the annual St. Louis Japanese Festival, the largest Japanese festival in the nation, at the Missouri Botanical Garden which has the largest Japanese garden in the nation. I’m so lucky to live in this city!

Every Labor Day weekend, 40,000-plus people become Japanese, many carrying the sturdy paper parasols or folding fans sold by our Japan America Society Women’s Association booth I organize. Some – men and women – wear the cotton yukata summer kimonos or the short happi coats, although a few women bravely don real silk kimonos to stroll in the usual oppressive heat of late summers here. There are the kawaii (cute) anime teens who are walking photo ops. Then there are those who must have missed the Chinese festival in June and come wearing their slim and silky Chinese cheongsam dresses.

The Japanese community in St. Louis is not all that large, but we know how to come together to make a fabulous festival. It includes the kimono show with models elegant in stunning silks and elaborately-tied obi sashes, a sumo demonstration by still-large retired wrestlers, taiko drumming, traditional dance shows, omikoshi shrine parade, and, my favorite, the obon dancing where everyone is invited to follow simple dance moves in a circle around a decorated raised platform where the drummers pound out the rhythm. What fun, and what a nice way to remember and share our heritage. I usually sell some copies of our Cherry Blossoms in Twilight memoir, too.

Sadly my mother can’t go anymore – she can’t go anywhere, actually. She loved this taste of her home country, always saying, “It’s just like Japan!” with her eyes bright and happy. The day after the festival I went to see her in the nursing home and sang the first line of “Tanko Bushi,” the “Coal-Miners’ Song,” that’s always played at the obon dancing. I only know the first line and have to da-da-da the rest of the song, ending in the funny “sa no yoi yoi” clap-clap. She joined in! I couldn’t understand her words, she speaks so softly now and not clearly, but her eyes grew distant and her face brightened. I thought I might cry.

 2007 St. Louis Japanese Festival video clip 

 

 

Posted in heritage | Tagged , | 2 Comments