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³¢¾±²õ²¹â€™s comments from the I'm Trying to Get a Book Published! group.

It sounds interesting. I'd like to see more.

Hi Rita, I just took a look at your blog. It was fun.

Thanks Brigid. I'll check out yours, too.

Hi Everyone, I have started a blog which is about issues pertaining to my book "Dancing On My One Ugly Toe Around The Rim of Hell." Here it is: How Denise Decided to Tell Her Story

Occasionally in a lifetime, a lucky few of us get an opportunity to do something that we feel is really important. When I met Denise, I didn’t know that I was one of them. I had to hear her story first. Over the course of five years, I listened to Denise as she told me of her painful past; and I chronicled all her life tragedies in her memoir Dancing On My One Ugly Toe Around the Rim Of Hell.
After the book was finished, I asked Denise why she wanted it written in the first place. Her Foreword summed it all up:
“I’ve been through a lot and mostly, you wouldn’t believe that I could have made it through everything I’m about to tell you. With what I’ve been through, I could have been on drugs. I could have been an alcoholic. I could have been a dope fiend. I could have been all those things, but I became a mother who loves her children. Every time I’d ever tell anybody about the half of it, all that I went through and how I became a mother and a pastor, they’d tell me that I should write a book about it.
I wanted to write my book about what I went through to tell people that failure can lead to success. I wanted to tell them that even though your life is tied up in knots, you have to have hope and believe that you can do it � whatever your heart tells you you want to do. Through the grace of God, you can do all things. There’s always hope if you believe. Never give up on yourself. You and only you can make someone see your true self.
I wanted to write a book for a really long time, but I didn’t have the courage. I’ve always felt ashamed that I didn’t finish school and I’ve never liked the way I write. So I prayed on it for a long time about who I could ask to write my book. I finally felt I had to do something to get my life in order. I knew I needed to tell someone my whole story so I could find some inner peace and contentment and so I took a big chance and asked Lisa Sachs to write it. I hoped that she would observe my life without passing judgment and tell my story so that I could help other people to have some hope, to hang in there and keep going.
Ever since I’ve become a pastor, I’ve prayed with people at home and on the telephone. I’ve never advertised but people always find me wherever I’m at and come to me for help. They call me from everywhere, but mostly from California, Texas, and St. Louis. We pray together for better marriages, better health, better lives. Lisa was surprised that people asked for my help even when I was so sick I felt like my legs were rubber and I could hardly remember my own name and phone number. They didn’t know that more than me helping them, they were helping me. They were helping me to remember that I’m not the only one hurting and that I can do something good in this world.
I just hope that someone out there will read my story and not feel so alone, that they can find some light and grow. I think my story will be in the bookstores because people who have gone through the same thing as me will want to know that someone else is out there.
I hope the story of my life is going to encourage someone that’s hurting, that someone who abuses her children will change, that someone who wants to give up will go on. They’ll find encouragement in hearing my story. I want to be a living testimony that a woman of hurt and pain can become an overcomer. I want to be a living testimony that if you don’t give up on yourself, you can achieve your dreams.�
Next time: Where Denise is now. Stay tuned.

Hi Everyone, Like most people in this group. I have been trying to get a book published. It's called Dancing On My One Ugly Toe Around the Rim Of Hell. Today in another type of attempt I have launched a blog Storiesofhealingrecoveryandcourage.blogspot.com. There is also a link to it on blogspot and I hope you will read it and give me some advice. Have any of you started blogs and if so what kind of response have you received?

It seems that if they want to see anything further about the book after they read the query letter, they specify what they want. Good luck!

Hi Reg, I just attended an all day conference on Saturday in Chicago conducted by lawyers and self-publishing presses. They talked a lot about the pitfalls to avoid in these contracts. Each contract is a bit different and you need to read the fine print in the contract before you sign anything. One book they recommended is The Fine Print of Self-Publishing by Mark Levin. If they don't let you see the whole contract before you give them your book, it's a major RED FLAG.

Hi Karey, I would be interested in hearing what ever words of wisdom that you have to impart. I have written a book that I'm trying to sell. What is your book about?

That's a good way to be. I avoid certian topics with her that I have strong feelings about because I don't want to get upset or in a wasteful argument. What's the point. I know it won't change her and it will just get me aggravated.

Hi, In my case, it is my daughter who is ultrareligious. She became that way in college when she was going through a crisis. I'm learning to avoid talking about a lot of topics when we're together. It's amazing how many pink elephants can fit in a room.

That works for a lot of people.

The worrying is part of being a parent. Stay healthy.

If we didn't have imaginations, we wouldn't be writers. The possibilities are endless. but we'll never know. Wait till your kids grow up and they learn how to drive and you have to worry about them coming home safely. I gather your kids are little. My daughter lives in Cincinatti. What part of Ohio do you live in? At any rate, we'll never know about Lyssa and we are probably spending too much emotional energy worrying about something we can't do anything about. Good luck with the new school year for your kids and happy fall.

She must have chosen to take herself off this site. Maybe she is trying to disappear without a trace to escape an abusive boyfriend or husband. At any rate, there is nothing else I can think of to find her. I hope that she is alright.

I see that even the comments that she had made on this thread have been erased. If you happen to remember her last name - which I don't - you can look her up on Facebook and other networking sites like Twitter. If you find her let me know. I'd like to know that she's ok also.

So do I. Since you wrote this, I see that she's not on my friends list anymore. I've been trying to figure out how to contact her but I'm at a loss. Maybe she's also on facebook. I'll see if there's still a profile of her with her last name and then I'll look her up on that.

Ok. That explains it pretty much. Thanks. I never heard of Mobipocket. Who are they? Anyway, thanks for all your information, Kevis. You've been really helpful. have a great labor Day.

Thanks Kevis. That cleared some questions up. Do you know how the royalties work or would people be reading my book for free?

For anyone reading this in the Chicago area, on September 26, The John Marshall Law School is having a seminar on self-publishing with lawyers and people from the self-publishing companies. It costs $75 if you register befire September 12 and $95 if you do it afterwards. You can get more info on the website

Kevis, I thought of a couple of other questions. If I publish on Smashword, can I then legally self-publish with a press like Outskirts or IUniverse? Or print it myself? Would Smashword have a mechanism for getting paid and sending me royalties?

Thank you Kevis. That was very useful information. I appreciate it.