Book Release! And 12 lessons from the other side of self-publishing

A book release announcement for How to Begin Writing Your Life Stories: Putting Memories on the Page, and twelve invaluable tips for authors interested in self-publishing.

Self-PublishingSara RoahenSeptember 13, 2024self-publishing, author tips, Carla King, Teri Bayus, Wellstone Books, Linda Ruggeri, book design, Book creation, life story writing, memoir writing, writing craft, writing inspiration, KDP, Ingram, small books, Esmond HarmsworthComment

Affirmations for Memoir and Life Story Writers

Your story has value. If it didn’t, you’d be able to let it go easily. It wouldn’t call to you from inside your dreams. It wouldn’t follow you on your walks. Its fragments wouldn’t bully their way onto scraps of paper around your house . . .

Writing TipsSara RoahenApril 30, 2024writer encouragement, writer affirmations, writer's block, writing craft, memoir craft, life story writing, self-publishing, pep talk, writer pep talk, writing coach, writing voice Comment

Why I decided to self-publish my next book

Self-publishing carried a stigma back in 2008 when the traditional New York publishing house W. W. Norton published my first book, Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table. What a difference sixteen years, and a whole lot of technology, made in the publishing world. In the current market, anyone with a story to tell and access to a computer and a bank account can publish a book and find an audience. Authors like me come to self-publishing for many reasons. In her (self-published) workbook, The Publishing Workbook for Independent Authors: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Professional Book Design, Production, and Distribution, self-publishing guru Carla King lists six possible reasons for self-publishing, and all of them resonate with me.

Self-PublishingSara RoahenApril 16, 2024self-publishing, life story writing, memoir, Carla King, editing, book lover, book writing, entrepreneur, branding, brand building Comments

Q&A with Carole Wagener, Author of "The Hardest Year: A Love Story in Letters During the Vietnam War"

Carole Wagener recently self-published her first book, The Hardest Year: A Love Story in Letters During the Vietnam War. Her husband, William, who wrote roughly half of the letters in the book, shares author credit.

Author InterviewSara RoahenMay 28, 2023memoir, author interview, veterans memoir, war memoir, war stories, war letters, love story, military love story, The Hardest Year, Carole Wagener, developmental editing, copyediting, self-publishing, writing process Comment