Amazon, here I come!

It’s official.

Love in the Time of Foreclosure is going to be published as an eBook! 

What? When? Where? How? I'll get to that. I promise. But first please allow me a moment of reflection...

My first job out of college was as a subsidiary rights assistant for NTC/Contemporary Books, a non-fiction publisher in Lincolnwood, Illinois. A month after I was hired, I flew to Frankfurt for the world’s biggest book fair where I met with publishers from around the world to pitch the foreign rights to our books.

It was very exciting.

The entire publishing industry was there.

In between meetings, I would wander the aisles at the fair imagining my book on display. I imagined someone like me pitching my book to a publisher from Estonia or Norway. My writer soul was filled by the energy in that enormous hall in Frankfurt. One day, I determined, I’ll be back here as an author.

At that time, the word “blog” was non-existent. At that time, I couldn’t even conceive of imagining that I would keep an online journal sharing the personal details of my life during a financial crisis. Or that people would read it. People other than my mom. And that it would actually make a difference for these people.

And that someone would want to publish it.

 

But that is what’s happening.

Frankfurt, here I come! Well, not really. What’s the equivalent of Frankfurt in the digital publishing world?

Amazon, here I come!

Q&A

Does this mean that you are self-publishing?

No. I was approached by a new and exciting digital publisher called Outpost19. They are publishing the book and making it available through digital online retailers. A little about Outpost19 from their site: Outpost19 is committed to delivering provocative reading. We're a dependable source for compelling ideas.

When will the book be available?

If all goes as planned, by the end of September.

What? That's soon!

I know!

Where will the book be available?

Through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google and Kobo.

Will the book be different than the blog?

Yes and no. The book will be comprised of the blog posts that best tell our foreclosure story as well as NEW posts that I never published. There were things I wrote about but was afraid to make public at the time, mostly because I didn’t want to scare off any potential buyers. Those posts will be in the book. The book fills in the gaps in our story.

Why would we buy the book if we can just read the blog?

Great question! This was my number one concern when Outpost19 approached me about turning the blog into a book. First of all, the book is a streamlined way of reading our story. It will be all in one place without having to scroll back through archives. Also, there will be material in the book that won’t ever be on the blog. The book could make a nice gift for someone going through a similar situation. You can easily take it with you on your eReader. You don’t need an internet connection to read it. And lastly, I hope if you’ve been a loyal reader and the blog has made a difference for you that you’ll buy the book as an acknowledgement of that. And I hope you will share it.

Who do you hope will buy the book?

You! Your mom. Your barista. Your lender. Your landlord. Rahm Emmanuel. My mom. Your realtor. Tom Hanks. Your hairdresser. Tom Hanks' hairdresser. The President of Bank of America. Oprah. Anyone who has ever thought about buying a house. Eric Schneiderman. My entire family. Michelle Obama. And even just one percent of the 2.87 million homeowners who received notices of default, auction or repossession in 2010.

 

How did this come about?

I was approached by the publisher. Jon Roemer e-mailed me to say that he had been a fan of LITTOF and would love to work with me on publishing it as an eBook. When I spoke to him on the phone we hit it off and I knew it was the right fit.

How can I help?

I’m so glad you asked! When the book is available, you can buy a copy. You can Tweet it, Facebook it, blog about it, e-mail your friends about it, tell someone face to face old-fashioned style about it, ask your mom to buy a copy, give a copy to your BFF, put a billboard up, create a sandwich named after the book, send Amy Adams a copy, write a review on Amazon, make a chocolate bar called “Love in the Time of Foreclosure” (I’d eat that, wouldn’t you?) and share, share, share. 

I've heard from so many of you that our story has made a difference for you. And I'm so glad. That's always been the point. Now I have the chance to reach even more people with the book. I thank you in advance!

Are you getting a huge advance for this that will pay off your remaining debt?
I wish! That was always the fantasy. But, no. Digital publishing is different than traditional publishing in many ways... one is that there are no advances. But I will make money if people actually buy the book. And that money will go towards paying off our debts. We still owe my mom and Tom, we owe the IRS, we owe the State of California and we owe on our student loans. I have no idea how many books I will sell. I want to sell a lot. I want to sell enough to pay off our debt. Is that realistic? My small-minded and cynical brain says, no. But I tell that brain to shut up and instead say, yes. Yes that's realistic. Why not? Anything is possible in the new world of digital publishing. Just ask Amanda Hocking.

In the meantime I work on what I can control. Writing a book that's worthy of its readers' time.

And with that, I wrap up this post. Time to write. Time to edit. Time to create!