Interview With Yvonne Perry and What It's Like To Self Publish With Createspace.

Hello Everyone, this is our second interview this week about self-publishing. We know some of our readers are in the process of writing their own manuscripts and figuring out which publishing road to take. Since we have become connected with many authors that have used various publishing sources we wanted to share with you a few perspectives on self-publishing. 


We will be hosting a live author chat with Yvonne Perry Tuesday May 10th. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details.




Yvonne, Stacy and I are in the process of reading your books to share with our readers. One of the things that caught my eye was that you published with CreateSpace.


1. Can you begin by telling us about yourself and how you became an author? 
I am the mother of two children, stepmother of three, and grandmother of eleven. My family is the joy of my life. However, I also enjoy helping people discover a life of love and joy that comes from the knowledge that we are one with our Creator and each other. I am the host of We Are One in Spirit Podcast, a talk show that offers people a chance to discuss their spiritual experiences. I have a Bachelor of Science in Metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology.
I first became an author in 2004 when I self-published Email Episodes, my humorous book, which was about my midlife crisis. This was the same year I quit my corporate job and began my own freelance writing business, Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services http://writersinthesky.com. There wasn’t as many options for publishing back then. Publish-on-demand companies were just coming on the scene and they charged quite a bit up front and had a bad reputation among conventional publishers and bookstores. 


2. Why did you pick CreateSpace over other platforms?
I picked Createspace due to my experience with self-publishing and publish-on-demand companies:
I published More Than Meets the Eye ~ True Stories About Death, Dying, and Afterlife through Booksurge (now owned by Amazon) in 2005. A good experience overall but they charged a set-up fee, and I had trouble getting my file to meet their guidelines for submission, and each revised upload costs additional money.
Right to Recover ~ Winning the Political and Religious Wars Over Stem Cell Research in America was published through a medium-sized independent publishing house in 2007. I do not own all the rights to this book and can’t even turn it into an e-book. The company wants to charge me to keep the book off the backlist. A bad experience all around.
In 2009, The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children was self-published through Lightning Source. A good experience overall but they have a set-up fee, a yearly catalog fee, stringent guidelines for file submission, and each revised upload cost additional money.

3. You self-published your children’s book with Lightning Source. Why did you choose to publish with CreateSpace for your latest book about empathy?
I had heard about CS from an author friend who had a great experience with them. Her book looked fabulous but I decided to test the waters by publishing a book of poetry that I had saved on my computer and never done anything with. Stockpiled Poetry: Introspective Thoughts About Life, God, and Other Stuff That Can't Be Explained turned out great, so I decided to use CS for my empath book, Whose Stuff Is This?: Finding Freedom from the Negative Thoughts, Feelings, and Energy of Those Around You. A very positive experience indeed.

Interview With Joan Schaublin ~ Publishing Consultant For Balboa Press

Hello everyone, We know that many of our readers are budding authors as we are. We also know there are so many choices and ways to publish these days that it can be a little over whelming. We are hoping by providing you with a few different opinions and examples of publishing we can help you to be able to make an informed choice for what your personal publishing needs are.

We will be sharing a few interviews this week about two different  ways you can self-publish your books. This wonderful interview is with Joan Schaublin. Joan is a publishing consultant for Balboa Press. Let us know what you think and if you would like to hear more about the publishing world.

1. Hello Joan, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

  Hi Carol!  Thank you for this opportunity. I love what you're doing. I'm a 49 year old Mom of two that has decided to live the dream. My dream is to make sure I earn my living doing something I'm passionate about, and supporting the earth by helping people with good things to share birth it into the world. My dream has come true!

2. Would you mind sharing your wonderful story of how you got a job with Balboa Press? 

  I was working a job where I made a lot of money, but left everyday feeling drained. What I was doing didn't feel good and my integrity forced me to question my being there. Than, in April of last year, I lost my Mom. It brought into full focus for me how what we do better matter; not tomorrow, today. A few months later I walked in and couldn't do it one more day. I decided being a bag lady with integrity would be better. I walked in to the H.R. office, told them I felt like I was in an abusive relationship and that it was time to go. Walking to my car was the best I'd felt in a very long time!

 When I got home I laid on my bed and daydreamed. I had always said the only person who could fill my Mother's shoes was Louise Hay and I decided I wanted to work, in some way, with the high integrity business she had built. Books had always been very influential in my life, and Hay House authors in particular. I added it to my vision board and let it go to the Universe.

  Two days later, I got a call from someone I had worked with previously who had a friend from college call him asking him if he knew anyone who'd be a good Publishing Consultant for Balboa Press, a new division of Hay House. His college friend was working with them. He recommended me, remembering how I always shared Louise's quotes and ideas with the people around me. I didn't even know she had started a new division!  I met with his friend two days after that, and a week later, I was sitting at my new desk.

 I know had I not had the courage to "walk my talk" I wouldn't be living my dream now!

3. Can you tell us more about Balboa Press?

   30 years ago, Louise Hay self published her book "You Can Heal Your Life." At that time, her ideas were considered very controversial, and self publishing was the only option she had. Recently, in part due to the unmanageable number of submissions Hay House gets every year, she decided to start a self-publishing division, that would give Inspirational writers a venue to get their books out and have the tools she didn't have when she started. Balboa Press (named for Balboa Park near her home) was born.

4. Does Balboa offer print on demand? 

   Yes. Not only is it the most affordable option for authors, it's environmentally sound.

5. Can you walk us through the process once an author purchases their publishing package?

    The first thing that happens is they are assigned a Check In Coordinator. The CIC's job is to help the author submit their manuscript and help with any questions surrounding that process. After submission, it goes through a review to make sure it fits our editorial standards. If it passes review, the author is assigned a team for production as well as cover and back design. Once all formatting and design work is completed, the author receives a 'galley' or 'proof' so they can make any final corrections, if necessary. Once the galley is signed off on, it is submitted to the printer. At that point the marketing and book consultant assigned to that author make contact to begin working on any projects or needs in those areas.