Hi Reader,

I went quiet for a bit. A cold knocked me flat, and the newsletter waited while I slept through most of the sniffles. I'm back on my feet now, and eager to get back into things.

While I was lying around sniffling, I got the joyful news from not one but two of my clients who have had traditional publishers offer them contracts for their books. Yay!

I won't share the names of the two authors yet. The details are still being worked out.

I can offer big congratulations to Mick Kubiak on the printed edition of Inner Housekeeping, out now from my own small press, Open Spiral. This 'Beginner's Guide to Advanced Meditation' is a treasure.

I'm thrilled for these authors, but also it breaks my heart to see so many other writers scare themselves away from traditional publishing because of the rumors and horror stories.

I'm sure you've heard that you need to be a celebrity for a publisher to even look at your nonfiction book proposal, that you'll have to sacrifice your creative vision to make the book more "commercial," or that your urgent message will be trapped in a years-long bureaucratic pipeline.

While those fears aren't entirely unfounded, especially if you're chasing the Big Five, they aren't true across the board. Neither of the two authors who just got publishing offers is famous. One is barely on social media.

The secret is finding a small press that aligns with your mission and values. While it's true that the largest publishers can comfortably pass up anything that doesn't have instant bestseller potential, smaller presses are more likely to be looking for a message that matters.

They might not hand out extravagant advances, but what they do invest is just as valuable, and that's authentic partnership. Because they aren't stretched thin by the demands of feeding a blockbuster-driven corporate machine, they have the bandwidth to champion your specific cause, collaborate closely on how your message is presented, and help your work reach the exact readers you are writing for.

All this has me wondering about you and your writing.

Some of you have been reading since the very beginning, almost four years now (and I love it when you write back!)

Some of you just found me, and I haven't heard from you yet. I would love to know who's out there reading, and where you are with your own writing.

I'm going to offer a workshop soon, likely in a couple weeks, where I hope to meet some of you. I don't know what the topic will be yet. I want it to be something that serves you.

To that end, I have a handful of quick questions about what you're writing and what questions you have that you would like to work through in a small group.

My workshops are usually around two hours and run $97.

As a thank you, anyone who finishes all the questions (there are only five!) gets a free seat at the workshop you're helping me plan.

Here's my first question. Answering it will take you to the remaining four.

Warmly,

Laura