JustWrite

Yesterday I took an unplanned break from editing my nearly completed manuscript and researched a few other things that I will need to do myself since I will be self-publishing my autobiography I’ll Do It Myself: A Collection of Memories from a Woman Living with Cerebral Palsy. I now know how:

1. To obtain an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) - it is a fairly simple process and free in Canada! No need to buy blocks of ten numbers for $225 or whatever, like my American counterparts need to do. Yes! And I receive my ISBN within ten business days, I think it said.
2. To apply for Cataloguing in Publication, “a voluntary program of cooperation between publishers and libraries. It enables the cataloguing of books before they are published, and the prompt distribution of this cataloging information to booksellers and libraries.” The application form is a little more daunting, but definitely doable. This would need to be done before going to the printers. Again, it takes ten days. Good information to know so that I can do these steps in the right order and allow for enough time for each step.
3. To submit the legal deposit, which is administered by the Library and Archives Canada “as part of its responsibility to preserve the nation’s published heritage and make it accessible to present and future generations. According to the Library and Archives of Canada Act and the National Library Book Deposit Regulations, 1995, Canadian publishers are required to send copies of their publications to Library and Archives Canada within a week of their release.”

   Because my Grandma was such a strong believer in supporting “made in Canada”, I think she would be proud to know my book will be preserved as part of Canada’s heritage. That is something that wouldn’t happen if I went with an American publisher, initially. Actually, it was one of those little niggling things that was bugging me about going after an American publisher before being published in Canada. Once my book is safely nestled in its rightful place in the Library of Canada for future generations, then I am all for kicking ass and building platform to get a six-figure book deal from a foreign publisher! And then a Hollywood movie deal!

In doing this research, I realized I do need a name to fill into the publisher blank. I had been considering publishing under Soaring Eagle Communications. After all, that is one reason I had gone with Communications as part of the name because it was broad enough to include anything related to some aspect of communication; publishing definitely fits under communication. Also, when I had my company logo done, I told my hubby Darrell that I envisioned it on a book spine one day. That day is come pretty darn soon! Probably within the next month or so.

I’m feeling good about this decision and the fact I will be contributing to “Canadian content and culture” – an issue I became passionate about during my university years when I learned Canadian identity and culture is so influenced and overshadowed by foreign content. But that is a whole other book! For now, I now have the motivation to make it to the finish line and to do whatever it takes to get my book into the hands of readers, wherever they may be.

Tags: writing, books, publishing, autobiography