Do The Things You Are Most Afraid Of Doing

Two years ago today, I was co-teaching a two-day class on how to write and publish a book at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. It was through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UNT Program. This is a program that offers non-credit courses and educational events for adults aged 50 and older. The goal of this program is to foster intellectual stimulation and social engagement for older adults through courses and events. Courses are presented by active and retired faculty as well as by area professionals. I fell into the “area professional” category.

My class co-instructor was Dr. Jean Greenlaw who is Regents Professor Emeritus at the University of North Texas where she taught for 27 years. Jean is the author of two traditionally published books, and she also writes a column called “Book Talk” for the local newspaper, the Denton Record Chronicle.

I met Jean when she came to one of my book signings at Patchouli Joe’s Bookstore in Denton. She is a fan of books and authors, and she was looking for books for her grandchildren as well as books to potentially feature in her column. (She later featured my book, “The Christmas Church” in her 2023 holiday column.)

We struck up a friendship and I invited Jean to be a featured speaker for the independent living retirement community I managed. She was an interesting and engaging speaker and oh so knowledgeable. A short time later we had lunch together and she asked if I would be interested in co-teaching a course with her on publishing. At first, I thought she was joking. I said, “Jean, I’ve never taught before. I’m not a teacher.” She said something like, but you are knowledgeable about self-publishing, and I am knowledgeable about traditional publishing. Together we could present a really good course on publishing.

Even though I felt l was very knowledgeable about self-publishing, the thought of getting up in front of a class and talking about it terrified me. I told Jean I would think it over and get back to her. I prayed about it. I’ve always heard you should do the things you are most afraid of doing so ultimately, I said “yes”.

Of course, It turned out to be a great and fun experience. The class attendees were interested and engaged in the subject and asked so many great questions. I met people in the class that I am still in touch with today and some of them became Facebook friends. I also have even more respect for teachers than I did before.

For those of you who are interested, here are some pros and cons of both self-publishing and traditional publishing:

Pros of Self-Publishing:

*It’s guaranteed that your book will get published.

*Your book can get to the market on your timeline.

*You have total creative control, and you can try innovative new ideas.

*Royalties (the amount you make less the costs) are generally over 50%.

Cons of Self-Publishing:

*You do all the writing, editing, design and marketing yourself or you hire someone to do it for you.

*You pay all the costs of publishing your book.

*If you mass print, you must ship your books to physical stores. (You can also print and ship on demand.)

Pros of Traditional Publishing:

*You have the backing of an editorial, design, and marketing team.

*Production costs are paid by the publisher instead of by the author.

*There is a certain prestige that comes with being traditionally published.

*Depending on your book, there might be an advance given to you from the publisher. Author royalties are generally 10-30%.

Cons of Traditional Publishing:

*Your book might never get published or might take a long time.

*The publisher makes most of the royalties.

*You do not have creative control…the publisher has the final say on how your book will look…and you might not like the final result.