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Imagine a Door: A Writer's Guide to Unlocking Your Story, Choosing a Publishing Path, and Honoring the Creative Journey [Minkštas viršelis]

  • Formatas: Paperback / softback, 518 pages, aukštis x plotis: 228x152 mm, Illustrations
  • Išleidimo metai: 15-May-2025
  • Leidėjas: Forest Avenue Press
  • ISBN-10: 1942436653
  • ISBN-13: 9781942436652
Kitos knygos pagal šią temą:
Imagine a Door: A Writer's Guide to Unlocking Your Story, Choosing a Publishing Path, and Honoring the Creative JourneyDidesnis paveikslėlis
  • Formatas: Paperback / softback, 518 pages, aukštis x plotis: 228x152 mm, Illustrations
  • Išleidimo metai: 15-May-2025
  • Leidėjas: Forest Avenue Press
  • ISBN-10: 1942436653
  • ISBN-13: 9781942436652
Kitos knygos pagal šią temą:
Pastovi nuoroda: https://www.kriso.lt/db/9781942436652.html
Raktažodžiai:
"Foreword by Beth Kephart, author of Handling the Truth. Imagine a Door intersperses craft insights, case studies, and checklists with personal stories about publishing and the emotional complexities of sending your work into the world. Is a writing routine worthwhile? How do you pinpoint the why behind your storytelling and use it to improve your manuscript? What makes a query letter stand out? What exactly is distribution? Does success mean selling a certain number of books or can we reframe our expectations in a less capitalistic way? While prioritizing genuine community over platform building, Laura Stanfill, publisher of Forest Avenue Press and author of Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary, explores these questions from both sides of the desk. She peppers her material with original interviews with authors Fonda Lee, Amy Stewart, Wendy Chin-Tanner, Keith Rosson, Rosiee Thor, Kesha Ajose-Fisher, Emme Lund, Omar El Akkad, and agents, editors, and publishers"--

If you want to get your manuscript published, read this book.

There's no secret handshake or golden key in these pages, but Imagine a Door offers a more equitable and empowering prize: information delivered with gentleness. Author and publisher Laura Stanfill started working on this project in 2016, ultimately interviewing more than seventy-five authors and industry experts, including Wendy Chin-Tanner, Tove Danovich, Omar El Akkad, Erin Harris, Ari Honarvar, Juhea Kim, Dan Lazar, Fonda Lee, Emme Lund, Daniel A. Olivas, Rosanne Parry, Keith Rosson, Amy Stewart, Sonja Thomas, Addie Tsai, and Lidia Yuknavitch. 

Is a writing routine worthwhile? How do you pinpoint the why behind your storytelling? What exactly is distribution? Can we reframe success in a less capitalistic way than defining it by sales numbers? While prioritizing genuine community over platform building, Imagine a Door intersperses case studies, sidebars, and checklists with personal stories about writing, revising, and the emotional complexities of sending your work into the world. Foreword by Beth Kephart, author of Handling the Truth.

Recenzijos

Portland's Top Reads, Willamette Week

A Powell's Books best-seller and staff pick

An Annie Bloom's Books best-seller and staff pick

Foreword by Beth Kephart, author of Handling the Truth

"Radical empathy runs throughout, making Imagine a Door a likely mainstay on writers shelves throughout the whole of their careersa supportive reference to return to again and again."

Foreword Reviews

"Reading Imagine a Door is like taking a course in book publishing with field trips into the writing process and a writing life itself. Author Laura Stanfill is our warm and generous teacher and guide who answers our questions with knowledgeable insight, real-life examples, and sincere caring about the art and the artist."

Judy Reeves, author of A Writers Book of Days

"This book contains vital information, especially if you are anxious about putting your work into the world. Imagine a Door is a guide, a balm, and a blessing."

Mo Daviau, author of Every Anxious Wave and Epic and Lovely

"The new essential guide for writers." 

Kevin Sampsell, bookseller at Powell's Books

"This sunshine of a book is sure to shine a light for many.

Kari Luna, author of The Theory of Everything

"A treasure trove for writers."

Nancy Townsley, author of Sunshine Girl

"This is a generous guide that aims to help writers unlock the story they were meant to tell."

The Bookmonger, Discover Our Coast





"Full disclosure, Laura is a friend. But I can honestly say if you are looking for the insider's guide to publishing, this is it."

Lori Tobias, author of Storm Beat and Wander

"Offers readers a gentle method for setting realistic and sustainable goals."

Christina Vega, publisher at Blue Cactus Press and author of Decay, Vega, and Maps

"Stanfill holds tremendous wisdom and empathy."

Joe Biel, author of A People's Guide to Publishing

"Authentic, honest, vulnerable, and encouraging." 

Michael Gettel-Gilmartin, Project Mayhem

"With the wisdom and thoughtfulness gained from her experience as an author and publisher, Laura Stanfill provides answers that writers havent even thought to ask.  As a bookseller I am so happy to confidently offer this book to writers seeking  practical, honest guidance as they pursue their goals."

Cheryl McKeon, bookseller, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza

Daugiau informacijos

Winner of Scholarship to Yale Publishing Course 2018 (United States) and Oregon Literary Fellowship for Publishing 2021 (United States) and Regional Arts and Culture Council Grant 2023 (United States) and Oregon Literary Fellowship for Publishing 2014 (United States). Short-listed for Anne C Barnhill Prize for Creative Nonfiction 2019 (United States) and May Sarton Award 2023 (United States) and Distinguished Service Award 2021 (United States). Long-listed for Star Watch Awards 2017 (United States).
FOREWORD / 12


IMAGINE A DOOR / 15

ABOUT THIS BOOK / 21




BEGIN / 25




CHOOSE YOUR WORD / 26

When Nonwriters Ask Questions / 30

PRACTICE MAKES PROGRESS / 33

TIME MANAGEMENT / 40

Trick Yourself / 43

THE SECRET / 46

READ WITH ABANDON / 50

CASE STUDY #1: Thrillers and Mysteries / 54

PINPOINT YOUR WHY / 57

Whats Your Why? / 64

THE FIFTY-FIRST PAGE TEST / 66

FIRST READER / 70

VOICE / 75

IM AGAINST APPROPRIATION / 88

CASE STUDY #2: Sensitivity Readers / 95

Interrogate Your Idea / 97

PROGRESS IS PERSONAL / 99

KEEP TRACK / 107

CASE STUDY #3: Thank Your Sources / 110

NOW . . . / 116




COMMUNITY / 119




BELONGING / 120

THE COMPARISON TRAP / 126

THE FAVOR ECONOMY / 134

WRITING GROUPS / 139

CASE STUDY #4: Finding Your People / 142

What to Consider / 146

VISIT THE LIBRARY / 148

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE / 152

Bookstore Etiquette / 158

THE DIY APPROACH / 164

CASE STUDY #5: Small Press Champion / 166

More Ways to Find Friends / 168

BECOMING A PUBLISHER / 171

SUCCESS AS AN IMAGE / 180

Online Etiquette / 186

THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE PAID REVIEW / 191

PAYING FOR AWARDS / 197

CONFERENCES AND COMMUNITY / 199

Conference Checklist / 200

BY THE NUMBERS / 202

CASE STUDY #6: Traveling to Sell / 207

HARD TRUTHS / 212

FINDING A GOOD BALANCE / 216




PUBLISHING PATHS / 219




THE DREAM / 220

REMEMBER, ITS ART / 236

CASE STUDY #7: Im Done / 239

AGENT OR PUBLISHER? / 244

AGENTS / 249

BIG FIVE  / 257

CASE STUDY #8: A Leg in the Door / 264

SMALL PRESS TYPES / 276

UNIVERSITY PRESSES / 295

HYBRID AND SELF-PUBLISHING / 301

Whos an Expert? / 308

DISTRIBUTION / 311

FULL SERVICE / 321

What to ask a publisher with distribution / 327

NO-FRILLS AND FULFILLMENT / 329

What to ask a publisher with no-frills distribution or fulfillment / 333

PRINT ON DEMAND / 334

What to ask a print-on-demand publisher / 342

Printing Galleys / 343

SELF DISTRIBUTION / 345

What to ask a self-distributing publisher / 347

CASE STUDY #9: Forest Avenues Distribution Journey / 348

TELLING PRESSES APART / 352

CASE STUDY #11: Making the Ask / 356

WHEN PRESSES FOLD / 361

DECISION TIME / 364

SAYING YES TO THE YES! / 367

YOUR PART IN PROMOTION / 370

CASE STUDY #10: The Cost of Events / 373

RETURNS VERSUS SALES / 376

Sales Data without Details / 380




QUERYING / 383




READY? SET? / 384

CASE STUDY #12: To Revise or Not? / 391

Querying Too Early graphic / 398

HOW DO YOU FIND A MATCH? / 400

AIM FOR THE MAYBE / 403

TITLES / 405

Title Assessment / 409

SHALL I COMPARE THEE . . . / 411

Make Your List / 414

YOUR HOOK / 417

APPROPRIATE LENGTH / 420

AUDIENCE AND PLATFORM (SIGH) / 424

MORE QUERY INSIGHTS / 432

WRITE YOUR LETTER / 437

A Basic Query Letter / 440

RED (LETTER) FLAGS / 443

VERBAL PITCHES / 451

Conference Etiquette / 453

PROPOSALS / 456

FIRST PAGES / 460

Write Your Yes / 466

HOPES IN A PILE / 467

JUST BECAUSE YOU FINISHED . . . / 472

Allow for Your Worries / 476

REJECTION RESILIENCE / 478

REACTING TO FEEDBACK / 481

WHEN CRAFT GETS IN THE WAY / 487

CASE STUDY #13: The Story of the Hundred Promises /489

THE NO-RESPONSE NO / 493

CALLING IT / 496

ACCEPTED! / 500

BEGIN AGAIN / 503




Acknowledgments / 509

About the Author / 512

READERS GUIDE / TK

INDEX / TK
LAURA STANFILL is the award-winning publisher of Forest Avenue Press and the author of the historical novel Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary. She's a graduate of Vassar College and the Yale Publishing Course, which she attended thanks to a scholarship from the Independent Book Publishers Association. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she wishes on bookstores like stars and wears a sparkly top hat while walking her dog.