Birthing A Book - Anderson Vennie

Question: Who would enjoy reading "Birthing A Book?" Answers: Anyone who has always wanted to write a book. Anyone who has already written a book but has no idea what to do with it. Anyone who is an avid reader, interested in how people write books and get them published. All these and more are people who will enjoy reading this amusing and informative book. 

Instructional, funny, and honest about the pitfalls she encountered in the publishing world, Anderson describes how she came to write her first book, "The First Year: Coping With Widowhood." She takes the reader along on the journey to publication of that book and beyond. It was a labor of love, so much so that she found herself comparing the writing and publishing of a book to having a baby. She decided to begin another book about just that, ergo "Birthing A Book."

As anyone who has published a book will tell you, there is a lot of downtime during the publication process, waiting for this and that to be finished before moving to the next step. Anderson used the downtime to work on additional writing projects, completing a second book and beginning work on a third.

When "The First Year: Coping With Widowhood" was published, Anderson was pleased with the result of her publisher's work. However, because she struggled mightily with the publisher's complex online forms and editing software, she decided to search for another publisher for her next book. Still a relative novice in the publishing world, there was much she didn't know, including the reputation of a certain self-publishing parent company with multiple imprints. Unknowingly she chose one of those imprints to publish her second book, "The Shanty Irishman and the Lady." Ultimately she found herself in a nest of vipers. She had unwittingly set in motion a chain of events, which was to cost her a lot of money and personal anguish.

Chagrined at the fallout from her poorly informed decision, she set about learning all she could about writing and publishing. She decided to rework "Birthing A Book" to include what she felt was essential information for aspiring authors about writing and publishing, and in particular, the need for extreme caution in choosing a publisher.

The result is a two-part book. The first part is like a diary of her first book journey. She begins with the decision to write the book, the actual writing, choosing a publisher, and the publication process. Blind luck and trust in the Better Business Bureau led her to a reputable self-publisher for that first book.

The second part of "Birthing A Book" is essentially a mini-manual on writing and publishing a book, including references to resources such as "The Elements of Style" and other books written by experts in writing and publishing. Anderson includes compelling evidence for making careful, well-informed choices when choosing a publisher. Tips on record keeping and efficient organization for writers are included. In both parts, Anderson uses amusing epigraphs on writing and publishing to introduce each chapter

"Birthing A Book" is a fine example of finding oneself surrounded by broken eggs and deciding to make an omelet.