Wordbeams 

Susan Bodendorfer agreed to be interviewed via e-mail by C. T. Atherton. 

CA: Where are you located? Do you work out of your home or in an office?

SB: Wordbeams is located in Portland, Oregon where I work out of my home-based office.

CA: What is your background?

SB: I've been actively involved in the arts in one way or another for as long as I can remember. As a writer and editor for more than twenty years, my publishing credits include a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction subject matter. In addition to writing, I have designed and marketed my own line of greeting cards, personalized prints, and a series of self-help audio tapes and have been a frequent participant in juried art and craft fairs (both as an exhibitor and judge). I've also worked as an art director, a graphic artist, and as an executive secretary to a mayor and board of trustees.

CA: Why did you decide to start an e-publishing company?

SB: I wanted to give skilled, talented authors who have been overlooked by the big print publishers an opportunity to be published. I also wanted to give readers a chance to see some of the wonderful, sparkling works they were missing.

Submitting my own manuscripts to traditional print publishers has been an eye-opening experience to say the least. Having to wait often a year or more only to receive a two-sentence photocopied rejection letter is frustrating and disheartening. I knew so many other writers who were going through the same ordeal, and had read many of their manuscripts which, like my own, were just as good, if not better than the books on the shelves of brick and mortar stores.

When I first became aware of the bright new field of electronic publishing I was elated and knew that I wanted to be a part of this exciting industry.

CA: Please briefly describe e-publishing to those who don't yet understand the term.

SB: E-publishing (electronic publishing) is simply an alternate method of publishing in which the author's edited manuscript is converted to HTML (which is viewed with the reader's computer browser, without having to be online), PDF (which is Adobe Acrobat's format and can be viewed using their free Adobe Acrobat Reader), or another file format. The e-book (electronic book) is then distributed by the publisher as a computer download (e-mail attachment), or through the mail on a diskette or CD. E-books can be read on your computer screen or by using one of the hand-held readers that are now widely available.

While e-published books will never replace traditional print books, they do offer many advantages to the reader, including larger fonts than the 8 pt. fonts used in print books; animations in HTML books; active hyperlinks; non-traditional storylines, characters, and subject matter (often considered too risky for cost conscious, conservative print publishers); and, of course, they save trees!

CA: What prevents authors who know how to code in HTML, or PDF files from publishing their own work? What is the advantage of working through an e-publishing company?

SB: Absolutely nothing prevents such authors from publishing their own work and for some, this may be a viable alternative. Many diligent, hardworking authors have achieved success and satisfaction through self-publishing. As long as they have the time, knowledge, and resources, there's no reason they can't publish and market their own books.

There are many advantages to working with a full-service, royalty-paying publisher such as Wordbeams. We provide professional editing; cover art; conversion into HTML and PDF (as well as any other formats offered); extensive advertising and promotion; ARCs sent to reviewers; attractive packaging for diskettes including clear plastic jewel cases, full color book cover inserts (with spine) and diskette labels; ease of customer purchase by secured credit card transaction; an individual web page for each author and for each of their books; as well as other services--all of which are without any fee to the author. We also provide our authors with personalized promotion packets and information to assist them with their self-promotion efforts. One of the greatest advantages of working with an e-publisher is the sheer volume of prospective customers that will visit the e-publishers website. An author's work may very well be discovered and purchased by a reader who initially came to the site in search of another author's work or a different genre, etc., and happened to become intrigued by the description and/or cover art of the other book(s).

CA: Will your finished product be listed in any of the major online bookstores?

SB: Yes. We plan to take advantage of as many distribution possibilities as possible and are currently researching to determine which outlets will be the best for our readers as well as our writers. We are also investigating the various hand-held reader formats and will ultimately offer Wordbeams books in one or more of those formats as well.

CA: How many are on your staff? Is there a copyeditor? A cover art designer? An editor? How closely do you plan to work with authors who publish with you?

SB: I am the Editor-in-Chief, cover art designer, webmistress, and I overlook all facets of the business. I have a part-time senior editor, a freelance editor, and a part-time reader. Some manuscripts require only copyediting, while others may need in depth developmental editing. As we become busier, our staff and use of qualified freelancers will expand.

We work very closely with our authors and encourage them to contact us at any time with their questions, comments or suggestions. This is where we differ vastly from the large, traditional print publishers. While I design the majority of our covers, I am always open to considering an author's own artwork if they ask to submit it. In designing a book's cover, I actively seek the author's input so that the completed cover captures the essence of their vision while maintaining Wordbeams' overall vision.

We value our authors not only for their skills and talents, but also as people with individual feelings, wants, and needs. It's very important to us that their experience with Wordbeams be as pleasurable, positive and satisfying as possible.

CA: Do you think genre novels will be easier to promote online by e-publishing versus literary or mainstream novels?

SB: No, not at all. One of the great things about the Internet is that it attracts people of all ages, interests, occupations, education levels, and cultures. This means that every minute of every day, people all over the world are online hoping to find something they're searching for, including quality reading material that meets their own unique needs or interests. Aside from the established e-publishers, there's now an influx of new electronic publishers (some quality, some not) setting up shop. Traditional print publishers and their best-selling authors (like Stephen King) are also testing the e-publishing waters. It's just a matter of time before e-books, whether they be genre novels, literary, mainstream, nonfiction, technical, etc., are as commonplace and as widely read and appreciated as their print counterparts.

CA: What is print on demand? Do you plan to offer this service? Why or why not?

SB: Basically, print on demand entails economical printing of books in small runs. As an electronic publisher, we would not be involved in the print production of any books. E-publishing is really rather similar to the concept of print on demand because the e-books are produced as ordered.

CA: How will you encourage your authors to promote their novels once they are published?

SB: From the day they become contracted Wordbeams authors, our authors begin receiving e-mails from us full of tips and links to help them in the promotion of their books. We refer them to various e-author associations, lists, forums, websites, articles, published books, etc., where they are able to find a wealth of promotional ideas. We also send a promo pack of personalized "goodies" to each of our authors during the month their book premiers to assist them in self-promotion. Each author is also encouraged to implement their own website.

CA: You began your company in November of 1999, and already you have so many manuscripts you had to postpone submissions until after March 15, 2000. How many manuscripts have you received? Are you impressed by the quality of the submissions?

SB: Immediately after uploading the Wordbeams website last November, I spent a great deal of time contacting writer's groups, lists, forums, newspapers, and sending e-mails and postcards to every writer I knew to let them know about Wordbeams. I really wanted to make sure that I got the word out--and it certainly worked! We were bombarded with well over a hundred manuscripts before the end of the year and continued to receive a steady flow since then.

Having suffered through terribly long periods of waiting to hear from print publishers, I promised myself early on that writers submitting to Wordbeams would never have to go through that kind of angst. In order to avoid this, it became necessary, and will probably be necessary from time to time, to temporarily close submissions. Each manuscript is given the same, careful consideration and each submission is read in the order in which it is received (with the exception of manuscripts we have specifically requested). We don't rush through reading or editing just so we can slap a few extra books up on the website. Wordbeams is interested in quality rather than quantity--and that takes time and care. Closing submissions helps us when we feel we're getting too swamped to get back to writers in a timely manner.

As far as the quality of submissions, well, there has been quite a mix. Some were superb and made us truly excited, while others left us scratching our heads in a perplexed state of wonder. It was amazing to see how many writers blatantly ignored our very specific and detailed guidelines. We received countless queries full of such poor grammar and so many misspellings that it was hard to believe. Not a very good first impression. On the other hand, we were delighted by the submissions we received from writers who obviously took the time to read our guidelines and write a professional query letter. The bulk of submissions we received fell somewhere in between the good and the bad.

CA: Your grand opening is scheduled for May 1, 2000. What can we expect to see?

SB: We're very excited about our wonderful, eclectic mix of premier books. The titles include: Jezebel and the Egghead (contemporary romantic comedy) by Daisy Dexter Dobbs; Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) (dark comedy/mystery) by Jeff Strand; Tending the Garden of Your Mind (self-help/motivation) by Zoey Alexander; L. A. Caveman (contemporary romance) by Christina Crooks; The Piggy Papers--An Admittedly Irreverent Look at Dieting (humor/self-help) by Maggie Madison; The Runaway Fiancée (contemporary romance) by Rose Murray; Beetle Bug Adventures (children's - 3rd grade) by Jennifer L. B. Leese; and, Pinch Me (contemporary romantic comedy) by Maggie Madison.

CA: On your Web site, you now offer complete writer's guidelines, FAQs for both readers and writers, and an encouraging page about rejection. Do you have anything else to say to those writers who are still struggling to see their names in print?

SB: The easiest way to ensure that you won't become a published writer is to give up. No matter how many times you have been rejected, you need to remember that each rejection brings you one step closer to that glorious day when you receive "the call" (of course, with e-publishing it would be "the e-mail"). Living the life of a writer can be difficult, frustrating, stress-filled, and ego-deflating. It can also be rewarding, fulfilling, ego-boosting--and best of all, a dream come true.

Nothing helps a writer more than reading. Read to see how successful authors handle dialogue, hooks, POV, and anything else you may have difficulty writing. After reading a stack of books, pull out that rejected manuscript of yours and experiment with it by rewriting those problem areas in several different ways. Soon you'll find that you've become adept at handling a particular writing problem and you can move on to tackling the next area of weakness. It's a trite old saying, but practice makes perfect.

It's also a good idea to feed yourself with positive, motivational thoughts and ideas, whether they be from books, audio tapes, courses at your local college, or from associating with positive people. Steer clear of doomsayers and negative people who bring you down or make you doubt yourself.

Never ever give up.

About the E-Publisher:

• Wordbeams
• Wordbeams Closes 2002
   

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