Nonfiction Books in Minnesota | Wendell Affield, Author

We are a young regional Independent Press, positioned to embrace the fast-changing publishing world.

Our goal is to share with other writers the path to self-publication that we have discovered. To lift the veil of secrecy the publishing world is shrouded in.

Our approach utilizes professional services on a work-for-hire basis. Author maintains 100% ownership and control of his/her art.

Learn the Lexicon: Purchase and study The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Marilyn Ross and Sue Collier. This is truly the bible of self-publishing. It takes the reader from the concept of self-publishing through the completed product. Marketing strategies, an appendix of resources, and an extensive glossary make this book a must-have for anyone considering self-publishing.
Create an account with R.R. Bowker. This company is your gateway to self-publishing. Study it.
Early in your publishing endeavor, purchase a domain name create a website, and begin a blog. Perhaps share your self-publishing learning experience.
Explore the links we used for professional website design, editing, and contract clarification if needed.
Whispering Petals Press offers a Book Template with links to the resources we used to publish Muddy Jungle Rivers.
Whispering Petals Press offers a Trade Mark imprint for clients to publish under.
Copyright, LCCN, ISBN, BISAC, and other technical detail assistance available

There are hundreds of reputable self-publishing companies vying for your business. We spent two years studying different options and came to the conclusion that in this evolving electronic world we had the capability to create a book and mass market it at a fraction of what self-publishing companies offered. For example, Barnes and Noble discovered Muddy Jungle Rivers through R.R. Bowker’s Books-In-Print list. It’s a free service.

Whispering Petals Press is evolving. We are in the process of creating an umbrella, a network under which writers can self-publish. We believe that in this new world independent writers must unite.

If you are smart enough to create a book, you can learn how to publish it if you are willing to dedicate some time to it.

When you hold the book you created you will have a deep sense of satisfaction and will have learned a new craft that will serve you throughout your writing career.

About

Whispering Petals Press, LLC was created as a platform to self-publish my Vietnam War memoir, Muddy Jungle Rivers. I realized that the odds of a traditional publisher selecting my manuscript were about the same as hitting the Powerball lottery. I began studying self-publishing companies and became disenchanted because of the unreasonable demands and the horror stories I read on blogs. But a positive aspect of my time spent studying was that I learned the mechanics of taking a manuscript from a Microsoft Word Document to a print-book and electronic book. After weighing the benefits of different companies I reached the conclusion that CreateSpace (CS) (now Amazon KDP), would best fulfill my needs.

Four books greatly influenced the development of my plan and I highly recommend them to aspiring self-publishers.

The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Marilyn Ross and Sue Collier. This is truly the bible of self-publishing. It takes the reader from the concept of self-publishing through the completed product. Marketing strategies, an appendix of resources, and an extensive glossary make this book a must-have for anyone considering self-publishing.
Sell Your Book on Amazon by Brent Sampson. It was Sampson’s book that made me realize fully the importance of electronic data interchange (EDI). For the self-publisher, his/her book’s exposure to the world and order fulfillment are critical to success.
2012 Writer’s Market, Senior Content Editor, Robert Lee Brewer: The first 200 pages of this tome should convince a new generation of writers to empower themselves. Brewer’s article, “The Uncertainly Brave New World, Recent Changes in Publishing,” is very illuminating.

I mention four books that influenced the development of my manuscript. The fourth is Laura Hillenbrand’s, Unbroken. The story she narrates is an incredible tale of survival. But I liked the layout of the book. The preface, maps, pictures, and epilogue. I realized this is what I would like to see for Muddy Jungle Rivers so I used her art as a template. I would recommend for the aspiring self-publishing author, select a book in your genre that you admire and try to emulate it.

As I created Muddy Jungle Rivers, I created a list of resources; a template to assemble a book, available soon in WPP bookstore. It lists steps and links to information needed for each page. This new world of self-publishing, print-on-demand (POD) technology and eBooks have changed the layout of books. No longer is it gospel that every chapter must start on the recto (right) hand page. So no template will be exact.