At its core, a personal essay is an author’s attempt to work his or her way through a question, a struggle, or an experience, and to share that story with others. The best essays look not just inward but connect to a broader audience—and might even become part of a greater conversation or mission. That possibility is what led Vinnie Kinsella to publish his anthology, Fashionably Late: Gay, Bi, and Trans Men Who Came Out Later in Life, in 2016. In November 2013 Kinsella founded the PDX Late Bloomers Club in Portland, Oregon, a support group for older men to share their experiences, struggles, and feelings associated with coming out. Hearing those stories inspired Kinsella to publish a book of personal essays that would reach the many people who may not have such groups available in their local communities. Kinsella, a publishing consultant in Portland, served as the editor of the anthology and contributed his own piece to the book, which he self-published and released on Coming Out Day in October of last year. I spoke with Kinsella, who is also the author of the guide A Little Bit of Advice for Self-Publishers, about the publishing process, and  I consulted Amy Hundley, senior editor and rights director at Grove Press, and Michele Karlsberg, an experienced LGBTQ publicist, for some perspective on marketing and promotion.

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The Author’s Approach
I’ve had a love of creating books since elementary school. In second grade, all the students wrote and illustrated a book about giraffes. At the end of the year, I kept the book—fascinated by the collaborative project. Throughout high school I played around with book design and formatting. I majored in writing in college and did both editorial and graphic design for the newspaper. I knew that I liked helping my peers with their writing, and my adviser said I would be a natural at editing because I actually liked making revisions. Everything clicked when he said that. I now divide my time between editing and design. I think the design process itself is fun, but I love editing—especially when I love the content.

Fashionably Late: Gay, Bi, and Trans Men Who Came Out Later in Life was not a book I planned to publish. I founded a group for this demographic in Portland, where, even though it’s a pretty liberal city, there are still many people struggling with their identity who feel very alone. I began to think about the many other people who may not have access to a safe place to talk about their challenges—especially in cities and towns where there isn’t such widespread acceptance. I thought an anthology of essays that addressed the struggles and experiences of people like those in my support group might help others in a similar way. I first posted a general call for submissions in online outlets for writers such as Lambda Literary, Places for Writers, and Duotrope. I also targeted LGBTQ writers groups, such as the Bi Writers Association. People spread the word, sharing and reposting the call elsewhere. I went through two rounds of submissions; after the first, I knew what themes were missing, so I made a second, more specific call. I asked one person to submit a piece after hearing him give a presentation. Compiling the anthology probably took about a year and a half. I had previously run an online poetry journal, so I was used to submissions and working with writers. Reading submissions for this book was more difficult. These were people’s life stories, so I had to be diplomatic when I rejected them. Some essays were wonderfully written but too similar to those I had already accepted. Others needed too much editing. Eventually I found a way to write encouraging rejection letters. I told people to keep sharing their stories in any form they could. 

I wanted to self-publish in order to maintain my personal vision for the book. I did the initial editing and occasionally asked authors to fill in some gaps. I hired two proofreaders. The first was a straight woman, someone outside of the book’s demographics, who ended up functioning a little more like an editor: I gave her free rein to ask questions and offer her opinion on the pieces. Her outsider perspective was useful, and she made some revisions that were very helpful. She also insisted I contribute an essay of my own, which I hadn’t planned on doing. But as I wrote it, I realized it helped me address some of the questions that were raised in the other pieces. 

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I worked with a cover designer I had used for several clients. I had some specific ideas. I didn’t want pink, which is used for many gay books. I didn’t want faces that would tie the book to a particular age or race. The designer, Alan Dubinsky, came back with three really good concepts. The final cover was not my personal favorite, but I shared the options with people in the target demographic: other writers, LGBTQ friends, and a publicist pal. In the end, I decided the cover they chose would work best for marketing.

Publicity and marketing is outside of my expertise. A friend who runs a publicity firm in Portland offered to help me for no charge and wrote a press release and sent the book out to reviewers. I put most of my own efforts into the book launch, which I held on National Coming Out Day on October 11, 2016. To help with the event I hired people in the LGBTQ community, such as caterers and decorators, most of whom gave me generous discounts or charged me only for goods and not services because they wanted to support the book. We used Portland’s Adrianna Hill Grand Ballroom, which was a gay nightclub in the 1970s, and planned a big gala event with different authors on panels. About two hundred people attended. Unfortunately, the presidential election was also just a few weeks away. A reporter friend who was helping me pitch the media told me that all the editors he contacted were completely focused on the election.

Between editing and proofreading, cover design, printing, and publicity, I probably spent between $7,500 and $10,000 to publish the book, and I’ve sold about a thousand copies. I try to be active on social media, but the book targets an older demographic that doesn’t always use those platforms. Facebook, though, is where most of the buyers learned about the book. I see the book as a tool. I’ve heard from counselors and other professionals who have said they’re using it within the LGBTQ community. More surprising, straight women have also bought the book. I hadn’t anticipated that readership, but some women report that they enjoy reading stories about people who discover themselves. One reader said she read it to build empathy. I now realize that the book is reaching an entirely different market, which I didn’t pursue. If I do a second book, I’ll definitely bring secondary markets into the conversation. Originally I was also planning to include essays by women who came out later in life, but felt I would need to bring on a woman to acquire and edit those stories. I may end up doing a women’s volume in the future. 

Throughout the process of publishing this book, I had to separate Author Vinnie from Consultant Vinnie and do some mental gymnastics to make decisions. When you’re self-publishing, you need to think about your goals. I ask my clients, “What is your definition of success? What do you want the book to do?” That way I can help them figure out whether self-publishing, traditional publishing, or a hybrid model (which typically comes with distribution from a traditional publisher) is the best path for them. 

My advice for other authors who are self-publishing:

• Invest in editing. Even if you’re on a tight budget, content is king. You can have a flashy book cover, but if someone doesn’t like the book, they won’t recommend it to friends.

• Covers are marketing tools. Look at the covers and jackets on books in your genre. Notice what works and what’s appealing. Spend the money to hire a professional designer.

• Layout design is also important. Self-publishing templates don’t offer much flexibility in typography or readability. Some e-book conversions are poorly formatted. Pay attention to the presentation. After all, you wouldn’t buy a beautiful birthday gift and put it in a paper bag.

• Have a timetable, especially if you plan to market the book yourself. You can get a book out quickly, but you need to do some prerelease marketing at least six months before the publication date.

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An Editor’s Perspective
Amy Hundley is the senior editor and subsidiary rights director at Grove Atlantic. She has spent more than twenty years editing literary fiction, memoirs, and general nonfiction. Hundley has worked with best-selling authors including Roxane Gay, Barry Hannah, and Jim Harrison. 

This book occupies a very interesting space in queer literature: the mission-driven anthology. Such books serve a social need, but they can be challenging in market terms. Usually they are self-published or put out by small publishers. It’s noteworthy that Kinsella combined the stories of trans men and bisexual men. There is a tradition within the LGBTQ community to divide by gender (i.e., lesbian, gay, etc.); while the categories are well established, the boundaries are starting to break down—but this book’s inclusive take is still somewhat unusual. 

In pure bookselling terms, until the advent of the Internet you had to go to a specialized bookstore or a particular section of a bookstore in large cities to find LGBTQ-focused books. Now you can order them online, but the downside is that many of the bookstores that once carried them have closed. Thankfully, mainstream media has opened up to cover more books by and about LGBTQ people, and there are an increasing number of online communities for these groups. There are gay blogs such as joemygod.com and the lesbian site afterellen.com, both of which might be interested in covering this type of book. It also behooves authors to do research to find Facebook groups that reach their target demographic. You need to be part of these communities; as with any author, you can’t just show up and say, “I have a book,” and expect people to be thrilled. You should participate in these communities, both online and in real life, well before your publication date. In fact, the actual publishing date isn’t as important in getting online coverage.

Another way to spread the word about a book is to get one or more of the essays serialized in an online publication. That will draw attention to the particular contributor as well as the book.

Events are a double-edged sword; the success depends on the partnering organization or the bookstore. There is a lot of competition for time, and even established authors don’t always attract a large crowd. Authors who do hold events need contacts in the community who can spread the word about a reading or discussion. Any sponsoring organization such as a community center or university can also promote the event to its mailing list. We have sometimes paired an author with someone local who is well known in a certain community.

For other authors considering self-publishing, here’s my advice:

• Spend the money necessary to make the book look good in terms of both the cover and interior design. People want a book to look attractive, especially if it is a gift for someone.

• Copyediting and proofreading are really important.

• Consider using a freelance publicist. Even if you don’t think you can afford one, it’s worth having a consultation and getting a proposal. It is very tough for an author to do everything, and you may be able to split the publicity work with the professional. In Kinsella’s case, looking for someone who has experience in the LGBTQ category and then asking that publicist for the names of other authors he or she has promoted is key. Make sure to spell out in a contract who handles the nuts and bolts, such as writing the pitch letter and mailing galleys or books.

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A Publicist’s Take
Michele Karlsberg has been a publicist focusing on the LGBTQ community for nearly three decades, working with authors, publishers, libraries, and bookstores. She won the 2017 Lambda Literary Publishing Professional Award. In 1989, along with the Publishing Triangle, she launched Lesbian and Gay Book Month. She worked with Book-of-the-Month Club/Quality Paperback Books to launch the LGBTQ book club InsightOut and the Triangle Classics series.

I think Kinsella could have received more publicity. My hunch is that he didn’t get much review coverage because he didn’t use advance galleys for the industry trades and long-lead publications. There’s value in sending out advance reader copies (ARCs). You’re not just trying to get reviews. You want lifestyle coverage and to get your book connected to current events. You can do inexpensive galleys through CreateSpace and label them “Not for sale to the public” or “Not final copy.” You should also include a marketing sheet with details about the book. Galleys can be used to set up readings, provided you send them about four months before the proposed event. 

Smaller publishers are not taking a lot of LGBTQ books, so authors have to find independent presses or self-publish. However, the challenge for authors who publish through Amazon is that brick-and-mortar stores usually won’t order their books because the retailer discounts are so unfavorable. I advise authors to publish through Amazon Kindle or CreateSpace and then distribute through IngramSpark because bookstores will order from Ingram. Authors should introduce themselves to local booksellers. If the stores can’t order the book, sometimes they will take the book on consignment from the author. While this can be an accounting headache, it’s a way for authors to get visibility in their communities. 

Self-published authors can get invaluable guidance from publicists because these experts have developed strong relationships and contacts over many years. I don’t send books to everyone. Instead, I send them to particular journalists; I know their tastes and what books they’re likely to review or write about. A month before publication, I focus on pitching syndicated book columnists who will either review a book or interview the author. These columnists are in the LGBTQ media circle and often aren’t staff writers. But I know them, and they’ll listen to my pitches.

Fashionably Late is actually a jackpot in terms of publicity. Nonfiction is easier to promote than fiction. The topic of coming out later in life is appealing, both to LGBTQ people who have come out later in life and their family and friends, and I would work with the contributors to get them involved in social media and any local events. I would find an organization and arrange for a reading or discussion. I usually hook up two or three authors to do a combined reading. I encourage authors to go grassroots even in today’s era of social networking. I call a friend and ask him or her to have a house party and invite fifteen people whom I don’t know. There they’ll host a reading and discussion, with no pressure to buy the book. That way people go home and tell other people about the book. I find that this type of grassroots hustling can be more successful than bookstore events.

Social media is very important, but it shouldn’t be used to continually hard-sell the book. Facebook is about conversations, and Twitter is for instant information such as event information or to tag specific groups. Pinterest can be used when the book has some “back in time” elements and there are appropriate visuals, such as clothing or places. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin, though. Use the outlets that make sense for your book’s subject. 

You should also remain visible at LGBTQ conferences and literary gatherings. Write pieces about the book’s subject. 

You need to stay active because so many members of the LGBTQ literary community are always out there, doing readings or writing. You need to speak, review other books, and write essays—anything that will keep your name visible.

Here are the three biggest mistakes self-published authors make:

• Not recognizing that the cover is the most important marketing tool. Prospective buyers pick up a book according to the cover. Photography and clean visuals are the best.

• Not using professional editors. Don’t get feedback from your partner, parents, or friends. You want developmental editing, proofreading, and copyediting. When reviewers see a self-published book with errors within the first few pages, they will toss the book.

• Not promoting their book. Reviewers are getting hundreds of books a week, so you need to stand out. You need to know what books have been published on the same subject as yours and where they have been reviewed. 

Debra Englander is a New York–based freelance editor and writer. She managed a business-book program at John Wiley & Sons for nearly seventeen years and previously worked at Money magazine and Book-of-the-Month Club. She has written about business and books for numerous publications, including USA Today, Good Housekeeping, and Publishers Weekly.