Believing in Your Book

Every now and then I will receive an e-mail or phone call from someone who has just read my first book, Three Slovak Women and wants to tell me how much they enjoyed it. I received such a phone call today. The gentleman said there were many parts of my book he could identify with and recalled similarities with his own Slovak family while reading it. He complimented me for my honest, “told it like it was” account of the experiences of Slovak immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and how religion, work and culture influenced behavior and actions. As a writer, receiving this type of compliment gives me a tremendous sense of satisfaction. And, even after publishing five books, TSW will always be the one that I hold as my personal favorite for several reasons–most especially because it was my first book and the one that I most believe in.

Three Slovak Women is now in its eighth printing and one of the top sellers for Gateway Press. I also recently learned that it will be used in a class at the University of Pittsburgh next year, and it is currently being used for a course in another college–St. Francis (Loretto, PA). I am also glad I made the decision to self-publish this book because it gave me the freedom to write the book I wanted to and be selective about how and where I sell it.

I believed in this book. If you are a writer, having confidence in your work is a critical part of the publishing process.