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Self-Publishing Here I Come!

One Man's Strange Journey from Cop to Author to Publisher

By Michael W. Quinn

Seven years ago I retired from policing. I had often talked about writing a book, but like most would-be authors it was just talk. I dabbled a little with writing my masterpiece on police training and quickly found how hard it was to write well. Then, as luck would have it, I landed a job and was able to put off the writing. I soon found out I am terrible at outside sales and my employer agreed.

During the next six months, while on unemployment, I wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I was convinced I had a great book. I contacted a friend I worked with ten years earlier on a training manual and asked her to edit my manuscript. A case of red pens and a zillion rewrites later I had a reasonable facsimile of a manuscript -- and just a fraction of my ego.

For the next few months I sent out my manuscript to dozens of publishers and agents and accumulated a pile of “Very nice, but we are not interested” letters. I almost gave up the whole idea of ever getting published. I had this impression that there was a stigma attached to publishing your own work. An editor for the Minneapolis Star Tribune told me that if I self-published I would never get reviewed by a major reviewer and I would be lucky to sell more than a few books. A neighbor thought he was doing me a favor when he told me: “Don’t expect too much. I published a book ten years ago and now I get a royalty check for $114.00 every January.”

I had never let my age or my social norms define me in the past, and I decided I was not going to let a bunch of publishers and agents define me or my book. Self-publishing here I come!

Fortune smiled on me as Margot, my editor, put me in touch with a friend, who put me in touch with a layout and design person, who also knew a copy editor, and who already had connections to a local book printer. I was talked into going with quality rather than “on the cheap” every step of the way and it paid off. I also had a friend who had been a fashion photographer and had a great eye for layout and color. I used the color scheme he recommended for the cover design and then embellished it with fiery flames instead of plain orange. Dorie at Springbook Design finished the book layout, found better flames, picked the fonts, and the book was almost done.

While Dorie was hard at work on layout and design I was busy sending copies of my nearly completed manuscript to criminal justice professionals and friends for feedback. I took note of what they said, gave up some more of my ego, made changes, and then sought more feedback. I used the endorsements I received on the back cover of the book. Eventually I had a package that was ready to go to the printer.

Total expenses so far – about $6,500.00.

Once again I met with a friend of a friend who marketed books in a former life and she told me to get at least 4,000 copies, so I did. Bang Printing charged me about $1 per copy plus shipping.

Cost so far $10,500.00.

ISBN numbers, LOC numbers, copyright registration were all time consuming but relatively simple tasks through Bowker.com, but they added about another $350.00 to the cost. And I still didn’t know if I would sell a single book.

Technically I was now an author and publisher, but the hard work was just beginning.

I wanted to release the book in February of 2005 but I got pushed by a local television reporter friend who wanted to break the story. His broadcast on Channel 11, in the fall of 2004 was sensational, but the book wasn’t available yet in the book stores. I know that contributed to lost sales.

The next thing you know I was being contacted by the Star Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, The Pulse, the Milwaukee Journal, the Houston Chronicle, and Minnesota Public Radio.

Spending the money earlier on to have my book listed in Books in Print was invaluable now. Borders Books called me almost immediately. The store managers at Borders have the unique ability to order directly from independent publishers, and did I get orders! I was making weekly deliveries to 6 local Borders stores around the Twin Cities. I also made sure I left a few signed free copies of the book for the store manager to share with the sales people. I was asked to speak on KUOM and KFAI radio talk shows and Harpers magazine even contacted me for a copy of my book.

I got my own website going through Register.com, Audiovu.com, Smartcart, and Wells Fargo. I was able to market and sell my books right on the website. Money went directly into my business account and I shipped the books out using Click-n-Ship at the USPS website.

I had always seen this book as a complement to a criminal justice ethics course, so every spare moment I had I was on the Internet looking up criminal justice schools around the United States and Canada. I would navigate through the school site until I came to the professors that taught criminal justice or ethics classes. I sent a one page flyer with a couple of the more academic endorsements, a jpg image of the cover, and a note saying: “If you are interested I will send you a preview copy, no charge – no obligation.”

It was tedious work but my wife pitched in and we got positive responses from over 300 teachers. Only one sent us a negative comment demanding that we take him off our mailing list. Not bad for the hundreds of emails we sent out. I did not use a mailing list. I made each email an individual invitation. Many colleges will automatically refuse mailing lists. Cost for shipping and giving away books: $2,000.00, but I picked up at least 12 colleges, so far, who ordered the book.

The local demand for the book was good. At one point the Borders bookstore in downtown Minneapolis told me they thought my book was the best selling paperback in the store for three weeks running! What an ego boost that was! I agreed to do a book signing for them and for several weeks my book had its own table in the store.

Then I got a phone call from the Barnes & Noble representative. She wanted the address of my distributor. When I told her “It’s me” she said “That won’t work for us. We need to order through a distributor. Would you be interested in working with one of our distributors in Michigan? We are getting a lot of requests for your book.” Of course I said yes. I called Partners Book Distributing in Holt, Michigan, after the wheels had been greased by the Barnes & Noble rep, and the next thing you know my book is on the shelf at Barnes & Noble.

While all this was going on I also signed up for an Amazon.com Advantage account. The margin is low but I get orders for books every month.

I was looking for additional outlets for my book on the Internet when I came across a site that sold law enforcement and EMS books. I used the contact-us button and received a very nice phone call from Stefanie at an east coast publishing company informing me that the site was only for marketing their books. I told her I had authored and published the book on my own and she told me that if I was ever interested in getting a publisher they might be interested. I told her I would be happy to look at an offer. I sent her a copy of my book and she sent me an offer.

On the advice of an attorney (another $300.00) I turned down the first offer and they made a second offer. I am hoping to sign with them in the next few weeks. They have offered me a very generous royalty and want to do a second edition of the book.

This review was in the Midwest Book Review - July 2005: “…Walking With the Devil should be considered required reading for all police academia curriculums, and is highly recommended for anyone who is ‘on the job,’ as well as an essential reference for civilian review board members and concerned members of the public.”

And I got a great review in the National Lawyers Guild – Minnesota Chapter - June 2005: “… a must-read for every ethical person involved with the legal system.”

Writing is hard work and self-publishing is a business. It is about doing everything a publishing house would do, but doing it on your terms, and it’s worth it.

* * * * *

Walking With the Devil: The Police Code of Silence
by Michael W. Quinn
$16.95 paperback; 181 pages
ISBN: 097591250X
www.Booksbyquinn.com

Mike Quinn served 23 1/2 years with the Minneapolis Police Department and 18 months with the Minnesota Police Corps where he oversaw the design and development of the federally sponsored Police Corps Academy. During his tenure Mike worked in some of the toughest and highest-profile units, serving over 300 high-risk warrants without a critical incident, conducting successful raids on armed and dangerous suspects, and diligently investigating allegations of internal criminal and departmental violations. (Great training for the rough & tumble world of independent publishing!) Mike is already hard at work on his next 2 books: Walking With the Devil, Too and You Can Always Tell a Cop, But You Can't Tell 'Em Much

Says Mike: “I am always happy to answer questions or share what little I know to help someone starting down the self publishing road. Contact me at Mikeqjpn@aol.com.”

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