Magnolia Studio | Portfolio When Being Strong Is Your Only Option: A Survivor's Memoir
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When Being Strong Is Your Only Option: A Survivor's Memoir
When Being Strong Is Your Only Option: A Survivor's Memoir
Appleton, Wisconsin
©2022, Merica Studio
Buy on Amazon!
Written by Merica Erato
Often I hear about first time authors struggling with all the details involved in self-publishing their book. They frequently give up on their quest and hire a publisher or agent to help with all the intricacies involved.
Last spring, a mutual friend mentioned that her lifetime pal, Merica Erato, was in the process of getting her life story published. She had hired a publisher and thought she was on her way. That turned out to be very far from the truth. She was swindled by this company and ended up with a $4,500 debt, and a manuscript that the publisher hadn't copyedited or proofread at all, with a sub-standard cover and an interior design that looks like it was formatted on a manual typewriter. The publisher did nothing but add section headings and upload it to KDPAmazon for sale.
Against all odds, this embarrassment of a "professionally published" book attracted so much attention that sales exploded and it rose to Amazon's "#1 New Release" status garnering many 5-star reviews. [ … Read More ]
In our first consultation I was very candid about how inferior the previous publisher's cover and design were, and I pointed out the multitude of proofeading errors on just the first several pages. Following my suggestion she agreed that we would redesign her book cover together with her chosen stock photo. Next, I copyedited and proofread the manuscript and created a new layout with a classic design style and lots of family photos. This updated memoir included transcriptions of interview with her and her family members and friends. These interviews were then pieced together chronologically and edited for sense, along with changing names to protect the innocent and the guilty.
Once the copyediting, proofreading and design process was complete, I produced a self-published, 198-page, 5.5x8.5 inch, perfect-bound volume and Kindle E-book version which I uploaded to KDPAmazon's online publishing service. It is available online: Buy on Amazon!
The downside of producing a totally new book with a more appropriate title and its own ISBN number was that her book lost its #1 status at Amazon.
I also designed a professional business card using the book cover art and her company logo to assist Merica with promoting her book signings at bookstores and libraries. [ Read Less ]
Your Only Option —
Title Page
Your Only Option —
In Remembrance
Your Only Option —
Table of Contents
Your Only Option —
Chapter Opener
Your Only Option —
Merica, Jordan,
and Vinny
Your Only Option —
Grandma Grace
and Vinny
Your Only Option —
Italia, Merica
and Grace
Your Only Option —
Vincent Erato
Foundation
Client Testimonial
October 25, 2022
"I was sooo excited to finally have my manuscript finished! I contacted the “publishing company” I had been following... long expensive story short, I wasn’t given anything I was promised. I was left with an unedited boring looking book that I wasn’t proud of.
"A friend then introduced me to Phyllis Peterson, a local editor and designer. She felt so bad for the awful experience I just had that she wanted to help me. We agreed on a master plan and she started by printing out my entire manuscript and then she sat down to read and copyedit it with a red pen. We changed the cover and the title together, and she formatted the interior of the book beautifully. I was very grateful that it was finally being done properly. Phyllis’ expertise was impressive and I was so grateful that my book was finally in the right hands!
"She then helped me to self-publish my memoir on KDPAmazon. She continues to stay by my side and is helping me figure out book signings and sales outside of Amazon. She designed a professional business card for my studio, and we are also working on producing a business website and finding a screenplay writer with hopes of making my survivor's memoir into a film!
"Phyllis has definitely changed my writing and publishing experience into something I am now very proud of and I’m so thankful for all her help. "
Merica Erato — Author and Publisher