“Learning Moments for Writers”
By Liz Babcock, East Sierra Branch
At our February 6 meeting, Jennifer Crittenden’s warm, personal account of “Learning Moments on a Publishing Journey” offered practical advice for self-published authors as well as an opportunity for us to meet a talented author who’d like to establish ties among writers all along the Eastern Sierra.
“Most of us who are writers get pulled into writing because we love to read,” she said. In Jennifer’s case, she came to writing via a career in corporate finance that lasted nearly 25 years. Her first book came about because she had something to say about women working in a male-dominated environment.
She didn’t want anyone else dictating what her cover would look like, how her book would be organized, even what her title would be — all decisions publishers insist on making for all but the most famous authors. So she started Whistling Rabbit Press (named for a favorite Burl Ives song) to give herself the control she craved.
As she began to sell her first book, Jennifer was surprised to discover how interactive authors need to be with their readers. She also encountered unexpected expenses. “Do your homework before you start giving money to somebody to publish your book,” she cautioned. After publishing two self-help books, Jennifer moved to Mammoth — and into new phase of her career. Her next book, The Mammoth Letters: Running Away to a Mountain Town, sold well in its intended market. Then the Me Too! Movement happened. So she wrote What’s a Guy to Do? You’d think this fresh take on a hot topic would have flown off the shelves. But it didn’t sell all that well. “I don’t feel I do particularly well at marketing,” she said….
Her latest and most successful book is intended for a niche market. “People are crazy about dogs in Mammoth.” Working Dogs of the Eastern Sierra was “the quickest book I’ve ever done,” she said. The business model was similar to that of our Scenes from Lives of Service, in that the book sells itself as participants recommend it to their friends (besides buying many copies themselves) and local bookstores readily stock it. “I loved doing it, and I loved meeting the dogs,” she said.
Jennifer ended her talk with a pitch for the third annual Eastern Sierra Book Festival, coming up this July 12 at Hayden Cabin at Mammoth Lakes. This free celebration of books, reading, writing, and publishing would be a perfect opportunity to network, learn, sell books — and have a great time. To learn more, contact Jennifer at info@whistlingrabbitpress.com.
This article is excerpted from the March 2020
Writers of the Purple Sage,
newsletter of the East Sierra Branch.