Upcoming discussion event: Get Published with Port City Publishing

This Thursday, Dec. 2, Katie and I will be at Pomegranate Books, Wilmington's largest independent bookstore, where we'll be discussing the publishing process. I'll share our story and what I've learned about getting published in the past couple of years. I've learned a ton, through dealing with agents and publishers and writers who are much better than me. We'll be discussing the way publishing is changing, and how our company is getting on the cutting edge of the industry.

There are tons of good writers out there with great ideas. Not all of them can get book deals, because now, more than ever, it takes something truly eye-catching and distinctive to grab a publisher's eye. That's where we come in. We'll also be looking for new clients, and will be sharing what we're looking for in potential clients. We already have a few, and would love to help more.

So check out the full event info here, and make plans to come see us. Can't wait to see you!

I'm going to write more about the story behind all this soon. I promise. But as you may or may not know, my wife, The Amazing Katie, and I created Port City Publishing, the company that published The Edge of Legend. We did this because in December 2009, the traditional publishing house that originally agreed to publish it had to drop it. Stupid economy.

I freaked out. Then I got depressed. Then I got more depressed when I realized it would take another house two or three years to get the book on shelves.

Jeff Pearlman, my phenomenal mentor through this whole process, suggested self-publishing. "Isn't there some stigma that comes with that?" I asked him. "Won't I be mocked and ridiculed for self-publishing this book?"

"Someone self-publishing a book is to be admired, not mocked," he replied. I figured he was just being nice, but I also figured I could blame him if things went to crap, so I looked into it.

I didn't like the business model of the self-publishing companies out there. It was too much money getting taken from us for too little in return. So Katie and I did the insane.

We started our own publishing company.

And now, I sometimes almost cry*, I'm so happy with how well it's all worked out. The book has been a regional success, was released to fantastic critical acclaim, and we are discussing plans for a second printing.

* But only almost, because I am a man and do not do such things. OK, maybe I cry. But only a little.

"He's an excellent young writer, and that quality oozes through the book," Pearlman* recently told a local newspaper. "More important, he researched the thing to the hilt. Details, details, details. I'm sure a lot of people self-publish** and the product is half-assed. This one isn't. It's incredibly well done. Incredibly."

* Dude is too nice.

** For the record, we're not a "self-publishing" company. We are a regional, independent publishing company. And we are a progressive publishing company. Also, Edge went through a serious gauntlet of editing before we released it. It was treated with all the care and gravity of any piece of journalism that New York would put out.

That's the story in a nutshell. For the more in-depth version, stay tuned here!