Hi there! Im wondering for the page and all of this, I have a great story but Im from Mexico and I want to write (obviously) in spanish, can I do it? I mean by No Media Kings as my logo?
I´m waiting your answer, thanks :)

I went the self-publishing route because I'm a control freak and because I was writing about a taboo topic (sex work) that most traditional publishers have no interest in unless it's a tell-all. And my efforts have inspired other escorts to start self-publishing their work. I'm not trying to make the point that the only women in self-publishing are sex workers, only that it someone takes one woman to start a ripple effect. And for someone on the fringe of society (in whatever way), self-publishing makes life easier.

But it is also very true that having a relationship with a man really cuts into the amount of hours one can spend obsessing over their new business. Men require an awful lot of interaction and feeding. I don't have kids, thank God, I can't even imagine what that's like. But I do find myself jealous of female bloggers/writers who don't seem to have boyfriends. I think they get more done than I do.

With the Internet and sharing of information (like No Media Kings -- thank you), more and more women will become indie publishers. The self-publishing groups I belong to here in the US are mostly women, though the men are the ones who post the most (and make the most assinine remarks).

I have been lurking and reading much from No Media Kings (terrific) and probably should have done my research a bit more it seems. After one publisher printed the book WRONG - twice - and then a third publisher - did the same (although much of this had to do with my trying to convert Word into .pdf)- I felt the universe was telling me something. Becuase I had worked on this book off and on for over fifteen years, I sold my home and bought a cheaper one and had 10,000 printed (at $1.58 each four color cover 388 pages) and am advertising in SKIRT! and USA TODAY regionally. We shall see - just now starting. Because my market is 15- 18 million in the US alone 85 - 90% female - I hope to recoup my costs (Cross Country Fulfillment in CO has 24/7 phone also. But, like some of you have said, it was the issue of WRITING that was primary. The book savingyourlie.org is about coping skills with depression, I have felt that because I was a fighter and had discovered these tools in the trenches - that if I could HELP someone who did not have the energy to find help for themselves, then I was successful. Time will tell - I may be a complete idiot. Will post again and let you know.

Hey, there is what you need.

GF7cK1 Hey, there is what you need.

I too, have been inspired to write and even given my own web page at heritagemakers.com/155662!
I had no idea how easy it could be to make my own books. My mom who has written poetry for years dreamed of having books published, and now we can do it ourself!

Thank you for this great site, and especially the bannerfree blessing!

Edited by author 05-18-2004 09:25 AM
I'm a Lady Book Publisher, my press is Mama Specific Productions, http://www.MSPpress.com . I think with women the biggest issue is family and love life. Lets' face it: most women of reproductive age have or are going to have at least one kid. And most women are heterosexual or identify with the hetero lifestyle whether they actually are...that means dealing with a man in a relationship. And contrary to popular belief, most mothers are not home with their children on a full-time basis, there's paid outside work to do of some kind, even if it's just part-time.

The time, energy, and emotional investment in bearing and raising children and dealing with a man in a marriage or long-term relationship can be all-consuming. Throw having a job on top of that, and it takes a tremendous anount of will and determination to write, let alone publish your own stuff. I'm not trying to bash men at all nor am I trying to underestimate women, I just think that many men and fathers truly don't understand how unfair and unequal the distribution of house labor and child work is in their relationship. Even if they are fairly conscious and feminist-identifying like my husband.

Anyway. I think the mental effects of sexism are what hinder female writers who aren't mothers from self-publishing...I've been a mom since before I was an adult, so I don't know what it's like to have a grown-up life without children. I always assume women without children to have more time, energy, money, and emotional resources to invest in their projects than mothers but that doesn't seem to be the case. By mental effects I mean low self-esteem, fear of success; of doing something most women don't do, not having the money due to being paid less than men, etc.

that's part of why monica & i decided to self publish Some Words Spoken... we didn't see as many female names on poetry book covers as we'd like, so we thought we should go for it!
http://www.somewordsspoken.com

I'm not a self-publisher (yet), but I'm a "lady book publisher" and damn proud of it. Word Riot Press started up in January as an extension of Word Riot literary magazine.

Can't tell you just how useful NoMediaKings.org is.

hi
i found the nomediakings site through the danforth review site (danforthreview.com) and i am putting in my two cents because i am a woman and i self-published back in '98. reason: no university or publisher or magazine or any other authority impressed me at the time and i had no desire to submit my work to them. i shared my work live in cafés, pubs, festivals (a la gary snyder: "I'd emphasize... the need for the poet to identify with real people, not a faceless audience. There should be less concern with publishing, more with reading. A reading is a kind of communion. I think the poet articulates the semi-known for the tribe.")eventually my friends & acquaintances asked me for more and so i made a book and a cd for my friends, with a help from my friends. simple as that. it was fun and i highly recommend it. however, if ever i were to publish again, like many canadian writers, my dream publisher would be coach house press - a small press located on bpNichol lane in toronto (chbooks.com).
meanwhile, the cheapest ways to express yourself and be heard are open stages in real live reality and online in virtual reality.
[this applies for those interested primarily in expressing themselves and being heard, of course, not to those interested in "careers" as writers.]
best
kris
(krisnorthey.com)