Sharing this letter is hard. Why would reposting this letter received from one of our happy authors trouble me? I guess being South African, the value of being humble was entrenched within me from early on. That’s fair right? You must feel something similar when someone unexpectedly gushes over your friendly smile or service around others.
Then why share?
I think this letter has value when seen by other first-time authors. I think feeling frightened of giving your (book) baby to another person and inviting fresh feedback is understandably scary for a new writer, unsure of their talent. My hope is that after reading this, your uncertainty is soothed, as best it can. I hope it helps you feel safer sharing your words with a team you can trust to help you to the other side.
I hope we get to help you publish your book. Soon.
Dave and the rest of the unruly MYeBook bunch.
December 19, 2022
From: Mahra Casden (Pen Name)
To: MYeBook
A THOUSAND THANK-YOUS TO MY DREAM TEAM AT MYEBOOK
Because I write better than I selfie (well, I certainly hope so!), I do so to express my appreciation for the MYeBook team, thanks to whom I was able to self-publish a second edition of Survival: One Woman’s Search for Sanity (under my pseudonym, Mahra Casden), confident that the novel is now the best it could possibly be.
The writing of the novel had already been long and fraught when, unable to find an agent/publisher, I was encouraged by a few readers to self-publish rather than let the manuscript languish in a drawer. I was not living in South Africa then, nor in an English-language country, so I opted for a company in the United States to self-publish in 2014. It was not a successful partnership, to say the least, and an extremely costly lesson in good sales pitches and self-delusion. In any event, I must and do again thank the many family and friends who purchased the first edition of Survival and appreciated the work.
After my beloved mom died at the beginning of this year, I decided to look at Survival again with a view to cutting back what I considered over the top and to publishing the best version possible. When I looked online for a local company offering manuscript assessment/self-publishing possibilities, I was lucky enough to come upon MYeBook.
What a great experience it has been working with my dream team! I repeat here my five-star Google review (which I struggled to get online, so I don’t know whether it is there or not!):
It is only thanks to MY wonderful MYeBook team that I could re-self-publish my novel, “Survival: One Woman’s Search for Sanity” (under my pseudonym, Mahra Casden). Whether it was administrative, editorial, or book design, their professionalism, creative thinking, positive attitude, and understanding made the previously fraught project not only rewarding and fun, but made the book the best it could possibly be. I am as thrilled with my peeps as I am with the result.
Read more about Mahra and her latest release: Survivor.
