Author helps readers reframe their days
"Throughout the whole process, the team at SilverWood were always reliable and on hand to answer any questions. They accommodated my vision in a way that was welcoming, supportive and constructive. One of the benefits of working with a company like SilverWood was that I could get a deeper understanding of the publishing process - probably further than I would have with a traditional publisher - without having to get tangled up in the details."
Adam M. Lowenstein | Self-help Author
Author profile
Before moving to the UK, author Adam M. Lowenstein spent eight years working in American politics, most recently as a speechwriter in the US Senate. He had always enjoyed writing, yet drafting speeches forced him to shift from seeing writing as a task on the to-do list to something more of a craft. Adam discovered he enjoyed the process, and as he honed his writing skills, he saw how much value there was in writing as a tool to process his thoughts and the world. Writing became a source of fulfilment for him.
In 2017, Adam moved with his partner to work in the corporate world in London where his role in research and analysis gave him a new routine. With time to step back from the news, social media and emails - which he never had while in the world of politics - Adam was able to achieve greater work-life balance. He started to find more moments of contentment and fulfilment. These moments helped him recognise and develop the ten practices which form the content of his debut book, Reframe the Day.
Challenge - how to publish a book while working full time
The original manuscript started as a collection of thoughts and ideas which Adam intended to share as blog posts. Writing it all down was a passion project, but rather than let the thoughts linger in his head, Adam was in a hurry to get them onto paper. Once he started writing, the ideas just kept coming and he realised it could be a book. When the first draft of the manuscript was complete, he spent a few months going the traditional route of submitting pitches to publishers and reaching out to agents. However, he was also working full-time and didn’t have enough time to devote to that route. He wanted to spend more time writing, so decided to find a professional self-publishing house instead.
He says, "It was very important to me that everything from the readers’ perspective would appear just as professionally finished as if it were coming from a traditional publisher. I wanted to spend as much time as possible working on the product itself and as little time as possible learning and completing the publishing process - yet I also wanted to preserve line of sight over the decisions."
Trusting the publishing team to advise on the book
When he got in touch, Adam found it reassuring to know that SilverWood didn’t accept every manuscript that came their way. He recalls, "When I sent my manuscript, they read it closely and took time to research the market - looking at other authors to see what types of books it might sit alongside. In all my interactions with SilverWood, they demonstrated that they saw themselves as a professional publishing house and could save me from having to learn all the technicalities of publishing myself; they were also trustworthy to provide advice and guidance on my decisions about the book."
SilverWood recommended a copy-edit as part of the publishing process and Adam was impressed by how much the structural changes transformed his manuscript. "I was very confident the book was in good hands, because SilverWood understood my vision for the book and I knew that it needed another set of eyes on it. The editor made recommendations which helped me shape it into a more coherent format, taking it from a loose collection of words into the book it is - as that part of the process is supposed to do."
Adam found it was a huge relief to let SilverWood handle the formatting and technical publishing details behind the scenes. "I didn’t have a huge amount of time to devote to some of the publishing details, like typesetting, the ISBN and all those steps in the publishing. One thing I would emphasise is the whole team’s reliability - I knew I didn’t need to keep track of everything, because they were on it."
Outcome - publication success during the pandemic lockdown
For the chapter illustrations and cover image, Adam found an illustrator to work with; he was pleased that the process of incorporating the illustrator’s work into the SilverWood publication process was seamless. They integrated the artwork into the cover design and ensured the chapter pages with images were all professionally formatted.
One of the challenges for Adam was that much of his home audience - as well as his family and friends - is still based in America. So he was very clear how important it was for US readers to have just as easy access to the book as British readers. SilverWood understood that, ensuring Reframe the Day was listed on Amazon.com and other US book retail sites, as well as the UK and beyond. One of the great advantages of Print on Demand (POD) is that readers can buy a SilverWood-published title anywhere in the world.
As the book got closer to being ready, Adam had to decide when to launch it. "SilverWood worked with me to find an appropriate publication date. I originally aimed to publish before the holidays in December 2019. At another point, I thought that summer 2020 might be better; I was wary of launching during the COVID crisis. Getting it out there in April 2020 turned out to be really fortuitous timing because Reframe the Day is a book which asks people to really think differently about how they spend their days. During this crisis, not only have some people had more time to read and more headspace for ideas like these, but they’ve also been more open to fundamentally rethinking their priorities."
Pre-order sales via the SilverWood online bookshop were brisk, which was a positive and exciting start. To promote the book, Adam is participating in podcasts, Instagram live broadcasts and YouTube shows - both Stateside and in the UK. He’s found that the content is really resonating well with reviewers right now, because it combines concrete advice with tools for self-reflection.
If you’re interested in reading more, Reframe the Day shows how to reframe the way you see and spend your days and, over time, will help reshape your life; it’s available to order from SilverWood’s own bookshop or all online book stores and you can read Adam’s 'Reflections on Launching a Self-Help Book in the Middle of a Global Pandemic' here.
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“If you’re thinking of self-publishing, I hope you don't go at it alone. With a team like SilverWood behind you, you have the support you need to publish the best work you believe in.”
