Why WriteLife LLC

WriteLife LLC defined itself as a cooperative publisher, so that made me nervous. I had already visited several cooperative publishing sites and those companies work like this. The author goes through the traditional submission process. Upon acceptance, the publisher pays a portion and the author pays a portion. However, various writers’ forums warned against cooperative publishing. Those sites felt the publisher should always pay the costs.

Yet, this one seemed different. There were no upfront costs and no exhortations to sell, as I had found with some vanity presses. Royalties were 50 percent of the net. Then I
read warnings about print on demand, net royalties, and even e-books.

As I read and researched, I watched the industry change. Print-on-demand was losing its stigma. Several self-published writers did well with their books. Traditional publishing houses laid off employees. Bookstores closed. E-book readers hit the market and initial e-book sales did better than originally predicted. Several major publishers were now offering net royalties on e-books.

In general, I like cooperatives. I have belonged to food cooperatives and home school cooperatives, and my family tends to collaborate on projects. One draw for me was that David Martin published his Fine Lines literary journal with WriteLife. What I liked about Martin was that, as a high school English teacher, he encouraged troubled young adults to write.

I had previously taught creative writing and two levels of feature writing at a homeschool cooperative and founded and operated a rather eclectic, church youth group, so Martin’s story, and his trust in WriteLife inspired me. I ceased submitting for several months and prayed for guidance on finding a home for Bryony. WriteLife kept coming back as the answer. So, I submitted. I learned in early December that Bryony was on it was to WriteLife’s lead editor. It was a Merry Christmas, indeed.