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13 responses to “+Author Interview+ Conversing about green publishing practices & the environmental conscience heart of “Love’s Promises” with Sandra Leesmith

  1. Hello, Jorie! Sorry I’m joining in a bit late! As usual, your post is so thorough and thoughtful and well-organized. :) You asked some great questions, and I love that you and Sandra were able to continue your conversation from the cover reveal day!

    AND… 1) How perfect is it that today is Earth Day?? I totally didn’t make that connection until today – so glad you noted it, too! Awesome timing. 2) Love’s Promises is now available in paperback!! Again, such perfect timing. You’re going to love it, Jorie. :) The story is wonderful, of course, and the cover is simply gorgeous! (I saw the spine and back cover, and I love it!)

    It’s a pleasure to have you on the blog tour team! Thank you for all your time and effort, and for reminding us to be good stewards of the earth. :)

    ~Amber

  2. sandraleesmith

    Jorie have you read any books published by any of these publishers? How is the quality of the book? I wonder how it works to work with them? Do they put the books up on Amazon and other vendors for you? Do they manage your royalties? That is one super advantage of Amazon is that I don’t have to handle the credit card transactions nor mail out the books. It is all done for me. Do any of these other publishers offer that service or are they operating like a vanity press?

    • Hallo, Ms. Leesmith,

      That’s a good question, and the part of the legwork I have not yet had the pleasure of sourcing! I found a heap of links to sort through, but I wanted to give an good rounding of resources to allow everyone to at least know there are green publishers out there as well as there are traditional publishers who are implementing green practices.

      In regards to Seeds I am not sure how the POD option works, as I was mainly reading each website I discovered & trying to pick the best of the lot. I liked what I read in theory but how they are to use in practice I do not know the specifics of. There are contact information on each website. Chelsea Green on the other hand is one of the leading green publishers but I only wish they would encompass fiction selections. There is another publisher out of Vermont, I think I included but if not, I will update lateron today.

      This is a whole new frontier, so part of the journey is finding them, the other half is to get into the heart of the specifics. I most likely will be conducting a follow-up to this post and ironing out a lot of what you’ve pitched in response.

      I specifically was looking for alternatives to Amazon publishing platforms, but that is a personal choice on my behalf. I wanted to seek out the Indies who are going green &/or are doing some steps towards changing their publishing production standards. I should have included ChocLitUK for instance, but as I am editing my ChocLitSaturdays post I had felt to withhold it until I could release what I had written on my book review for “The Maid of Milan”. The mainstream publishers are surprising me too in how they are releasing Sustainability pages on their sites.

      This is only one half of the equation, but I at least am thankful I opened up a discussion & am helping grow a mindfulness of other options that can give us hope for the future of print books! :) As that was my main goal.

    • sandraleesmith

      Hi Jorie, I’m so tickled that you are going to research this aspect of the publishing practices of these green publishers. It will be helpful to indie authors who are looking for ways to publish their books.

      I was interested in your comment that some of the traditional publishers are using “green” methods. Can you please tell us which ones. It is helpful so we can support those publishers by purchasing their books. I’m sure other readers and writers will be interested.

      • Hallo Ms. Leesmith,

        It was bound to happen as this particular cause has been in my life since I was a young girl. I always knew there was a way to green publishing and I am thankful that I do not have to be the pioneer but rather the messenger of how these practices are taking root & evolving into place. Actually, I have wondered if anyone reads the bottom of my posts where I include ‘hand selected’ articles / websites which directly relate to the blog post! Hmm, your giving me a reason to post a note about not to forget to read that section! Laughs. Yes, I have started to compile a list of companies as I find them,.. my first discoveries were inside the books I read myself. As I look over a book tip to stern before I ever read it as I will explain in my forthcoming review of “The Maid of Milan”. I would rather not spoilt what I had written! Laughs. The list of published sustainability pages are nestled underneath this post under the heading of “Related Articles”. I am going to compile & curate everything in my sidebar as I have enough data to do so. Therefore, this is just the first step for me. I want to have this indexed through my blog as I read & as I gain more leads for green-minded publishers & printers, as the latter will help self-published authors directly. As much as finding self-publisher options where you have a company to back you and facilitate the publication.

        My opinion of vanity publishers is not inline what I am discussing today as those are simply scams to work against the hope of the writer who wants to be published. What I am focusing on are collaborative choices for writers where they can print their books green & play a small part in the change that has already started to happen. In this, I am thankful I had this opportunity to launch the discussion, as I had been on your Cover Reveal as like I said it hones in on a critical part of my life which I have not spoken about publicly until now.

    • sandraleesmith

      The sidebar idea sounds great. Your readers can easily find their resources and it will be easy to post as well. With a sidebar, the info is at “eye level” compared to reading fine print at the bottom. Until then, I like your idea of mentioning in your post to read the bottom for such and such information.

      It has been a fun day, Jorie. I enjoyed celebrating Earth Day with you.

  3. sandraleesmith

    Hi JORIE, I ‘m so excited that this is Earth Day. It is a wonderful day to feature Love’s Promises. Thank you for such an informative post.

  4. sandraleesmith

    Morning Jorie, Wow, what a lot of information. The print book does come available this week, but sad to say, I did not use your “green” publishers. You have really made me think though and I must say, it is a subject dear to my heart and here I didn’t even know about green paperbacks. Thank you for opening my eyes.

    And you are right about the bookshoppes developing around the country. I have read (and heard discussed in conferences) that with the downfall of the big mega-publishers like Borders, etc. and the advent of the new paradigm in publishing, that little local bookstores will again come into being. They will feature specialty books and offer the “gathering” element that you mentioned you missed. I think that is rather exciting.

    • Hallo, Ms. Leesmith,

      I was not sure if you would have had enough time to research green printers for POD purposes OR green publishers who work with self-published options for traditionally published e-books. There are a lot of layers of the publishing industry and each time we uncover a piece of the connecting puzzle is one step towards understanding the options that are available for everyone who wants to keep a green-minded approach to their backlist & new releases.

      Oh, what encourages me the most is the fact that Indies are exploding all over the United States with such a positive foot forward to getting back to the mindset of non-big box bookstores and back into the neighbourhood Indie bookshoppe which has been thriving in Europe & the UK for quite a long time! I get a lot of positive feedback from my bookish friends who hop around to the Indies in their countries and/or inside neighbouring countries as they are always seeking out where they can find books & the people who love to talk about bookish culture!

      Nothing excites me more than an overabundance of Indie bookshoppes! Actually, when I first started JLAS I created and curated a special section of my sidebar to highlight Indie Bookshoppes! I wanted my blog to be a one-stop resource for readers & writers interested in the printed word & specifically who are seeking books in print editions. I need to remember to share more of what I am finding, thanks for giving me the motivation & the compliment for what I’ve been able to do thus far! :)

    • Hallo Ms. Rosie Amber,

      I am happy to see you today! :) I am thankful that since I last took a keen look at where publishers & printing books were heading that they have exceeded all my hopes for how green publishing practices can become a living reality! I even found POD services for e-book authors! How wicked, is that!? :)

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