adminIn a group I am part of someone posed the question of why members decided not to use the traditional publishing route. Here I share my response to give context and insight into to my own response and how publishing is interconnected to my healing:
“I wrote my first title as a book and performance piece with a journal component. My topic is trauma and recovery post sexual assault…based from journal entries of my healing journey. Publishing on my own versus a traditional publishing house is a way to take back control of a narrative and experience that I did not have control of. Making the decisions, choosing who would edit, who would assist in layout, the illustrations, and even the decision to form my own imprint “Write, Heal, Thrive” to publish my own title has all been immensely healing. I chose the crisis service that attended to me many years ago to write the book foreword and am donating a portion of proceeds to that same center which is also where I obtained my Sexual Assault Crisis Advocate training and certification. These are things I don’t think I would have been able to do the traditional route. My book publishes in a few weeks…”
Melissa B. Lombardo, Sunday May 7, 2023
