Interview with Victor Volkman of Loving Healing Press

How long has Loving Healing Press been in business?

We started in 2003 out of an inspiration I had while attending Self-Expression and Leadership Program (SELP)at Landmark Education in Detroit, Michigan. I had a vision of producing books that would empower authors to redefine what is possible in healing mind and spirit. It started with a book I edited, entitled Beyond Trauma:
Conversations on Traumatic Incident Reduction ( www.BeyondTrauma.com) No sooner than I had declared my intent to publish this book I began meeting authors with wonderful book ideas who had been turned down by dozens of publishers. And so begins a publishing odyssey that has produced 80 titles as of the end of 2008!

What genres do you accept?

Our raison d'etre is to publish books on self-help, psychology, personal growth, and persons with disabilities. Among these, our biggest specialty is in Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) books for counselors. We have expanded the bounds recently in a couple of new directions. Our "Growing With Love" Series highlights therapy books for helping children with difficult problems such as sexual abuse, bandonment, and surgery.
Modern History Press ( www.ModernHistoryPress.com), our first imprint, specializes in telling empowering stories of conflict and the search for identity in modern times. Its "Reflections of History" series has told the stories of the war in Vietnam and Iraq. The "Reflections of America" series highlights biography of the American experience and includes everything from NFL football stars to Muslim immigrants to struggling with biracial and multi-ethnic identities.

What do you look for when reading submissions?


For our therapy books, we are looking for works that express the person-centered approach (as pioneered by Carl Rogers) to solving problems. Our books do not have a simple "Do this and you'll feel better" approach. They involve engaging the client (reader) in their world and having them think through and discover what will make a difference in their lives. For Modern History Press, we are looking for viewpoints that are not expressed in contemporary media. For example, "Iraq Through a Bullet Hole: A Civilian Returns Home" follows Iraqi ex-patriate Issam Jameel as he attempts to rejoin Iraqi society after a decade in exile. The aftermath is both disturbing and informative. A viewpoint you won't get on CNN, FOX, or anywhere.

What do you offer authors who publish with you?


We offer industry standard royalty rates in our traditional publishing model. Authors never pay even one dollar to have their books published and there are no required purchases although we offer the most generous author discount in the industry (45% off List Price). Our books are not cheap, they start at $16.95 and up.

How many books do you publish each year?


Our goal is 15 titles per year, although the output varies depending on the quality and quantity of submissions in any given year. Generally, we are running a 60 to 90 day backlog between submission and the start of development on a book. Four months is about average from contract acceptance to bookstore sales.

Do you accept international submissions or only US?

Our authors hail from around the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and Africa. Anyone who is able to accept a payment by PayPal can sign a contract with us. Of course we mail check to authors in the USA but we have found PayPal to be more efficient and workable for our international authors. We give a special consideration to Michigan authors in an attempt to help bolster the flagging economy in this queen of rust-belt states.

Where can people find out more about Loving Healing Press and your services?


http://www.LovingHealing.com/AboutUs has public answers to almost every question anyone has ever asked about our company.

Anything else you'd like to add?


I'd like to draw attention to our latest collaborative book "Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers" which was just released. This work, edited by myself, Irene Watson, and Tyler Tichleaar is based on guests to the Authors Access weekly podcast show ( www.AuthorsAccess.com )which features a different expert on writing, marketing, and publishing each week. The book came about
after we looked back at the first two years (75 episodes) of our show and our desire to find a way to repackage all of this valuable experience and advice on best practices and pitfalls to avoid.
Readers of your blog can get a FREE CD-ROM with all 75 podcasts (MP3 files) when they purchase the book at this special site: http://www.modernhistorypress.com/success-secrets/

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