I’ve recently been in e-mail contact with Capital Region novelist and musician J. Peter Yakel, whose recent book is “The Legend of Juggin Joe,” which he has self-published through Lulu.com (his Web site is www.lulu.com/yakel). His book is described as follows:

J. Peter Yakel spins a fine country yarn in this hilarious hilltown tale. Somethin’s brewin’ in Westerlo, an’ it ain’t Doc Jeckel’s still full ah “Oh Be Joyful.” When a boy discovers he’s possessed with a rare musical gift, “Juggin Joe” is born! On the road tah international stardom, love blossoms betwixt Joe an’ a l’il mountain flower, Florentine. But her daddy, the Parson Sheppard, disallows the courtship, endin’ the romance, an’ leavin’ both young’uns with heartache bigger’n the Heldeberg mountains. Tarnation! In a moment ah angst, Joe sets aside his jug, an’ sets off with the Army. Overseas, fate crosses the greenhorn soldier with the President, an’ Joe’s musical prowess is called tah duty once ‘gain. But is it strong ‘nough tah alter the global balance ah power? What about Florentine? Will Joe find love ‘gain? Follow Joe’s knee-slappin’ journey, written entirely in J. Peter Yakel’s unique style ah “country-speak”, an’ see what real legends are made ah! http://www.lulu.com/yakel

I asked him about his experiences with self-publishing, and he responded with an informative and insightful and, from what I’ve read elsewhere, a not untypical account of what self-publishing is like. Take a look, and feel free to respond with your own experiences – whether self-publishing or self-promoting – either by responding to this blog or by e-mailing me at mjanairo@timesunion.com.
I should say here that with all the books being published these days (Publishers Weekly said about 172,000 titles were published last year), the Times Union (in continuing its role of filtering through the media landscape for its readers) does not review self-published books, though that doesn’t mean the newspaper doesn’t run event listings, news and features stories about self-published authors and their works.

Yakel describes his self-publishing experiences as follows:

As far as working with Lulu to get my books and music published, I have been very happy with the company. It has met my expectations in most ways. Lulu touts itself as a technology company; not a publishing company. They leave the role of publisher to the individual. There are no set-up fees; no minimum orders; authors keep control of their products and all rights to them; you set your own price; items, like e-books or music can be downloaded directly, and hardcopy items are printed on demand, so there is no excess inventory. The book quality is very good. Their customer service is also decent.

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