Tips 'Rollercoaster' author might use next time

'Rollercoaster' writer plugs book by other experts after he admits guilt (but no remorse)

Joel Friedlander

Betty Kelly Sargent

Okay, I'll confess.

I — Woody Weingarten — didn't use Joel Friedlander's latest book before I used my years of experience and expertise to write and publish mine, "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer."

My sole excuse is that "The Self-Publisher's Ultimate Resource Guide," which he wrote in tandem with Betty Kelly Sargent, didn't exist then.

But it's a permanent part of my here-and-now now, and I expect it may help me with any new edition of my book on male caregiving that I might publish. Or any future book(s).

So I only feel a teensy-weensy guilty.

The fact is, "Ultimate" could help a whole bunch of writers who'll put out books on their own — as well as many still being published by the few major houses remaining in New York, writers who often discover those corporations generally suggest you do your own promotion, marketing and desk-dusting.

Joel, owner/operator/desk-dusting guy at Marin Bookworks in San Rafael, California, labels himself a blogger, book designer, consultant, internet marketeer and speaker.

I know him. He's all that.

He's also funny — though you probably can't tell that from this book, which is almost exclusively a series of lists.

Betty Kelly Sargent was an editor at William Morrow and Harper Collins and other publishing houses before New York's literary world started shrinking faster than an Arctic icecap being assaulted by climate change. She also founded BookWorks.com, the self-publisher's alliance.

I don't know her. So I don't know if she's funny.

But I do know they've come up with a volume that might save an author or wannabe tons of research time.

One of the best things about "Ultimate" is its reference links to what the compilers label the first collection "of curated and verified resources for independent authors…"

I tested some. To verify the verified.

The links are live.

Some references I might use next time fall under the titles of professional and trade associations, marketing and publicity, sites to list e-books, image sources, illustrators and cartoonists, writing contests and book awards.

Use of only a couple would certainly be worth the space I'm giving the book (which I and countless others were allowed to download free).

Although I feel zero guilt, shame or remorse about writing this item, I recognize that some readers may feel my plug will show there's no such thing as a free lunch — or a free download.