1. What inspired you to write your book and how did the idea come to life?
The idea came to life during the creation of my family tree. So many historic and interesting stories of my ancestors came to life during that time, I realized they were fundamental to the Bay Islands in history, culture, industry and Society.
2. Can you share your initial goals for publishing your book?
My main goal with this book is to educate. Educate our Bay Islands people, educate our children, educate our expats and visitors. Surprisingly there is no other history book or source anywhere in the world that details in its entirety the history of the Bay Islands and its original families until this publication. There are many other families that equally contributed to the foundation of the Bay Islands and I hope my book inspires others to write their family history to add another piece to this puzzle.
3. What made you choose Gatekeeper Press as your publishing partner? How did the experience meet or exceed your expectations?
Gatekeeper Press was referred to me by an author friend M.H. Harper who has published with GKP as well. I like the fact that GKP is literally a full-service publishing company. From book design to editing, publishing to printing, the print on demand feature was the best and it’s for life!
4. How would you describe the process of working with Gatekeeper Press, from manuscript submission to publication?
The initial editing process was really slow due to the complexity of the genealogical bulletins that made up a great portion of the text. Once we passed that initial editing phase, everything just moved forward at a good pace and GKP guided me through every detail, every step of the way until publication.
5. What challenges did you encounter during your publishing journey, and how did Gatekeeper press assist in overcoming them?
Definitely the genealogical bulletins were a challenge, GKP assisted with better design suggestions and made every correction until it was perfect.
6. Were there any aspects of the publishing process that surprised you or differed from what you initially expected??
This book is my first publication, so I really didn’t have any idea of each step of the process other than of course the editing assistance.
7. How do you hope readers will receive your book, and what do you hope readers will retain from it?
I hope they receive the book as a positive educational tool that they can refer to for many years and many generations to come. That they have a new love, appreciation and concept of the Bay Islands and its beautiful people.
8. What was your favorite part of the publishing experience with Gatekeeper Press?
Seeing the cover design for the first time was very exciting, they captured my idea exactly the way I imagine it, and of course, seeing that same cover published on the purchasing websites where the entire world got to see and purchase it.
9. Would you recommend Gatekeeper Press to other authors? Why or why not?
I definitely would recommend Gatekeeper Press!
10. What advice would you give to aspiring authors considering self-publishing their work??
That working with a full-service publishing company like GKP would be the best decision.
Discover more about Piece of the Puzzle: The History of My Ancestors on the Bay Islands and purchase a copy here.
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