My rant which just became a Letter to the Editors:

I find it hard to believe that, here we are in the age of communications, and publications such as the Boston Globe Horn Book are still stuck in the old industrial paradigm, serving only established publishing concerns when there are so many great independently published books out there, including my middle grade novel Nelson Telson – The Story of a True Blue Blood.  Google it.

When I read submission guidelines: “Books produced by publishers that are not listed in Literary Market Place are not considered,” it just breaks my heart to see that literary people whose job is to bring good books and the love of reading to the public are actually suppressing information and thereby robbing the very reading public they are supposed to serve.  Freedom of speech itself is wrapped up in this highfalutin reactionary, exclusive brotherhood between reviewers, agents, and publishing houses.  If you haven’t noticed, we entered the Information Age three decades ago; we’re riding the Third Wave now, and that includes independently published works of exceptional quality.  Hop onboard!

Yours truly,

Heidi Mayo

P.S. Were my book eligible in your exclusive domain, you would have received the following letter with my submission. 

Dear Reader,

I have enclosed my middle grade novel, NELSON TELSON – The Story of a True Blue Blood and supporting materials for your consideration.   For the sake of brevity, please find the synopsis on the back cover and brochure.

When I decided to self-publish, I embarked upon a very successful Kickstarter campaign that was funded 415% and covered all costs while pre-selling nearly 200 copies.  Based on the input of readers, I have come to understand the vast and outstanding value of this book to children, adults, and educators. 

Recently, I was excited to learn that the University of North Dakota’s Professor Lars Helgeson, Ph.D. has required Nelson Telson for his Primary and Secondary Ed. majors.  Additionally, a handful of middle school English Language Arts Coordinators have been happy to accept the book for inclusion in their libraries and English, Science, and Critical Reading classes.  This book will be adopted into core curriculums nationally as, along with its engaging story of fantasy and real-life characters and situations, it offers countless important learning opportunities about ecology, global interdependence, history, philosophy, relativity theory, and how perspective impacts reality, to name a few.  Enjoyed by readers of all ages, it’s a middle grade novel that grows up before your very eyes.

The enclosed book is of a special edition printed by Powder Horn Press (ISBN 978-0692234785) as rewards for my Kickstarter backers.  On page 199 there is a color feature not found in the books distributed online by CreateSpace Independent Publishing and Amazon (ISBN 978-1499538441).  A Kindle version will be available soon.

In the media packet you will find:

*   business card

*   marketing brochure

*   author Q and A

*   author bios

*   2 press releases

*   sampling of Amazon reviews

Links to video interviews and forthcoming articles can be found at www.heidimayo.com on my media packet page.

Thank you so much for your time and kind consideration. Enjoy the book!