Gregory Garrett has lived in Hollister most of his life. The author used www.lulu.com to self-publish his book.
Authors like Garrett have to come up with a cover design. His is shown here.
It's a Catch 22 these days as an aspiring author, says Hollister's Gregory Garrett.
It's almost impossible to get a project noticed unless you've already established your name, he says.
"You can't get your book published unless you have notoriety," says Garrett, 43, who mostly has done odd jobs, along with his writing, and most recently has worked as a substitute teacher.
"You can't fight Stephen King or Dean Kuntz."
Garrett finished his book, "Tripping the Light Fantastic," what he refers to as a simple, philosophical story surrounding three characters, eight years ago. He hasn't had the notoriety, but with the help of a self-publishing Web site, www.lulu.com, people like Garrett can get their manuscripts published with or without having a big name above the title. Garrett did just that.
The Web site published his book, which is available there and also on Amazon.com, he notes. He, like hundreds of thousands of other self-publishers, merely had to establish a copyright, convert the story into a PDF format and have a cover designed. He did and now his work is available to the masses.
And if he and other authors want an even better chance of getting noticed, they can pay $400 to have a review done by a publication called "Kirkus Review." Garrett says he's considering the investment, but since he doesn't make all that much income as a substitute teacher, he'll probably set aside money when he can and eventually get the book reviewed.
"It's just as business oriented as anything else," says Garrett, who's lived here most of his life, while he left for a while to earn a psychology degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
He wouldn't be willing to make that investment unless he thinks the story's worth it.
It follows three people, "Cassandra," her mother and "Giles C. Elliott," who Garrett says represents the autobiographical character in the book.
He notes the story's "simple interactions" and says, through the characters, it offers "philosophical explanations" of Christianity, existence and the meaning of life.
But the storyline itself is fairly simple, he says.
"It's not really a complex plot," he says.
In the end, he says, the theme of the book is that "thoughts can heal you better than drugs."
Kollin Kosmicki Kollin Kosmicki is editor of the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 337 or editor@freelancenews.com.
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