I have had the
privilege of being a professor at UCLA and director of the LGBT Center at UCLA
and at the University of Michigan, and I’ve been an activist for LGBT equality
for over 30 years.
When I was
young, I would search books in the school library for a reflection of myself as
a lesbian though I didn’t know that word. I found nothing. After losing custody
of my children when I came out in Florida, 1979, my world exploded with
learning about my history, my culture, my story as part of the lesbian and gay
community. Later, while at Michigan, I learned similar stories of bisexual and
transgender people as well. Later still, at UCLA, I was able to design the new
LGBT Center. I wanted it to include a library, a place where any person dealing
with sexual orientation or gender identity issues could find themselves, could
see reflections of their lives, their histories, their heroes.
I retired from
higher education but still had the undying desire to help other LGBT people –
like my son who is gay, like my granddaughters who are simply free thinkers
– find and write the stories of their
lives.
Purple Books
seeks quality literature for more traditional primary publication, and I enjoy
reading the many manuscripts we receive every week. Of course not everyone has
the gift of writing in a way that appeals to publishers…read sales. We publishers put lots of money into getting
a book to market, sometimes thousands before we see the first penny, IF we see
that penny at all. It’s a marketing gamble but one I’m willing to take if a
book is of the quality Purple Books believes will sell.
Not everyone, of
course, has the gift of strong creative writing in a way that publishers,
Purple Books included, are willing to take the financial chance, yet I want to
help everyone see the dream of their book come true. To that end, I created Purple Distinctions, a
self-publishing concept that’s a bit different from the others. Purple
Distinctions has several levels of packages an author may purchase, ranging
from a very basic one-vendor e-book to a full-on print book and e-book with
multiple vendors and designed full color covers. There are no other products.
We won’t suck you in with more expensive services or gimmicks or things you
don’t need. Wee simply produce your book, your vision, your way. The only
expense to us you may elect is to purchase your print copy books from us at
half the retail value. That’s it.
And I donate 10%
of all the publishing income to various LGBT-serving organizations. To date ,
beneficiaries have been:
Parents and
Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Jacksonville, Florida, for their great
work in providing scholarships to LGBT college students.. pflagjax.org
The Consortium
of Higher Education LGBT Professionals for their work on college campuses .
LGBTcampus.org
Let me know what
you think of this concept and then think about writing that work that’s been in
your head for years. You can do it!
In the meantime,
the story of this very young company continues. I hope you become a part of it.
Keep writing!
Ronni
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