A reality hit Sylvia Holloman hard.

It was 2005, and she had just finished writing her first romance novel, “Opening Jerred’s Eyes: For to Open His Eyes Would Be to Capture His Heart,” centered around 29-year-old Jerred Turner finally growing up and taking on responsibilities as a father. During his shift into fatherhood, Turner meets Evette Sullivan, but a secret lies behind Sullivan.

Holloman had the hard part done — writing the actual novel — or so she thought.

Soon enough, she discovered a book publishing deal was not going to be delivered to her on a silver platter. Though she spent countless hours researching agents and sending messages, she received no responses.

“Apparently, I was too small,” Holloman said, now sitting next a growing stack of her published works. “I hadn’t written anything before. Nobody knew my name. That’s my take on it. They didn’t really want to be bothered.”

If she was going to become a published author and bring her characters to life, she would have to find another way.

Throwing tradition out

Modern publishing has shifted, and Holloman is just one of many authors nationwide who have turned to self-publishing.

The number of self-published books topped the 1 million mark for the first time in 2017, according to Bowker’s annual report on the number of international standard book numbers that were issued to self-published authors.

Traditionally, authors sought out publishing deals from the “Big 5” trade publishers like HarperCollins, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. Today, sites people use on a regular basis are offering self-publishing services.

Amazon has a self-publishing service called Kindle Direct Publishing, which someone can use to create a book in a day if they desired. Barnes and Noble Press and Lulu Press also offer similar e-book self-publishing services.

In 2007, Holloman, 56, of Dowagiac, was still researching her publishing options. KDP had not yet been created, and her spiraling ideas for two new romance novels, “Definition of Pleasure” and “Heart of Stone,” expedited her search process. Both plots in her respective novels included characters from contrasting backgrounds falling in love by fate.

Holloman turned to self-publishing firms online and eventually found Publish America.

Publishing her first novel is something Holloman considered to be an easy process. It also proved to be extremely personal, as her brother died unexpectedly a few months before her book was published. Holloman dedicated her first novel to her brother, and the publishing company included a photo and write-up.

Three of Holloman’s four novels were published through Publish America, which later changed its name to America Star Books.

Learning the hard way

It was not until 15 years ago that Holloman had intentions of becoming an author. A badly written book is what opened her gateway into authorship.

“I loved reading, and I love romance novels,” she said. “I was reading this novel one night, and I finished it. I looked at the back of it and looked at the front of it and thought, ‘That really was not good at all.’ I’m thinking, ‘I paid for that.’”

Holloman thought she could do better. Years later, she found herself navigating the misleading information self-publishing companies handed out, including price.

“They say this is free, but it really isn’t,” Holloman said, holding up one of her novels. “I had to learn that the hard way.”

In 2008, Holloman published her third novel, “Heart of Stone,” through Asta Publications, which offers self-publishing services. Through Asta Publications, Holloman was able to set the price of her own novel, which is not the case at every
self-publishing agency.

“I look at how many pages it is going to be,” Holloman said. “I know Amazon is probably going to take their cut. I have to price it a little higher than normal books that have people with agents who get paid to do it.”

By having a comfortable working relationship with her current publisher, Holloman was able to set the price point of her newly published novel, “Open Book,” at the industry’s standard.

“I want people to read my books, but I don’t want them to have to think, ‘can I afford to get the book?’” Holloman said.

Certain publishers made the publishing process feel like what Holloman calls “a money game.” She suggested authors err on the side of caution when looking at options.

“Look into whoever you are dealing with,” she advised. “A lot of them just want your money. They don’t care.”

After completing her fourth novel, self-doubt consumed the author. She questioned readers’ opinions and her own abilities.

Turning the page

After publishing her fourth novel, Holloman stayed away from writing, succumbing to self doubt and questioning her talent.

“I started saying, ‘well, you are too old to do it anyway,’” Holloman said. “I beat myself up constantly about it. I just stopped.”

Holloman owes her writing revival to Samantha LaVanway, her desk neighbor at Wolverine Mutual Insurance Company in Dowagiac. LaVanway, an avid reader, discovered Holloman’s passion for writing and pressured the author to pick the pen back up.

Holloman called the pair’s meeting fate.

“I think a big reason of why I pushed her so much was because she was always like, ‘nah, I can’t do it,’” LaVanway said. “I hate, ‘I can’t.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, you can.’”

In 2019, Holloman finished her most recent novel, “Open Book.” While, she played around with KDP, she resorted back to Asta Publications.

Holloman recalls thinking during her self-publishing process, ‘I should be able to do this. I wrote a book.’ I kept trying to talk myself into it, but at the end of the day, I thought, ‘that’s not how I want to do it,’” Holloman said. “The stress level is down with Asta Publications. A lot of people do use Kindle, and it looks awesome.”

Making it real

Holloman never would have picked up that badly written romance novel if she had not received two books by authors in the mail from a friend in the military. That was more than 22 years ago. She read those books in a day and was hooked. Slowly, she formed a habit of always looking at the back of a book for the author.

Now, Holloman holds her own novels, with her photo and a message to her readers on the back, hoping they live through her characters.

“I love to write because I want my characters to come to life while you are reading about them,” Holloman said. “I want you to see them in your mind, whatever you think. If you see Clifton, I want you to take the brief description that I give you and build Clifton in your mind. Then I want you to feel what they feel. If they are hurting, I want you to hurt. If they are laughing, I want you to laugh. I want you to feel like they are real to you, because they are real to me. That’s why I do it.”

Publishing paths aside, Holloman’s five novels proudly displayed in front of her serve as a testament to her belief that the true payment of any writer lies behind people’s reactions to their work.

“I had a man walk into the place I work one day, and he said, ‘Oh my god. I read that book, and you made me cry,’” Holloman said. “That was worth more than a paycheck. Just that statement from that man.”