Not A Fire Exit - A Novel

All,

I've rec'd many wonderful e-mails and seen numerous blog posts from SMA families and the passion that they have telling their stories is extraordinary.  For some time, we've wanted to give those stories a voice for people to read for generations to come. After several discussions with different individuals and organizations, Milverstead Publishing is pleased to announce an exciting new project for National SMA Awareness Month - we're publishing a paperback book of stories of SMA families that will be sold through online retail outlets (including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Booksamillion.com, and others) or e-book formats (Kindle, iPad, etc.) and available to any and all SMA organizations.  Any profits made from retail sales will be divvied up and distributed to any non-profit 501(c)(3) SMA organizations that wishes to be included and inform us in writing.  WE WILL NEVER TAKE A PENNY IN PROFIT FROM SALES OF THIS BOOK AS A COMPANY.

Milverstead Publishing, LLC will cover all production costs of this project – no organization or individual that wishes to participate will be required to pay any fees or upfront costs for the retail version of this book.  We will provide one free copy to each individual who submits their story to us, and they may buy an unlimited amount of additional copies at cost (printing + shipping) as well.  All fundraiser sales will be kept by the organizations that purchase the books from us for their use, as they may also buy copies at cost for their members.  In the future, if an individual or organization is interested in having a unique version of the book created (different cover with a picture of a loved one, hardcover edition, etc) for a special event or other reason, please let us know, as we can accommodate that request at some minor additional productions cost you would be required to cover.

We'd ask submissions must be no more than 3500 words and two pictures of your choice.  Those are maximums, not minimums – write what you’re comfortable writing, whether it’s a poem, a blog post you’ve written in the past, whatever.  They must be your words and work – we cannot accept submissions of any works that you do not have the rights to use, including song lyrics, large excerpts from other written works, etc.  Good rule of thumb –  if we’ve read it before somewhere else by someone else, don’t use it in this submission.  You may re-use, however, a previous story you’ve written elsewhere, whether it be a blog post, e-mail you’ve written, etc.  And while I know many of you have families that all have their own special stories around an SMA child, we can’t accept more than one submission per family around a particular individual or child due to expected demand.

If you're interested in participating, please fill out the following form - SMA Book Participation Form.
     
First draft  (if you would like a professional editor to provide feedback within 2-4 weeks) – Sept 15th
Final date to accept submission requests/contract waivers – Sept 15th
Final draft (if you would like it to be proofread only) – Nov 1st
Final draft (if you have gotten it back from the editor) – Nov 15th

Below are some categories for stories we've had suggested to us.  If you have additional suggestions, please let us know and we will incorporate them accordingly -

- Birth stories (Before they were diagnosed)
- When you were first told about SMA
- Reactions to the diagnosis from loved ones
- Learning to live with the disease as a family and an individual
- What makes your child/loved one so unique
- A happy/special memory or event that you shared with them
- Connecting with other SMA families (online, chapters)
- A frustrating or scary time
- Losing your child
- Coping with grief
- ‘Signs’ you’ve seen or experienced that your child is still with you each day
- How you keep their memory alive
- One piece of advice you would give families that you wish someone had given you when you first found out

** We are also looking for title suggestions – if we pick your suggestion, we will donate $50 in your child’s name to the SMA charity of your choice.  **

We want as many people and organizations involved as would like to be - It's meant to be for everyone and anyone, and for the entire community to tell the stories that make this community so unique and wonderful to work and support towards the goal of eradicating this disease.  This book is for you, and will always for be for you.

Looking forward to working with all of you who are interested and having this available for the holiday season!

Thanks,

Christopher Finlan
President, Milverstead Publishing

Disclaimer - You will retain all the rights to your work, and may use it again in any separate future publication or project with any other company.  However, you will be required to sign a contract allowing us to use it in this project and that you are waiving your right to receive any compensation or other considerations from sales of this book in any format going forward.  Any proceeds from sales will be directed to various SMA organizations and not be retained by the publisher or the authors.  We reserve the right to reject any submission that is considered inappropriate or inflammatory for this work.