Sunday, July 25, 2010:

It's hard to believe, but it's been one year since Mike and I published our first book, "Mike Hynson-Transcendental Memories of a Surf Rebel," To celebrate I decided to start a blog and chronicle our adventures in the world of self-publishing to date and going forward.

First off, probably the most frequent question we get asked at book signings is, "How did writing the book come about?"

To give you a little background, I began writing in 1997 when I published an art marketing guide for artists. Over the course of three years I interviewed around 200 artists and galleries, and wrote articles. One of my goals after its demise was to write a book about the infamous Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a band of hippies and international drug smugglers living in Laguna Canyon. I grew up in South Orange County and although I was too young to be involved, I was always curious. There were frequent rumors in the sixties about famous visitors coming to the canyon; the Beatles, Timothy Leary, etc.

When I met Mike in late 2003 and learned that he was involved with the Brotherhood we talked and decided to write a book together. Eventually, after six months and four taped interview sessions the book evolved into Mike's life story.

Six and a half years later we self-published "Mike Hynson-Transcendental Memories of a Surf Rebel."

The first lesson we learned is that writing the book was easy compared to getting a publisher. We didn't intentionally self-publish. Mike and I both foolishly thought a publishing deal was in the bag. I mean, he is Mike Hynson, after all, surf icon from The Endless Summer fame. Aside from the movie, Hynson is a genius at surfboard design. He's also the guy who first cut out the surfboard fin in the sixties to mirror a dolphin's fin. In other word's he's HUGE in the surfing world. But no dice. We were basically told the only way to get a book published in this economy is if you're either Angelina Jolie or are a commercially established novelist.

But don't worry. Not getting published by a legitimate publisher is not the end of the road. It can still be done. You just have to hunker down and do it yourself.

Now, while Mike and I have definitely worked the promotion game over the last year; we do book signings and had numerous articles written about the book, there's still a lot we don't know. I hope by writing this blog, that we can get tips from other self-publishers out there who are in the same boat as we are, or maybe help others who are struggling. At the very least, we'll have a journal of our trials and tribulations. 

Our next book signing is at the ASR Trade Show at the San Diego Convention Center August 13-15 so please come by and say hello.

Donna Klaasen Jost