Featherstone 
Podcast: How a Psychologist Published an Illustrated Hardback on Her Own Terms
Some books can’t be squeezed onto a standard publishing shelf…especially when they’re a mix of magical realism, mind and art. So, as an author with a very specific vision – and when handing over creative control just doesn’t feel right – what do you do then?
That’s the question at the heart of my latest conversation for the Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast (listen here or on your favourite podcast platform) with clinical psychologist and debut author Bee Lim.
Bee’s book, Welcome Home: Healing Trauma & Reclaiming Wholeness, is an illustrated narrative non-fiction hardcover book in the form of a creative, reflective story rather than a self-help manual.
Bee noticed her clients, many from creative industries, connected with mental health concepts far better through narrative and metaphor than through clinical explanation. And she was determined not to hand readers ‘who have already carried too much for too long…yet another to-do list.’
I first met Bee through Kelly Irving’s Expert Author Academy. It was ‘pitch day’, when authors pitch their concept to publishers and industry professionals including myself. Always a lot of fun, fascinating to hear what everyone’s working on and a privilege to give feedback and guidance.
Custom publishing
A while after pitch day, Bee ended up deciding to go the custom publishing route, keeping her IP and creative control while relying on the production and distribution experience of an established publisher.
Book endorsements
In Look-It’s Your Book! I explain the importance of book endorsements and how to reach out for them, and I love that Bee, even though she was convinced an Ivy League professor would not respond, had the courage to send that email anyway. It was wonderful to hear how that email sparked not just an endorsement but further connection. So…if you’re an author who’s been putting off reaching out to someone, I hope this gives you encouragement to do what you need to do!
Writing and marketing a book as a health professional
As a practising psychologist in Australia, Bee is bound by advertising rules for health practitioners. She can accept unsolicited reviews but can’t solicit testimonials, and when clients have offered, she needs to put their confidentiality first and decline. The book also needs to be positioned as a resource, never a treatment. It’s a balancing act every regulated professional with a book in them needs to understand, and it’s some of the territory I’ll be covering in an upcoming book workshop for health professionals (details below).
Translation rights
Bee’s currently negotiating translating the book into Mandarin after Asian Australian readers kept telling her they were gifting the book to their mothers and grandmothers. Translations are another one of the things indie authors have agency over.
There’s so much more in this conversation and you can listen to the full conversation with Bee here or on your favourite podcast platform.
Welcome Home is available in hardback and ebook. Find Bee at drblim.com/welcomehome, or do as she suggests and ask your favourite local indie bookstore to order a copy in for you.
Are you a health professional thinking about a book?
If Bee’s story has you wondering whether your own clinical expertise could become a book, I have good timing for you. I’m joining health marketing strategist Megan Walker for How to Write and Publish a HealthCare Book, a live 90-minute online workshop on Friday 11 September at 12:00pm AEST.
Designed for allied health professionals, medical specialists, surgeons, nurses, health educators and researchers, we’ll cover how to turn your healthcare expertise into a clear, credible book idea and understand the pathway to bringing it to publication. We’ll walk through clarifying your audience and purpose, making complex clinical knowledge engaging and accessible, the differences between traditional, hybrid and independent publishing, and the important considerations when writing as a registered health professional.
You can register here.
And whatever field you’re writing from, you might also like to:
- Borrow from your library or buy a copy of Look-It’s Your Book!
- Join the global Alliance of Independent Authors – I’m a huge fan of ALLi and all it offers authors through its membership. (fyi: If you join through this link I may receive a small payment from ALLi that helps fund the production of writing resources you find on my site. Thanks!)
- Book in for a 1:1 book coaching consult with me to help you navigate your book idea, draft, publishing options, book marketing and more.
All the best to you, Anna