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If you’ve ever wondered whether self-publishing is the right path—or how to do it without getting overwhelmed or taken advantage of—this conversation is for you.

In this episode, I talk with publishing consultant Polly Letofsky, founder of My Word Publishing, to walk through what self-publishing actually looks like behind the scenes. From maintaining your rights to building the right editorial team, Polly breaks down the process with honesty, clarity, and a few hard-earned lessons.

Using my own book-in-progress as a real-time example, we explore what happens when an author books a consult, what it really costs to publish well, and how to avoid the most common (and expensive) mistakes.

If you’ve got a story in you this episode is a roadmap for getting it into the world the right way.

In This Episode, We Talk About:
•Why Polly built a publishing model where authors keep 100% of their rights and royalties
•The difference between bad decisions vs. getting ripped off in publishing
•What actually happens during a self-publishing consult
•The real cost breakdown of publishing a professional-quality book
•Why editing is non-negotiable (and what kind you actually need)
•How to think about book length, structure, and audience
•The pros and cons of including photos in your book
•Why authors should not rush the final stages of publishing
•How Amazon KDP vs. Ingram impacts your distribution strategy
•What royalties really look like—and how authors make money
•The role of AI in writing and publishing (and where it falls short)

Key Takeaways
1. You don’t have to give up control to publish well.
Polly’s entire model is built around authors maintaining ownership—from ISBNs to royalties to final decisions.
2. Editing is where your book becomes your book.
Developmental, copy line, and proof editing all serve different purposes—and skipping them shows.
3. Your publishing “team” matters more than you think.
Editors, designers, and layout specialists aren’t interchangeable. The right fit changes everything.
4. Distribution strategy should match your goals.
If you’re speaking, selling at events, or reaching niche audiences, platforms like Ingram matter.
5. Don’t rush the finish line.
That final stretch is where good books either become great—or stay just good.

Resources Mentione

Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.org, you'll find a link to it on the book page. By shopping through the Literary Aviatrix website a small portion of the sale goes to support the content you love, at no additional cost to you. https://literaryaviatrix.com/shop-all-books/

Thanks so much for listening!

• Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter.
• Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages.
• Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation.
• Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree.

Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker

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Heidi Porch was 540 miles east-northeast of Hawaii when her engine began losing oil pressure.

She was 500 feet above the Pacific when she turned off the master switch and prepared to ditch.

In this episode, Heidi joins me to talk about Ditching the Sky, her gripping memoir of ferrying single-engine Cessnas across the Pacific in the 1980s—and the day her engine quit over open ocean.

We talk about:

• Growing up with a dream of becoming an airline pilot
• Building time as a glider pilot and ferry pilot
• Flying 17-hour legs over open ocean without autopilot
• Trusting your instincts when your “little voice” says something isn’t right
• Calling a Mayday when others aren’t convinced
• Engineering your own ditching plan mid-flight
• Surviving impact
• Climbing into a life raft in the open ocean
• Being rescued during the Cold War by a Soviet refrigeration vessel
• And going on to fly the DC-9, Airbus 320, Boeing 747-400, Airbus 330, and Gulfstream 500

We also talk about writing the book decades later, self-publishing, narrating her own audiobook—and the unexpected recognition that followed.

This is a story about preparation, intuition, resilience, and the long arc of a career that almost ended before it began.

Buy the book: https://literaryaviatrix.com/book/ditching-the-sky/

Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.org, you'll find a link to it on the book page. By shopping through the Literary Aviatrix website a small portion of the sale goes to support the content you love, at no additional cost to you. https://literaryaviatrix.com/shop-all-books/

Thanks so much for listening!

• Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter.
• Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages.
• Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation.
• Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree.

Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker

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Australian private pilot and author Fran West joins me to talk about her remarkable three-month journey flying around the coastline of Australia in a Cessna 172—an adventure she later captured in her photo-rich journal, Plane Reflections.

What began as inspiration from the 1978 aerial circumnavigation known as “Pelican’s Progress” became Aus Flight ’99—a meticulously planned, shoestring-budget flight completed with grit, humility, and hard-earned wisdom.

Fran shares what it really takes to execute a marathon aviation journey:

· 52 charts

· 67 flight plans

· 75 mainland airstrips + 15 in Tasmania

· 101 landings

· Multiple weather turn-backs

· And the emotional weight of flying in a community that didn’t always support her

We talk about:

· Growing up inspired by aviation books (and inheriting a library of them)

· Becoming a private pilot while building a career as a librarian

· Navigating male-dominated flying spaces

· The curious scrutiny around “solo” flights

· Why turning back is not failure

· Writing and self-publishing Plane Reflections

· And an unforgettable chocolate cake “mud map” story

This conversation is about aviation, resilience, self-trust, and doing the dream.

Buy the book on Etsy.

Did you know you can support your local independent bookshop and me by shopping through my Bookshop.org affiliate links on my website? If a book is available on Bookshop.org, you'll find a link to it on the book page. By shopping through the Literary Aviatrix website a small portion of the sale goes to support the content you love, at no additional cost to you. https://literaryaviatrix.com/shop-all-books/

Thanks so much for listening!

• Stay up to date on book releases, author events, and Aviatrix Book Club discussion dates with the Literary Aviatrix Newsletter.
• Visit the Literary Aviatrix website to find over 600 books featuring women in aviation in all genres for all ages.
• Become a Literary Aviatrix Patron and help amplify the voices of women in aviation.
• Follow me on social media, join the book club, and find all of the things on the Literary Aviatrix linkt.ree.

Blue skies, happy reading, and happy listening!

-Liz Booker