Imagine a Door

If you want to get your manuscript published, read this book.

There's no secret handshake or golden key in these pages, but Imagine a Door offers a more equitable and empowering prize: information delivered with gentleness. Author and publisher Laura Stanfill started working on this project in 2016, ultimately interviewing more than seventy-five authors and industry experts, including Wendy Chin-Tanner, Tove Danovich, Omar El Akkad, Erin Harris, Ari Honarvar, Juhea Kim, Dan Lazar, Fonda Lee, Emme Lund, Daniel A. Olivas, Rosanne Parry, Keith Rosson, Amy Stewart, Sonja Thomas, Addie Tsai, and Lidia Yuknavitch.

Is a writing routine worthwhile? How do you pinpoint the why behind your storytelling? What exactly is distribution? Can we reframe success in a less capitalistic way than defining it by sales numbers? While prioritizing genuine community over platform building, Imagine a Door intersperses case studies, sidebars, and checklists with personal stories about writing, revising, and the emotional complexities of sending your work into the world. Foreword by Beth Kephart, author of Handling the Truth.

Winner of Scholarship to Yale Publishing Course 2018 (United States) Winner of Oregon Literary Fellowship for Publishing 2021 (United States) Winner of Regional Arts and Culture Council Grant 2023 (United States) Winner of Oregon Literary Fellowship for Publishing 2014 (United States) Short-listed for Anne C Barnhill Prize for Creative Nonfiction 2019 (United States) Short-listed for May Sarton Award 2023 (United States) Short-listed for Distinguished Service Award 2021 (United States) Long-listed for Star Watch Awards 2017 (United States)

Portland's Top Reads, Willamette Week

A Powell's Books best-seller and staff pick

An Annie Bloom's Books best-seller and staff pick

Foreword by Beth Kephart, author of Handling the Truth

"Radical empathy runs throughout, making Imagine a Door a likely mainstay on writer’s shelves throughout the whole of their careers—a supportive reference to return to again and again."

—Foreword Reviews

"Reading Imagine a Door is like taking a course in book publishing with field trips into the writing process and a writing life itself. Author Laura Stanfill is our warm and generous teacher and guide who answers our questions with knowledgeable insight, real-life examples, and sincere caring about the art and the artist."

—Judy Reeves, author of A Writer’s Book of Days

"This book contains vital information, especially if you are anxious about putting your work into the world. Imagine a Door is a guide, a balm, and a blessing."

—Mo Daviau, author of Every Anxious Wave and Epic and Lovely

"The new essential guide for writers." 

—Kevin Sampsell, bookseller at Powell's Books

"This sunshine of a book is sure to shine a light for many.”

—Kari Luna, author of The Theory of Everything

"A treasure trove for writers."

—Nancy Townsley, author of Sunshine Girl

"This is a generous guide that aims to help writers unlock the story they were meant to tell."

—The Bookmonger, Discover Our Coast

"Full disclosure, Laura is a friend. But I can honestly say if you are looking for the insider's guide to publishing, this is it."

—Lori Tobias, author of Storm Beat and Wander

"Offers readers a gentle method for setting realistic and sustainable goals."

—Christina Vega, publisher at Blue Cactus Press and author of Decay, Vega, and Maps

"Stanfill holds tremendous wisdom and empathy."

—Joe Biel, author of A People's Guide to Publishing

"Authentic, honest, vulnerable, and encouraging." 

—Michael Gettel-Gilmartin, Project Mayhem

"With the wisdom and thoughtfulness gained from her experience as an author and publisher, Laura Stanfill provides answers that writers haven’t even thought to ask.  As a bookseller I am so happy to confidently offer this book to writers seeking  practical, honest guidance as they pursue their goals."

—Cheryl McKeon, bookseller, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza

LAURA STANFILL is the award-winning publisher of Forest Avenue Press and the author of the historical novel Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary. She's a graduate of Vassar College and the Yale Publishing Course, which she attended thanks to a scholarship from the Independent Book Publishers Association. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she wishes on bookstores like stars and wears a sparkly top hat while walking her dog.

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