Imagine a Door

"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. She does more than provide information—so much great information—but shares her own experience and that of writers she’s worked with over her years as a student of writing, acclaimed novelist, and successful publisher of a small press. Start here, and keep going."

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

"Imagine a Door is the book I needed when I first embarked on my publishing path as a writer. Part mental health book, part publishing industry primer, Imagine a Door offers readers a gentle method for setting realistic and sustainable goals for their writing practice and publishing endeavors. In these pages, Stanfill re-establishes the writer and their unique wants, needs, and aspirations as the center of the publishing journey. Imagine a Door is a toolkit, a lifeline, for writers treading water in the vast ocean of the publishing industry landscape."

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

"Laura Stanfill does what the best, most inspirational publishers do: she identifies gaps on the shelf and fills them with things that are inspiring and make so much sense that they are obvious in hindsight. Stanfill holds tremendous wisdom and empathy, holding our hands and delivering each author to locate a door that nobody ever noticed. She helps everyone to feel seen."

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

Praise for Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary

“Lyrical.” —Shelf Awareness

“Delicately gilded writing.” —Publishers Weekly

“Enchanting.” —The Oregonian

"A charming debut.” —Buzzfeed

“Enrapturing.” —Foreword Reviews

“Reads like a fairytale.”—Oenobooks

“Utterly beguiling.” —Cleaver Magazine

“Highly recommended.” —Independent Book Review

“A fine and fun listen.” —Audiofile

“Captivating and memorable.”—Small Press Picks