VERY IMPORTANT POLL---PLEASE

[s_snow]

Of course I will buy it.


Write how can we overcome emets!

[charzysbebe]

bumpity bump....


Just need to see if there are anymore responses! [img]smileys/smilies_02.gif[/img]

[snoozy]

I selected 'I don't know'.


This is due to afew reasons: I am not a big reader (I have half-a-dozen books on my bedside table - none finished!), also, I consciously try not to read self-help books. I know they can be helpful, but if I start buying them, who knows where it will stop. And i'm hopeless at following the instructions on a new gadget nevermind ideas on how to make my life better and overcome problems. I think it is fantastic that you have chosen this path, to share your experiences with others, but my decision to purchase or not cannot be guaranteed, and depends on circumstances and events, not something that I plan on doing. Good luck getting published.

[SimplyMe]

I chose 100% yes because there really isn't any or much info out there. I think it'd be a great asset not only for other emets who suffer alone but tot he medical and psychological communities as well. Way to go!

[tink]

Yes, absolutely! I am looking forward to reading it..

--Kim

[charzysbebe]

Bump

[sage]

Of course I would buy YOUR book...but that's cuz I sort of "know you"..lol. If it were an unknown author, I would LOOK at it, but I only buy books that I think are worth it (and I own nearly 2000 books, and buy and read 1-3 per week). I guess for me, I'd not only want to hear your story as to how you got it and how you suffered, but also how you think you were cured. Hey - you should write your story on the "stories of being cured of emet" on the Experiences thread...or maybe you have and I haven't seen it.


I agree with you that publishing is VERY difficult. Extremely difficult, in fact..even for very very good writers. I hope that your book somehow has universal application - otherwise, you won't have much of a market for it. I don't know where you got your stats, either...ie., 1% of the American population. That seems pretty high to me.


Although it will be great for emetophobia to get more "press", unless the book can provide hope in some concrete form for everyone with emetophobia AND other mental/anxiety disorders, then you might have a pretty tough time marketing it. Just think about this stuff when you do your book proposal.


...the other thought I had is that an internet survey of a small number of people on this site probably won't go very far with publishers. If there are 3 million emets and you only geta couple of hundredof them responding positively here...that may do you more harm than good.


Keep reading/studying those books about publishing! They'll REALLY help you.


AND...the very best of luck with this project. You hang in there.Edited by: sage

[crystalmom]

I will TOTALLY be there!! Good luck, I hope you get it published!


Crystal

[charzysbebe]

Of course I would buy YOUR book...but that's cuz I sort of "know you"..lol. If it were an unknown author, I would LOOK at it, but I only buy books that I think are worth it (and I own nearly 2000 books, and buy and read 1-3 per week). I guess for me, I'd not only want to hear your story as to how you got it and how you suffered, but also how you think you were cured. Hey - you should write your story on the "stories of being cured of emet" on the Experiences thread...or maybe you have and I haven't seen it.


I agree with you that publishing is VERY difficult. Extremely difficult, in fact..even for very very good writers. I hope that your book somehow has universal application - otherwise, you won't have much of a market for it. I don't know where you got your stats, either...ie., 1% of the American population. That seems pretty high to me.


Although it will be great for emetophobia to get more "press", unless the book can provide hope in some concrete form for everyone with emetophobia AND other mental/anxiety disorders, then you might have a pretty tough time marketing it. Just think about this stuff when you do your book proposal.


...the other thought I had is that an internet survey of a small number of people on this site probably won't go very far with publishers. If there are 3 million emets and you only geta couple of hundredof them responding positively here...that may do you more harm than good.


Keep reading/studying those books about publishing! They'll REALLY help you.


AND...the very best of luck with this project. You hang in there.

Hi sage! Well, maybe I should post my story on the "experiences" part of this forum...good idea! [img]smileys/smilies_02.gif[/img]


Also...you asked where I got my stats; those stats were an estimate. The "Wikipedia" states that 6% of the American population fears vomiting, but a much smaller percentage actually have emetophobia. I chose (in my query letter to publishers) to use the 1% by saying, "even taking just 1% from the 6% of people who fear vomit as to actually having emetophobia, leaves an astounding 3 million people who suffer". (the actual figures were 2 million, 9 hundred something; so almost 3 million)


Anyways, also I took figures from a legit phobia clinic who states that "millions" suffer from emetophobia each year.


There really is no easy way to find out how many people actually have emetophobia. We can only estimate. I did all the research I could, and those were the numbers I found. Then you have the "closet emets" who either don't know what it is they fear (such as with me up until 4 years ago) or you have the ones who don't tell for fear of other people's reactions; it is just too difficult to find true numbers in this area. There are many more emets out there that aren't coming foward, and aren't accounted for.


As far as my internet poll I have, I want to use it to say something like, "In a survey taken by 300 emets, 275 (for example) of them claim that they would be interested in my book" sort of thing. It is more or less to show that most emets do want to read that sort of thing so they don't feel so alone, or so it can help them in the way I helped myself. This poll is not created to show how many emets there are by any means, it is just to show how much interest there is among the ones who surveyed.


You gave me some good ideas Sage, and I will definately take alot of your advice; for it will be a big help! Thanks, and I will keep you posted on any new news! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]


Charlotte

[sage]

Charlotte,


I did a fair bit of research myself a couple of years ago about emetophobia, although I wasn't all that interested in its statistical incidence. But I looked into it a bit, and I would challenge your stats big time. (The reason I'm bringing this up is to help you, btw...not just to challenge you....if you pitch this to an agent/publisher, and your stats are way off they'll reject your book instantly cuz they'll assume you don't know what you're talking about). So here goes:


According to the National Institute of Mental Health (USA) approximately 6.3% of Americans suffer from some kind of phobia. "Fearing vomiting" is absoultely NOT a phobia...it's just what a lot of people think, but they never think about vomiting until an hour or less before they do it...when they may be nervous. This has nothing to do with emetophobia.


So if you start with 6.3M people...there are 5 types of phobias: animals, nature, blood-injection-injury, situational and "other". Emetophobia falls under "other". In the DSM-IV TR "other" includes choking and vomiting as well as ALL other (unusual or rare) fears. Some internet sites have therefore said that emetophobia is "the 5th most common phobia"...well...ok...but I'd argue with that from a statistical viewpoint as "animal" includes snakes and dogs and spiders and bugs and these are all lumped together as the 1st most common...so by the time you get down the list to "other" you've got a lot more phobias on the list than just 5. Gosh none of that sounded clear...let me lay it out so it makes more sense:


Phobias in order of "most common"

1. <LI>Animals (snakes, dogs, spiders, bugs, etc. etc.)</LI>
   <LI>Nature (heights, tornadoes, thunder, water, germs, etc. etc. etc.)</LI>
   <LI>Blood-injection-injury (blood, needles, surgery, etc. etc.)</LI>
   <LI>Situational (flying, bridges, driving, elevators, shopping, etc. etc. )</LI>
   <LI>Other (choking, vomiting, loud sounds orcostumed characters+ approximately 3 THOUSAND other misc. things)</LI>

So although emetophobia is listed under the 5th most common, there are actually dozens of phobias MORE COMMON than emetophobia.


So even if you divided the 5 types of phobias equally, each would only have about 1.3M people...and I don't think you can divide them equally - I believe the first 4 types have most of the sufferers, and "other" is a category of rare phobias where the incidence of them is low. But let's say there are a million people with some "other" phobia. I would further suggest that since vomiting is actually listed in the DSM-IV TR along with 3 other subtypesthenwe can safely say thatthe incidence ishigher than the several thousand phobias that are not listed. My guess would be that about 20,000 people in the USA suffer from emetophobia....a far cry from the 3 million you cited. This site has seen about 2-3,000 members, which is 10-15% which is consistent with other statistics of people who seek information or help on the internet. (Many more people would have come here, but not joined).


I also question the "legit" phobia clinic that you mentioned. If it's the online "phobia clinic" THAT is a total scam! Check it out...they say "millions suffer from a ______ phobia"...insert the name of any phobia out there. I warn people away from those guys all the time - all they've done is like, mail-merged their description with a list of phobias.


The other thing to consider is just common sense. This phobia is rare! Most doctors, therapists and the average Joe have NEVER HEARD OF IT. If 3M Americans suffered from it, it would be talked about way more! If your high school has 1,000 kids do you really think it's realistic to think that 10 of them are emetophobes like us? I don't think so.


Anyway, as I said before - I'm not trying to shoot you down, but rather to help out. Better me saying

[charzysbebe]

Unfortunately, no one will ever know the figures of how many emets there are in the US. It isa hard thing to prove.I honestly believe that there are alot more emets out there than there is credit for because they don't realize they even have emetophobia, or they are afraid to come foward; and then the others that deny it all the way.


If my stats are hard for publishers to swallow, then I can change my focus to possibly situational phobias or something along that line. I have recieved 3 rejection letters out of 10 publishers (a week and a half ago), and I still await hearing back from the other 7. (which I do expect to hear yay or nay one way or other, for I sent them a requested SASE)


If there is no luck, I will keep trying and eventually my focusmay change. I do feel like my story is one to be told to all others who have experienced this phobia (or ones like it) I have worked hard on my story, and even if I need to self-publish or do the E-book thing, then I guess that is the route I will take.


I will keep you posted on what I decide! Thanks for your info! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img] Charlotte