Charlottesville Festival
I can squeeze in one day to run up to Charlottesville for the Festival of the Book.
There are some great authors coming, including Garrison Keillor on the opening day, and Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient, and many more. I am more drawn to hearing those who will be talking about publishing than about writing, and have decided, tentatively, on who to hear when (see "read more").
I have been giving consideration these past days to "self publishing" in all its many forms, especially as I think about having more control over images that I'd like to include in the book (black and white, I'm afraid, because of cost considerations). There will be three of the larger self-publishers represented at the Festival: 1stBooks, Infinity, and iUniverse. I'd like to hear
all three of them, but wouldn't you know: they all come on stage at the same time on the one day I'll be there. Any recommendations for one vs the other?
Thanks to friends Dave and Gretchen of Ripples fame for offering to play host and tour guide for my short stay in Charlottesville. And we're hoping Old Man Winter will be quite worn out by the end of the month, although he is famous for one last surprise punch in late March or even into April.
Tentative schedule for Friday, March 26:
Jacqueline Deval is the author of Publicize Your Book: An Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book the Attention It Deserves. Now the publisher of Hearst Books, she was director of publicity for William Morrow, Villard, and Doubleday, and director of marketing for Morrow. 3/27 10 a.m.
Chris Bolgiano's book, True Tales of Sustainable Forestry, won two literary awards in 2003. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wilderness Magazine, Sierra, and done commentaries on NPR's "Living on Earth." 3/27 12 p.m.
Peter Cashwell, author of The Verb 'To Bird', graduated from the University of North Carolina. He has been a radio announcer, rock musician, comic-book critic, and improv comedy accompanist, and now teaches English and speech at Woodberry Forest School. 3/27 2 p.m.
And one of these three...
John F. Harnish is Special Projects Director / Author's Advocate for Infinity Publishing. With four decades of publishing experience he's recently authored three POD books, including Everything … About Print-On-Demand.… He helps authors understand POD and he's responsible for Infinity's annual author's conference. 3/27 4 p.m.
Katherine Brandenburg is the Author Marketing Manager at iUniverse, a premier print-on-demand publishing provider. She is charged with creating programs to help over 8,000 iUniverse authors market and promote their books. Her extensive background in book publicity has led to a significant increase in book sales for iUniverse authors. 3/27 4 p.m.
Celeste Policastro is Director of Marketing for 1stBooks, the leading North American publisher utilizing print-on-demand technology. A business writer and newspaper editor, she has spoken all over the country on self-publishing. She is a graduate of Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and received her M.B.A. from St. Francis University. 3/27 4 p.m.
Comments
For What It's Worth (FWIW) Dept.:
This list is light on publishers/agents. It'll be real fun to talk to these authors who are doing stuff like yours, but they aren't about to give you the name of their agent or point you towards new publishing sources, or show you their short list of submissions. They might be nice people, but they aren't going to help you get published in any way. Of the three self-publishers, I'd still argue that if you have an opportunity to meet an agent or a publisher OR one of the three, skip the three and go for the publisher/agent. Polls of publishers and agents have shown that they find the talent they are constantly looking for, first through personal referrals (and writers you meet at writer's conferences and book festivals are NOT going to refer you to anybody unless they become your best friends, don't count on it in the next six months) and SECOND, from conferences and book fairs.
These self-publishing people, you can talk to on the phone. You can visit their offices and discuss in detail their offerings. They aren't doing you a favor, you're doing them one. They'll get their money whether your books sells or not, so you are the customer and they are the store. They need to sell you, so their information will not be difficult to get at. Agents and publishers, on the other hand, are the buyers, THEY are the customers, and you have to sell THEM. Any book fair or conference that puts you face to face with one of these types is an opportunity to sell yourself and your work. This is where your focus should be if you want to get published.
If you want to self-publish as a Plan B, that's fine, but I'd still say don't waste the window of opportunity to get within breathing distance of someone who can really publish your work. Nobody has told you that you can't have the photos you want in your book. You haven't got that far in negotiating with a publisher, right? So don't give up before you start here.
Whew. I'm glad I put that in the FWIW department, because I can rest easy you'll just toss whatever is useless pontificating.
Posted by: trish | March 1, 2004 9:01 AM
One of the biggest drawbacks to self-publishing is that the end result often LOOKS like it's self-published, most notably from the lack of copyediting. You'll want a comprehensive distribution/marketing plan, too.
Making Light.com had an interesting thread on self-publishing. I think it's either here: http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002630.html or here:
http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002638.html
and there's a Google Group on writing scams here: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=alt.writing.scams that might shed some light on the options that you're investigating.
I think the concept of self-publishing is wonderful and especially appropriate in certain circumstances, such as when the author has an existing audience, a viable marketing plan, an appropriate design vision, and access to distribution. (and so forth)
You might also broaden your scope to include any local high-school or community college programs.
A group from my parents' church banded together to self-publish a collection of our former pastor's essays and sermonettes; the local high school's art department took it on as a design project. The students did the design, layout, printing, and binding. While the end product isn't visually arresting and could've used closer, more consistent copyediting, it's a cleanly designed, sturdily-bound book with thoughtful content. Like a serious child in sturdy brown Oxfords.
I'm not saying that your book should be a similarly Oxfords-and-eyeglasses book, rather that there are many options out there. The pastor's book was completed with a minimum of supervision or input from the group and absolutely no input from the pastor (who is enjoying his retirement).
Good luck.
Lyn
Posted by: lyn | March 1, 2004 11:06 AM