Three Hours with Self-Publishing Experts

Are you sick and tired of hearing about the “journey” of being an author? Do you just want to finish penning your book and flip through the pages? If your answer is yes and you’ve decided to self-publish – get ready for a new word to get tired of – “process.” Once your manuscript is drafted, there are still lots of steps in the process of getting your brilliant idea into an actual book-in-hand.

The availability of print-on-demand (POD) publishing has opened up a huge opportunity for authors to see their book in print without the long lead time of traditional printing methods or the heartache of agent and publisher rejection. However tempting the POD world seems, it’s still a maze of challenges – especially to the writer who proclaims, “But I just want to write! I don’t want to be bogged down in all the business and printing stuff.” 

Enter…The Book-In-Hand Roadshow©, this three hour session is designed to help authors understand the new world of self-publishing. There are story editors, copy editors, cover designers, local presses, internet publishers, word count, ISBN numbers, barcodes, paper weights, formatting, uploading – it’s simply all too confusing. Now, you can learn from local experts who speak plain English and will explain the components involved in the POD process… plus, you’ll become familiar with the titles of the professionals and services they provide. 
       
THE PROCESS: Introduction to self-publishing by Jennifer Basye Sander, author, the Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published.

Jennifer has worked in the book business for eons and has more than 50 titles under her belt. Her eye-opening take on publishing will start you off on the right foot in your author's journey and, she'll introduce you to the 
local POD - the Espresso Book Machine at the Main Sacramento Library - one of two in California that prints out paperback books as you watch. 

THE INSIDE: Editing – what kind do you need? (the red pen behind your words)

You love the words that started in your mind and came through your fingertips onto the paper, but that doesn’t mean you made the best choice of words or that the words are appropriate for your audience.

Award winning journalist, photographer, and writing coach, Diane Covington discusses editing that makes the reader want to keep turning the pages. She also she has great tips on how to proof your own work.

THE OUTSIDE: The fine art of cover design by Karen Phillips, Phillips Covers  

A great cover grabs the reader’s attention and tempts them to open the book; the size and look of your book need to match your audience and story genre.  

Karen's a professional graphic designer who specialized in book covers for self-publishing authors. She'll show you samples of winning covers and explain why they  create excitement and beg the reader to pick it up and make a purchase.  

THE LAUNCH: Crafting the Book Event 
Rounding out the three hour session is Ingrid E. Lundquist, CSEP, author of Results-Driven Event Planning: Using Marketing Tools to Boost Your Bottom Line and founder of The Book-In-Hand Roadshow.

Ingrid's an international award-winning event planner and she has a check list for you to help in planning your successful launch party.

Sign-up now. Get ready to interact with fellow authors and take home a ton of valuable information that's guaranteed to save you time.