Last week, as you may know, our leader John Rehg was not present at the beginning of the meeting. He was at his daughter’s wedding rehearsal, so I was delegated to lead the meeting. He did manage to come in at the end of the meeting. Just in time to take a few pictures for us. Thanks John!
I became a member in January and quickly recognized I wanted to be a part of this group. I asked John to allow me to help when needed and he has held up to this request.
Our speaker for the evening was Kathy Nappier and her topic for the evening was internet publishing aka epublishing or print on demand. Kathy has authored several books including Full Wolf Moon and Voyagers, and coming in fall 2009, Bitten.
E-publishing aka internet publishing is when an author uses a print on demand company, such as Lightning Source, Inc or CreateSpace to help produce the book.
Kathy talked about how there is a stigma on epublishing; however, the stigma does not have to stop you from using this form of publishing.
As many of you know, the publishing industry is dealing with layoffs and cut backs like many other industries. This does not have to deter your writing dreams. As Kathy mentioned, you may need to be more strategic in your marketing and promoting efforts.
The decision to go with print on demand or traditional publishing is one left to each individual. The more important part of publishing your book is to know your market and then promote your book.
By using internet publishing, you are able to bypass wondering if your book will get published because you are the one holding the reins on the publishing rope. Take your time and be sure your book sticks with high quality. Have your book edited and formatted properly. Some of the internet publishing companies offer these services for additional fees.
She went on to talk about a few places she frequents in order to keep an eye on the comings and goings in the writing and publishing industry; such as absolutewrite.com and preditors and editors.com . The links to these sites are located in the right sidebar.
Get acquainted with the local writing environment. You are a member of FWA and it provides opportunities; however, there are others too. Kathy mentioned the Locus List (resource link is below). Locus online provides listings of conventions for the year. Great resource for those looking for places to be seen with your books. Again, it is best to check out the pricing and pros and cons of each convention.
She talked about going to conferences such as Necronomicon and our own FWA conference as a great way to meet people in the industry and places to sell your book.
She also gave a few tips when going to conferences:
*Try to have a new release each time you go to a conference. Even a short story is better then nothing. You want to have something fresh to show fellow writers, agents and/or publishers to show you are actively writing.
*Try and find someone to “buddy” up with and share the costs of the display table, hotel and car rental.
There are online conferences and forums in which to participate to spread the word about your book. Here are a few she (and I) mentioned at the meeting:
The Muse Online Writers Conference (http://www.themuseonlinewriters.com)
Writers Mafia (http://www.linkedin.com/writersmafia)
Book Market (http://www.bookmarket.ning.com)
Scribophile (http://www.scribophile.com)
Locus Online (http://www.locusmag.com/Conventions.html)Kathy also mentioned some of the other epublishers (or print on demand) such as:
Lulu (http://www.lulu.com)
Lightning Source (http://www.lightningsource.com)
Create Space (http://www.createspace.com)
Book Surge (http://www.booksurge.com)
Now with these print on demand companies there are different restrictions on layout, start up fees, copyright, and royalties. You need to be sure and do your research on each of them before using any of them for publishing your book.
Personal Note:
I truly enjoy coming to these meetings each month and plan on being a member of FWA for a long time. Thank you from me to you for welcoming me with open arms and warm hearts. I appreciate it.
Teresa
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