Last week, I mentioned that I signed up for a workshop on self-publishing. I’ve been out of town and without Internet access this week (I finally found a Panera with free wi-fi so that I could catch up on some other projects!), but I wanted to do a quick post with my notes from the workshop…

A couple of friends and I attended the Write it Right workshop at Perfect Peace last Friday night. There were approximately 20 other people in attendance and Gina Nachtigal, author and self-publisher of On the Same Page, did a wonderful job giving us an overview of the self-publishing process.

She started out by highlighting some of the key differences between using a publishing house or self-publishing:
Publishing House – has total control over your idea and work, long delay (at least 9 months)
Self-Publishing – you have all the control, possible to have a manuscript printed and available within 5 weeks, you keep the profit

Once you have a finished manuscript, there are two ways to self-publish:
1. Hire a printer and you can be your own publisher – must print at least 1,000 copies to make it worthwhile
2. Print-On-Demand (POD) – good for a fewer number of copies, not as much profit margin

Cons of self-publishing:
* You have to finance the whole project yourself or find someone willing to fund it for you.
* Big responsibility on your shoulders (editing, design, printing, distribution, etc.)

The Process
* Pray a lot! Ask God for wisdom (James 1:5).
* Know what your goal is. Who is the book going to benefit?
* Decide if printing with a commercial offset printer or POD will better serve your needs. (You can literally feel the difference.)
* How to get a copyright – effective upon creation; $35 to register the copyright – http://copyright.gov
* ISBN – uniquely identifies a book – block of at least 10 required ($275)
* Barcode – $25
* How do you know when the manuscript is ready? When you think you’re almost done, have somebody else read it. And then have somebody else read it. Sometimes what we want to say doesn’t come out right. It is perceived differently than we intend. Have five or six people read it before you hire an editor. Have an editor in the profession edit the book.
*Shelf appeal – no typos on the back cover! Get endorsements – local friends, ask God to open doors. Take time to research what you want the book to look and feel like. Spend a lot of time comparing and researching the competition.
Weight of text pages – ask printer what they would recommend (50# or 60# paper on the inside)
* Once you choose your printer, find samples to make sure that your customer service rep is on the same “page” as you.

What do you do once the books have been printed and delivered?
* Don’t put them in the basement! See if bookstores will take the books on consignment to sell them. Perfect Peace will consider book proposals – the message must be compelling and go through an extensive review process.
* It’s also easy to put your book on Amazon.com. The Internet is a good way to market.
* Write a press release. The fact that you have written a book is news! Look for places to get book signings – church, library, school, bookstore, etc. (Watermark Books is very open to local authors.)

Deb Raney added some tips on how to have a successful book signing:
* Don’t give out the book to all your friends. Encourage them to come to the book signing. Crowds generate enthusiasm.
* Ask the location if there will be multiple events that day. Try a multiple self-published book signing with several other authors.
* Have your own website. Absolutely essential in the 21^st century. Keep track of your site visitors.
* Give something away. (Pens, chocolate, matching bookmarks, bookpads, ask for overs from publisher and cut down to use as postcards, cut the spine off and use as a bookmark)
* Stand instead of sitting, be welcoming, (sitting behind a table seems to turn people away)

Once you’ve self-published, you have a finished concept you can send to possibly get picked up by a publishing house.

Each workshop attendee received a $10 gift card for Perfect Peace and a wonderful packet of materials provided by Mennonite Press in Newton, Kansas. The packet included a booklet with information for self-publishers, a brochure for Mennonite Press, a lovely pad of paper and several sample print jobs from Mennonite Press. It was very impressive!

Gina was incredibly encouraging and gave all of us hope that it is not impossible to successfully self-publish our books. She also reminded us that God is the one who has compelled us to write and we should continually ask Him to provide guidance and contacts along the way to help us finish the job. The workshop was very well done and I look forward to attending the next one in a couple of weeks.