Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Introduction to Publishing

Peggy Nehmen and Kim Wolterman
On Saturday the St. Louis Publishers Association (SLPA) held a four hour workshop on how to publish a book. Our first class was offered in March of this year and was so successful that we decided to have another one in the fall. Part of the mission of the SLPA is outreach, and we used to conduct mini-workshops at local Borders stores every Saturday in March during Small Press Month. With the demise of Borders, we looked for other opportunities to help authors understand their options when it comes time to publish their books. Working with the local community college seemed like a great alternative for us.

In addition to making arrangements for the class, I served as the moderator and of course added my two cents worth when appropriate. We began the class with Warren Martin of Little Elephant Publishing giving an overview of traditional publishing versus going the independent publishing route. Pros and cons of each were discussed. Linda Austin of Moonbridge Publications covered how to get books into print and into stores. Her presentation was followed up by Peggy Nehmen of Nehmen-Kodner Graphic Design. Peggy provided information on why it is important to make sure a book looks good inside and out. Because ebooks are such a large part of book consumption these days, Bob Baker discussed the most widely used ebook services and distributors. Last but certainly not least, Tim Hill provided an informational and entertaining look at how to get books into the marketplace. We wrapped the program up with personal stories on what marketing techniques have worked best for us in the past.

This was a lot of information to cover in four hours, but I think we provided a good overview of the publishing process and gave the attendees guidance on where they can go for help.

1 comment:

Mrs. Wryly said...

That is A LOT to cover in four hours. Heads had to be spinning when this one was over.