I had a great time over the weekend hosting a self-publishing seminar at the New Carrollton (MD) library branch. We had a great turnout of about 50 people, who were all really interested in self-publishing.
I gave away two  proof copies of my new self publishing book, which is available for pre-order now, and will be published in March.
If you’re interested, the library has posted some photos from the seminar on its Flickr account. Â I spoke alongside fellow author Jim Brown.
Additionally, if you’re interested in preserving your self publishing legacy after your death, be sure to check out my two Indies Unlimited articles on estate planning for the self-published author. They discuss wills, trusts, LLCs, powers of attorney and all the key elements you’ll need to make sure your intellectual property goes to your heirs. Â Here’s Part I and Part II of the articles.
Jim Brown here. I shared the podium with RJ at the seminar. We only expected about a dozen people, hoped for twenty or thirty, actually got about 50. We ran out of handouts so we collected emails to send it to them.
In response to Yvonne’s comment, in my opinion, the great virtue of having a book (or two) is that it adds credibility to what you have to say. I’ll let RJ speak to her personal reasons for hosting the seminar, but my reasons were:
1. Build and maintain a good relationship with the library.
2. Help spread the gospel of indie publishing & help other aspiring authors.
3. Learn from those other aspiring authors: their goals & aspirations. – I didn’t take full advantage of this, but will next time.
4. Get some additional exposure for my books (the least reason).
Good thoughts, Jim. Thanks for chiming in.
Oops, hit send before editing. lol
Congrats. That’s a great turnout. I wi=onder if it could be done successfully without a book to go with it? I’ve been thiking about it here.
Yvonne, my book isn’t done. I gave away proof copies, and one woman was adamant that she have my book, saying she wanted to buy a proof. That surprised me. I think if you don’t have a book, it’s probably fine. People will get the information and ask you more questions at the end. They may even ask you for recommendations of a good self publishing book. Also, if you have a really detailed handout that will help people out. We offered a four page resource sheet with a lot of information (Some of the info, I’m going to copy and paste for the appendices of my book).
However, having a book only available for pre-order, I think, was a mistake, because a lot of the people who come are wanting to act right now. So, they want some resource they can look to immediately. As long as you offer them that guidance (whether it be your book or someone else’s), I think they’re content.
Thanks, RJ. I think I will approach our library and have a list of resources – your book (when it’s ready) and martin Short’s will be on it.