Come Check Me Out in College Park or New Carrollton, if You’re Local

UPDATED: College Park event rescheduled due to weather. 

For anyone who is local,  I’ll be hosting a seminar, along with my friend Jim Brown, on how folks can self-publish.

The seminar should be very informative, and it’s FREE. Ooh la la (free is always good, right?). The seminar is hosted by the Prince George’s County Library System and will be held at 2 pm at the New Carrollton library. I’ve pasted a copy of the news release below. Definitely stop by. We’d love to see lots of people there.

Also, I’ll be at the College Park Community Library, 9704 Rhode Island Ave.,  discussing my book Life First. The event is mentioned in the online calendar here.  The library is in the basement of a church, and for those familiar with the area, the church is across the street from the Hollywood Shopping Center (REI & MOMS Organic Market), just off the access road. The book discussion was supposed to happen tonight, Jan. 27, but library staff  were concerned about the parking lot getting icy as the temperatures dropped tonight. The event has been rescheduled for Feb. 24,  7-8:30 pm.  

Below is the news release for Saturday’s even.

—————————NEWS RELEASE———————–

Authors to Teach Library Patrons How to Self-Publish, Avoid Scams

In recent years, self-publishing has become a trend allowing regular citizens to publish their stories without having to go through the gatekeepers of traditional publishing. Seeing this popularity, the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System is hosting a FREE seminar featuring two local authors to help the community learn more about the self-publishing process.

Authors RJ Crayton and JM Brown will use the 90-minute seminar to explain what to expect from self-publishing, how best to do it, and how best to avoid scams. Too often, people with a story to tell are taken advantage of by companies promising to help them, when all those companies really want is to relieve authors of cash.

“People who are writing a book or have written a book will say to themselves, ‘I want to get this published, but I really don’t know how,’” Crayton said. “Our goal is to help answer that how question for people. A lot of people, when they don’t know how to do something will hire someone else to do it. That’s why you don’t see me out there changing the oil on my car. However, in the self-publishing industry, a lot of scam artists have popped up offering to help, when all they’re really doing is taking people’s money and providing subpar services. There are things you have to pay for when you self-publish, but there are also a lot of things you don’t have to pay for. This seminar will help people learn the process, learn what’s normal and give them some resources to help them get their work published and avoid scams.”

Crayton and Brown are both experienced self-publishers and will teach seminar participants how to publish effectively without getting fleeced. They will discuss the differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing, the steps necessary to self-publish (writing, editing, cover design), and offer some free resources people can use to accomplish their goals.

Crayton is a former reporter for the Kansas City Star and currently is a monthly contributor to Indies Unlimited, named in 2014 by Publishers Weekly as one of six top blogs for independent writers. She has self-published four books, including Life First, which earned a BRAG Medallion and was nominated for a 2014 Readers’ Choice award. She is a Howard University alumna and lives in Hyattsville. Brown is a former computer programmer with a love of writing. He’s had articles published on programming, including one in Byte Magazine early in his career, and took on novel writing in recent years. Brown has self-published five books (three pseudonymously) including False Magic, a young adult novel, and Self-Publishing: A Step-by-Step How-To Guide. He is a University of Maryland alumnus and lives in Bowie.

The seminar is free and open to the public. It will be held from 2 to 4 pm (last half-hour for questions) on Jan. 31 at the New Carrollton Library, 7414 Riverdale Road, in New Carrollton, Md., (301) 459-6900.

 

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