The main guy who talked at this panel was Will Harris.
Self-publishing has a bad name, but if you're an indie filmmaker or musician, that's cool. So think of self-publishing as being an indie publisher.
If you're going to self-publish, you'll probably have some control over the cover. People always judge books by their covers, so be sure to make something great. Here are some things to keep in mind with covers.
1. Distill the book's theme and tone.
2. Be clear, even obvious.
3. Be bold, with no boxed-in tiny images. Let the image fill the field! Type in it, not next to it.
4. Be open to the unexpected.
5. Trust your designers. Don't be married to a specific concept. It's OK to argue with the designer, but if you do, have a reason that's related to the book.
Which leads us to the next list, Working with a Designer.
1. Brief them in one page about the project.
2. Be clear about themes.
3. Show covers you like, but...
4. ...no expectations.
5. Feel first--don't overthink.
6. Don't tell them how to design! You can share ideas, but don't say, "Put a cat in the corner."
Don't use timid type. Put nudity on the cover if possible (subtle nudity, to make sure it stays on shelves).
Pitfalls of design:
weak type
anonymity
too much going on
image or type too small in relation to cover
Pictures or people are very effective--people look at people--but not too specific, just a suggestion. You don't want to nail down how the reader can imagine a certain character.
All the major self-publishers are fine, there are no glaring differences or problems with any. The question is what you are going to do, how you are oging to separate writing from editing and designing.
Find your tribe. There are probably ten million people for each author who already love you, agree with you, and want to be your friend. You have friends, a family, colleagues. List fifty people in real life who really like you. Build from there, and that's your tribe. Also go after your mentors and heroes and say you love them. Most of them will honestly and sincerely relate to you if you do so with them. Concentric circles will grow outward from who's already in your life. All of the platforms (Facebook, etc.) are what you make of them. Make sure the relationships on there are actual ones that will help, not just friends for the sake of having a lot of friends.
The two types of people most preyed on are actors and authors. "They'll buy anything if they think it's magic." Don't be in that group. Think about what you're paying for, what you'll get out of it.
Make sure you get an ISBN and a listing in the Ingram catalog. That's how you get on Amazon and stuff.
Readers don't distinguish between self-published authors and traditional publishing. Virginia Woolf, Joyce, Poe, and a long list of others self-published. If it's good, it'll fly. Yes, a lot of self-published books are bad. The founder of lulu.com said, "We specialize in bad poetry that sells six copies to the friends of the author." But remember there are also a lot of terrible books that were published traditionally. The majority of music is bad, but if you make your own CD, nobody cares that it's not produced by a house.
Think about why you're not publishing traditionally. Are you ignoring feedback? You can overcome the bad-book stigma with self-awareness, confidence, and credibility. Time will also help cure the stigma.
Finally, "Technology doesn't make a good book. You make a good book."
Some of the resources he and others mentioned:
http://www.360digitalbooks.com- printers, will ship anywhere
http://www.iuniverse.com
http://www.lightningsource.com- discount for stores, returnable books, but less simple--you have to have a fully formatted PDF for the whole book and the cover.
http://www.lulu.com
http://www.authorhouse.com, consolidating several sites
http://www.redroom.com
The next post will be about Digital Publishing and cover some of the same ground as this one. See you next time! Thanks for reading.
