BookExpoCast

The old days of printing your manuscript 15 times and mailing it to editors, friends and family for feedback are over. Traditionally, an author would repeat this process several times and receive different sets of edits and comments to merge into a new draft. Not only was this time consuming and messy it could take several months, if not years.

Utilizing online tools for collaboration is now a reality. Whether you are sharing simple ideas through email or have enlisted the help of an online publishing platform such as FastPencil. Listeners of this session will learn who should be included on a book collaboration team, what types of feedback to request and trust as well as details on a few online tools that can make the editing process more manageable. This session was presented by Michael Ashley, Founder & Chief Technology Officer, FastPencil, Inc.

When your book goes to print, the question remains: how are you going to sell it? There are many ways to make a sale–your website, online retailers, bookstores, distributors that sell to bookstores, specialty shops–but you need to know how to navigate these options in order to maximize the results.

In this session, hear from independent booksellers and self-published authors who have attacked the market from all sides and have the information you need to get your work in front of a buying public. This event was moderated by Claire McKinney, former Publicity Director, Henry Holt.

Robert Kasher, Business Development Manager for Integrated Solutions BookMasters, shows how Auturo from BookMasters and services like it, gives you the author and/or publisher the full suite of production and distribution services you need to manage, produce and deliver your content in any format, print or electronic to any place in the world.

In this session, Caroline Vanderlip, CEO of SharedBook, talks about the services her company offers. SharedBook enables companies and consumers to dynamically produce personalized and customized books and documents with its patented publishing and annotation platform.

Social networks, online book publicity, promotion and events are essential components for every author who wants to reach their audience, today. Online resources abound and authors everywhere are utilizing the Internet’s infinite support.

Whether published traditionally or self-published, it is up to authors to drive sales for their books. Authors will come-away with a heightened sense of what online tools are available and steps to put them into action. PJ Campbell, Director of Events, John Wiley & Sons, author, Authors Online Resource: DIY, Publicity, Marketing and Events, shares her strategies for creating a successful online book campaign.

Toby Heidel, CEO and Futurist with Red Planet Audiobooks, leads a discussion that outlines the challenges and opportunities available to DIYers interested in producing their own audiobooks, with a focus on “nuts and bolts,” real-world strategies that participants can use immediately. Key topics include: affordable production options, new manufacturing technologies, new distribution and payment models, and future trends.

Writing your book is just the beginning. Next, you need to take a critical eye to your work and weed out grammatical errors, style faux pas and wordiness—and then, you need to format your manuscript in a professional and reader-friendly way.

Jeff Reich, Editor, The Writer Magazine, offers helpful tips on editing your text, designing your pages and finding expert help to get your manuscript ready for publication.

In this session David McFarland, Senior Sales Manager, CreateSpace, tells you how CreateSpace empowers you to realize the potential of your creative work with innovative tools and services to help you create, publish, and sell your books “on-demand” to a world-wide audience.

At BookExpo America 2010, top-level DIY services entities came together to take a reality check on author practices and how authors can achieve successful deals and services. Which opportunities do these DIY service providers open to rights owners? How authors are navigating the menu of services to discern what is best for their needs and desires. These are a few key questions that were answered.

This session was moderated by Diane Mancher, One Potata Productions, Inc.

In this session, Greg Spils, Senior Manager of Author Central, Amazon.com, discusses the innovative resources and programs available for increasing the visibility of your titles to Amazon’s customers, including Author Central — a free service provided by Amazon, available only for authors.

Author Central lets you add blogs, videos, reviews, tour information and more to Amazon.com. You’ll also learn about other terrific initiatives, like Author Pages, Search Inside the Book, Associates, and our automated and personalized merchandising programs (or “virtual” handselling).

Diane Gedymin, founder, The Publisher’s Desk, is a publishing executive with a unique blend of over thirty years of trade experience combined with new media expertise.

In this session, she gives you impartial, first-hand advice about a broad range of publishing alternatives available to authors today—the pros and cons of self-publishing through a POD service provider, doing it all completely on your own, or independently publishing your book with the help of professionals in a way that meets today’s competitive standards.

Learn how to reach a new audience by publishing your book on the Amazon Kindle.

Jason Kuykendall, Senior Business Development Manager, Kindle Self Publishing, tells you easy ways to use Amazon’s new publishing tools to connect to our rapidly growing base of Kindle users.

With the increase of book publishing options – led by indie book publishing – some have tried to blur the lines by lumping non-traditional publishing models under the tag “vanity publishing.”

Keith Ogorek, indie book author and Sr. VP- Marketing, Author Solutions, Inc., in a dynamic presentation clearly draws distinctions between “old vanity publishing” and the indie book publishing revolution. Advances in technology, access to traditional distribution channels and the emergence of new digital formats, make indie book publishing the most flexible and author friendly model in today’s industry.

Publishing has undergone a sea change. No more year-long lead times. No hordes of middlemen waiting for their “cut.” And forget about that dizzying lack of control every author experiences once the manuscript is handed over.

Now, thanks to new technologies and platforms, you, the content owner, hold the power and with this power shift comes a whole new way to define all things book. No longer are massive 5,000+ print runs required, no more jockeying for space on shelves of traditional bookstores. Marketing tools, design, distribution, and sales are now all in your hands. And so is the definition of what your book should be, whether it’s a portfolio, fine art book, fundraising book – you name it. Entirely author-driven and expressly unique, today’s books are changing publishing. What does this mean? Where is this reinvention taking us? What are the possibilities and challenges? Listen in and get inspired.

This session was presented by Robin Goldberg, SVP – Marketing & Biz Dev, Blurb.