Preview: Self-Publishing: A Revolution for Midlist Authors?

By: Chelsea Roeder

It’s no surprise that technology is quickly taken over our everyday lives. Everywhere we turn we are surrounded by it. With everyday life slowly making its connection to technology it is no surprise that books are making the same move.

With the move from hard copies of books to e-books comes a new way for authors to get their work to the public. It’s called self-publishing. Self-publishing is a way for authors to step around big publishing companies, “the middllemen,” and opens the door to previously published authors and authors trying to break into the field.

Already published authors; Neal Pollack, Joni Rodgers, Carolyn Kellogg, Marty Beckerman, Joshua Tallent all come together on the panel “Self-Publishing: A Revolution for Midlist Authors?” to explain the potential for greatness in the emerging self-publishing arena.

So what is a “midlist author” you might ask? Well, according to Neal Pollack a “midlist author” is “a writter like me, which is to say, most working writers — midcareer, midlist, middle-aged, more or less middlebrow, and somewhat Internet savvy — self-publishing seems to make a lot of sense at this point.”

What’s great about this panel is all the authors either have, or are planning on self-publishing, so what better way to for authors thinking about self-publishing themselves to get insight into a new area of book writting.

To learn about the benefits, pitfalls and potential in the emerging self-publishing field, this panel is a must.

Questions to be answered at the panel are as follows:

  1. Why is this a good time for midlist authors to self-publish?
  2. In what ways has the publishing industry changed that’s forcing or encouraging the self-publishing movement?
  3. What’s easier about self-publishing as opposed to the traditional way? What is more difficult?
  4. What are the technical challenges?
  5. In a world with seemingly infinite content, how do you call attention to yourself and your work in the self-publishing world?

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