Self-Publishing, when and how it works...

NEW Writers' Group Inc ran a small forum on Self-Publishing last Saturday at Merrylands Library with the help of Holroyd City Council. We discussed types of publishers and publishing services, digital printing along the lines NWG Inc utilises, print on demand, kindle/blio et al,  but the individual stories of self-publishers spoke the loudest. It can be an expensive road to the book you want. Writers can cut costs without weakening content or presentation if they understand what publishers and printers DO and what tasks they can tackle themselves on their PCs and Macs or directly source at a better price. Designing a basic layout for internals, designing a cover, choosing fonts, editing and proof reading, saving into PDF, are all chores that writers can consider doing themselves. Based on one case presented, we also touched on when it's premature to self-publish. Another draft or two might be all it takes to win a contract with a publisher the writer doesn't pay:)  Artist Jacqui Douglas' mini workshop aimed at showing writers how to develop the eye of a designer, needs to be repeated at greater length. All this interspersed with short "show and tells" from a diverse bunch of writers was squashed into an hour and a half... The event was preceded by NWG Inc's AGM and followed by lunch and then the launch of NWG Inc's 2010 Anthology. Pic is of Chair, Carol Amos our indefatiguable president.