Self-Publishing 101: Understanding the Landscape and Opportunities

What are the best services for self-publishing? How much money does it cost to produce a good-quality e-book? What are some of the most effective marketing strategies? Get answers to these questions, plus an unbiased look at the self-publishing scene, including when you should do it, and—if you do—how to be effective in your efforts, without damaging your credibility or investing more money than you should. While self-publishing doesn’t equal instant success, you’ll learn the principles behind the successful creation and distribution of an e-book or print edition.

The Digital Age Author: Best Practices in Marketing, Promotion, and Reader Engagement

In this six-session series, publishing consultant Jane Friedman will teach you the principles and techniques for building your author platform—particularly online—and publishing and promoting your own work, whether traditionally or self-published, using the many new tools and platforms now available to writers. The first sessions will cover the foundational strategies that govern author platforms, with nuts-and-bolts discussions of author websites, blogs, email newsletters, and social media. The last two sessions will look at the self-publishing landscape and what it takes to market and promote work in a predominantly online environment, regardless of how you publish.

Jane Friedman has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media strategy for authors and publishers. She’s the co-founder and editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and is the former publisher of Writer’s Digest. In addition to being a columnist with Publishers Weekly and a professor with The Great Courses, Jane maintains an award-winning blog for writers at JaneFriedman.com. She’s delivered keynotes on the digital era of authorship at the San Francisco Writers Conference, The Muse & The Marketplace, and Willamette Writers Conference, among many others. She speaks regularly at industry events such as BookExpo and Digital Book World, and has served on panels with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund. She has a book forthcoming from the University of Chicago Press, The Business of Being a Writer (March 2018).