Season Press to Present to MLA

After over a decade of helping others become authors, Season Press LLC founders Sean and Sonya Bernard-Hollins will inspire members of the Michigan Library Association to create innovative partnerships in their communities.

The team presented their workshop, “The Barbershop in the Library: How Creative Partnerships Inspire Patrons,” discussion at the state conference on October 19 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Suites in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The workshop provided creative ways for librarians to bring books to life with local authors and self-published works.

“As a local, self-published author, it seems our libraries often overlook us in our communities,” Sonya said. “Often, nationally known authors, who have no connection to the community, receive platforms that so easily could be more interactive and long-standing, with local authors.”

10 Steps to Self Publishing: Step 1

As you cruise through the aisles of Barnes and Noble or sift through the new releases at your local library, you may think, “I have an idea for a book. I’ll write one!”

Okay, you have an idea…now what?

What may seem like a fun venture can be filled with twists and turns that could bounce your dreams off track. When you know what to expect it may be a bit easier to hold on at each bend in the journey as you ride on the author train.  After more than a decade helping other self published authors bring their words to the page, I want to share 10 of the most vital steps we have learned. Over the next few weeks, we will explore everything from creating a title to setting up a book signing table.

While this is not a complete list or extensive detail, it provides a synopsis of what to expect on your journey to becoming a published author. So, let’s begin with STEP 1.

Define Success. This is important as it allows you to envision what success looks like for you. Remember, I said, FOR YOU! Others may have an idea of what success looks like, or you may want to compare future success to those such as Stephen King or Michelle Obama. Think about where you are, who you are, your audience, and what you bring to this arena. Once you begin to write down where you fit on the shelves, you can better begin to have a realistic picture of what can become of your manuscript.

Do you define success by the amount of money you want to earn from your book sales? Do you define it by the lives that will change from what you share? Or, do you define success by the potential your book has to become a movie? Whatever you imagine, write it down in your notebook or journal.

These are some of the things you should answer:

What is the working title? __________________________________

What genre is your work? __________________________________

Who is your audience? ____________________________________

What qualifies you to write this book? _________________________(this may be the longest part of your notes. Really dive into WHY you can best tell this story your way) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(okay…you get the picture)________________

What are your projected sales goals? ______________________________

How will you accomplish those goals (book events, online, social media, etc.)?________________________________________________________

Once you begin to really think about the book less as an idea and more like a mini company, you can truly focus on writing a book that gets you to your goal. Going through these steps first can save you days, weeks, months, and even years of going through a writing process only to learn your audience and customers are only family and friends.

Don’t rush into the process without thinking through STEP 1. Only after you are fully comfortable with your answers and have researched potential sales markets will you have the motivation to get that book into the hands of excited readers.

Look out, Michelle Obama!