The Jefferson Parish Library will hold a Self-Publishing Seminar at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 25, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This event is free of charge. It is open to the public.

9:30 a.m. – Webinar - Pressbooks, Self-e and Biblioboard

The Self-Publishing Seminar opens with a webinar that explain three tools for authors who want to publish their own books. All are available for those with Jefferson Parish Library cards. They are:
• Pressbooks - an easy-to-use online tool that allows you to create professional quality versions of your book in ePUB, MOBI, PDF and more-all through your library.
• Self-e – A program that allows authors to submit an eBook into libraries.
• Biblioboard – A program that allows downloading of eBooks, including self-published by local authors.

11 a.m. – Gary Michael Smith, Design

Gary Michael Smith discusses design issues that improve not just the look of the book, but sales too. He will focus on basic issues such as font, line spacing, color vs. black and white, cover designs, and how to work with a printer.

Smith is author of 12 trade and technical books on a variety of topics ranging from setting up and managing the editorial office of a peer-reviewed scientific specialty research journal to job search, driving safety, photography, coffee history, grammar and writing, working in the television and film industry, complaint resolution, and other topics. He also has published hundreds of articles in dozens of trade and technical journals and consumer magazines.

12 p.m. – Chere Coen, Creating and Self-publishing an eBook

Chere Coen has achieved success with her eBooks. She will talk about the process of creating and self-publishing an eBook: logistics, where to go to learn about the process, what’s out there for authors, and how to do it successfully. She’ll spend time talking about marketing.

Coen lives in Lafayette. She writes the Louisiana Book News column for four Gannett newspapers. She writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is free to download as an ebook, including Emilie, book one of The Cajun Series, Ticket to Paradise, book one of The Cajun Embassy series and A Ghost of a Chance, the first Viola Valentine mystery.

1 p.m. - Kirsten Corby, The Decision to Self-Publish

Kirsten Corby is the author of Daughter of Atlas, A Novel of the Fall of Atlantis (Atlantis Fallen, Number 1). She will discuss her decision to go the self-publishing route and how she plans to produce the other books in this series. She will talk about all the questions to be answered.

Corby lives with her husband and cats in New Orleans, the newly risen American Atlantis, and works as a librarian by trade. Her book series Atlantis Fallen arises from a life-long study of history, mythology and lost civilizations. Her work has been published in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword and Sorceress X, Realms of Fantasy magazine, and the urban fantasy collection Dirty Magick: New Orleans.

2 p.m. – B.J. Bourg, Bookbub

Bookbub is a tool for readers that helps them get deals on bestselling ebooks. It’s free to join. Readers receive emails in their inboxes daily describing new books. How do authors connect with this service? BJ Bourg explains how he uses Bookbub and how it’s paid off for him.

Bourg is an award-winning mystery writer and former professional boxer who hails from the swamps of Louisiana. He has spent his adult life solving crimes as a patrol cop, detective sergeant, and chief investigator for a district attorney's office. Not only does he know his way around crime scenes, interrogations and courtrooms, but he also served as a police sniper commander (earning the title of "Top Shooter" at an FBI sniper school) and a police academy instructor.

3 p.m. – Working with Libraries, Chris Smith

Chris Smith explains how local authors can get their self-published books into local libraries, and he’ll talk about marketing strategies involving libraries, such as book signings.

Smith is a public relations professional who has worked for the American Dental Association, Sierra Club, New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, and master of arts degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of New Orleans.

For more information regarding this presentation, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.