Authors Hope Publishing Panel Will Bring Attention to Bookstores

Next week, a group of self-published North Carolina writers will hold a "Getting Published" panel discussion at McIntyre's Fine Books & Bookends in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Author Stacey Cochran, panel organizer and moderator, hopes the January 20 event will be the first of many at independent bookstores.

Noting that "independent bookstores have historically supported and cultivated the work of independent authors and poets," in a press release for the McIntyre event, the group expressed the hope that their planned series of panel discussions will help raise the profile of independent booksellers.

"We have lots of customers who are aspiring authors," said Jamie Fiocco, manager of McIntyre's Fine Books & Bookends. "They always seem to be interested in how authors started out getting published. I see holding the panel as a service for our regular customers. It's almost an extension of our open mic night."

The idea for the self-publishing panel grew organically, said Fiocco. Cochran wanted to hold an author event at McIntyre's for his second novel, Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone (Lulu.com). Fiocco suggested a dual reading, and the plan blossomed into a panel of self-published authors who would discuss their various routes to self-publishing.

Panel members at the McIntyre event will include Cochran, Jon Batson (The Rands Conspiracy), K. Robert Campbell (Radio Play), Gabriel Gurley (A Conceptual Guide to OpenOffice.org 2.0), and Lori Verni (Everything You Need to Know About House Training Puppies & Adult Dogs). The authors will address the benefits and procedures of self-publishing, marketing on a budget, and other information relevant to local writers. "We're interested in helping people get published and informing them of some of the hurdles," said Cochran, who noted that "a lot of people who frequent independent bookstores tend to be writers themselves."

Fiocco said that customers have already shown significant interest in the Getting Published event. Much of that interest, she said, was generated by the marketing efforts of the panel members themselves. The group distributed press releases, created fliers and posted them in McIntyre's as well as around Pittsboro and Chapel Hill, and even contacted local radio stations. "They've been fantastic about self promoting this event," she said.

In turn, Cochran considers McIntyre's an "absolute godsend." He said, "They take a chance on writers who aren't represented by a major publisher."

Cochran plans to offer similar panels at other bookstores with a changing roster of panelists, depending on author availability. "We're really dedicated," he said. "We're like a band. We could travel from bookstore to bookstore."

For more information about the Getting Published panel, contact Stacey Cochran at [email protected]. --Karen Schechner