You ever notice how there’s a Dill Pickle Day and a Take Your Dog to Work Day? Well, guess what? Finally a day for us, for indie authors. October 8th is the inaugural Indie Author Day across the US and Canada. Yippee! So what does that mean? No, we don’t get a discount on our lunch at Denny’s that day. What we do get is the opportunity to partner with our local libraries to celebrate, educate and promote indie authors and readers. How cool is that?
To find out more, check out the Indie Author Day web site. Now, the first thing I would suggest you do is to find out if your own local library is already scheduled to take part. Many are. Check this page to see which ones are already registered. If yours is there, give ‘em a ring and see how you can participate. Your library not listed? Click on the button that says “Let us know,” and use the submission form to nominate your library. Additionally, it wouldn’t hurt to contact your local library directly and ask them if they’re aware of this, and if they’d like to take part in the celebration. Bibliolabs, the force behind this great idea, is ready to reach out to libraries and help them figure out the best way to get involved.
So what can YOU do to celebrate indie authors? Participation will vary, depending on the local library and their resources, and the indie authors in a given area, but here are some ideas. I’ve been brain-storming with the folks at my own library and we’ve talked about
(a) a kind of mini book festival, where authors can set up tables and meet folks and sell their books;
(b) having presentations, discussions, book readings; and
(c) offering some mini-workshops.
I’ve been having great fun teaching workshops on self-publishing through a continuing education program in my area, and I’ve thought I could distill the 3-hour class down to an hour or two, just touching on the most salient points, and offer that. I’ve also been thinking of giving a presentation on how self-publishing works, not so much for authors as for readers who wonder what goes on behind the scenes. There’s so much conflicting misinformation out there, and I still get asked, “Doesn’t it cost thousands of dollars to do that?” or “Doesn’t it take years to do that?” Of course the short answer to both of those is… NO.
What do you have to offer your community? Information about editing or formatting? Stories of your own experience with the indie process? Reading passages from your book to stimulate discussion? I’m sure there are more ways than I’ve thought of, so put on your thinking cap and see what you can come up with. Get with your local library and start brainstorming ideas. This is a great way to celebrate indie authors, to get ourselves out there in front of public, to dispel some of the myths, to promote libraries, and to connect with readers. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Go, Indies!
In the discussion I had with my library they told me that all their events now need to be interactive. A workshop would fit that bill well. That may not be the case for all libraries but it doesn’t hurt to have an idea handy when you contact them.
Another thing to note is that libraries plan event very early for the entire year. It may be too late for this year but ask when they do their annual planning so that your request to be included will be there for next year.
Good points to remember, Yvonne. It just so happens that my library will be closed during October; in the process of moving to a brand new building. But they’ve got it on their calendar for next year and I am prodding the surrounding libraries as well. The more momentum we can work up on this, the better. This year may be hit or miss, but next year could be awesome.
Yay! Though I still think Indie Author Day should include a free meal at Denny’s 🙂
At least a hot fudge sundae!
Indie Author Day! Great idea. I’ll reach out to my local library and see if they would want to host an event too. Thanks for sharing.
Thank YOU, Annette! I hope you’ll let us know what they end up doing. More and more libraries are joining up.
Omg!!! I’m sooo excited!!
So are we!
Apparently I’m appearing at a library one county over, though I’m still waiting for confirmation from the library. The SELF-e rep who was making introductions recommended to the librarian a couple of authors who are not SELF-e authors yet, so even those of you who are not in the program might not want to let that stop you.
As far as I know, there is no requirement that indie authors must be in the SELF-e program to participate. I’ve been extending invitations to other libraries in my area to find out and get involved. The more the merrier!