Have a Self-Publishing Question? Ask Our Panel of Indie Experts.
Booklife has put together a panel of self-publishing gurus and bestselling indie authors to give you some straight answers about self-publishing.BookLife has assembled a panel of self-publishing experts and indie authors to help answer your questions about all things self-publishing.
Whether you've got a question about print-on-demand, cover art, social media, print distribution, marketing, or anything in between, our indie experts want to hear from you.
To ask us a question, simply find BookLife on Twitter or Facebook, let us know what you need to know, and tag your question #indieexperts. Every week, our editors will select the best questions and our panelists' answers will be posted on BookLife. And, if social media isn't your thing, feel free to email questions to indieexperts@booklife.com.
Who's on the panel, you ask? Check out our amazing lineup below:
Bella Andre
Bella Andre's New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels have been #1 bestsellers around the world, with more than 4 million copies sold so far. Known for "sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance" (Publishers Weekly), her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine "Red Hot Reads" twice and have been translated into 10 languages. Bella also writes bestselling sweet contemporary romances under the pen name Lucy Kevin.
Hugh Howey
Hugh Howey is the New York Times bestselling author of Wool, Sand, and the Molly Fyde series. A former yacht captain, Hugh is currently following his dream of sailing around the world.
Mark Coker
Jerry Craft
Jerry Craft has illustrated and/or written close to two dozen children's books. His newest is a middle grade novel co-written with his two teenage sons, Jaylen and Aren Craft, called: The Offenders: Saving the World While Serving Detention! -- an action/adventure story designed to teach kids about the negative effects of bullying. Jerry is also the creator of Mama's Boyz, an award-winning comic strip that was syndicated by King Features for more than 15 years. His work has appeared in national publications such as Essence Magazine, Ebony, and two Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Jerry has won five African American Literary Awards. He recently illustrated his first book for Scholastic called The Zero Degree Zombie Zone, written by Patrik Henry Bass.
Joel Friedlander
Joel Friedlander is an award-winning book designer, a blogger, the author of A Self-Publisher’s Companion: Expert Advice for Authors Who Want to Publish and the recently published The Self-Publisher's Ultimate Resource Guide. He’s been launching the careers of self-publishers since 1994 and writes TheBookDesigner.com, a popular blog on book design, book marketing, and the future of the book. Joel is also the founder of the online training course The Self-Publishing Roadmap, and provides pre-designed book templates and other tools for authors at BookDesignTemplates.
Jane Friedman
Jane Friedman has more than 15 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media strategy for authors. She's the former publisher of Writer's Digest and most recently worked at the Virginia Quarterly Review. Find out more at JaneFriedman.com.
Dan Dillon
Dan Dillon is the vice president of marketing at Lulu. Dan provides strategic direction and builds customer value for Lulu and its family of brands. He also focuses on finding new ways to bring value to content creators and identifies market problems that Lulu can solve.
Joanna Penn
Joanna Penn is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers under J.F. Penn and non-fiction. She is also a professional speaker and entrepreneur, voted as one of The Guardian UK Top 100 creative professionals 2013. Her site, TheCreativePenn.com is regularly voted one of the top 10 sites for writers. Connect with Joanna on Twitter @thecreativepenn.
Mark Lefebvre
Mark Lefebvre is the director of self-publishing and author relations at Kobo. A writer himself, Mark was hired by Kobo to create a self-publishing portal to make it easier for indie authors and small publishers to get their titles into Kobo’s global catalog. The portal, Kobo Writing Life, was launched in the summer of 2012 and currently sells as many units on a weekly basis as any of the big five publishers. A former president of the Canadian Booksellers Association, Mark has worked in the book industry and in virtually every type of bookstore since 1992.
Amy Holman Edelman
Amy Holman Edelman founded Indie Reader in 2009 as the essential consumer guide for self-published books and the people who write them. Since its launch, IndieReader and its sister business, Indie Reader Author Services, has grown into a one-stop shop for discriminating indie authors. IR’s products, services, and properties can get your book reviewed and in front of discerning readers and bookstore buyers, and help you with packaging and design, public relations, marketing, and distribution.
