Unlock Your Potential with Self-Publishing at the Library

It’s time to make your dream of becoming a published author finally come true.

National Author’s Day is November 1, a day to celebrate all the hardworking writers who produce books, stories, articles, screenplays, and many other works that educate and entertain people of all ages and interests.

Traditionally, authors have published through the major publishing houses and small presses. However, in recent years, authors have had success publishing their books on their own. This gives the author more control over the final product, and they can oversee everything from cover art to font type to marketing campaigns.

But that’s not always an inexpensive route. It can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, and there is no guarantee of success, which can scare would-be authors away.

Turns out they may have other avenues, and of course, it’s libraries offering the solution. Some libraries provide resources for authors to take their manuscripts and generate a self-published version at no cost.

Case in point: The Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project. This project is a collaboration between the Chicago Public Library, Illinois Library Association, Illinois Heartland Library System, Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), Public Library Association, and the Digital Content Working Group (DCWG) of the American Library Association.

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These groups of library marketing professionals learned of the importance of libraries to authors who self-publish. They wanted to demonstrate the powerful effects libraries and librarians could have on books and writing. So, in 2013, they started the project and invited Illinois publishers to apply. That year, more than one hundred self-published authors submitted their works, which were judged by a panel of librarians.

Since then, the organization has awarded a winner each year in a wide range of genres and audiences. In 2018, they added a second category called the Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Manuscript Project. The goal of the new award was to help authors who had a manuscript ready get the resources they needed to self-publish more affordably.

The winners are given access to a professional line editor to help them revise and polish their work, a professionally designed cover, and tips and hints from previous Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project winners and committee members. The winner of the manuscript contest is also automatically entered as a semifinalist in the original contest.

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As self-published books continue to grow in popularity (they make up nearly one-third of Amazon’s bestsellers), other libraries have taken notice and found ways to help authors in their communities:

New York’s Queens Public Library participates in the Indie Author Project, providing authors the ability to launch ebooks for free on BiblioBoards for New York residents. Some books end up being published nationally, or the Queens Public Library hosts events for the author at its branches.

The Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project provides online tools and training for indie authors. It was launched in 2017 as an experiment in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Minitex division. It offers templates for different kinds of books (family history, fiction, poetry, dissertations, etc.) and is funded by Minitex and other academic libraries.

Virginia’s Richmond Public Library also provides online tools and training to help independent authors navigate the publishing process.

Once again, libraries find creative solutions for issues and needs of their communities and help level the playing field for their patrons.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries. 

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