Montreal Book Self-Publishing + Marketing - Question & Answer Session

2. The Three Paths: Self-Publishing vs. Trade vs. Hybrid (10 Minutes) • Trade Publishing: Pros (advances, prestige, zero production cost) and cons (low royalties, slow timeline, loss of control) [Trade Publishing]. • Self-Publishing: Pros (high 40%–70% royalties, total creative freedom) and cons (upfront costs, 100% marketing load) [Self-Publishing]. • Hybrid Publishing: The professional middle ground—balancing vetted production quality with higher royalty splits (guided by standards like the Independent Book Publishers Association) versus pay-to-play risks [Hybrid Publishing]. 3. Manuscript Development (7 Minutes) • Structuring raw ideas, developmental self-editing, and maintaining a steady writing routine. • Knowing when a manuscript is truly polished enough for professional review. 4. Copy Editing and Proofreading (7 Minutes) • Copy editing: Polishing grammar, sentence flow, and structural consistency. • Proofreading: The final clean-up phase to catch late typos and layout errors. • Why professional editorial oversight protects reader trust and review scores. 5. Professional Typesetting, Layout, and Cover Design (8 Minutes) • Typesetting and layout: Aligning interior margins, typography, and chapter headers with professional industry standards for both print and digital formats ([EPUB] / PDF). • Book cover design: Crafting a genre-appropriate visual hook and managing technical file specs (bleed, spine calculations, and barcodes). 6. Book Distribution & Platforms (8 Minutes) • Navigating global distribution aggregators and platforms like Amazon KDP and IngramSpark. • Choosing between Print-on-Demand (POD), digital distribution, and direct retail strategies. 7. The Marketing Process (7 Minutes) • Building an early author platform and utilizing ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) campaigns. • Sustaining post-launch visibility, reader engagement, and long-term discoverability. 8. Live Q&A Session (10 Minutes) • Open floor for attendees to troubleshoot specific publishing hurdles, budget constraints, or distribution questions.