A first time author and publisher shares experiences in publishing from A to Z, including book production and launch.

1. Session 401:
Publishing 101—Book Launch
from A to Z

2. In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing
By Melissa Silverstein
In Her Voice, is the first
book that takes the
words and experiences
of a diverse group of
celebrated women film
directors and puts their
voices front and center.
This unique volume of interviews
presents over 40 directors from
around the world.

3. W&H started as a blog using
blogger, then evolved into a
self-hosted Wordpress
site, WomenandHollywood.c
om, where all interviews
published in In Her Voice
were posted.
Evolution of the Blog

4. Because the interviews
were published
online, Melissa felt
publishers wouldn’t be
interested, so she
decided to publish In
Her Voice herself.
Evolution of the Blog

5. Today the Women
and Hollywood
blog is on
IndieWire, and
has become a
success with over
5100 likes and a
loyal following.
Becoming a
strong platform to
launch her book.
Evolution of the Blog

6. This post really
caught attention
and went viral,
currently at 2069
tweets.
Evolution of the Blog

7. Question: love your shows but why all the gay and lesbian story lines?
Shonda Rhimes: Because I believe everyone should get to see themselves reflected
on TV. EVERYONE. And because I love all my gay and lesbian friends. AND because I
think same-sex marriage is the civil rights fight of our era and back when being a
person of color was the civil rights fight, people like Norman Lear put black people
on TV and helped change some minds. So you know, it's gotta be paid forward. As
long as we are willing to sit by while one person is not free, none of us are free.
And FINALLY: because as long as someone feels like it is okay to ask the question
"why all the gay people on your shows", then there is still a HUGE problem that
needs to be solved. It's like asking "Why all the black people on your shows".
(Which is, in fact, why there are also a lot of people of color on my shows . Cause
people keep asking. Like it's unusual. Which means we have a LONG way to go).
Okay, done preaching.
Evolution of the Blog

8. Evolution of the Blog to a book
The whole point of publishing, In Her
Voice, was every time Melissa went into
a store she only saw books about male
directors. It’s about aspirations and
inspirations and showing a diversity of
stories and story tellers.

9. You truly need a platform to publish.
Melissa learned very early on that
running a blog was not going to pay
her bills. However, she discovered her
blog was a strong networking and
partnership making tool, and that was
the key to building the platform.
Evolution of the Blog to a book

10. • Publish your passion. Blogging,
becoming an author, and publishing your
book is a lot of work. Make sure you
write about something you truly
feel passionate about.
• Have a platform and a plan to build it.
• Give yourself time to grow your network
and your skills. A strong network and
organization for promotion is key to your
book’s success.
Evolution of the Blog to a book

11. The first interviews were early in the life
of the blog. Melissa did the first editing
push on her own, but knew she needed
editorial support. Melissa blogged to
her community about wanting to get a
book out. Would someone help her?
Eva Krainitzki, a graduate student from
England, stepped up (see cover credit)
to help with editing.
Evolution of the Blog to a book

12. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Melissa developed a release for the
book using Volunteer Lawyers for the
Arts, an NYC non-profit.
Her team of help grew and the other
women listed on cover helped to gather
permissions, bios, photos. Melissa
forgot the photos in the first
round, which became a production
issue later.

13. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Shannon uses a project
management tool called
Basecamp to organize all
communication
concept, review proofs,
to press files. This tool is
a huge time-saver and
helps keep production
on time and team
member communication
clear and searchable.

14. Evolution of the Blog to a book
First cover
proofs
uploaded
to project
website.

15. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Review of stock image
options on project
site. We needed an
image that would
show a powerful
woman, with good
eye-contact and also
represent the diversity
of women in film.

16. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Second round cover proofs
using final photo choice.
Melissa wanted to try using
W&H branding . . .

17. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Third round
cover proofs
using Women
& Hollywood
brand.

18. Evolution of the Blog to a book
With the front cover
approved, we could
move to the interior
and on to website
and ebooks.
Photos provided by
directors were not
consistent in quality,
or resolution. New
plan for Volume 2,
use tool at link: pixel-
inch converter.

19. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Melissa knew
early on she
wanted to sell
her ebooks
directly from her
own site and
POD for print
at events and
online from
Amazon,
CreateSpace

20. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Wordpress was
the choice since
it had the right
tools and Melissa
was already using
for her blog.
Started with a
digital store
front theme. Easy
Digital Downloads
was the plugin for
ebook sales.

21. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Wordpress was
the way to go and
had the tools to
work with. Started
with digital
store front
theme, and
customized from
there. Easy
Digital Downloads
was the plugin for
ebook sales.

22. Evolution of the Blog to a book
In Her Voice
Amazon sales
on CreateSpace,
82 books sold
since launch,
with minimal
marketing, profit
is $6.18 per book
out of $16.99.

23. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Melissa had a soft
launch for In Her Voice
at Sundance Film
Festival, Jan.
2013, where she
handed out two
business cards as
coupons: one free
ebook for media and
a second $5 discount
code.

24. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Social media: worked with
an online book marketing
specialist to optimize her
online presence.
FB Likes: over 5,100
Twitter: over 7850 followers
Over 15,000 tweets.
It’s a lot of work maintaining
social media—daily—no, an
hourly activity!

25. Evolution of the Blog to a book

26. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Two weeks after Sundance launch was Melissa’s largest event of the year, the
Athena Film Festival, she is co-founder and artistic director.

27. Evolution of the Blog to a book

28. Evolution of the Blog to a book
Athena Film Festival, panel of directors from In Her Voice.

29. In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing
By Melissa Silverstein
In Her Voice, current events include
salons and panels in Los Angeles, New
York, London.
Upcoming film festival appearances
include the Women’s International
Women’s Film Festival held in
Seoul, South Korea, May 24-30th.

30. In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing
By Melissa Silverstein
Long tail plan for the book:
outreach to film schools, women’s
media programs, women’s film
organizations, all types of film
festivals.
“This is just the beginning”

31. – Thank you –
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