Publishing and Marketing Panel Discussion

What do you need to consider when marketing and selling books to bookstores? What’s the difference between self-publishing and assisted self-publishing? What are the differences between marketing a traditionally published book versus a self-published book?

The St. Louis Publishers Association strives to present topics that help aspiring and published authors answer questions about the publishing process, author promotion, and marketing books, and to accomplish that goal, on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, we’ll host two experts, Jennifer Geist and Heather Tearney, for a panel discussion that will review the publishing process, provide marketing tips, and, most importantly, provide plenty of time for plenty of questions. Comments and questions for the panel can also be submitted in advance via email to SLPA President Warren Martin at president@stlouispublishers.org.

Jennifer Geist is the publisher at Pen & Publish, Inc., and its imprints: Brick Mantel Books, Open Books Press, and Transformation Media Books. With experience in editing, book compositing, photography, graphic and web design, marketing, writing, and more, she manages every book from acquisitions to publication and beyond. Geist received her bachelor’s degree in creative writing with a focus in small press publishing through Southeast Missouri State University. She has worked with numerous small presses and her stories and photos are published in a variety of literary magazines.

Heather Tearney has more than eight years of experience working with self-publishing authors around the country.  She is the Director of the ShowMe Writers Masterclass conference, a partnership between Mizzou Publishing and the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers’ Guild, held each fall in Columbia, MO. Her journey with authors and printing books began with the installation of the Espresso Book Machine (EBM) in 2009 at The Mizzou Store. She has presented for Xerox and their Thought Leadership Workshops on the EBM and self-publishing, as well as having been a consultant for the company selling the EBM, On Demand Books. Since then, she has expanded the printing services offered to authors beyond the EBM and frequently works with authors on marketing not only their books, but also themselves.