Anyone can write a book. The question is, “How do you draw attention to it?” The Evanston Public Library is offering a service that aims to answer that question.
I don’t think I’m surprising anyone when I say that self-publishing has come a long way. Gone are the days when vanity presses were the sole means of bringing your book to life. The rise of the internet has led to a self-publishing boom, and libraries are at the forefront of the movement. We want to help local authors not only get their ebooks into the library, we want to help them look as good as possible in the process.
Introducing Biblioboard.
Let’s talk ebooks. You may already know about checking them out through the library (for free, of course) from Overdrive and Hoopla, but Biblioboard is different. Like Hoopla, you’ll never experience a hold, checkout or lending limit. Best of all, you can read public domain titles, top indie eBooks, local self-published authors, and so much more. You can even download the BiblioBoard Library app for your Apple, Android or Kindle device now, or visit library.biblioboard.com on any web browser.
What does this have to do with self-published authors? A lot. Because not only can you read those authors on Biblioboard, you can submit your own titles and have them included in the library’s ebook collection.
Along with Biblioboard we are also now providing a service that allows you to design your own books, newsletters, poetry, novels, and any other written content into slick looking digital and print-ready formats. Once you’ve formatted your written work using a program provided by the library called Pressbooks (you can watch a video about it here, if you like), you can submit it to yet another program called SELF-e and have it showcased in an Indie Illinois Statewide Collection while retaining all rights to your work. Readers across the state can discover your work with the potential for national exposure. Best of all? Your work will be featured on the library’s Biblioboard website.
How do you get started? Come to an informational session on Saturday, March 17, 4:00 pm, at the Evanston Public Library’s Community Room on the first floor. A representative from Biblioboard will walk interested patrons through the whole process.
Suddenly getting your book into the library just became a whole lot easier.
