Many people think that self-publishing is simply the process of “printing” your manuscript from Word Document format to a printed book. There are also those who ***shudder*** simply print your web novel from platforms like Dreame or Wattpad into a paperback format without editing. Some aspiring authors get so excited signing with pub houses to publish their books but get so disappointed when they see the end products because of poor quality or poor taste.

These are some of the problems in the self-publishing industry in the Philippines that I want to address. I want aspiring authors to understand that there are many steps involved in self-publishing and producing well-edited, well-designed, and well-produced ebooks and printed books. The production requires a team of professionals who know what they are doing. I want them to understand what self-publishing mentors, editors, designers, proofreaders, beta readers, printers, publishers, and marketing professionals actually do because life as a self-published author is a business.

Pre-COVID-19, we have seminars and workshops for these. And even then, a lot of you have urged me to create an online seminar (or webinar) so I can teach participants outside of Metro Manila. I kept putting it off because I find online teaching limiting for the topics that I want to discuss.

But, since we’re on ECQ/Lockdown 2.0, my team and I came up with a series of information-packed, truly eye-opening (shocking even), and no-nonsense webinars where you will learn the actual steps of self-publishing a book—paperbacks and ebooks. Why? Because writing the book is the easiest part, what comes after is a whole different ballgame and you need to understand that self-publishing is a business that requires more than just talent. It requires guts and grit.