By J. Adrian Betancourt, Host, The Miami Book Hub There’s a point in every author’s journey when you realize that writing the book was only part of the job. Now you have to figure out how to get it into someone’s hands. Preferably someone who isn’t related to you. That was at the heart of o ur latest conversation on The Miami Book Hub podcast, as Amy Nicole Naim and C.V. “Ceci” Shaw joined me for Chapter 3 of our South Florida Writers Roundtable. My fellow writers brought their usual mix of practical advice, encouragement and good humor. With my own book launch approaching, I brought a little firsthand experience and a healthy dose of anxiety. We started with a shared outing to The Betsy Hotel on South Beach for an author event with Laura Lekkos. Books, artwork, music and conversation all come together there in a way that makes you want to linger. I stayed overnight and came away with an idea for a short story about a hotel haunted by authors. Put a few writers in an atmospheric building and apparently that’s what happens. We also reflected on the “Unleash Your Book” workshop at the Westchester Regional Library, where the conversation about publishing options helped inspire our episode’s main topic. And let me pause to give our libraries some love. The workshops, author talks and opportunities they provide are wonderful resources for our literary community. I attended that event thinking I understood the publishing landscape pretty well. I still learned plenty. So, traditional, independent or hybrid publishing? Our conversation kept returning to the same conclusion: the answer depends on what you want, what you can afford and how much responsibility you’re prepared to take on. We discussed the appeal of traditional publishing’s professional support, along with the patience required to pursue an agent and a publishing deal. Independent publishing offers more control over the book and its timeline, but the author also takes on the expenses and decisions. As I said on the show, the great thing about self-publishing is that you have total control. The bad thing about self-publishing is that you have total control. Someone has to coordinate the editing, design, printing, distribution and publicity. Congratulations. For better or worse, that someone is you. Amy shared why she’s considering a hybrid publisher: having professional services coordinated under one roof has real appeal. We also talked about looking beyond a sales pitch and speaking with authors who have actually worked with a company. Then there’s the emotional side. Ceci described the grief of leaving characters behind after finishing a book. We talked about fear, procrastination and the value of accountability. For me, reserving a launch date at Books Books turned a someday project into a deadline I had to meet. Naturally, my co-hosts gave me an opportunity for a little shameless promotion. In The Writer’s Spotlight, we discussed how curiosity about technology and Qi helped inspire the arQitect, and my September 22 launch at Books Books in Coral Gables, at 7 PM (visit thearQitectbook.com to learn more). We rounded things out with writing workshops, contests and literary events. There’s so much happening here that our biggest challenge is fitting it all into one conversation. That’s a pretty wonderful problem to have. To watch the full episode, subscribe to our newsletter and discover more of our literary community, visit TheMiamiBookHub.com. Like, subscribe and share the program with a fellow reader or writer. Learn more about the South Florida Writers Association at SouthFloridaWriters.org. And, as always…keep reading, keep writing and stay curious, Miami!  The post Writing the Book Is Only the Beginning first appeared on Miami’s Community News. ...read more read less