GEMA, GEMA Event

GEMA Hoya in Letters Presents “Self-Publishing: Pros, Cons, and Successful Strategies” Panel

 August 29, 2016

GEMA Hoyas in Letters
Self-Publishing: Pros, Cons, and Successful Strategies

Hoyas in Letters drew an enthusiastic crowd on September 21 for its third successful event. The highly anticipated panel discussion, “Self-Publishing: Pros, Cons, and Successful Strategies,” was held in Midtown Manhattan and was followed by a reception and networking.

Pictured L-R are: Allison Gilbert Weintraub (C’92) and Co-Founder Hoyas in Letters, Jeff Chapski, Lauren Epshteyn, Moira Bailey (C ’80) and Co-Founder Hoyas in Letters, Maureen Corrigan, and Jen Kirby.

Guest panelists included:

  • Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air Book Critic and author of several books including So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures
  • Jeff Chapski (B’91), Georgetown University Professor of the Practice, Critic in Residence, and author of Career-ology
  • Lauren Epshteyn (C’07), author of A Northern Gentleman, written under the pen name Lane Everett
  • Moderated by: Jennifer Kirby (F ‘08), home page editor at New York Magazine

Chapski, president of the Georgetown University Alumni Association, member of the Board of Directors, and founder of Hoya Gateway, shared the remarkable and often surprising lessons learned in crafting, editing, and marketing his self-published book. Epshteyn, a sales strategy executive at Google, described her process writing historical fiction and the freedom publishing on your own allows.

Professor Corrigan provided an essential counterpoint: As an author, she has only worked within traditional publishing, and as a book critic for NPR, she rarely considers self-published books for review.

Following the discussion, audience members engaged the panel in a robust Q & A session. Chapski and Epshteyn also signed books for attendees, who mingled over drinks and conversation.

This Hoyas in Letters event was held at Cohen & Gresser, and was generously hosted by Bob Gavigan (C’80, L ’97), a partner at the law firm. The evening marked the second time Gavigan has hosted a Hoyas in Letters gathering.