Professionals Explained

What separates professionals from amateurs? Professionals have worked to develop skills and knowledge above and beyond the average individual. Amateurs think they can do everything themselves or get advice from other amateurs, while professionals focus on their strengths, networking with other professionals who are strong in areas where they are weak. 

Even when we are capable of doing something ourselves or an amateur would suffice—such as doing our hair or nails, making coffee, or doing yardwork—we often seek out professionals to save time or end up with a high-quality result.

How are professionals able to achieve consistently good outcomes and measure their success? They have industry standards. In some businesses, industry standards and professional connections are obscured, misunderstood, or ignored. This is especially true with the book industry.

 

Amateur Writer to Published Author

Many writers spend countless hours writing query letters and researching agents, only to be confronted with rejection letters or no response at all. They lack the knowledge and resources to publish a book entirely by themselves and have no idea how to navigate the murky waters of the publishing industry. Yet in their desperation to become best-selling authors, they fall into one of two traps—Either hiring a vanity publisher (one that promises to accept every manuscript for a price) or uploading it themselves without assistance. Neither is a good choice. In either instance, they end up with a poor quality product. Misaligned paragraphs and graphics, embarrassing typos and misused words, illegible fonts, and nonstandard ISBNs are just a few of the woes these authors face. 

So, what other choices do authors have? Why is the book industry so difficult to break into? What can a person do when they are desperately compelled to get their story told? With the number of scam artists online, a search will not produce reliable results. Authors must rely on professionals to do any publishing tasks they cannot do themselves.

 

FAPACon Provides Networking Opportunities

FAPACon is an annual event in Florida where legitimate professionals from every facet of the book industry gather to meet with experienced and aspiring authors for networking, information-sharing, and socialization. This year’s FAPACon will take place July 31–August 1, at the lovely Hilton Buena Vista Palace in Orlando. Attendees can expect two days of jam-packed networking, informative, interactive lectures, and multiple opportunities to engage with genuine, honest businesses in the fields of marketing, promotional products, printing, publishing, editing, formatting, illustrating, and more! 

The prestigious FAPA President’s Book Awards Ceremony is the culminating event of FAPACon. Over seventy-five authors will be presented with award medals and book stickers at a formal dinner reception. Winning books represent recently published books identified by a panel of judges as meeting or exceeding industry standards.

 

Network with FAPA!

Wherever you are in the world, you are invited to participate in FAPACon as a member, student member, partner member, nonmember, vendor, in-person sponsor, virtual sponsor, or donor! Advertise your brand in FAPA’s conference program, monthly newsletter, and on the website. Details and application forms are available on the FAPA website at https://www.myfapa.org/.

 

About FAPA

The Florida Authors and Publishers Association (FAPA) is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) empowering authors and publishing professionals to elevate book industry standards. Their vision is to become Florida’s premier networking organization for fostering and building relationships between authors and legitimate book industry professionals, resulting in recognition of award-winning books that meet or exceed industry standards.

 

About the Author

Anne Jacob is president of FAPA and holds a Master of Arts in Education with double National Board Certification. After hearing horror stories of authors being scammed or getting stuck trying to get their book published, Anne launched her author-friendly editing service, Popin Edits. She lives in Palm Harbor, FL, and enjoys bringing history to life with her husband, historian and award-winning author, Robert Jacob.