Self-Publishing and Things to Consider (with filmmakers)

A round-table discussion sharing practical insights, tools, and experiences on self-publishing versus traditional publishing with two self-published filmmakers Christine Chen and Noelle Cope chat with traditionally published children's book author/illustrator and filmmaker Mailyne K. Briggs.

Noelle Cope is a highly successful multi hyphenate currently residing in Los Angeles, California. Her primary focuses are acting, screenwriting, producing, and poetry. As a voice over artist she has lent her talents to shows for Disney+, Amazon Prime, Netflix and more. She is best known for her books Notes From The In-Between and Valley Girl Manifesto.

To learn more about Noelle please visit
https://noellecope.shop/

Christine W. Chen is a narrative director and writer whose filmmaking journey began in 1993 with an early-edition VHS camcorder. She holds a B.A. from Rice University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business.

Her films have screened at festivals including HollyShorts, the New Orleans Film Festival, and Fantasia. Her most recent feature, Erzulie, premiered theatrically in May 2022 and is now available on VOD.

Christine is also a DGA 1st Assistant Director and a Shorts Branch member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She co-authored Get Reelisms, a practical guide to filmmaking, and co-hosts the Get Reelisms Podcast, a platform dedicated to building community in the film and television industry through education.Christine W Chen is a narrative director and writer whose filmmaking journey began in 1993 with an early-edition VHS camcorder. She holds a B.A. from Rice University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business.

Her films have screened at festivals including HollyShorts, the New Orleans Film Festival, and Fantasia. Her most recent feature, Erzulie, premiered theatrically in May 2022 and is now available on VOD.

Christine is also a DGA 1st Assistant Director and a Shorts Branch member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She co-authored Get Reelisms, a practical guide to filmmaking, and co-hosts the Get Reelisms Podcast, a platform dedicated to building community in the film and television industry through education.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 – 1:34 | Introduction & Panelist Overview

Christine’s Self-Publishing Journey: Get Reelisms
01:34 – 03:55 — Why Christine created an illustrated film set dictionary.

05:42 – 07:06 — Formatting: Christine collaborated with an illustrator, using a mixture of Canva and Adobe InDesign to lay out the book using printer templates.

07:23 – 09:43 — Manufacturing via Overseas Vendors: After testing expensive sample prints via Book Baby, Christine used Alibaba to find international printing vendors (leveraging her Mandarin skills). Even with tariffs, overseas offset printing was significantly cheaper than US printers for full-color, picture-heavy books.

Noelle’s Self-Publishing Journey: Poetry & Creative Autonomy
09:51 – 13:09 — The Motivation why Noelle wrote her first poetry collection.

13:09 – 14:31 — Why Self-Publishing?
Self-publishing allowed full creative control and ownership over sensitive material without having to compromise with editors or traditional publishing teams.

15:00 – 17:45 — Genre Realities (Poetry vs. Fiction): Self-publishing works exceptionally well for poetry, where traditional publishers offer low profit margins and limited long-term support. However, for genres like YA fiction, traditional publishing can still be advantageous due to editorial, copyediting, and distribution support.

Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing Insights
18:03 – 19:42 — Niche/Hybrid Books: Books with mixed target audiences (e.g., adult content formatted like a children’s book) are harder for traditional publishers to market, making self-publishing a ideal alternative.

19:51 – 23:30 — The Host's Traditional Publishing Experience: The host shared her experience querying Filipino bilingual children's books, illustrating how slow traditional response times can be and explaining ISBN requirements for separate print runs.

Design & Layout Tools
23:37 – 24:25 — Procreate & Canva: Noelle designed her first cover using Procreate on an iPad with downloadable vendor templates, using Canva for custom typography.

25:51 – 27:25 — Formatting Interior Pages with Lulu:
A key takeaway for formatting interior pages: download free interior page templates from Lulu (which align with standard industry sizes) to format Microsoft Word pages easily without paying high formatting fees.

Global Distribution & Wholesale with IngramSpark
24:26 – 25:51 — Why Use IngramSpark? Nearly all self-published print-on-demand books in the US utilize IngramSpark. Ingram gives indie authors access to wholesale ordering for independent bookstores and international distribution (printing locally across global locations like Australia, Japan, and the UK).

39:10 – 40:53 — Scaling to Retail: Major chains (like Barnes & Noble or indie shops owned by parent networks) generally won't carry self-published titles unless they are listed on Ingram's wholesale catalog.

Practical Marketing & Grassroots Promotion
28:00 – 29:35 — Social Proof & Short-Form Video: Leveraging friends' social reach and posting direct hooks on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels yielded strong direct conversions into sales.

29:36 – 30:14 — Substack: Building an email list or newsletter on Substack prior to release creates a warm core audience ready to pre-order on launch day.

30:45 – 32:15 — The "On-Set / Grassroots" Strategy: Christine left copies of her film dictionary on craft services tables on movie sets and attended local networking groups, letting the product sell itself directly to its target audience.

Key Advice for First-Time Self-Publishers
33:20 – 35:05 (Noel's Advice): Pitch with unshakeable confidence. Rewrite cold pitch emails so you never sound like you are apologizing for taking up space.

35:06 – 37:13 (Christine's Advice): Be transparent and open to community feedback. Share behind-the-scenes content, embrace the non-polished human element over corporate perfection, and respond warmly to constructive feedback.

37:21 – 38:00 (Host's Advice): Take your time. Self-publishing allows you to operate on your own timeline without pressure.

41:02 – 42:35 | Closing & Resource Links