nity for artists and musicians, there haven't been quite so many re- sources for writers. That changed this spring when Salt Water Media opened shop in town and the past few months have been more than encouraging, said owner Stephanie Fowler. for writers interested in independent publishing, said Fowler. The facility has its own on-site printing press, the aptly named "Espresso Book Machine" which is able to produce a bound paperback book about every five minutes. There are only 40 Es- presso presses in the country and just 80 worldwide. Fowler can also help prospective authors produce an e-book and can manage hard- back manuscripts as well, though those are outsourced. every related service to independ- ent publishing. photographers, different people that I can tap to help create the cover art," said Fowler. "If they need illus- tration, I have people that are avail- able to me to help with that." less conventional assistance with things like website design, social media networking and teaching a self-published author how to reach and engage their target audience. you have to become a brand," said Fowler. experience trying to build that brand. In fact, one of the major moti- vations behind her decision to open Salt Water Media was to help other writers navigate the self-publishing process as it can be complicated and frustrating to enter into blindly. when she independently published her book, Crossings, a collection of creative non-fiction stories set on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Before deciding to publish the book herself, Fowler had sought to go the tradi- tional route with an agent and a mainstream publisher. However, despite winning the Sophie Kerr Prize, the country's largest under- graduate writing award, in college, Fowler was frustrated by publishers categorizing Crossings as "too re- gional" to pick up. or that was both rewarding and challenging, especially for a first- |