Self-published books used to have a bad reputation (somebody’s ill-edited memoir, somebody’s ill-conceived doggerel) but in today’s publishing environment, that can be the best way to get your book into the hands of people who want it.

But try getting an author appearance for a self-published book in a brick-and-mortar bookstore and you will learn the meaning of frustration. Most bookstores (and I can’t say I blame them, given the volume of self-publishers) won’t schedule them.

Janie Hermann, the ringmaster of the Princeton Public Library (shown here), has stepped into the breach and scheduled a “Local and Independent Author Day” tomorrow (Saturday, March 6, from noon to four). It’s a fun format. Six authors per hour read or speak in a 50 minute time slot, with a 10-minute break for buying the books and getting a cup of coffee. If the audience consists only of each author’s entourage, they’ll have an audience.

At least three of the books are worth hearing about or buying. Two were written by friends of mine – Ed Tseng and Wayne Cooke, and I know that the third, Angela Chang, is an excellent cookbook writer.

The event starts with introductions by Hermann at noon. In the 1 to 1:50 time slot are Tseng, a well known motivational coach focusing on the mental side of sports and life, who wrote “Game. Set. Life – Peak Performance for Sports and Life” and Cooke, who wrote “On the Far Side of the Curve: A Stage IV Cancer Survivor’s Journey.” That hour also features Tom Waldron, Renee Gatz, Ronald Allen, and Gayle Crist Shisler – they all seem to be non-fiction writers.

The afternoon closes with Angela Chang, the last speaker in the 3 to 4 time slot. I’m betting that the personalities alone will provide a good show. Click here for the complete schedule.

Blogger disclosure: Tseng and Cooke gave me copies of their books but I have also bought copies to give to friends.