Our Indie Author Fringe online author conference is how we keep self-publishers up to date with the latest tips, trends and tools.
Behind the scenes, Orna, David, and Jay are working hard to bring you the expert advice, giveaways, and sponsor discounts that make up this unique event.
Below Orna compares this year's event to last year and talks about what's new and what's timeless for indie authors. And Jay tells you why you should attend this year's fringe — and how.
The focus for our first Indie Author Fringe event of 2017 is How To Write, Produce and Distribute A Book. It's fringe to the London Book Fair and we'll be bringing you live events direct from Author HQ in the Olympia, so that those unable to be there in person can still benefit from the most useful sessions for indie authors.
And the rest of our online agenda is packed with the speakers and self-publishing professionals who won't be at this huge publishing trade and rights fair, but who know what's involved in writing and self-publishing a book.
They'll be bringing you advice and tips to streamline your indie author life, and save you time and money — and all free of charge, thanks to the generosity of our speakers and sponsors. (See Jay's round up below)
Another Indie Year
Self-publishing is a fast-paced business sector that's growing rapidly and it's always interesting to look back at last year's fringe and see what's changed in a year.
Ebooks are still the core of most indie author's success, especially in genre fiction. Data Guy of AuthorEarnings.com talked about this in his report for Digital Book World earlier this year, noting that 70% of all adult fiction sales were now ebooks and 30% of fiction is now being sold online by indie authors.
Data Guy at Digital Book World
For non-fiction, we are hearing that print books are on the up again, with more indies getting wise to back of the room sales during events, workbooks, coloring books and premium products like special edition hardbacks.
Coming to understand the power of non-fiction, fiction writers too are about out non-fiction topics that align with their brand, allowing them to produce more work, and reach new followers and fans. We have two key sessions on owning and developing a non-fiction niche, from million-plus guitar guide seller, Joseph Alexander, and our own Roving Jay, whose niche is travel writing.
Audio too is about to get interesting. For over a decade, Apple and Audible (an Amazon company) had an exclusivity agreement that restricted the sale of digital audiobooks, ensuring that only Apple would source Audible releases and Audible would only sell on iTunes. A complaint by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels) back in November 2015, together with support from the European Commission, led to Apple and Amazon agreeing to terminate the deal.
Audible audiobooks will sell via other digital music platforms and this loosening of the market is expect to generate an increase of activity around audio is expected. The session on successful audio by Becky Parker Geist is sure to be popular.
What doesn't change, what actually gets more set as time goes on, is the need for good design, both of text and cover, and the best editorial input you can afford.
And for marketing, the centrality of the author website and mailing list remains where it has been since the earliest days: the core components.
Mark Dawson
Last year, Mark Dawson's statement that “I'd rather have a sign-up than a sale“, and his willingness to invest large sums of money in growing his email list was controversial. This year, it's far more widely accepted in the community and Mark is back again this year, answering ALLi Members' questions about paid advertising for authors, especially Amazon ads, and how that translates into selling more books.
And the other timeless truth: those who publish most often are, all other things being equal, the most successful publishers. Successful self-publishing generally demands an abundant output.
We'll have 24 sessions to show you how you can write and publish easier and faster, without breaking the bank (or breaking your back) Registration couldn't be easier, just a matter of letting us know where to send updates and information so you can attend on the day or catch up afterwards.
It's shaping up to be a great event. We look forward to connecting with you there.
World Class Speakers
“Our speakers have walked-the-walk and our Fringe event is an opportunity for them to talk-the-talk and share their expertise with you,” says Jay Artale.
Here's just a handful of the long list of self-publishing experts we've lined up for you:
JAMES SCOTT BELL is a bestselling and award winning suspense writer, and one of the top writing coaches in the country. He writes in both the traditional and indie publishing realms. He was the first writer to have a self-published work nominated for the prestigious International Thriller Writers Award.
JOANNA PENN is an author, international speaker and entrepreneur. She was voted as one of The Guardian UK Top 100 creative professionals 2013. Joanna is also a New York Times and USA Today bestselling fiction author writing as J.F.Penn. Her www.thecreativepenn.com is regularly listed as a Top Ten site for authors.
MARK DAWSON is a successful author and the marketing brain behind The Self-Publishing Formula which is the accumulated knowledge of how he grew his mailing list to 40k, turned readers into fans, built launch strategies to get is books into the top #100 spots, and created a seven figure income from his stories.
JANE FRIEDMAN has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, and is the co-founder and editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and the former publisher of Writer's Digest.
We could go on … but we won't. Instead, check out the rest of the Indie Fringe lineup on our Speaker Page and just imagine what you can learn from our event, and what a boost it will be to your dreams and goals.
Generous Sponsors
We're pleased to welcome back IngramSpark as our Gold Sponsor, offering a great distribution service for ebooks and, especially, POD books. And waiving setup fees for all Indie Author Fringe attendees.
Bookbaby has joined us as a Silver Sponsor, and is offering a 15% discount for editing services.
Don't miss this opportunity to save money with these reputable self-publishing organizations. We've also just started unveiling session sponsors, and so far we're happy to be featuring Draft2Digital, Reedsy, and Buzz Trace. (If your a service, let us know if you'd like to sponsor a session by contacting us at [email protected])
And don't forget:
Our Indie Author Fringe is free to attend!
Yes you read that right.
We're giving you totally free access to all these audio and video session from self-publishing experts. Thanks to the generous support of our speakers and sponsors, it won't cost you a penny.
It doesn't get much better than that, does it?
Get Involved
You don't have to wait until March 18th at 10am GMT to get involved, start now. Help us increase the awareness of our Indie Author Fringe event by visiting our Spread the Word page.
Do you have a blog?
- Post an article about on your blog and promote it on your social media.
Do you have a mailing list?
- Send them an email list letting them know about our expert line-up, giveaways, and sponsor discounts. A sample email is included on our spread the word page.
Enter to Win
We're hosting a Book Description competition, so why not submit your book description for a chance to win?
You can also check out the other entrants here.
We have just two weeks to go to March 18th at 10am GMT. We've had a sneak peak at the sessions as they roll in, and we can't wait to broadcast them for you.
During the event you will be able to access all speaker sessions via our Blog starting at 10am on March 18th. We'll release a new event at least once an hour and we make it easy for you to watch events you've missed.
Thank you for the valuable information.