#SelfPubCon Speaker Line Up

The Self-Publishing Advice Conference is almost upon us Digital Book World kicks off this week and there's just five days to go until our own #SelfPubCon. While we’re preparing the presentations, I thought I’d share the speaker line up so you can plan your conference attendance. Wherever you are in the world, click here to sign up and secure your space now.

All times are in the BST (London, U.K.) timezone.

9:45 am – Conference Launch – Join Sacha Black and Orna Ross to Kick Off

Join Orna and Sacha on Facebook in a live video as they kick off the conference.

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10:00 am Ruth Raventos – Content Hacking: Achieving Success with Your Website

Ruth Raventós is one of co-founders and CEO of Nelio, where they develop WordPress plugins and offer them as software as a service. Ruth obtained her PhD in Software Engineering at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (UPC) and did a Master of Information Systems at DePaul University (Chicago). She has professional experience in the business world and at the University. Ruth has been University Lecturer at UPC, Vice-Dean for Corporate Relations of the Barcelona School of Informatics, and Associate Lecturer at ESADE. She specializes in software engineering and information systems management. She is also certified in Inbound Marketing and Google Analytics.

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11:00am Cara Stein – Structure Your Nonfiction Book to Sell and Build Your Fan Base

Cara Stein is an idealist who has stopped trying to play it cool. She believes the only reason people don’t like business or marketing is that they don’t know how to do it well—yet. She’s often praised for her no-bullshit style and her wry humor.Cara has been helping people finish and publish their books since 2012. She’s guided over 200 books through the publishing process. She’s also the author of five books of her own. Her peeves include chipmunks, fakery, and the word “peeve.”

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12:00 pm Amie McCracken – Video Marketing For Indie Authors

Amie is representing Vine Leaves Press, who publish book-length vignette collections, writing reference books, short story collections, memoir/autobiography, and novels (all genres with a literary bent).​

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1:00pm Dean Wesley Smith – How Indie Authors Earn from Their Book Rights

Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA Today bestselling writer, Dean Wesley Smith has published almost two hundred novels in forty years, and hundreds and hundreds of short stories across many genres. At the moment he produces novels in four major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the old west, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance series, and the superhero series starring Poker Boy. His monthly magazine called Smith’s Monthly, consisting of only his own fiction, premiered in October 2013 and is at issue #44, with over 70,000 words per issue, including a new and original novel every month

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2:00pm Jon Malinowski, PubMatch – TBC

Jon Malinowski is the President of the Combined Book Exhibit (CBE) and the founder behind PubMatch. Jon’s passion for the publishing industry started early in life after an internship at the Combined Book Exhibit in the 1970’s when his father was at the helm of the company. After graduating from Bradley University, Jon officially joined CBE and rose through the ranks quickly to become head of the marketing department. In 1983, Jon took over as President of the company and under his leadership, CBE has facilitated thousands of publishers and other businesses related to the publishing industry at book fairs around the world. Jon now oversees 15 international and domestic events annually, and has successfully led groundbreaking U.S. publishing missions to China, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Cuba. He also was instrumental in establishing the Middle East Library Association in partnership with the American Library Association and the Sharjah International Book Fair. After many years at the helm of CBE, Jon perceived a growing need in the publishing industry for a global rights resource, and in 2008, founded PubMatch – the first online rights toolkit for publishers, agents and authors. Since its launch, Jon partnered with Publishers Weekly and the company has grown to over 10,000 authors, publishers and agents in over 150 countries.

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3:00pm J. Thorn – How to Leverage Audio to Become a Career Author

J. Thorn has published two million words and has sold more than 185,000 books worldwide. He is an official member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. Thorn earned a B.A. in American History from the University of Pittsburgh and a M.A. from Duquesne University. He is a full-time writer, part-time professor at John Carroll University, co-owner of Molten Universe Media, podcaster, FM radio DJ, musician, and a certified Story Grid nerd.

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4:00pm Boni Wagner-Stafford – Finding New Ways to Market Your Book

Boni Wagner-Stafford is an author, writer, ghostwriter, editor and award-winning former journalist. She is ALLi’s communications manager and co-founder of Ingenium Books, offering professional editorial and publishing support for the global nonfiction indie author. In her recent book, One Million Readers: The Definitive Guide to a Nonfiction Book Marketing Strategy that Saves Time, Money, and Sells More Books, Boni advocates building your own book marketing strategy to build your knowledge, skill, and confidence… and of course, to sell more books.

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5:00pm Will Dages – How Indie Authors Can Sell More Audiobooks

Will is Head of Findaway Voices and an avid audiobook listener. He’s been immersed in the audiobook industry for more than 7 years, working on everything from technology to marketing to product development. He loves helping authors create and sell audiobooks, and believes in the power authors have to change the audiobook industry.

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6:00pm Michael Beverly – A Guide to Mastering AMS Ads for Indie Authors

Michael Beverly begin studying indie writing in early 2013 with the dream of becoming a self-sustaining novelist. That dream failed, but along the way he became an expert at AMS ads and that blossomed into a business, AmsAdWerks.

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7:00pm Michael Anderle – Indie Author Translation Rights Program: An Introduction

Mr. Anderle is a Dragon Award finalist as co-author with Mr. Craig Martelle for the Best Military Science Fiction novel of the year for 2018. As an independent author, Mr. Anderle is usually ranked in the top 100 authors in the Amazon store and in 2017, Apple news posted an article by BookRiot naming Mr. Anderle among the top 20 fan favorite independent authors. Mr. Anderle is considered an industry expert and is asked to speak or lead several industry panels including in conferences such as WorldCon, DragonCon and 20Books to 50K. Most Recently, Mr. Anderle has been featured in Publisher’s Weekly.

Mr. Anderle established a Facebook group of independent authors to discuss and share industry knowledge. The group began with only a few members two years ago and it has grown to over 27,000 author members.

Mr. Anderle has sold over 3,000,000 books worldwide either under his name alone or as a collaborator with other well known authors.

Mr. Anderle has also established a publishing company called LMBPN® (for London, Milan, Barcelona, Paris, New York) www.lmbpn.com which has authors from the USA, Australia, England, Canada, and various other countries around the world. The company works with editors based in South Africa and artists in Transylvania and even a Canadian artist who lives with his family in Mexico. Mr. Anderle’s books have been translated into German and Spanish and he has a major global fan base. The next goal is to have Mr. Anderle’s books published in China in Chinese language and eventually for LMBPN® to publish books from Chinese authors and translate them into English.

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8:00pm Brian Meeks – Copywriting for Indie Authors: Improve Your Ads and Book Descriptions

Brian D. Meeks is a full-time author across six genres, including his newest release, Dragon’s Fury: Chronicles of the Fifth Kingdom, which is the first book in a 10 book Epic Fantasy series he intends to write in 2019. He’s most well known for two non-fiction books, Mastering Amazon Ads: An Author’s Guide and Mastering Amazon Descriptions: An Author’s Guide. His passion is working with authors and writing. “It’s the best life imaginable.”

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9:00pm Carlyn Robertson – Mastering BookBub Ads: The Insider’s Guide for Indie Authors

Carlyn Robertson is responsible for partner education on BookBub’s Partners Team. She’s an expert on BookBub’s promotional tools and ensures that authors, publishers, and book marketers know how to use those tools to accomplish their marketing goals.

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10:00pm Holly Mortimer – Facebook Groups: Growing Your Reach Within The New Rules

11:00pm Sacha Black – How to Write a Hero Who Sells Your Book

12:00am Dalma Szentpály – How to Publish and Sell Poetry

1:00am Rachel McCollin – Use Your Author Website to Sell Books and Engage Readers

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3:00am Helena Halme – Publishing books in Another Language

Prize-winning author, former BBC journalist, bookseller and magazine editor, Helena Halme holds an MSc in Marketing and an MA in Creative Writing. Full-time author and mentor, Helena also acts as Nordic Ambassador for The Alliance of Independent Authors and has published nine Nordic fiction titles and two nonfiction books.

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4:00am Ben Cameron – Book Publicity and PR for Indie Authors

Cameron Publicity and Marketing founder Ben Cameron has over 20 years of experience in book publicity, publishing and sales with both traditional publishers and self-published authors. In 2006 he created Cameron Publicity & Marketing to offer the same marketing services that large publishers benefit from to all authors. Ben and has worked on hundreds of campaigns for independent authors on pretty much every subject imaginable. Ben is also a well-regarded speaker and writer on book marketing and contributes articles frequently for The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, Writing Magazine, The Huffington Post, The Self-publishing Magazine and other media. He has also run masterclasses on book promotion for The Guardian newspaper. Ben is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, The Independent Publisher Guild and The Alliance of Independent Authors.

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5:00am Bex Skoog – Become an Instagram Author Influencer

Instagram Influencer Bex Skoog is creator of the popular book blog Out of the Bex and the instructional website for book marketing, Author Influence. Bex has grown her Instagram platform from zero to thousands strong—just by talking about books. She believes that, no matter how daunting it seems at the start, social media is a completely learnable skill. Bex is known for her approachable teaching style that simplifies complex ideas into easy, actionable steps. She lives outside of Washington, DC with her husband, an overstocked tea cabinet, and hundreds of stray books that have found their forever home. She welcomes messages on Instagram (@outofthebex).

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6:00am Penny Sansevieri – Why Your Book Isn’t Selling And What to Do

Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is an Adjunct Professor teaching Self-Publishing for NYU. She is the author of eighteen books, including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon, 5 Minute Book Marketing for Authors and How to Revise and Re-Release Your Book!

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7:00am Holly Lyne and Angeline Trevena – Fiction Worldbuilding for Indie Authors

H. B. Lyne has always lived close to the dark side, never quite mastering the ability to force choke but contemplating it during dark times. Black eye liner was a permanent fixture in her bag or back pocket during the goth years. Lighter moments have included a fascination with unicorns and firm belief in faeries well into adulthood. Jotting down these observations in multiple forms has always been a habit. Juggling bean bags, fluffy poi and an adult-weighted hula hoop have all had their brief place in recreation, but all are now consigned to the land of lost treasures. These days, when not chasing two chaotic munchkins around, Holly somehow engineers time to write fantasy. Her series, Echoes of the Past, is the tale of one young shape shifter’s epic struggle to reconcile her humanity with her inner demon, whilst battling very real demons who threaten both humans and shifters alike.

Angeline Trevena is a British science fiction, fantasy, and horror author. Creator of The Paper Duchess series, she is best known for her feminist brand of dystopia. She’s been writing stories since she was old enough to hold a pen, and after gaining a BA Hons degree in Drama and Writing, she honed her craft with horror and fantasy shorts which are published in numerous magazines and anthologies. Angeline grew up on the edge of Dartmoor, Devon, amongst its legends and ghost stories, but now lives in central England with her husband, their two young boys, and a somewhat neurotic cat.

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8:00am Lisa Lepki – Self-Editing For Indie Authors: Copyediting Techniques to Make Your Writing More Powerful

Lisa is a serious word nerd as well as the Head of Marketing at ProWritingAid and Editor of the ProWritingAid Blog. With over 15 years’ experience in writing, marketing, and PR, she sometimes loves the technical elements of writing more than the writing itself. Lisa is the co-author of ’20 Editing Tips from Professional Writers’, ‘The Novel-Writing Training Plan’ and ‘Creating Legends: How to Craft Characters Readers Adore’, and is currently working on her first novel. Her writing can also be found on Writer’s Digest, bookbaby.com, The Writing Cooperative, The Write Life, DIY Author and many other sites for writers.

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9:00am Orna Ross – Creative Self-Publishing: Go Wide To Optimise Platforms, Formats and Income Streams

Orna Ross is an award-winning and bestselling novelist and poet and Founder-Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, the professional non-profit association for self-publishing writers. Born and raised in Ireland, Orna now lives in London where she writes and publishes her books and blogs. She has repeatedly been named “one of the 100 most influential people in publishing” by UK publishing trade magazine, The Bookseller.

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Check out the amazing #SelfPubCon Speaker Line Up #indieauthor #selfpublishing #IARTG #ASMRG #writingcommunity Share on X

OVER TO YOU

What session are you most excited to watch?

If you enjoyed this post, you might like these from the ALLi archive:

https://selfpublishingadvice.org/indie-author-publishing-rights-program/