Everything you need to Know about the Self-Publishing Advice Conference

The Self-Publishing Advice Conference is a week away! Here are the schedule, speaker information and everything you need to know to attend over the three-day free period or beyond. But first…

Wherever you are in the world, click here to sign up and secure your space now.

This guide to the conference includes:

• What the conference is
• How to join and watch the conference for free
• How to become an affiliate
• How to get lifetime access to the conference
• The full schedule and speakers

What is the Self-Publishing Advice Conference?

If you haven't heard of the Self-Publishing Advice Conference (#SelfPubCon), then let me tell you a little more. The conference runs twice a year in spring and fall, in association with the Alliance of Independent Authors.

This popular online conference for indie authors attracts the cream of self-publishing speakers, sponsors and delegates. Twenty-four sessions of up-to-the-minute self-publishing news and interviews, webinars and presentations over 24 hours.

Whether you’re a newcomer to self-publishing or already selling thousands of books through multiple retailers, you will learn and benefit from these latest updates on the tools, tips, and techniques that successful indie authors are deploying now.

The conference is free to all indie authors for three days, after which an All-Access pass can be purchased (free to ALLi members).

This makes the full archive of all the conferences we’ve held since Spring 2018, still available in replay, for you to watch or download whenever you want.

How do You Access the Self-Publishing Advice Conference?

For three days, the conference is accessible to everyone on the conference home page, which you can find here.

The Self-Publishing Advice Conference: For Non-ALLi Members

Like this blog and the Self-Publishing Advice podcast, SelfPubCon is an outreach education service from the Alliance of Independent Authors. So even if you are not an ALLi member, you are still eligible to watch the conference freely for three days. All you need to receive updates and information is register for a free pass.

That's it: you're all ready! On the 14th March, at 9.45 am, you just need to head over to: https://selfpublishingadviceconference.com/blog/ and enjoy. On the hour, every hour a new session will be released and the feed will update.

Once the FREE three day period is over, the sessions will only be available to members. As a non-member, you then have two options: a six-month pass or a lifetime pass.

• Find out more about the six-month pass here.
• Find out more about the lifetime pass here.

And scroll down below the agenda for more detail.

The Self-Publishing Advice Conference: For ALLi Members

IMPORTANT: Please note that the conference website will not recognize your ALLi membership credentials. It is a separate website. You need to register there separately. For ease, you may wish to keep your login details the same across both the member and conference website.

Please check if you are already registered and if not, re-register, using this registration link.

You will need your ALLi discount code, which you'll find in the ALLi member zone.

To find your ALLi discount code:

1. Please visit the ALLi membership site allianceofindependentauthors.org
2. Log in
3. Log in, then navigate to the ADVICE tab in the menu and then to CONFERENCE in the drop-down [remember, log-in needed]
4. Locate the code in the lilac-colored box.

The Self-Publishing Advice Conference Spring 2020: Agenda

9:45am Conference open — Orna Ross and Sacha Black

Adam Croft

10 am Adam Croft — Sell More Books by Publishing Wide: More Formats, More Platforms, More Countries

Going wide can be daunting. But it doesn't need to be. In this session, Adam Croft shows you how he makes the majority of his money outside of Amazon, and how changing your approach to marketing and advertising can boost your book sales on other platforms.

11am Ethan Ellenberg — The Fundamentals of Earning Income from Selective Licensing of Book Rights

Though most Indie income is generated by sales of the actual book, every book has a great deal more potential as the basis for other formats and other media. It's a challenge to market those rights but the benefits can be substantial. It's also key to remember that when you license your rights, you don't have to take the time and expense to create your own edition. So licensing Audio rights may have a place, even if the royalties are lower. Licenses cover a host of opportunities, audiobooks, translations, film/t.v., podcast, merchandise, etc. All of which we'll explore in this session.

12pm Clayton Noblit — Selling More Books Through Promotion Services

Book promotion sites offer authors a low effort, effective way to generate downloads and sales. Learn how to set yourself up for success when using a promotion site, and how/ and when authors should be promoting their books.

1pm Jennie Nash — Book Coaching: The Perfect Side Hustle for Authors

Do you ever wish you could read books all day and get paid for it? Are you looking for a side hustle that is sustainable, soulful, and satisfying? Jennie Nash, founder and CEO of Author Accelerator and multiple six-figure book coach, offers an inside look at the world of book coaching. She'll explain where book coaching came from, what kind of people are best suited to it, and what it is like to do this work as a part-time gig or a full-time job.

2pm Kathy Meis — 5 Foundations of Successful Publishing: Crucial Steps to Take the Year Before You Launch

Kathy Meis works with authors around the world every day and sees many of the same mistakes made over and over. It's why she created this session—to show independent authors like you what all too often is missed in the planning process. During “5 Foundations of Successful Publishing: Crucial Steps to Take the Year Before You Launch,” Kathy will show you how these 5 steps can make all the difference, setting you up for a successful book launch, more sales, and clear alignment with creative and commercial goals … rather than a disappointing start to your publishing journey.

3pm Kristina Stanley — Self-Editing for Novelists: Save Money and Become A Better Writer

“Can I just hire someone to do the marketing stuff for me?” That's one of the most common questions we get at Reedsy. And while generally the answer is “no”, in some very specific cases it can make sense to enlist the help of a seasoned, professional book marketer. In this panel session, Reedsy's co-founder Ricardo Fayet will discuss author-marketer collaborations with two of the top book marketing professionals on Reedsy: Mark Lefebvre (former Director of Self-Publishing at Rakuten Kobo) and Rachel Cone Gorham (former Executive Director, Digital & Social Media Marketing at Penguin Random House).

5pm Dale Roberts — How Authors Monetize YouTube: Booksales and Other Income Streams

Over 1.3 billion viewers use YouTube for curating information and entertainment, so naturally authors need to align themselves with a platform of that magnitude. But, where do you start? What should you say? And, how do you reach your ideal audience? Find out exactly how you can leverage one of the world's largest and most successful online social media platforms for your author brand today.

6pm Angela Ackerman — Pay it Forward Marketing for Authors: Collaborate, Connect, Create

Marketing collaboration is how authors work smarter, not harder, leveraging their existing audiences and connections with like-minded authors to meet a shared goal of greater brand recognition, book visibility, and sales. Working with influencers (people who have the trust of your ideal book audience) will help you grow your readership and brand more quickly…if you can identify who these people are and capture their interest and loyalty. Angela Ackerman offers tips on how to find influencers, get noticed by them, and build a relationship that can lead to fruitful marketing collaborations.

7pm Gabriela Pereira — Unleash Your Storytelling Superpower: How to Harness the Power of Story in Book Marketing and Sales

Contrary to popular belief, marketing and your books is not about a snappy tagline or a fancy logo. Effective book marketing means you must craft a narrative not just on the page, but between you and your readers. As a self-published author, you know that traditional marketing techniques are not enough. You need to create an immersive experience that hooks and engages your audience, not just when they open your books, but from the moment they first discover your work. To do this, you must weave storytelling into your marketing strategy and unleash your Storytelling Superpower.

8pm Jane Friedman — What to Get Right Before You Publish

A discussion about the importance of getting things right before you publish. Robin will speak about creating a professional book (editing, layout and design); Jane Steen on creating multiple formats and Jane Friedman on optimizing metadata (title, description, subjects, keywords, ISBN, etc). Orna will outline how to set creative intentions and goals and a plan to reach those goals, while Alan will reveal a case study about getting it wrong and how to make it right

9pm Mark Lefebvre — Not Just Discoverability: How Authors Work With Libraries to Boost Book Sales

It's fantastic that writers can bypass the gatekeepers of traditional publishing if they want to indie publish. But beyond just having a book listed in an online catalog, what can authors do to rise above the digital masses and be more visible, more relevant to libraries? What are the best ways to make your book available to library in multiple formats (print, eBook, and audiobook)? How do libraries find out about and acquire titles for their patrons? How can you stand out as a professional to library curators?

10pm Judith Anderle — Increase Your Author Income Through Translation Rights Licensing

The Indie Author Publishing Rights Program aims to open up the rights industry to indie authors through a publicly accessible education and coaching program, it's been running over the lat six months.

The program’s aim is to help a group of indie authors to set up to properly pitch translation rights at London Book Fair 2020, with the hope those meetings and potential deals lead to the sale of translation rights.

A panel of experts have been meeting with the authors every four weeks in the run up to the London Book Fair. Between sessions, the authors have been working independently to prepare their rights guides, pitching materials and set up meetings and proposals.

This sessions will conclude the program, as we find out how the authors did and the pathways they've chosen to take.

11pm Sacha Black — How Good Prose Sells More books

Writing books is easy, writing good books is hard.

If you want to sell books for the long term, getting every element of your story right is essential. But when you boil it down, it's the words that readers come back for. Good stories need good words. In this session, Sacha will show you a series of quick tips to improve your prose, rid yourself of bad habits and crutches and help you polish your stories to perfection.

12am Margot Atwell — Own Your Publishing Career: How Kickstarter Can Help You Make and Sell Books

By the end of this session, Authors will learn how to jump-start or supplement their careers as self-published or hybrid authors using Kickstarter. More generally, they will learn about the importance of connecting with readers and understanding their readership, and how to expand it.

1am Penny Sansevieri — Sales Success: How to Evaluate Your Book Marketing

How do you know what’s working and what isn’t? Aside from an immediate uptick in sales, it’s hard to know if what you’re doing is really moving the needle and getting you that much closer to your goals. So what's an eager author to do? To start we can dig into important factors that can help you evaluate what (and how) you’re doing. Because not everything immediately translates to book sales, and surprisingly, that’s ok! Remember, smart book marketing the creates quality exposure to the right people is what you’re aiming for. In this session we'll discuss tried and true approaches that work (regardless of your genre) as well as specific issues that seem to plague books that have become stagnant. I’ll also guide you on how to evaluate your own marketing, which is key to putting yourself on a more productive path to success!

2am M.L. Buchman — Estate Planning Mistakes Authors Make

Our IP (Intellectual Property) belongs to our heirs for 70 years past our death. But do they have any idea what to do with it? Can they even find it all? (Can you?) Learn how to organize your IP and inform your heirs for a more prosperous future.

3am Sam Missingham —How to Market Your Books on a Low Budget

Knowing where to spend your book marketing budget is one of the challenges authors face. Another is how to market and sell your books when your budget is very small. Join Sam Missingham as she runs through 5 practical ways that you can get more bangs for your bucks.

4am Karen Williams — Nonfiction Book Income Streams: How to Earn More Than Just Royalties

If you are writing a book to build your business, it's going to cost money. You‚ will spend time writing it when you could otherwise be working on income generating activities, and you'll need to find money to publish and market it, especially if you're an indie author. That's why it's essential to focus on the end game as you write it. In this session, I'll share the key principles that will ensure your book supports your credibility and builds your authority. I'll also share some client stories from those who have had incredible success from their book.

5am Jules Horne — How Authors Can Grow Their Income by Working With Friends and Family

Most writers start as sole traders, but what happens when you want to grow? Jules Horne (UK), Mel Hammond (AUS) and Sherrie McCarthy (CAN) are writers at opposite ends of the world. They’ve both brought close family into their writing businesses (Jules’ and Sherrie’s partners and Mel’s daughters). What are the pros and cons of running a writing business with near and dearest? How does writing change when you’re two (or more)? This talk/Q&A session tackles the joys and challenges of growing your writing business with support right on the doorstep, whether you’re home-based, office-based or an incurable nomad.

6am Robin Cutler — The Power of Indie Publishing

Over the last few years, there has been a seismic shift of writers choosing to self-publish rather than navigate a traditional publishing path. Partly because authors have tools that are available to make publishing both affordable and profitable as never before. But more importantly authors are choosing indie publishing as a way to better realize their creative vision. In this session, learn why this shift is happening and how you can harness this power for your own work.  Hosts: Robin Cutler, Director of IngramSpark and Orna Ross,  ALLi Founder and Director.

7am Kimberley Grabas — Your Author Business Plan: A Framework for the Creative Entrepreneur

Does the thought of writing a business plan make you wince? If you’d prefer to skip the spreadsheets in favour of a more “writer-friendly” planning process – because deep down you know you could use a bit more direction to move your writing career to the next level – you’re in luck! I’ve designed this business plan framework with the creative Indie-entrepreneur in mind. Yep, it’s still a business plan. But I’ve tried to soften the corporate jargon, as well as give you ideas as to how you can use each section to take control and grow your writing career as an indie author.

8am A.G. Billig — How to Boost Your Book Sales Using Traditional Media and P.R.

Traditional media and PR are two of the most valuable tools in your book-marketing arsenal. When used wisely, they can boost your visibility, sales, and number of loyal and get you on the bestseller lists. In this presentation, you will find out the secrets that PR pros use to get their clients from starving to stardom. You will also learn what you need to do to implement a successful PR campaign and leverage the power of traditional media.

Orna Ross, Director of ALLi

9am Orna Ross — Successful Author Business: Balancing and Measuring Passion and Profit

Creative self-publishing is when indie authors approach our publishing tasks, and our author business, with the same creative mindset that we bring to our writing.

It focuses not just on what we do, but how we do it, as we publishing our books and establish our author business.

In this presentation, based on her new book Creative Self-Publishing, ALLi Director, Orna Ross, demonstrates how creativity can be embedded in every task we do, across the seven stages of the publishing process.  The result is a business that is uniquely you –and that attracts the right readers for your books.

10am Conference Close

To Access The Conference Once it's Over

Go to the website at https://selfpublishingadviceconference.com/six-month-pass/ Or navigate to the menu [Access Passes -> Six-Month Pass]

If you are an ALLi member, enter the coupon code and click Apply to get your discount. A message will be displayed, showing that the discount has been applied, and the PayPal button will change to a Submit Form button.

Enter your details (first name, last name, email, and a username) and click the the submit form button.

You will get two emails. One with a link for you to create a password, one with a link to access the conference presentations.

Log in.

6. You then reach your Account page. You now have access.

7. You’ll see a giant orange button saying: VIEW PREVIOUS CONFERENCES. Please click that.

8. It will take you to another screen listing all previous conferences. Click through to the conference of your choice. You’ll now be the session feed for that conference.

How to Become an Affiliate

As soon as you register for the conference, you automatically become an affiliate.

1. Register
2. 2. Log in to the site here: https://selfpublishingadviceconference.com/wp-login.php
3. Click Affiliate on the header menu.

To get your affiliate code, click the Affiliate Links tab.

The link in the top box can be used as visible or hidden text anywhere in emails or your website to generate affiliate payments.

You can also use one of the links in the table at the bottom to get HTML code which produces images you can use on a website or in a blog post.

Click on one of the links, and it will show the HTML code to use: copy the code from the text box and paste it into a blog post or on a website to display the image shown as a clickable link.

To Receive Email Updates About the Next Conference

If you would like to receive news and updates about the next conference by email–for example, speaker reveals, advance notice of the agenda, notifications of competitions  and you have not registered already, sign up here: Bit.ly/SelfPubConSignUp

If you have any questions feel free to email: [email protected].

OVER TO YOU

Have you watched previous conferences? Who are you looking forward to hearing from?