We started the week by looking back at one conference. We close by taking a look back at another. ALLi’s SelfPubCon 24 brought another 24 hours of fabulous insights from experts across a wide variety of fields in self-publishing. And all was focused on the topic that probably means the most to many of us: “publishing for profit.”
ALLi News Editor, Dan Holloway
Don’t forget that you can access this, along with every other ALLi SelfPubCon, for free if you are an ALLi member.
Key Topics at SelfPubCon 24
The topics on this year’s roster covered the fundamentals of being a successful self-publisher: deciding whether to go wide or stick with KDP’s Select program, using IngramSpark for print books, and getting more reviews. But I particularly enjoyed the expertise pointing in directions that could be immensely profitable for authors whose books fit the right profile. The panel with Kate Cunningham (children’s books), Margaret Skea (historical fiction), and Matt Beighton (gaming books) on how to sell print books outside of regular bookstores was especially heartwarming for someone like me, who thrives on live-performance-driven engagement.
X’s Block Function Controversy and Bluesky’s Rise
Of course, one of the key topics when it comes to profitability is social media (check out Sam Missingham’s excellent session at SelfPubCon). Outside of conferences, you’ve probably noticed more shenanigans with X. Specifically, the platform will now charge users for the block function. Unsurprisingly, people are not happy, and there has been a surge in popularity for the alternative platform, Bluesky. Bluesky is now one of the top five most downloaded apps. Whether these anger-downloads will translate into active use and community building remains to be seen.
