Publishers Weekly - May 18, 2015

UPUBLISHU AT BEA

tools available to indie
authors, but despite the
great benefits, most au-
thors aren’t yet doing them, and don’t yet
know how to use them,” Coker says. “I
share simple step-by-step instructions
for how to make the next book release
more successful.”
Coker will also be running the related
workshop “How to Reach More Readers
in the E-book Market,” in which he
explains how an author can navigate the
increasingly crowded e-book landscape.
This will consist of “ 20 tricks, tips, and
tactics for how indies can publish with
greater pride, satisfaction, and long-term
success,” according to Coker.

Coker emphasizes that the self-pub-
lishing market has matured—and this
maturation will be a central theme to
this year’s show. After exponential
growth from 2008 to 2012, self-publish-
ing has begun to slow down, something
Coker sees as an inevitable stage in its
development.

“The easy days are behind us,” Coker says. But he adds that this should not discourage authors. “The readers are out there, and they’re buying books. All a writer has to do is publish like a professional. That means honoring the reader by writing a great book that takes the reader to an emotionally satisfying extreme.”

Maturing Industry

Coker’s assessment of the industry was echoed by other speakers and panelists taking part in this year’s uPublishU: while self-publishing is maturing, with more opportunities than ever, it is also more competitive than ever.

“It’s easier than ever before to publish,
but it’s harder than ever before to sell,”
says Cindy Ratzlaff, brand marketing
specialist for Brand New Brand You and
longtime publishing veteran, who will
be hosting the session “Advanced Social
Media Strategies.” She adds, “A handful
of authors are selling tens of thousands of
books, and tens of thousands of authors
are selling a handful of books.”
Ratzlaff says that successful authors
now “don’t just upload their book to one
sales site and tweet about it. They have a
sales funnel, a series of next books in the
works, a remarketing plan, and they’re
building platforms from which to pro-
mote that go beyond Facebook and a
blog.”
Though most authors have a basic
grasp of Facebook, Twitter, and Insta-
gram, they are now at a point where a
deeper dive is valuable. During her
workshop, Ratzlaff will help authors
learn how to share links and see what
drives sales on social media, and she will
offer case studies about the successful use
of social media.

Among the points Ratzlaff will be dis-
cussing is the new online tool Heyo,
which allows authors to offer a PDF of
their books to Facebook fans who type
buy in the comments section—sending a
link directly to them through their Face-
book account. She will also discuss the
new point-of-sale strategies and setting
up sales directly from an author’s Face-
book or LinkedIn landing page.

Ratzlaff explains that even though the first phase of social media marketing for authors was connecting to readers, authors must consider what’s next: playing publicist, advertising director, and sales team (or delegating these tasks to the right people).

“The reality is you need help,” agrees
Dedecker, pointing to the “Building
Your Team” session, which will look
more deeply at why and how an author
can expand her effort beyond a one-
person program. “If you’re going to get
discovered, you really need to pick your
team.”
Attendees can build their team right
at the conference by visiting uPublishU’s
Author Marketplace. Organizations such
as Lulu, Indie Reader, Book Grabbr, the
Editorial Freelance Association, and
BookBaby will be on hand to describe
how they can help writers take their
game to the next level. Each will have
a table, offering information as well as
specials and discounts for attendees.

Authors will also have a chance to network with panelists and service providers during the show’s lunch break. Since the schedule only allows for an hour at lunch, Dedecker has eschewed the usual lunchtime speaker for a more active, and casual, period for networking. “It’s going to be a networking lunch, where everyone can share and talk and where a lot of authors will pick up little tidbits of information not only from fellow authors, but from the speakers and some of the exhibitors.”

Opportunities Further Afield

The growth of international sales will also be discussed at this year’s uPublishU, with a session dedicated to this very topic. After authors work to get their books into industry databases and the major e-book retailers, libraries, and book stores, the next step is to consider foreign rights, translations, and other options outside the U.S.