Publishers Weekly - May 18, 2015

How to Craft a Book that Sells:
Your Book’s Business Plan

1:30–2: 20 p.m.

Room 1E07

The average book today sells only about 250 copies per year and 3,000 in its lifetime. Improve your odds of becoming a successful author by producing a business plan for your book before you write a word. As you do, you develop an author attitude, craft a marketable book idea, and evaluate your idea and yourself through an acquisitions editor’s lens. You also develop a career plan to help you reach your goal: successful authorship. Learn how to determine if your book is not only a great creative idea but also marketable product—a viable business venture. Go through the author training process, the foundation for creating books that sell. This nine-step evaluation tool helps you determine if your book is ready to go to market and if you are ready to become an author. This session teaches you how to use the sections of a book proposal—the industry standard when it comes to a business plan for a book— as a process to train yourself to see both the creative and business aspects of writing and publishing a book.

Based on Nina Amir’s book, The Author Training Manual, Writer’s Digest Books, March 2014. Session takeaways: learn how to discover if your book idea is marketable, find out how to decide if you are cut out to write and market a successful book; discover what readers want; learn how to produce a successful book; take the nine steps in the author training process; see yourself and your idea through a publishing professional’s eyes; find out why you shouldn’t write your book as soon as you get the idea.

Moderator: Nina Amir, bestselling author, How to Blog a Book and The Author Training Manual

Book Marketing Best Practices

3–3: 50 p.m.

Room 1E07

The greatest and usually most under-utilized asset available to indie authors is the development of a solid marketing plan. It is never too early to connect and grow relationships with readers and influencers to build your platform and sales channels. But what marketing really works for authors who are trying to reach the readers of today? In this session learn about the importance of cultivating relationships and building your brand (before and after publishing), as well as how to use social media, forums, and groups to your advantage, and many other tricks of the trade to get your book(s) noticed.

Moderator: Robin Cutler, senior manager, IngramSpark

Speakers: Lynn Isenberg, author and publisher, Author Power: Profit Before You Publish; Brook Terran, marketing manager, Lulu.com

Track 2: Publishing at the Next Level

How to Reach More Readers in
Today’s E-book Market

10–10: 50 a.m.

Room 1E09

There’s never been a better time to self-publish an e-book. Yet in today’s crowded marketplace, it’s tougher than ever to make your book stand out. There’s a glut of high-quality, low-cost books against which you must compete. More than ever, self-published e-book authors need an edge. Luckily, the competitive playing field is tilted to the benefit of self-published authors—if you know how to make the right decisions. In this must-attend workshop, Mark Coker will describe what authors must do to survive and thrive in a maturing e-book market. Learn 20 tips to help you compete more effectively.

Moderator: Mark Coker, founder and CEO, Smashwords

Next Steps for Your
Author Platform

11: 30 a.m.–12: 20 p.m.

Room 1E09

Congratulations on the many books you have published and the readers who are engaging with you. But have you looked at your author platform lately? The author platform that you launched with may not meet your needs today. Join industry experts Penny Sansevieri, Sandra Beckwith, and Miral Sattar as they share ideas on how authors can boost their visibility with metadata, press releases, and repurposed content, as well as by mastering digital promotions.

Moderator: Miral Sattar, CEO, Bibliocrunch

Speakers: Penny Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts;

Sandra Beckwith, CEO, Build Book Buzz

Sell More E-books: Tips and Tricks
Based on Actual Data

1:30–2: 20 p.m.

Room 1E09

What makes readers purchase an e-book? Are there tricks you can use in your promotional copy to pique their interest and win their wallets? Does mentioning bestseller status and quoting reviews actually sell more copies? Should you focus on plot, setting, or characters? BookBub’s lead editor will reveal all this and more in this presentation, based on extensive research. Get the data on how to present your book to readers in a way that will maximize sales. A panel of successful authors will also share how they write promotional copy for their respective genres that demonstrates a positive impact on engagement.

Moderator: Halli Melnitsky, director of editorial operations, BookBub Speakers: Bella Andre, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author;