Why Should Authors Attend The Self-Publishing Conference 2024?

Whether you're an aspiring self-published author, a seasoned one, or someone interested in the world of independent publishing, The Self-Publishing Conference 2024 promises to be a fantastic day crammed full of knowledge and networking. 

With this, the 10th installment, approaching quickly, this article focuses on why an author should consider attending the conference this year. From the sessions that you can attend to the other activities available throughout the day, read on to discover more about the event.

What is the Self-Publishing Conference?

The Self-Publishing Conference is an annual event dedicated to providing self-published authors with the tools, insights, and connections needed to succeed in self-publishing their books. The conference brings together industry experts with both successful authors and those early in their publishing journey to share their expertise and experiences. It's a one-day conference filled with seminars, workshops, and networking opportunities tailored to the unique needs of self-published authors.

What is Going to be Covered During the Day?

The conference offers a jam-packed schedule designed to cover a broad spectrum of topics relevant to self-publishing. Here’s a glimpse of what attendees can expect.

The agenda is largely made up of workshops, seminars and talks hosted both by industry experts and the Troubador team. The sessions will cover a huge range of topics from writing to editing, design to marketing and distribution and everything in between. You can see the full agenda here, but expect to connect with organisations like Jericho Writers, Nielsen Bookdata, Shimmer AI, Cameron PR, The Book Shelf and Midas. 

As well as the seminar and workshops that are planned, there is an incredibly exciting keynote speaker booked this year. Olympic gold medal winner and best-selling self-published author Ben Hunt-Davis MBE will be discussing how he went from Olympic gold to self-publishing success via the founding of consultancy firm Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?. He’ll be discussing why self-publishing was the route to publication he chose, how he has been so successful with sales and what his biggest tips and tricks to authors looking to self-publish are. He will then be hosting a book signing during lunch for any authors wanting to chat with him further or purchase a copy of his book Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? on the day.

For the plenary session straight after lunch, the conference is hosting Debbie Young, the self-publishing expert from Jericho Writers. In this Q&A session, Debbie will highlight everything that she thinks authors should be thinking about before self-publishing their work. From the objective setting to choosing the right route for themselves, authors will leave the Q&A feeling confident about how to get their work published in the right way for you. As the course tutor for Jericho's Simply Self-Publishing course, Debbie's wealth of knowledge will be explored during this 40-minute session, leaving plenty of time for delegates to ask their questions at the end of the session.

What Other Things are There to Do?

Beyond the structured sessions, the Self-Publishing Conference offers a variety of additional activities to enhance your experience. First and foremost, the conference is a fantastic place to meet other authors from all areas of the country whose writing is across a variety of genres. Authors that have attended in previous years have often cited that while the sessions they attended were informative and interesting, the networking opportunities set it apart as an event. Whether it be in the main networking area, over lunch or between sessions, authors attending will find ample opportunity to meet and compare notes with other authors.

As well as networking with other authors, most of the exhibitors that are hosting sessions will also be featured in the networking spaces either with stands available with more information or simply mingling with the authors in attendance. That will ensure that authors can get the most out of the day as they will either be able to discuss the sessions they attended with the hosts in more detail or, if they wanted to go to two sessions but weren’t able to, they can ask any questions they like of the session hosts between sessions. As well as chatting with these industry experts informally, there is an opportunity to see if they can be any help for you by providing you with their quality services.

And finally, the event schedule has been geared up to ensure that authors get plenty of time to socialise. Whether it be the drinks reception that is being hosted at the end of the day or the coffee breaks that are dotted throughout the agenda, authors will have no shortage of time to be able to chat with other authors and browse the bookshop that will be set up on site.

What Will Authors Attending Get Out of the Day?

The informal event aims to educate, inform and inspire authors who are self-publishing their work, or who are considering it as a route to publication. The day attracts a wide variety of authors, from fiction to children’s, non-fiction to business, and is structured so that delegates can choose the sessions that are the most relevant to them.

Authors attending the Self-Publishing Conference will walk away with a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm born out of the content that will be expertly covered during the day. They will gain valuable insights into the self-publishing process and learn practical skills authors can apply immediately. There are both theoretical and practical workshops that will help authors understand more about the various elements of publishing a book. The Troubador masterclasses are hosted by the Troubador team and will give authors direct insight into the process of publishing a book, while the industry experts seminars aim to help authors think outside the box about how they can maximise the success of their title. With the keynote and plenary sessions bookending lunch, the day ends with practical writer workshops and the closing session on how everything authors have learned in the day can apply to their writing.

All of that combined with the ability to meet and network with hundreds of other authors is sure to leave those attending inspired and motivated come the end of the day. Authors will be able to hear the success stories of others and harvest all the information they might need to make their publishing journey a successful one.

How Do I Get a Ticket?

Getting a ticket to the Self-Publishing Conference is very easy. Tickets cost £95 and include everything that you can see on the agenda. Authors attending will be able to attend a total of 7 sessions throughout the day (including 3 workshops and the keynote and plenary sessions among others), have access to a free three-course lunch and drinks reception, plus benefit from unlimited refreshments throughout the day. Finally, every author will be given a free goody bag with loads of additional resources for browsing both during the day and after it has finished. 

To register for the conference you just need to head over to the conference website and click ‘Register Now’ at the top right. From there you’ll be taken to a simple checkout and, once you have purchased your ticket, your registration will be logged by the conference team. We will then email you a few weeks before the event so you can choose the sessions you would like to attend.

Don't miss this unique opportunity to propel your self-publishing career forward. Secure your ticket today and join a community of like-minded individuals committed to sharing and growing in the world of self-publishing.