This year's conference features live presentations that will happen virtually throughout the week, with lifetime access to the recordings.  We'll have a mixture of networking events, Q&As with the speakers & sponsors, writing sprints, and other fun! We're still tweaking it a bit, but it's 90% planned!

We'll start at 9:30 am EST each day and sessions run until about 6:30 pm EST. All events will be live, so you can ask questions and engage with the speakers. Everything will be recorded, and you'll have access to the recordings to watch at your convenience.

March 1st – Special pre-conference kick off event

Featured Guest Speaker

Robin Cutler: The State of Publishing: Challenges, Innovations and What's To Come

Day 1

We're digging right into writing craft for all genres and all levels!

Sponsor Presentations

GracePoint Publishing – Michelle Vandepas: Why entrepreneurs, Personal Development Experts and Quantum Healers Should Write a Book to Share Their Knowledge with the World.

          Your Book Is Your Hook – Jennifer Wilkov – The Five Routes to Publishing

          Bublish – Kathy Meis – Writing with an audience in Mind – Where Craft Meets Commerce

Speaker Presentations

Agent Session

Amy Collins: Are you ready for an Agent? (Before planning your pitch, please review the agent guidelines on the full schedule HERE.)

Fiction Sessions

Brenda Hardwick: Writing Minority Characters without Stereotyping

Steff Greene: Writing Your Novel Using a Skeleton Draft Method

Megan Hennessey: Everything You Wanted to Know About Good Sex Scenes But Were Afraid to Ask

Lucy Hay: Screenwriting Tips for Novelists

Justine Manzano: Types of POV & How to Use Them

Kris Kennedy: Top 3 Keys for Crafting Turning Points

DiAnn Mills: Creating the Antagonistic Setting

Eileen Cook: Setting: It Doesn’t Have to Be Dull

Glede Brown Kabongo: High Stakes, Ticking Clocks & Killer Twists – Writing Gripping Thrillers

General

Lydia Michaels: Write 10K in a Day – Avoid Burnout & Unleash Your Prolific Potential

Non Fiction

CL Fails: The Lifecycle of a Book, the Importance of Story Arc, & Writing Tips

Melanie Votaw: Keys to a Successful Self-Help Outline

          Donna Conrad: What Remains: Discovering the Central Theme of Your Memoir

Children's Books

Alyssa Reynoso-Morris: How to Write a Picture Book an Agent Will Want to Represent

Jennifer Navarre: Create a Chapter Book Series Kids Will Love

          E. Danielle Butler: Compassion & Activism Through Diverse Children's Books

Special Evening Session

Happy Hour! 

Day 2

We're talking about tips and resources for editing/production/distribution, and routes to publication.

Sponsor Sessions:

FirstEditing – Chat with JoEllen Nordstrom, CEO and Founder

ProWritingAid – Hayley Milliman: ProWritingAid 101 

Speaker Sessions:

Special Inspirational Session:

Laura Formentini: Love in Action

Fiction

Corinne Anderson: Tips for Queries & Submissions to Publishers

          Lynn Morrison: Paranormal Fiction – The Science of Writing About Magic

          Dakota Nyght: The Developmental Edit: How to self-evaluate your manuscript and what elements your editor will look at

          Erin Casey: World Building in Fantasy

General

Angela Engel: Let's Make a Book: Understanding Each Role in the Publishing Industry

Pam Sheppard: Log Lines & Hooks: Writing the Most Powerful Short Description of Your Book

Mariah Sinclair: Book Cover Makeovers to Improve Sales

Keri Barnum: Getting Your Books into Airports, Chains, & Bookstores

         Teri Rider: How to Produce an Award Winning Book Using Industry Standards

         Arielle Haughee: On Boarding Authors: Best Practices for Staying Organized

         Fern Brady: Vetting the Small Press: How to Find the Right Small Publisher

        Lilianne Milgrom, Ingrid Emerick and Christina Henry de Tessan: A publishing journey: How to Choose Your Most Successful     Publishing Path

      Meg Welch Dendler: Self-Editing to Make Your Manuscript Shine

Children's Books

Brooke Vitale: How to Self-Publish a Children's Book in 9 Steps

April Cox: Amazon A+ Content

          Sunny Duran: Working with a book designer: What you need to know to format your children's book

Special Evening Session

 Irena Miller: Decompression and Meditation

Day 3

Marketing Extravaganza!

Whether you have already launched your book or you're still just thinking about writing it, you can never start marketing early enough! Many writers will say they quickly learned the writing was the easy part and MARKETING is what nearly cooked their goose.

Today's session is JAM PACKED with marketing information, media information, and ideas to help you sell the heck out of your books!

Launching, Marketing, & Promoting Your Book and YOU as the Author.

Sponsor Sessions:

BookFunnel – Damon Courtney: Using BookFunnel To Grow Your Email List

          Aurora Publicity – Samantha Williams – Learn About Author Assistants & Smart Marketing for Every Author

          Sara Stibitz – Making Your Book Project & Simple

BookBrush – Kathleen Sweeney: Creating Amazing Graphics for Book Promo

Speaker Sessions:

Fiction

Kirsten Oliphant: Creating an Online Persona / Brand that Turns Readers into Super Fans

Shayla Raquel: 3 Step Formula to Amazon Success for Indie Authors

          Stephanie Bourbon: “Make Them Swoon” Writing RomComs

General

Dawn Hardy: How to Promote Your Book Like a Publicist

Yvelette Stines: How to Create a Social Media Plan with Purpose & Ease

Leann Garms: How to Build Buzz in the Media:  Publicity Tools & Tactics for Fiction & Non Fiction Authors

Michelle Glogovac: How to Create a Successful Book Launch Using Podcasts

          Kiffer Brown: The 4 Types of Book Reviews & Why Book Reviews Should be a Part of Your Marketing Strategy

          Jess Kotzer: Growing & Selling More with YouTube Ads

          Laura Briggs: Training Your Team: Outsourcing Your Book Launch for Higher Results & Less Stress

Non Fiction

Nina Amir: How to Build Your Audience While Writing Your NonFiction Book

Mary O'Donohue: The Power of Publicity to Sell NonFiction Books

Tara R. Alemany: Book Launches Simplified

Jenny Lisk: How to Win at Content Marketing for NonFiction Authors

          Jodi Brandon: Book Building Blocks for Business Owners

Children's Books

Kate Stead: Your 90 Day Launch Plan for Children's Books

Belinda Mays: How To Repurpose Your Children's Book Content into New Products, Events, and Marketing Materials.

Day 4

The Business of Being an Author

Congratulations! If you've published or are about to publish a book, you now own a business! These sessions focus on ways to grow and manage your business. From considering how you position yourself, where you sell your books, how you gain publicity for yourself, and how to add additional revenue streams, we're digging into the business side of being an author.

Sponsor Sessions:

PubSite: Author Website 101

          Children's Book Mastery – Karen Ferreira: Creating Your Picture Book Interior & Cover for Free in Canva

Speaker Sessions:

Special Agent Session:

Michelle Lazurek – Q&A and Pitch Session (Before planning your pitch, please review the agent guidelines on the full schedule HERE.)

Fiction

Julie Cantrell with Allison Pittman, Janyre Tromp, Kelli Stewart, Lynn Gentry: Growing Your Readership & Author Biz Through Collaborative Fiction Collections

General

Matty Dalrymple: How to Use Podcasts to Grow Your Author Business

Jenna Avery: Fulfilling the Call to Write: Overcome Procrastination & Self-Doubt and Do What You Were Put Here to Do

Estelle Van de Velde: How to Make SEO Work for Your Author Business

Sandra Lane: 7 Habits of Highly Productive Women

Kate Watson: Growing Your Speaking Career as an Author

Elizabeth Ducie: Author Business Foundations

Non Fiction

Heather Vickery: Podcasting to Grow Your Platform

Layne Booth: 4 Shifts to Scale Faster for Publishers & Authors

Alesha Brown with Saadia White, Jasmine Andrews: Diversify Your Income Using Your Book to Build Your Biz (Films, Podcasts, etc.)

Lindsey Smith with Julie Neale, Jenjii Hysten: Tiny Books: 5 Types of Non Fiction Books That Can be Written in Almost No Time

Karen Strauss: 7 Ways to Monetize Your Book & Attract New Clients

Children's Books

Phillipa Warden: Creating Activities from Your Children's Books (Grow Your Email List!)

Kate Seldman: How to Run a Successful Kickstarter to Finance Your KidLit Book

Natasha D'Anna: Making Your Books Into a Brand; Oh the many things you can do and sell!

Special Evening Session

How Make the Most of this Conference: What's Next?