For Publishing Professionals

Did you know there’s a track specifically for publishing professionals at the Women in Publishing Summit?

Whether you’re just starting out in the industry or you’re a seasoned pro looking to level up, there’s content for you!

Check out these sessions on launching a publishing or editing business, offering author-assist services, using the Profit First method to make your business successful, and more.

You can also attend the sessions for authors in the genre or category you work in, as they may pique your interest too. And of course, you can’t miss out on the built-in networking sessions! If you’re a marketing specialist, editor, designer, publisher, publishing assistant, or any other type of publishing professional, here’s the full lineup of sessions that will help you grow your business.

The Women in Publishing Summit offers sessions for authors of all levels. We’re bringing together beginner authors, writing experts, and publishing professionals to discuss a range of topics—from genre to crafting plot to working with publishing experts. If you are a beginner author, the following sessions are designed to support you and aspiring authors on your journeys. These sessions will provide valuable insights to enhance your writing life and refine your craft. 

Don’t forget to grab your ticket today, so you can participate in these author workshops at the conference and revisit the recorded sessions throughout the year!

Day 1 – Writing/Mindset

The (Hidden) Costs & Challenges of Publishing
Karen Strauss, Hybrid Global Publishing

Publishing a book is an exciting endeavor, but it often comes with unexpected challenges and hidden costs. This workshop dives into the realities of publishing, whether you’re self-publishing or pursuing traditional routes. From understanding financial investments to navigating industry-specific obstacles, attendees will leave with a clearer picture of what it takes to bring their book to life successfully. Karen Strauss is the publisher of Hybrid Global Publishing. Designed to publish books by speakers and entrepreneurs and other indie authors, Hybrid Global is an independent publisher offering author services such as editorial, custom cover and interior design, distribution and marketing. Karen has worked in publishing for more than 30 years with broad experience in all aspects of publishing, sales, marketing, strategic planning, and distribution.

Day 2 – Routes to Publication

Tips for Setting Up Your Publishing House
Fern Brady

In this session, participants will learn the steps to setting up a publishing house. Common mistakes that end up being critical will be discussed and how to avoid these. We will also discuss the pros and cons of seeking a nonprofit designation as a teaching press. Fern Brady is the founder and CEO of Inklings Publishing. She began her professional life as a foreign correspondent, and taught ELAR to 6th graders for 15 years. She has published numerous short stories, two children’s picture books, and a couple of poems. She has returned to the leadership of the Houston Writers Guild, with whom she served as CEO for four years previously, and is a full time teacher.

For Publishers: The Business of Book Cover Design
JuLee Brand

If you are a self-published author or a publisher, JuLee Brand will teach you real-world design and marketing tips to take your covers to the next level. For over thirty years, JuLee Brand’s experience includes being an award-winning graphic designer and over ten years of publishing experience working as an Art Director at Hachette Books Nashville and founding the award-winning W. Brand Publishing, a hybrid boutique publisher specializing in memoirs and fiction where she is publisher and art director/designer.

Day 3 – Marketing & Book Launch

Using Profit First to Keep More Money in Your Business
Brooke Adams Law

This session will cover how to implement the Profit First method in your publishing or coaching business with the aim of keeping more money in your business. Brooke Adams Law is an award-winning author and founder of the Writing Brave movement. Brooke helps creative, intuitive people claim their author identity so that they can start, finish and publish brave books. Through Writing Brave, she offers book coaching and publishing services for folks ready to get their dream books out of their heads and onto paper and give birth to their most empowered creative selves.

Selling Your Books Directly to Your Customer from Your Website
Diane Windsor

Publishers will learn all about selling books directly to customers from Diane Windsor, who founded Motina Books Publishing in 2016, with the goal of helping women and mothers bring their work into the world. Diane Windsor founded Motina Books Publishing in 2016, with the goal of helping women and mothers bring their work into the world. She is passionate about helping her authors find creative ways of marketing and selling their books. 

The 3 Secrets to Unlocking Your PR Superpowers
Lilian Sue

Lilian Sue will provide the top three tips to help publishers learn how to harness the power of PR to position their publishing houses, authors, and services the right way to build trust and credibility. You’ll walk away from this session with all the tools and resources you need to do this while saving time and energy. As a PR coach and publicist, Lilian empowers authors to unlock the superpower inside their stories in order to gain the confidence to push past limiting beliefs and build strong relationships with their ideal readers, developing trust and credibility by harnessing the power of PR.

Day 4 – Business Growth

Creating Business from the Gaps in Publishing
Panel with Linda Ruggeri, Pam Sheppard, Tara Whitaker, Neva Talladen, and Brittany Dowdle

The publishing industry employs a vast number of professional freelancers. There are many non-traditional business opportunities for editors that are not specifically about editing. How can you identify those? Which ones make sense for you? What if it doesn’t work out? In this panel you’ll meet five different editors who have built their editing business on more than copyediting and proofreading. Come join us with an open and curious mind to discover what opportunities might be out there for you.

Launching Your Freelance Editing Business
Miranda Darrow

Freelance editor and corporate attorney Miranda Darrow will provide a toolkit of soup to nuts for starting a freelance editing business, from setting up a business (including legal entities, taxes, and contracts), getting the education and resources you need, selecting editing services to offer, identifying your ideal clients, networking with other freelance editors, and knowing how and when to expand your business. Miranda Darrow is an award-winning author who writes the Concise Fiction Academy series of short writing craft books for fiction authors. She combines her experience as a freelance editor and her skills from her day job as a corporate attorney to give an executive summary of complex writing topics. 

Royalties for Publishing Houses
Boni Wagner-Stafford

This workshop equips publishers with essential tools for effective royalty management, focusing on the interplay between legal agreements, financial transparency, and efficient reporting. Attendees will learn to streamline royalty processes by aligning agreements with standardized terms, understanding the royalty ecosystem, and managing distributor and retailer reports. Boni Wagner-Stafford is co-founder of Ingenium Books, a hybrid publisher of outstanding nonfiction. As a publisher, Boni also offers author coaching to nonfiction authors. As an award-winning former Canadian journalist, Boni covered politics, government, social and economic policy, health care, organized crime, and more. 

Ready to Uplevel Your Publishing House?
Michelle Vandepas

In this session, Michelle Vandepas will cover the essentials when it comes to marketing, distribution, and coaching for publishers, including how to distinguish between the publisher’s responsibilities and the author’s. Michelle Vandepas is a seasoned book publisher and coach with over 25 years of experience in the industry. As the co-founder and CEO of GracePoint Publishing, she has helped countless entrepreneurs, coaches, and purpose-driven individuals transform their ideas into impactful books and courses. Often referred to as the “book whisperer,” Michelle combines her deep industry knowledge with a fun, engaging mentoring style that inspires her clients to unlock their creative potential.

How to Create a Reliable Income Stream by Offering Author-Assist Services
Patricia Marshall

Patricia Marshall will provide a step-by-step plan for editors, designers, and authors who want to set up a small publishing business of any scale. Patricia Marshall is the owner of Luminare Press, a company started in 2010 to help authors with the process of independent publishing. She has a thorough knowledge of the bookmaking process and a passion for non-fiction book editing, as well as a strong desire to help authors produce a polished, professional book. 

We are so excited to offer these wonderful training sessions to professionals in the publishing industry, as well as provide the opportunity for networking with authors who are looking for your services!