#SelfPubCon23: The Agenda

The October 2023 'Success Mindset for Indie Authors' Self-Publishing Advice Conference (#SelfPubCon23) is almost upon us!

#SelfPubCon23 features the cream of the crop of self-publishing experts and advisors as speakers and sponsors. This year we have 24 sessions over 24 hours packed full of tips and advice to help you breakthrough any barriers holding you from indie author success.

As well as top-flight panels from Ingram Spark and Amazon KDP we're also bringing you an 'Art of the Title' competition, sponsored by ALLi and Gatekeeper Press, with big prizes up for grabs (entires now closed), and of course first-class education sessions from 50+ speakers including; Becca Syme, Joanna Penn, Mark Dawson, Carissa Andrews, Russell Nohelty, Michael La Ronn, Jane Friedman and many more (see below).

On the day of the conference, just come on down from 10am, Saturday 21st October, 2023 (no log-in needed).

What to Expect

Note: All times are in BST (London, U.K.) time zone. Find the times local to you here.

In a change of programming this year, we’re opening the conference the day before, to allow you to explore the agenda, get used to the new SelfPubConnect space, and prepare yourself for 24-hours of learning.

Don’t worry if you can’t join us live, replays will be provided.

Join Carissa Andrews and Kayleigh Brindley at 10am on Friday 20th October, 2023 as they take a look at the highlights to come, what to expect from the conference, how to enter the great competitions and giveaways, and how to access all of the sessions.

Sessions kickoff on Saturday 21st October at 10am (UK) when the conference officially begins with our keynote speaker this year, Becca Syme

Speaker and Agenda Line Up #SelfPubCon23

Download your copy of the agenda here.

10:00 am Becca Syme — Keynote: Your Mindset Changes Everything

Join Becca Syme for a keynote presentation that will give you a comprehensive understanding of how mindset plays a foundational role in every aspect of an indie author's business, from the writing process to marketing, networking, and managing both successes and setbacks.

11am Amazon KDP — How To Cultivate a Success Mindset with Amazon KDP

In this session presented by Amazon KDP, a panel of accomplished indie authors detail the challenges they faced on their way to success, and how they overcame them.

12pm Michael La Ronn — Levelling Up Your Author Mindset

Dive into a candid discussion with author Michael La Ronn as he unveils essential mindset strategies for fostering a lifelong writing habit and a rewarding self-publishing business.

1pm Russell Nohelty & Nick Kotar — Mastering the Crowdfunding Success Mindset

In this empowering session, ALLi member Nick Kotar, who recently ran his first successful crowdfunder interviews USA Today bestselling author and ALLi’s crowdfunding advisor Russell Nohelty, about the world of crowdfunding and its growing role in the success of indie authors.

2pm Carissa Andrews — Pen to Prosperity: Money Mindset, Manifestation, and Management

Nurture a positive money mindset, master the art of manifestation, and take away lots of money management tips for authors. We’ll explore how shifts in your money beliefs can expand your commercial success as an author and you'll learn practical money manifestation and management techniques.

3pm Ingram Spark— Mindset Matters: Unlocking Indie Author Success with Ingram Spark

In this marketing mindset workshop, Book Award Pro founder Hannah Jacobson demonstrates the reasons self-published authors fail to enter for awards, and brings you through exercises that will help you to develop an award-winning mindset and strategy. A live workshop with a Q&A.

5pm ALLi — ALLi Town Hall: Meet the Alliance of Independent Authors Team

Join us for an engaging live session where you'll have the opportunity to meet members of the Alliance of Independent Authors team! Bring your burning self-publishing questions, and connect directly with our knowledgeable experts for personalised insights into your particular problems. Don't miss this chance to interact with the ALLi team and discuss mindset blocks and hacks!

6pm PublishDrive — Develop A Scaling Mindset: How Efficiency Generates Success

For an indie author, "scaling" is the process of expanding and amplifying your reach, influence, and booksales while improving the quality and integrity of your work. Becoming more efficient is integral to that process. In this session Danica Favorite of PublishDrive show how developing a “scaling mindset" means embracing efficiency in your self-publishing.

7pm Hannah Jacobson — Art of the Title Results & Prize-Giving

Join Book Award Pro founder, Hannah Jacobson, as she announces the winners of the #SelfPubCon23 'Art of the Title Competition' and presents the prizes.

8pm Joe Solari — Direct Sales Mindset: The Advantages of Personal Sales

Throughout this enlightening presentation, Joe Solari unravels the myriad advantages of a direct sales mindset for authors, in which you gain unprecedented control over your book's pricing and promotions, and enjoy an uptick in profits and personal connection.

9pm Crystal Swain-Bates — How an Inclusive Mindset Can Grow Your Readership

An inclusive mindset can significantly boost readership for indie authors in a variety of ways. In this session we focus on strategies for incorporating inclusivity into your writing and promotional efforts, with a view to reaching more readers.

10pm Dan Holloway, Cat Mitchell and Michael Johnson - Accessibility and Diversity Panel: Better Processes for Writers, Better Books for Readers

11pm Wattpad — Building a Growth Mindset: How Online Platforms Help Authors Build Global Audiences

What would happen to your production and promotion if you moved from writing prose for yourself to writing posts for others? This session, chaired by Jane Friedman, author of the influential Hot Sheet newsletter, and bringing together Wattpad authors Tamara Lush and Loridee de Villa, alongside Wattpad’s Head of Content and Creator Development, Nick Uskoski, explores how platforms like Wattpad help writers to build community and reach new readers, followers and fans.

12am Anna Featherstone, Morgana Best, Steffanie Holmes, Trudi Jaye —Developing A Global Mindset

Discover how to reach a world of readers thanks to this inspirational international panel. No matter where you write from, you can tackle mindset, marketing, creative and logistics blocks to spirit your fiction and non-fiction books across borders and into the hands and hearts of readers around the planet. Consider your author passport stamped.

1am Orna Ross and Joanna Penn — Mindset Mistakes: What Do Indie Authors Do Wrong?

Join Orna Ross and Joanna Penn for this wide ranging discussion on mindset mistakes among self-publishers. From misconceptions about marketing to undervaluing your work, Orna delves deep into the unconscious assumptions that may be holding you back and offers actionable strategies to overcome them.

2am Orna Ross, Dan Gerstein, Alessandra Torre, J.D. Pratt — Tools and Team for a Productivity Mindset: Ghostwriters or AI?

Many indie authors face the challenge of balancing their desire for creative control with the need for professional support in the form of a ghostwriter. In this session, chaired by Orna Ross, Dan Gerstein, Alessandra Torre and J.D. Pratt will explore the success mindset necessary for hiring and working with a ghostwriter in the age of AI, including strategies for overcoming resistance, setting clear expectations, and maximizing the investment in your writing career.

3am Global Panel presented by Melissa Addey — The Marketing Forever Mindset

One of the most interesting pieces of data to come from the Big Indie Author Data Drop was that even when indie authors are very successful, they don't stop doing their own marketing. They use tools and assistance/assistants, but marketing remains their responsibility, always. Many of the emerging indie authors, or those not selling, said that marketing was the task they liked least. There’s an important mindset shift required to bridge the gap from reluctant or resentful marketing to marketing that is positive and proactive.

4am Carissa Andrews, James Gillies and Mark Chatterley — Are You Afraid of Audiobooks?

Think they're too costly or that readers don’t care? Would love to have an audiobook but don’t know where to start? Got audiobooks in place but don't know how to market? In this session chaired by Carissa Andrews, an audiobook producer and narrator outline the advantages of audiobook publishing for authors, offer a primer on how to get started, and discuss the AI elephant in the recording room.

5am Dave Cohen & Brad Gosse — Develop a Comedic Mindset: Finding Your Funny Bone

What's holding you back from writing comic fiction? Or adding humour to your books? Join Brad Gosse and Dave Cohen, two self-publishing funny guys in an uncensored session of amusing wisdom about the mindset needed to successfully write and publish comedy as an indie author.

6am Melissa Addey — Giving and Receiving: How a Campaigning Mindset Benefits Authors

In this session, ALLi's Campaigns Manager Melissa Addey explains how book campaigns, especially unique or innovative ones, create buzz and make authors stand out, leading to increased sales, media coverage, and new opportunities like speaking engagements. And she fills us in on the campaigns that ALLi has been engaged in, on your behalf, this year.

7am 1106 Design — Mastering Self-Publishing Success: Think Like a Publisher from the Start

Join Michele DeFilipo of 1106 Design in this engaging session to help you think like a publisher from the start. Michele will share practical insights on optimising your book's cover, content, and managing your reader's experience.

8am Anne Bartolucci — From Procrastination to Production

All independent authors, like all creatives, are familiar with procrastination and how difficult it can be to overcome, sometimes. In this talk, psychologist, writing coach, and U.S.A. Today bestselling author Anne Bartolucci, Ph.D., will reveal the main motivating force behind procrastination and shares a tool that moves you onto the path to productivity.

9am Ricardo Fayet — Cultivating A Collaboration Mindset

As self-publishing grows in impact, the power of author community becomes more crucial than ever. This session will delve into the benefits of collaborative efforts: beta exchanges, co-writing, box-sets, shared promotions, joint anthology projects and more.

10am SelfPubCon - Conference Close

Join us as we close out the Success Mindset for Indie Authors conference with a look back at the highlights and a reminder of how to enter the giveaways.

The October 2023 SelfPubCon begins on Saturday October 21st at 10am, London Time. You attend SelfPubCon free of charge for 3 days. If you haven’t already, register for updates here.