One of the biggest mistakes that authors can make is looking at other authors in their genre as competition instead of as a powerful tool for collaboration and success. The truth is that readers are hungry to discover new books and authors, especially when they are fans of niche genres with few sources of marketing. By working closely with other authors in your sub or niche genres, it’s possible for everyone to benefit.

BIO:

T. B. Markinson is an American writer, living in England. When she isn’t writing, she’s traveling the world, watching sports on the telly, visiting pubs, or reading. Not necessarily in that order.

Over eighty percent of bestselling historical romance books published in the first half of 2018 were set in Britain, either during the 19th century or the medieval period. These two fabricated chronotopes are selectively accurate to history and narrowly focused on high ranks of the nobility—in other words, they are “escapism.” This presentation will consider what escapism means in this context, who it serves, and who it harms. While any reader can enjoy a good duke Regency every once in a while, the net impact of the most popular chronotopes may be to corrode our understanding of history, marginalize anyone writing from a wider palette of settings and characters, and exclude authors of color.

BIO:

Jennifer Hallock spends her days teaching history and her nights writing historical happily-ever-afters. She has lived and worked in the Philippines, but she currently writes at her little brick house on a New England homestead—kept company by her husband, a growing flock of chickens, and an uncooperative mutt.

We all want to do big things in our careers, but in order to be a big success, we have to juggle so many different things. It can be overwhelming, and sometimes, it can feel like we’re busy all the time but not actually moving forward. In this workshop, author Sarra Cannon shows you how to focus in on the most important items on your to-do list and start conquering those big writing goals you’ve had on your vision board for years.

BIO:

Sarra Cannon is the indie author of more than twenty-five Young Adult contemporary fantasy novels, including her bestselling Shadow Demons Saga. Her novels often stem from her own experiences growing up in the small town of Hawkinsville, Georgia, where she learned that being popular always comes at a price and relationships are rarely as simple as they seem.

With close to three-quarters of a million books sold, Sarra is also passionate about helping fellow authors learn to self-publish in a way that puts joy and creativity at the forefront. She is the host of the successful YouTube channel and blog Heart Breathings, where she talks about everything from productivity to plotting. Sarra lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

BIO

Corrina Lawson is a former newspaper reporter, a mom of four, and the author of nine published books, including a steampunk and a superhero series. She is currently the content director of GeekMom.com.

Author-At-Large: Face-to-Face Marketing for Fairs, Expos, and Conferences

Goal-Setting for the New Year

Bring your best tips and tricks for goal-setting, techniques for staying on top of your goals, apps you like for writing/keeping track of timelines/word counts/etc, and any newsletters or YouTube channels you subscribe to that help keep you motivated or inspire you. We’ll share and discuss, and will collect your ideas into a page on the chapter’s website of helpful resources.

Beyond the ‘Zon: Breaking Out and Building a Diverse Income Stream

Presented by: Alexis Anne

What if I told you Amazon wasn’t the only place to sell your books? And that sometimes you can sell better in other countries? Or that there are other ways to reach new readers other than flinging yourself into the Amazon and social media void? Three years ago I was fed up with being just another author in a sea of authors trying to be seen. That’s when I got a piece of advice that completely changed the way I looked at my books, helped me break out, and grow a diverse stream of income over several book retailers. Stop focusing on Amazon.

The most obvious marketplace is the Amazon.com store in the good old United States. It’s the biggest, filled with the most voracious readers, they sell more books. But it’s also the easiest place to get lost in sea of books. So…

Who else is reading? Where is the ebook and indie market just starting to catch on? It’s easier to “break out” and be seen when you’re one of the few authors instead of one of thousands. There’s also more places to sell your books than to Kindle readers.

In this workshop I’ll walk you through the different retailers, their strengths and weaknesses, emerging markets, and how to rethink targeting your book to readers.

Workshop in a Box: Markicity 101

Presented by: Jessie Edwards, RWA Marketing and PR Manager

Congratulations, your book will soon be in the world for readers to enjoy! Now is not the time to sit back and relax, though–how will readers know your book is available to be enjoyed if you haven’t told anyone about it? In this workshop, we will discuss a basic overview of where to start in terms of marketing and publicity, or “markicity.” We’ll take a look at your most important marketing and publicity tools, community-building strategies, pitching–your book and you, how to determine what to spend your time on, as well as some tips for working with a traditional publisher to enhance their efforts.

What is Markicity?
Most Important Marketing Tools
Website
Email newsletter
Building Community
How important is social media?
Networking
Reader groups/street teams
Pitching you vs pitching your book
Reviews
Trend pieces
Blogs
Hiring a publicist
Events
Working with a traditional publisher on publicity + marketing
Timeline
Expectations
Helping your publisher help you

The 4-D Wheel was originally created by world-renowned sex therapist Gina Ogden as a tool for helping her patients rewrite the stories of their problems by considering the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of their issues while physically walking a circle around a four-quadrant wheel. What started as an intuitive practice has now been supported by neuroscientific findings about neural networks and the way our brains are “wired for story.” When we change the stories we tell ourselves, we can foster change in our bodies and minds.

What does this mean for your characters? By approaching their conflicts from 4 dimensions, we can deepen their conflicts, and better understand the motivations that stem from them. By having your characters rewrite the stories around their past pains–their hole-heartedness, their voids–you can bring them to a more satisfying happily ever after.

BIO:

Sionna Fox is an author of sweet/hot HEAs, die-hard romance fan, and lover of things nerdy and twee. She has a small problem with washi tape and planner stickers, and tagging her in anything involving foxes, llamas, or women in suits is a surefire way to her heart.

Canva is an online graphic design tool that can help you create book teasers, promos, covers, slides, and more. Learn how to make this software work for you—for free!

Topics include:
• the best templates to use for everything from social media to series pitches;
• how to work around some of Canva’s awkward defaults;
• a free plug-in to color match any element;
• branding with colors, transparencies, logos, & images;
• using your own free graphics instead of their paid ones;
• overlays that make your text pop;
• and much more!
Bring your computers to this practical workshop, good for everyone from beginners to advanced content creators.

BIO:

Jennifer Hallock spends her days teaching history and her nights writing historical happily-ever-afters. She has lived and worked in the Philippines, but she currently writes at her little brick house on a New England homestead—kept company by her husband, a growing flock of chickens, and a border collie mutt puppy who likes to chew computer power cords.