Digital Publishing Workshop for Authors – September 17th, 2011

A packed day of digital publishing goodness for authors!

This is the first of many conferences presented by ePublish Unum, and we’re excited about the content. We’ve planned a jam-packed day aimed squarely at authors who want to learn the technology, techniques and tactics required to become self-publishers in the evolving digital world.

Register now, or read on for more details!

What is it?

It’s our inaugural digital publishing conference here at ePublish Unum, and you’re invited! We’ve got a jam-packed, day-long schedule of events, designed specifically for the author ready to take the plunge into digital publishing.

Is it right for me?

Probably. The ideal attendee has written at least one book (or is in the final draft stages). Genre doesn’t matter. The content of the conference is for authors of fiction, non-fiction, self-help… you name it. And since we’ll be covering the full gamut of digital publishing, your level of digital savviness isn’t important. What *is* important is your desire and ability learn new tricks and fully embrace what it means to be an author in the age of digital publishing.

What kind of author shouldn’t come?

If you want to write-it-and-forget it, this probably isn’t for you. If you don’t really want to log many hours behind the computer doing things other than writing more books, you won’t have a good time. And those of you looking to cherry-pick information should probably wait for a more highly focused future event of ours, because this one covers a lot of ground.

OK, so what can I expect?

Eight hours of digital publishing goodness! We start off at 8:30 am on a Saturday. Yes. On a Saturday. Many budding authors in the digital world are working the “side hustle”. Sleeping in on Saturday isn’t an option anymore. But don’t fret: we’ll provide breakfast!

The first half of the day sets the stage: First we’ll establish a common lexicon so we’re all talking the same lingo. A phrase a simple as “published author” means something different today than it did a couple of years ago. This quick level set makes sure we’re all on the same page.

From there, we jump right in to a broad discussion of the entire digital publishing lifecycle. We’ll help you set up a strategic plan, and we’ll give real-world examples of how this is working for authors we know. You need to know when you need help, how to find it and how to approach pricing from a logical, not emotional, perspective. You know… planning!

After that, we delve into the changes made to the printed word and how “reading” habits have changed. You’ll learn not only about growing trends, but also how you can utilize these trends and formats to reach a wider audience. You’ll also learn what attributes various formats should have in common, plus how to exploit the differences to make your book come alive on different devices.

Of course, no comprehensive digital publishing conference would be complete without a discussion of copyright. Your rights as an author, your audience’s rights as consumers and the reality of rights in a digital world can sometimes collide. We’ll teach you how to protect yourself without turning your would-be audience into criminals for helping spread word of you to others. After all, you have much more to fear from obscurity than piracy.

After a tasty lunch (yeah, that was just the morning!), we’ll shift gears a bit and focus on distribution. You’ll learn how to make sure your content gets found by interested readers. Sometimes that means different formats. It probably means multiple marketplaces. And maybe it means thinking about different “containers” for your content.

But we also want to spend some time talking about the importance of branding. Branding for you, branding for your book. We’ll cover how to keep things consistent, and we’ll talk about the responsibilities any “brand” has to it’s fans. Hint: you need to do more than write a single book!

We’ll wrap up the day with a deep dive into the realm of social media for authors. With new properties sprouting up every day, and what seems a near-constant update path for existing sites; authors struggle to keep up. In this overview, we’ll cover the important properties, discuss how you can interact with and engage your audience, and how to keep them coming back to do the most important thing: buy more of your books!

Whew! That’s a packed schedule! But it’s all the things you need to know. For now. We have a slew of topics to cover in future events, blog posts and online curriculum. But this is a good starting point.

Where do I sign up?

We thought you’d never ask! Register for the event and get the entire workshop for just $129.

Flights & Lodging

Phoenix is a major hub for both Southwest and US Air. Phoenix Sky Harbor airport is a quick 6 mile drive directly south of the venue. There aren’t any hotels within easy walking distance, though many fine establishments exist in the Biltmore area, just a mile or so away.

Parking

The Arcadia Room is a fantastic place for an event like this, but the parking is sub-optimal for the un-prepared. So to show what good guys we are, we’ve arranged free valet parking. Plan accordingly, as it will be difficult to access your vehicle until the conference is over. But trust us; you won’t be bored!

Ready to join us?

We look forward to seeing you at the conference. Again, it’s the first of many!