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Expo Faculty
KEYNOTE:
Sandra Beckwith: is an author and national award-winning former publicist who now teaches authors how to save thousands of dollars by doing their own publicity, promotion, and marketing. You might have seen her on The Montel Williams Show, or CBS This Morning, or read about her in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or USA Today. Her website, BuildBookBuzz.com, has been named a top website for authors and writers three times. Learn more at buildbookbuzz.com.
  • Keynote: "How to Create a Killer Book Marketing Plan"
    Benjamin Franklin said it best: "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." Yogi Berra's version is, "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else." That's why you need a book marketing plan! In this session, book marketing expert Sandra Beckwith of BuildBookBuzz.com will:
    • Detail why you must have a book marketing plan
    • Provide the 7 essential book marketing plan questions you must answer
    • Walk you through the process step-by-step so you can create your own plan immediately
    • Provide examples of tools and tactics you can use for book marketing success
    • Give you a free downloadable book marketing plan template and instructions
    • And so much more!
    Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, you need to plan for your book's success. This session will show you how.

OTHER SPEAKERS:
Don Dennis: After retiring from the business world, D. L. Dennis has written and published four books in addition to a comprehensive publishing and marketing manual. He devotes much of his time to giving book reviews to book clubs, historical societies, writers' groups and in bookstores. In addition, he is involved in publishing and marketing workshops in Illinois, Arizona and Missouri. Through these workshops and personal counseling, Mr. Dennis has assisted many writers in publishing and marketing their manuscripts. Workshops have been presented in Illinois, Arizona and Missouri for the past five years. He is President of Pacesetter Management Corporation, the parent company of Pacesetter Publishing Company.
  • Workshop #1: "The Reality of Marketing"
    Once a book is published, the "reality of marketing" begins:
    • the necessity of "hands on marketing";
    • various ways to secure book signings and speaking engagements;
    • the do's and don'ts of book signings;
    • how to secure publicity and market your book at these events;
    • the importance of participation in festivals and local events, and how to market your book at these events;
    • once your book is in printed form, the value of making it available as an e-book.

    An introduction of JaNell Lyle will be made by D. L. Dennis.
JaNell Lyle: Truth Book Publishers is owned by James and JaNell Lyle. It began in 1991 with the typewriter, pen, paper and a cassette player transcribing teaching tapes for a pastor. After typing, editing and binding 27 titles for him, other pastors heard about the work and ask to do the same for them. Truth Book Publishers has since grown into a printing, binding and publishing company providing the following services: Graphic Design, Editing, Cover Design, E-Books, Distribution, Reviews, Interior Formatting, Amazon.com Listing, Promotional Materials, and Copyright Submission.
Marketing came into play when they tried to get their own books marketed and found that companies want a large sum of money to assist in the marketing. They pass on to authors what can be done for free and what they can expect to pay for.
They will publish almost any piece of original writing (Ex: poetry, education manuals, nonfiction books, fiction books, children's books, cookbooks, genealogy books, family history books, historical books).

  • Workshop #2: The "Nuts and Bolts" of How to Create a Professional Book
    Creating a professional book:
    • graphic design;
    • font selection;
    • editing;
    • binding;
    • cover design;
    • interior formatting;
    • ordering ISBN and copyright submission.

    JaNell's motto is "Your job as the author is to write. My job is to make it look good!"

Jim Azevedo: is the marketing director at Smashwords, the largest distributor of self-published ebooks, serving over 135,000 independent authors, publishers, and literary agents. Since 2008, Smashwords has helped authors around the world release more than 470,000 titles and distribute their work globally to top ebook retailers, subscription services and public libraries. Follow Smashwords on Twitter @Smashwords or Jim @jazzervedo. For ebook publishing best practices, subscribe to Smashwords' free Smart Author podcast via Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform.

  • Workshop #3: "The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success"
    In this fun and informative workshop, Jim Azevedo, Smashwords marketing director, will reveal the best practices of the most successful self-published ebook authors. You'll learn how to self-publish with greater pride and professionalism. Simple, yet proven strategies will be uncovered to help make your books more accessible, more discoverable and more desirable to readers.