Self-Publishing Finishing School

Dan Blank Founder WeGrowMedia.com @DanBlank Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia.com, where he provides writers and publishers with a strategy to impact communities through branding, content, and marketing. Dan spent a decade at Reed Business Information as director of content strategy & development. He now works with media companies, speaks at publishing conferences, and trains writers in developing their digital strategies.

Setting Up Your Author Platform April 17, 2013 | 2:45pm - 3:30pm Eastern

Jason Boog Editor Mediabistro Publishing @galleycat @AppNewser As editor of Mediabistro Publishing, Jason Boog curates publishing events and shapes the digital publishing curriculum at Mediabistro. He also edits the GalleyCat and AppNewser blogs. His work has appeared in The Believer, NPR Books, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Granta, Salon.com, and Peace Corps Writers.

Format Your Book for the Big 3 Digital Bookstores April 10, 2013 | 3:00pm - 4:00pm Eastern

Mark Coker Founder Smashwords @markcoker Mark Coker is founder of Smashwords, the world's largest distributor of self-published ebooks. In five years, Smashwords has helped over 55,000 authors and small publishers around the world publish and distribute over 200,000 eBooks.

A Crash Course in Ebook Self-Publishing April 10, 2013 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm Eastern

Perry Crowe Director Kirkus Editorial Perry Crowe is the director of Kirkus Editorial, the book editing division of Kirkus Media, publisher of Kirkus Reviews. Recognizing the potential of self-published works, as well as the need for editorial guidance within that sphere, Perry helped establish and now oversees Kirkus Editorial. Perry will be an advisor to students of Self-Publishing Finishing School.

Colleen Hoover Author Colleen Hoover released her debut novel, SLAMMED, in January 2012 and the follow-up novel, POINT OF RETREAT, in February, 2012. Both books have been optioned for film as of October, 2012.

Case Studies April 17, 2013 | 2:00pm - 2:45pm Eastern

Guy Kawasaki Author Guy Kawasaki is the author of APE, What the Plus!, Enchantment, and nine other books. He is also the co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web. Previously, he was the chief evangelist of Apple. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Learn how to market and publicize your eBook to start selling copies April 24, 2013 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm Eastern

John Low Founder and Ebook Formatter Ebook Launch John Low is a retired military and commercial pilot who is the founder of Ebook Launch, the number one freelance formatting business listed on the Smashwords list of formatters and cover designers. Over the past two years, Ebook Launch has assisted thousands of authors with formatting and covers for their ebooks.

Format your eBook for publication May 8, 2013 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Matthew Mather Author CyberStorm Matthew Mather is author of the #1 best-selling Atopia Chronicles and CyberStorm novels, as well as a leading member of the world's cybersecurity community. He started out his career working at the McGill Center for Intelligent Machines, before going on to create a major award-winning brain-training video game called MindHabits. He's worked in a variety of start-ups, in everything from computational nanotechnology to electronic health records, weather prediction systems to genomics, and even social intelligence research.

Marketing Your Book: A Case Study April 17, 2013 | 2:00pm - 2:45pm

Scott Steinberg CEO TechSavvy Scott Steinberg heads the management consulting and corporate training firm TechSavvy Global, which helps clients create value and cultivate competitive advantage on the back of emerging innovations and trends. A top-rated provider of keynote speeches, workshops, and seminars for Fortune 500 firms, he helps identify emerging opportunities and develops powerful leadership, marketing, and content strategies. Scott has consulted on products and services for ESPN, MTV, and Intel. He is the author of nine books including the international bestsellers The Crowdfunding Bible and The Modern Parent’s Guide, as well as the critically-acclaimed Business Expert’s Guidebook. Scott has been a featured expert for Fast Company, VentureBeat, The Huffington Post, and more. For more, see www.AKeynoteSpeaker.com.

Online outreach, pitching, and budgeting May 3, 2013 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm Eastern

Brooke Warner Founder Warner Coaching Inc. Brooke Warner is founder of Warner Coaching Inc., publisher of She Writes Press, and author of What's Your Book? A Step-by-Step Guide to Get You from Inspiration to Published Author. In her thirteen years in the publishing industry, Brooke shepherded over 500 books through the publication process. Her expertise is in traditional and new publishing, and she is an equal advocate for publishing with a traditional house and self-publishing.

Get Your Manuscript Ready for Public View April 3, 2013 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm Eastern

Speakers