If your answer is “At the Ninc World Conference, of course!” or “I’m still thinking about it,” here’s a partial lineup of some people who will be there, along with (as of February 14) well over 200 of your fellow NINC members:
Porter Anderson , BA, MA, MFA: You may remember Porter from our 2014 conference, and his brilliant handling of our First Word Day. We are delighted to be a Porter Anderson Media Partner.
Richard Nash : Richard Nash’s presence at Novelists Inc.’s conference is important because he’s not only a major observer and commentator, but also compassionate, funny, and the kind of guy you realize immediately is smart because he’s been there. To learn more about Richard’s work, check out Publishing’s Future: When Editors Eat Robots , and download his loudly praised extended essay in e-book form (it’s free!): What Is The Business Of Literature?
Orna Ross , Founder, Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi): One of the things ALLi has that we’ll be accessing during First Word is its Going Global initiative, developing its network for worldwide local presence across markets. The emphasis today is on the needs and issues of all authors, not just self-publishers. “Independence” means knowing what you’re doing whether on or off-contract, and ALLi is evolving into a service organization for the full author corps. Orna will also be giving a workshop on creativity during the main conference (and will read us some Yeats in her lovely Irish lilt, if asked).
Scott M. Beatty and James Bryant, Trajectory : Trajectory is a Boston-based start-up being watched very closely for what appears to be a new form of discoverability and book recommendations based not on sales but on deep and highly sophisticated digital analysis of the texts of books, themselves—the actual content. During First Word they’ll focus on what they’re learning in working closely with Amazon China and the massive Chinese retailer JD.com . Trajectory is in touch with distributors and others in a huge range of nations and the team has deep connections inside many markets. During the main conference, they’ll demonstrate how Trajectory works and how we access its potential for discoverability.
Jane Friedman: The former publisher of Writer’s Digest is easily one of the most highly regarded, closely followed, and influential specialists on the author’s experience during publishing’s digital transition. She’s something of a legend in social media, being one of the first thought leaders in the publishing community to be verified by Twitter, and as @JaneFriedman she has a jaw-dropping 203,000 followers. Jane Friedman.com is rated by authors as one of the most consistently top-rated people in publishing who not only have a regular blog presence (https://janefriedman.com/blog/ ) but also an archive of instructional and informative material for authors that’s deeper and more comprehensive than you’ll find anywhere else. Jane tells us she has variously been called “a pusher, a dream crusher, a hopeless idealist (or just plain naive, depending), a bad influence, an adventurer, a fierce independent, and the one who knows how to turn this thing around.”
Lori Bennett, Digital Liaision: Speaking on Metadata. Lori joined Nelson Literary Agency to head its digital wing, NLA Digital, a “supported self-publishing” service. Using NLA Digital, authors have published over 200 titles across multiple online retail venues such as All Romance, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Ingram, and Kobo. NLA Digital also publishes to major library markets, including 3M Cloud Library, BiblioBoard, and OverDrive. In addition, NLA Digital assists authors to develop and launch print on demand works for both CreateSpace and Ingram/Lightning Source. But as the guy says on the TV ads before doubling the offer if you buy now—“We’re not done yet!”
Don’t forget that our own fellow NINC member Courtney Milan is joining us to talk about The Analytical Writer’s Guide to Numbers: How to get numbers and use them. There are very few people who (a) understand analytics better than Courtney, and (b) have the teaching experience to actually be able to break this sort of thing down and communicate difficult concepts in an understandable way (good luck on that, Courtney, if I’m in the audience!).
We also have Seattle’s King County librarians Alene Moroni and Brenna Shanks on board to talk about Backlist, Front-list and Everything In Between: How libraries buy, lend and promote e-books. Most major libraries face the challenge of building versatile collections for patrons and figuring out how to distribute, circulate, and maintain that collection in a fair and relevant way. Discover how libraries are grappling with issues like format diversity, pricing models, circulation platforms, and the ongoing promotion, shape and scope of their collections.
Judith Curr, Atria Books, President and Publisher: As publisher and founder of Atria Books, Judith has ultimate responsibility for all the editorial, publishing, and marketing activities of the Atria imprint. In just ten years, she has overseen Atria’s growth into a consistently successful and forward-thinking division within legendary publishing powerhouse Simon & Schuster, Inc. We’re hoping she’ll reprise her workshop session at Digital Book World 2015 for us: The Author’s Choice: How Authors Decide Between Traditional and Self-Publishing, outlining the decision authors face between working with a publisher and self-publishing.
Elizabeth Spann Craig: Elizabeth is a rare catch for a conference. She’s a highly instructive case study of her own transition from traditionally published author to hybrid author, publishing both with print houses and original electronic work. Her blog is one of the most instructive in the business (https://elizabethspanncraig.com/blog/ ), while the resources she provides for other writers are terrific, including the Writer’s Knowledge Base (https://writerskb.com ) and weekly Twitterific (https://elizabethspanncraig.com/category/twitterific /). Elizabeth has agreed to a workshop outlining her experiences with Wattpad and will also present a workshop on the new cozy mystery, how to reach younger readers, and much more.
Katie Donelan of BookBub will be back, much to our delight, and Amazon is on board with CreateSpace, KDP/Amazon and ACX, along with KOBO and so many others. Lots of wonderful details and surprises I can’t write about now, including three more speakers who have agreed to join us—so you’ll probably learn those first via Ninclink and the website.
I can tell everyone that the First Word setup is going to be amazing—I giggle whenever I think about how terrific it’s going to be (and look). We’ll have an Author Support gallery with some great displays and demonstrations going on, with more to come.
Need I go on? Oh, I’d love to—but that’s all I can say for now. Except—have you registered yet? Remember, although we’ve increased our space at the TradeWinds, we still have a limit. Don’t be left out—register today at www.ninc.com
Kasey Michaels, Conference chair
**Please note that since this article was published in the March edition of NINK, more speakers and panelists have been added to the conference. A more complete list of speakers is available at Ninc World Speakers and Industry Guests.
Posted by Patricia Rosemoor
Filed as: Conferences, Digital Rights, Industry Guests, Industry News, Marketing/Promotion, New Technology, NINC News, Social Networking, The Writing Life, Virtual Assistant
