Register Now! Like last year, this winter meeting will be a Webinar accessible to ALL our members, no matter how geographically far-flung, no matter the weather. (Well, okay -- probably not if there's another nasty storm that causes power outages.) You can participate from the comfort of your home or office, through the magic of our new MeetCheap software subscription.
Here's the lineup of activities
10:00 AM - Welcome, short member business meeting and requests for member input on future programming
10:30 AM - FEATURED PRESENTATION:
BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE BOOK MARKETING PLAN
presented by Lanita Preston, MBPA Vice President
Co-Publisher at Phenomenal One Press and Author of YA Fiction
Learn from a seasoned promoter, whose efforts have sold many books for her publishing company, how to create and execute an effective marketing plan for each title you publish. Find out how to get real results for print and eBook titles in this step-by-step "how to" you can apply immediately to your upcoming season's releases! Get tips & tricks that really work through such topics as:
- Getting Started: How to approach building a book marketing plan
- More Bang For A Smaller Buck: Attack your market areas cheaply
- Waste Not: Focus your marketing time and dollars on what works
- You Can Do It: Plan marketing activities in manageable steps
Lanita's presentation will be followed by an open Q&A session, so you can ask for details about how to apply what you've learned to your own titles.
BONUS! All attendees will receive a copy of an actual marketing plan spreadsheet for one of Lanita's books that you can use as a foundation to build your own plan.
11:30 AM - Short Break
11:40 AM - SECONDARY PRESENTATION:
DIGILITY: Digital Agility for the Independent Publisher
presented by Mary Shafer, MBPA president
Publisher at Word Forge Books, Freelance Marketing Consultant
Everyone agrees that one of the greatest advantages for independent publishers these days is our agility -- the ability to change with a rapidly evolving market and morph into whatever form we need to take. And it's true. But what does that really mean?
There are so many considerations indie publishers must make in planning for their long-term health in an industry that changes what seems like every five minutes. But one thing's for certain: All of these considerations are related, directly or indirectly, to digital content management, digital production flows and digital distribution and delivery methods. Indie publishers who don't stay on top of their options won't be able to realize the advantages of digital agility that give them an edge in today's fast-moving markets.
This presentation helps bring you up to speed by covering such topics as:
- Digital Revolution: Moving from all-print to accommodate eBook workflows
- Staying Lean: Options for managing content with digital efficiency
- Slicing and Dicing: New ways to think about content formats
- Going Mobile: Is It For You?
- Digital Distribution: Your website, aggregate sites (like Smashwords and Kobo), Amazon and more
Mary's presentation will be followed by an open Q&A session, so you can ask for details about how to apply what you've learned to your own business model and production activities.
BONUS! All attendees will receive a list of resources you can use to help build your own agile digital content management, production flow and distribution scheme.
1:00 - Short Break
1:10 - 2:00PM – MEMBER MASTERMIND
Our ever-popular sharing of the collective MBPA brain trust. This session, we'll take questions ahead of time on any topic you may be interested in, as usual. But we'll also ask you to share one resource you've found in the last year that has really helped you do your publishing job better. Perhaps it's a new vendor, a piece of software or a smartphone app, an online tool or even a new course you've taken. Come prepared to share with your fellow members so we can all benefit from your great discovery!
Register soon for this real-time event,
one of the most valuable benefits of your MBPA membership!
Because we're not planning food, we'll be able to accept registrations right up until the day before (because we still have to send you the log-in information!)
