Takeaways from the 2024 Author Nation Conference
Walking from the parking garage into the Horseshoe Hotel in Las Vegas, the first thing I saw was a loud cluster of twenty-somethings, all of them slurping from giant fluorescent-colored daiquiris, the kind you see people walking around with on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. To get to the check-in counter, I had to walk through a casino floor the size of a football field, full of blinking, blooping slot machines. My first thoughts: I hate it here; I am never doing this again; why did I think this was a good idea?
But by the end of the week, while I didn’t like Vegas any better, I was ready to commit to doing it all over again in 2025. Once Author Nation started, I spent most of my time in the dedicated conference space, talking and listening to hundreds of authors and industry professionals. The overall mood was optimistic, energized, open, and friendly. This was a crowd of makers—indie authors and entrepreneurs—who were there to learn and to build connections.
Many writers conferences are focused on traditional publishing, which leads to a lot of depressing conversations about how hard it is to get an agent and then a book deal, how advances are shrinking and marketing budgets are drying up. At these events, self-publishing is still looked upon as, at best, the back-up option if a trad pub deal doesn’t work out. Marketing and money are discussed as necessary evils, if they are discussed at all.
Believe me, I understand the allure of traditional publishing—the dream of being told your work has value by an agent and then a publisher and then a marketing team and then booksellers. This is still the right path for many books and many authors, especially those writing literary fiction and memoir. Ideally, even authors primarily focused on self-publishing can add traditionally published books to their catalog to extend their reach and visibility.
But Author Nation highlighted to me some of the psychological and creative advantages of self-publishing. The attendees were energized by all of the opportunities in front of them, by all the potential paths, by all the examples of authors investing in their own work. There was an underlying belief that there is always a way forward around a roadblock and a willingness to share experiences and help others along a new path.
Now, let’s dive into my favorite discoveries and insights from the week.
Vendor Day
The first day was vendor day, with perhaps a hundred booths set up showcasing all kinds of services for authors. I was staffing the Editorial Freelancers Association booth for much of the day but had a chance to wander around and meet other folks.
Maverick Book Reviews is a new service designed for small publishers and indie authors to get honest, high-quality reviews they can use for promotion. Founder Jessica Powers (who also runs the traditional publishing company Catalyst Press and the new hybrid imprint Flare Books) started the venture after being frustrated by paying for low-quality reviews and feeling like she had to ‘pay to play’ with advertising dollars to get a review in certain outlets. She says, “I’ve been busy hiring professional writers, reviewers, librarians, and educators who specialize in certain genres so I can match them with the genres they love. The reviews will be honest, but professional. Humor is allowed, but never snark. Analysis, deep thoughts, critical reviews, all in a reviewer’s own voice—that’s what we’re aiming for.” (Blue Garret newsletter subscribers received a special soft launch discount code; email me if you missed it.)
Vinci Books is a hybrid publisher focused on production and marketing that could be a perfect fit for an experienced, well-reviewed author looking to build their audience. Their print editions are beautifully produced, thanks in part to an exclusive deal with a traditional UK publisher. I talked to one of their authors, who was amazed at the speed with which his back catalog had been republished with better covers and book descriptions in all formats, as well as appearing in audio for the first time. Board Director James Blatch (likely familiar to many of you from the Self-Publishing Show) told me that the company is a good fit for authors who have five or more books in a series with 50+ good reviews on Amazon. After optimizing the books and starting advertising campaigns, Vinci Books can exponentially increase a successful author’s reach. The business model involves a 50% profit split with authors.
Another option for authors who want marketing support and training are the services provided at Book Rockstar. Founder Aryn Van Dyke is enthusiastic and experienced and offers services ranging from courses to group programs to customized, one-on-one help.
Many self-publishing authors, both first time and experienced, are bewildered by the intricacies of metadata and frustrated by the time-consuming process of keeping everything straight for every title across every platform. The husband-and-wife team behind Author Track are aiming to make that process easier, using their combined publishing experience and software development skills. You can sign up now for beta testing, with a full launch expected in 2025.
Conference Sessions
Author Nation offered three full days of programming, with up to eight (!) different sessions to choose from during every time slot. I was staffing the EFA booth through most of the event, so I didn’t get to a lot of the sessions live, but there are many I plan to catch up on when the videos are released. (Author Nation offers a digital-only ticket as well as in-person tickets for folks who want access to the sessions without the expense and horrors of Vegas.)
The opening keynote was a lively talk by Andrew Davis titled “The Curiosity Factor,” urging writers to use “curiosity gaps” to keep readers invested in a book. As he noted, “When someone says a piece of content is too long, what they are really saying is, ‘I have no more questions.’” I, of course, agree with this wholeheartedly and write about the same concept a lot, both on my blog and in editorial letters to authors, though I use the terms “story questions” and “tension.” Davis identified three crucial elements of the curiosity gap:
Tension: The emotional anxiety between what we know and what we want to know
Stakes: as tension rises over time, your reader should go from wanting to know to needing to know
Payoff: the outcome or conclusion must be proportional to the time invested
One of the best aspects of the Author Nation conference, in my opinion, is just how experienced many of the panelists and attendees are (while still being very welcoming to beginners). The cozy mystery panel was a great example of this, featuring authors with dozens of titles in multiple series under their belts. A few helpful takeaways:
Molly Fitz, author of the Pet Whisperer P.I. series, noted that mysteries don’t have to feature a murder—she’s successfully written plots centered on crimes like embezzlement.
Molly also noted that “authenticity is everything—for me, it’s authentic to be strange, so that’s what I do.” (Love this! Lean into your weirdness, I say.)
Nancy Warren, author of the Vampire Knitting Club series, said that audiobooks have been a big area of growth for her because her readers can knit and listen at the same time. Similarly, she’s had great success with in-person events hosted at yarn shops.
Ellie Alexander, author of the Bakeshop Mystery Series, said that she uses series-wide subplots to help her decide when it’s time to end one series and move on to the next. Once a long-running subplot wraps up, readers will be ready to let a familiar setting and cast of characters go.
Nancy pointed out one advantage of discovery writing over outlining: “I don’t know who the murderer is until the end because I figure if I don’t know then the reader won’t know.”
Joanna Penn, author and host of the long-running Creative Penn podcast, gave a talk titled “Reinventing the Author Entrepreneur in the Age of AI” in which she encouraged writers to ask themselves, “What is special? What is not easy?” Find ways to set yourself apart from other authors, and especially from AI-generated content, by leaving your unique “handprints” on your work. This can be in the writing, of course, by drawing on your own experiences, but can also apply to production and marketing through offering beautiful books, exclusive merchandise, or community connection. She encouraged authors to think of AI as “amplified intelligence.” What will save you time and money, increasing your ability to show off your unique qualities?
Overall, Author Nation was one of the best-organized conferences I’ve ever attended. The organizers thought hard about how to create opportunities and spaces for attendees to connect. But the attendees themselves were what made the conference valuable for me—and they are why I plan to be back in Vegas again in 2025.