About the Nonfiction Writers Conference
Greetings! I’m Stephanie Chandler, founder of the Nonfiction Writers Conference. This conference is exactly the kind of resource I wish I had available to me when I began my publishing journey.
I am a huge fan of writers’ conferences because they can be an excellent resource for expanding your writing career and networking with industry professionals. However, most writers’ conferences are aimed at fiction writers. Those of us who write nonfiction have different needs and goals.
The idea for this conference has been swimming around in my head for a long time and it made perfect sense to make it available online where anyone can attend from anywhere in the world! My goal is to bring you top industry experts who will inspire you with their knowledge, shorten your learning curve, and arm you with the tools you need to achieve your goals. The Nonfiction Writers Conference is the first and only online conference for nonfiction writers!
About My Publishing Journey
After discovering I had an ulcer just before my 30th birthday, I decided it was time to escape the stress of my career in the Silicon Valley. I had always known that I wanted to be a writer, but since I didn’t yet know how to make a living at it, I chose what I thought was the next best option. In 2003 I opened a 2800 square-foot bookstore in Sacramento, California. I envisioned writing novels from the office in the back of the store. Just about everyone I knew thought that I had lost my mind!
I quickly learned a few lessons. First, I hated just about everything involved in owning and operating a retail business. From managing staff and inventory to responding to after-hours alarm issues in my pajamas (several times!), owning a bookstore turned out to be far less romantic than I had imagined. The only part I enjoyed was experimenting with marketing strategies, online and offline, and finding ways to grow the business. I also discovered that I was a lousy novelist. While I could write a decent narrative, I just didn’t have enough imagination to invent stories.
As I was uncovering a new-found passion for small business marketing, especially on the internet, I realized I had an opportunity to write the books that I wanted to read. I had read dozens of business startup guides, but none had answered all of my questions. My first book was self-published in 2005: The Business Startup Checklist and Planning Guide.
After an exhaustive self-education into the publishing industry (reading books, studying websites, attending conferences, etc.), I found the key to unlock the publishing kingdom and landed my first traditional book deal. From Entrepreneur to Inforpreneur: Make Money with Books, eBooks and Information Products was published by John Wiley and Sons in 2006.
I have since gone on to secure an agent and sell two more books: The Author’s Guide to Building an Online Platform: Leveraging the Internet to Sell More Books (Quill Driver Books) and LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business (Career Press).
Oh, and I sold the bookstore back in 2007 and subsequently launched Authority Publishing, which specializes in custom book publishing and internet marketing. This business, much like the Nonfiction Writers Conference, is the culmination of everything I have learned along the way and representative of my passion for content, publishing and internet marketing. I am also the founder of BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of resources for entrepreneurs, which I launched in 2005 as a way to reach my target audience of readers.
In February 2012, my eighth book was released: Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business.
Lessons learned along the way:
- Doing something you’re passionate about is essential to a fulfilling life.
- There are pros and cons to both traditional and self-publishing. I chose to use a combination of both, though I have returned to self-publishing because I like having all the control.
- While no book is easy to sell, nonfiction books have many marketing advantages over fiction books. Many evergreen topics can stay in print for a long, long time and can provide authors with some amazing opportunities.
- Bookstores are a lousy place to sell books.
- The internet is essential to publishing success. It provides unlimited opportunities for promotion, exposure and book sales.
- There are dozens of ways to generate profit from and around a book (such as ebooks, special reports, consulting, speaking, bulk sales, etc.).
- When you write a book, you become an instant authority in your field, which is a great way to impress clients and attract media exposure.
- Self-publishing is easier than ever to do, but the vast majority of people are doing it wrong. Books should be professionally edited and produced and should be backed up with a solid marketing plan.
- No matter who publishes your book, the majority of the promotion responsibility falls on the author. The real work begins after your book is in print.
- Nonfiction writers have the opportunity to educate and inspire readers, and ultimately create positive change in the world.
- The publishing journey can be frustrating, and it can also be spectacular. If you focus on the marathon instead of the race, success is inevitable.
I love what I do every day and I’m very excited to bring you this one-of-a-kind Nonfiction Writers Conference. I hope that it unlocks a whole lot of magic for your life and I wish you abundant joy and success along the way!
-Stephanie Chandler
