Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

What’s more exciting than going to a writers’ conference? Attending a conference that is specifically designed for self-published authors.

In mid-October, I attended the Self-Publishing Live conference in North Carolina. (Fortunately, the area around the conference hotel was not damaged by the recent hurricane. Some of the local businesses we patronized were donating money to help the hurricane victims.)

Rather than focus on writing craft or marketing tips, the conference dealt with the mental health aspects of being an Indie author. The presentations included topics such as 1) understanding your own personality as a writer; 2) techniques for recognizing when you are nearing burn-out and tips for coming back from it; 3) lessons from individuals who had to overcome health and neurological challenges in their author careers; and 4) daily practices to help you grow as a writer. The speakers included: Bryan Cohen, Jen Lassalle, Naomi Nakashima, Becca Syme, and Claire Taylor.

The conference far surpassed my expectations (and I had pretty high expectations to start with). The speakers provided great tools, encouragement, techniques, and practical tips to help authors. I also really enjoyed meeting and hanging around with my fellow Indie authors. How often can you get two entire days to talk about books and writing with people who truly understand the joys and frustrations of self-publishing? It was an amazing experience.

My biggest takeaway was a lesson that I had heard many times before, but the conference really brought it home: Every self-published author is on a different journey, with unique motivations, strengths, and challenges. It doesn’t matter where you are on that journey, as long as you continue moving forward.

-Susan 11/1/2024