Chris A. Baird | October 30, 2020
Where To Find A Self Publishing Book Expo?

You may be interested in attending book expos but you don't know where to find one. Find out where exactly you can find a self publishing book expo as well as some useful tips to help you on your self-publishing journey.

Today's question that was sent to me has three answers. You're going to want to stick around because the third answer is a secret that will tell you exactly when you should go to a book expo and when you should not go to a book expo.

So, let's get into it. The question that was sent in today was where to find a self publishing book expo? Now, this is an excellent question because maybe you have never been to one before.

You understand that there's a lot of things that you can get from going to a book expo. One of the main challenges that many self-published authors have is that you're spending an awful lot of time alone in your house.

Or in your workplace where you are writing your books. You are putting them together by yourself and you feel a bit lonely in this entire process. You feel a bit of the pain of not having any fellowship or co-workers.

You feel like you are going alone and the motivation level can begin to sink over time. That can cause you to quit writing books altogether. This is something that a lot of authors experience and finding a book expo is a way to handle that exact pain.

So where exactly can you find a self publishing book expo? That is what we are going to answer in today's article. But before we get into the answers, grab a copy of my absolutely free Self-Publishing Checklist. It will help you make sure you are not skipping any of the important steps necessary for you to win at a self-publishing game.

Let's get into it. Well, a little of my story, it was that I found that when I was moving along in the self-publishing journey in the early days when I had a couple of books out on the market, some of them even had become bestsellers.

Check out this related article: Can Self Published Books Become Bestsellers?

But the problem was that I was losing motivation and I still find that even today. I will feel my energy levels start to drop and that is a signal that tells me that I need to change something.

But there is one thing that I never want to change. It is the fact that if I'm pushing on a particular niche and were writing to that niche or producing content for that target audience, it is a bad idea to keep switching.

It's not good to switch from one target audience to another target audience. There is a name for this which is called Shiny Object Syndrome. That is where we are hopping from one area to another area.

The reason why this is a terrible idea is not that any of the areas that we're hopping on. Between these different business opportunities or in books, it might be okay. I'm going to write young adults well this is not popular and I'm going to do non-fiction.

Then, I am going to go to something else on diseases or whatever it might be that you want to write about. But then you're hopping and hopping and hopping. It doesn't give you a chance to find your target audience to ensure that you are connecting with them.

The reason you're doing it is that you have that feeling of loneliness or that feeling that "am I really succeeding at this? Is this really going well?" And the voice is in your head.

Stay Plugged In

The resistance is telling you that you can't succeed at what you're currently doing and you need to change. But this is a lie and so you're going to need to understand that. That's what I began to understand, that may be the right next step was jumping to something new.

So what happened was I started losing motivation and as you lose motivation, you quit writing and generating content. That causes your profits to start going down. Because unlike what some people would tell you, there is no such thing as passive income.

You have to keep on keeping on if you wish to continue to succeed. But that doesn't mean we have to work incredibly hard and we need to pay attention to when our motivation levels are dropping. There are some tricks here to holding them up nice and high.

The first thing that I found is dealing with this self publishing book expo issue because the fact is it's a key way of keeping that motivation high. But we'll get to that in just a bit.

One of the tricks is like you will feel the same thing with the book expo is finding Youtube channels and podcasts that you can listen to or books you can read so you're continually staying in touch with your community. Whether your community is dealing with essential oils, you're staying plugged in.

You're listening to the feedback that they are commenting on and you are also interacting with your community. This helps us stay motivated when we're starting to lose that motivation. For me, this was a very powerful effect.

The other thing which I enjoyed is that it's buying a course and joining a community of the people who also have purchased that course and we are dealing with a paid course in this example. Because we don't just want an open community with people who have never even done or invested time at all in whatever topic is.

We want a community of other like-minded people, other self-publishers for example who will bring us into the community. We can interact with them daily and say what challenges you're facing. Tricks and tips that you found or the best strategies that will work best for you to succeed at the self-publishing game.

By staying in touch with those people, we find that our motivation starts to go up. We may pivot a little bit but we do not switch from the niche that we're targeting, we stay on target. I can tell you how many times I have been failing for 10 years and I have tried this and tried that.

I tried cryptocurrency, I tried publishing books, and I tried switching niches on the books. I have gone through all of these different things and I just keep on failing. But the reality is you just need to stick with the same thing and keep doing it for a long enough period.

Then hold the focus on it and just get better at what you're doing. We find our motivation by staying in tightly knit communities. Now, let's get to the answers regarding specifically how this plays into the motivation and also on finding these particular trade fairs and such.

That will help us with our self-publishing where we can meet at these expos. Because expos definitely can have an impact on our ability to stay motivated and to get new ideas. To build up energy in the very things that we are already doing.

I Don't Go To Book Expos

So one of the best places that I have found on the internet is tradefairdates.com. They will tell you about self-publishing trade fairs that are going on in your area. You can then decide which ones you wish to attend based upon the distance you'll travel, the time that it will take, and also the cost.

You also will be able to look and see exactly who will be speakers there. After some time, maybe you may consider becoming a speaker at one of these trade fairs. So that's an option that is available to you.

The next thing and the advantages that we get is that you will be able to network with other authors at these things. You are going to learn the latest trends, tricks, and tips. You are going to be able to engage with the broader community that you have of other authors.

Sometimes, I have found when I have gone to different trade fairs that my energy level to work with the tools that the trade fair is focused on a particular topic like getting motivated to write more books. This can be very very helpful.

One of the ones is like doing Nanowrimo's in November, writing 50,000 words, and meeting with other like-minded people. To hold you accountable so that you also would go about participating in these writing fairs or writing groups. Anything that will help us stay motivated.

The third answer and the secret answer of the day is that book expos can cost you a lot of time and money. But it can be worth it if your motivation level is sinking. For me, I don't need to go to such things.

I would rather use the time I invest in creating more content. When I need to build up my motivation, then I will purchase another course. I do not purchase multiple courses and fail to take them.

Check out this related article: How Do You Do A Self Publishing Book Launch?

I purchase a course, I go through the course, I join the community that's usually associated with the course, and there I can go back and forth with other people in that community. To make sure that I am staying motivated and I'm also implementing the very strategies that are necessary.

Especially within self-publishing communities because I like to share those tips with you here. So that you don't have to go through the pain that I had where I had reached a point where I was considering quitting.

It never hit me that buying a course and joining a community would be a fantastic way to stay in the exact niche that I was in and to continue to publish. That is one of the reasons I produced these blogs and my videos to help the readers and listeners to skip some of the pain associated with doing it alone.

Finding things too complex and not making the profits that you should be making. So that's just a little bit of my experience that I'm trying to share with you. I'm not asking anything in exchange for that.

I'm just telling you that there's a lot of things that you may not be trying that you really should consider. So, have you been to a self publishing book expo? Write "Yes" below in the comments and write "No" if you have not been to a publishing expo.

Check out my other blogs and videos for more answers to your self-publishing questions.

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