What I Learned at My First Indie Author Conference in Toronto

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

— Helen Keller

My Very First Author Conference

Last weekend, I attended my first author conference at the Toronto Reference Library for the Toronto Indie Author Conference. I didn't go alone, my co-author and editor Lauren came too. Neither of had been to a conference like this before and we had no idea what to expect walking in, but it ended up being one of those experiences where you leave with your head full of ideas and your notebook completely full. 

Splitting Up to Cover More

When we looked at the schedule it was clear to make the most of this experience that we'd have to split up. There were so many sessions running at the same time in two rooms and they were all interactive so instead of trying to attend everything together, we each went to different talks and compared notes after. 

Splitting up did two things, opened up the opportunities to meet other authors and creators as well as ensuring that the weekend was twice as productive. We both agree that this helped because didn’t just hear one perspective on each topic. We came away with a much broader view of what’s actually happening across self-publishing right now.

Looking back, that was probably the best decision we made all weekend to attend as many of the sessions as we could over the two days. 

What We Brought to the Conference

We brought our tote bags that I talked about before (A Tote Bag for Passive Marketing), notebooks, pens and business cards. The tote bags worked perfectly as the cover of the books were clear to see. Plus the magazine and other handouts fit from the conference inside and it was easy to zip up and walk around with between the sessions and while walking outside to lunch.

Other authors brought sell sheets, their books, postcards to share. 

Speakers Who Actually Talk to You

I've been to lots of legal and corporate conferences and the one thing I didn’t expect was how accessible everyone was. The presenters weren’t just there for their sessions. They were walking around, attended other sessions that were being presented, chatting with people between talks, answering questions in the hallways, and sitting down at roundtables. It didn’t feel like a distant “stage and audience” setup. It felt like a working community and truly interactive. We joked it felt very Canadian.

That made it much easier to ask specific questions about our book, I focused just on the Little Goodbyes Series first book, Bye-Bye, Boobies for the purposes of this conference, which doesn’t really fit neatly into a single category. While it is an illustrated children's book, it isn't really something that most people ore parents are going to pick up on whim either due to the topic of weaning from breastfeeding compared to something like Marl and The Worm Bin or The Camel's Nose.

The Conversations That Happened Outside the Sessions

On the second day, we were invited out for lunch with a group of other indie authors, and that ended up being just as valuable as the sessions happening at the conference. It gave a much clearer picture of what people are actually working on right now. Some authors had published extensively, while others were still working toward their first book. Some people were working fulltime, some had taken time off to write a book and some were fulltime authors.

In fact, outside of the speakers who had clearly loads of experience, series of books, audio books, translated books, we met quite a few authors writing in long series, some with over 100 books already published! That alone shifts your perspective a bit on what “output” can look like over time. 100 unique titles of books to me feels a bit surreal but, that being said, I can see that being something that is doable if it was your fulltime job.

Expanding the Reach of Books

What stood out was how differently people approach growth of their books not just with ads that can help as long as they are running but through translations, audio books, large print books, making the same material more accessible.

As I spoke to people about our book, explaining that it had been translated into two languages, people shared they fully comfortable using AI to translate their books into multiple languages, moving through their backlist one title at a time to expand their reach. Their readers seem to accept that process, and for those authors, it’s become a practical way to scale internationally. 

It was interesting to hear that side of things in person, especially since translation choices can feel very different depending on the type of book you’re creating. Others have trusted translators that they are using to do the same thing.

A Smaller Space for Children’s Books

The first session they had set up tables with signs to sit and meet other authors in your genre, there were very few children’s authors sitting at ours. Our table was the smallest one on the first day, even including people who don't write children's books, which honestly wasn’t surprising. Most of the conversation naturally leaned toward novels and long series in the presentations and that matched the majority of the authors in the rooms.

That said, almost everything still applied to children's books. The structure of publishing, marketing, branding, and distribution doesn’t really change. It just looks different when you apply it to picture books instead of long-form fiction.

Realizing We’re Already Building Secondary Income Streams

One of the panels focused on building secondary income streams and extending your work beyond just selling a single book. Truthfully, I went into that session expecting to feel behind. Instead, I realized we’re already doing it.

Hardcover, softcover, and ebooks are all technically separate formats, but they are also separate entry points for readers. Even though I don’t love how picture books look as ebooks compared to print, they do something print can’t. They make the books accessible worldwide. That shows up in the monthly reports. Different countries, different platforms, different formats. It’s not theoretical. It’s already happening.

Plus of course, we are already having translations of our books and that was interesting to hear which languages that people are focused on doing that for their books beyond French or Spanish.

 A Conversation That Turned Into a New Translator

One of the most valuable moments for me didn’t even happen during a session. A speaker mentioned switching German translators during a talk to ensure a better experience with her audience. As Germany is one of those markets that we see our books being sold in English already, that caught my attention immediately, so I found her afterward and asked a few questions.

That conversation led to a new translator who wasn't at the conference herself and I'm thankful that author trusted me to share her contact information with me.

She’s based in Ottawa, which means she’ll be eligible for both PLR and Access Copyright, something that actually matters long-term for Canadian authors. She’s already started reviewing Bye-Bye, Boobies, we have a working title and it hasn't even been a week since the conference.

I left that conversation feeling genuinely excited about where that version of the book could go next, not just into German but other language that I hadn't thought about before. That alone made the conference worth it for me because the best advertising is, as they say, a personal referral and as I've talked about, I've had a bit of a struggle finding translators comfortable to work on this book already.

Why Human Translators Still Matter in an AI World

The Reality of “Write to Market”

One of the sessions that stuck with me most was about writing to market. I had seen the term online but really wasn't sure what it was about. On the surface, it sounds simple. Find a popular genre and write books that fit it in there rinse and repeat. But the reality is much more nuanced than that.

To start with, you’re not just choosing a genre. You’re committing years of your time to it because, after all, these are almost always a series of books and that means three to five books to plan out at the start.

The recommendation was to start by immersing yourself in that genre. Read the top series that are selling today. Understand what readers expect in that genre, the tropes. Then try writing a few chapters and see how it feels, not just to write it, but to imagine continuing it for three to five years. Then get people who read that genre to review those chapters and take in their feedback and if you still are feeling like this is a good fit continue in that genre otherwise start again and find one that checks all the boxes for you.

That part shifted how I was thinking about it. It’s not just about what sells or is popular. It’s about whether you can stay in that space long enough to actually finish what you start.

Branding, Ads, and the Things I’m Still Figuring Out

There were sessions on branding, advertising, and building newsletters, including one focused on Facebook ads and how they’ve changed recently and how they can be used to build a newsletter which was interesting too. I’m not rushing into any of that, I'm still in the write a book and translate it phase of things.

But I was curious enough to sit at one of the roundtables and ask very specific questions about how this would work for books like ours. We’re not writing novels. We’re not writing long series. And we’re not targeting readers in the usual way. That conversation was helpful, even just to confirm what doesn’t fit right now and what I will try once we have a few more books in the Little Goodbyes Series.

What I’m Taking Away From It

More than anything, this weekend made one thing very clear. There isn’t one way to do this and be successful or even what successful means to different authors. Some authors are building massive ad systems spending tens of thousands of dollars a year on ad campaigns with teams running those. Some are focused on in-person sales as the margin of profit is much higher to sell in person or even direct through the mail (Canadian postage makes that a bit tricky depending on price points). Others are expanding into formats, licensing, or international markets. 

For me, it was reassuring to see that the slower, layered approach I’ve been taking is actually a valid path. Other people are doing that as well. Our path maybe not the fastest one, but one that builds over time and is much harder to knock over once it’s in place. And honestly, just being in a room full of people doing the same thing, at all different stages, was worth it on its own.

I can't wait to go to another conference and learn some more.

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