The July/October festivals differ from the January/April festival (which consists of seven author panels) where we concentrate on the nuts and bolts of publishing rather than genres.

New to Self-Pub Fest? If you are a self-published author or provide any of the services above (or another!) to self-published authors, you’re welcome to take part in the chatroom in these events.

If you’re unpublished, a reader or traditionally published you’re welcome to take part in non-all-day events ~ see Calendar. To take part please see the Participate page.

Each session was accessible via an individual Zoom session running for an hour (with a half-hour break between to set up the next panel).

We also had a lovely audience in the chat commenting and asking questions… thank you!

The second all-day festival took place on 5th July 2026 online festival and consisted of:

• 10am: editing: you’ve finished your book, you’ve had someone you trust to go through it so now you’re ready for a professional to go through it, and get it ready for publication. Do you use alpha/beta readers? Who can you trust?
• This session’s panel was: David Wake, Jack Chandler, Janet Pywell, Malcolm Alexander, Ryan Stark, with Morgen Bailey moderating.

• 11.30am: cover design, illustrations and book formatting ~ when your book is finished (before or while the editor has it) you want to think about your cover, and any illustrations you might like inside, especially if you’re creating a children’s book or graphic novel. When it’s ready, how do you want the inside to look? What software might be used? This is the panel for that stage.
• This session’s panel was: David Wake, Denise Beddows, Jack Chandler, Jacqueline Lambert, Jill Todd, Phil Oddy, Ryan Stark, with Morgen Bailey moderating.

• 1pm: what else do you need before your book is published? ~ your book’s been edited, you have your cover… what else is needed, i.e. what price will you charge? Should you use Amazon’s ISBN or pay for your own? How many ISBNs should you buy ~ how prolific are you going to be? What should your blurb look like? How long should it be? What should it give away? Do you have a plan for each stage of your book’s cycle, i.e. the process from finishing the book to getting it out into the world, and beyond? Where do you catalogue your information?
• This session’s panel was: David Wake, Elizabeth Ducie, Jack Chandler, Jill Todd, Julie Harris (no video), with Morgen Bailey moderating.

• 2.30pm: publishing ~ you have your edited/formatted book and cover with all the information you need to proceed… how do you publish it? Do you do it yourself via Amazon’s KDP, Draft2Digital (who helps go wide), or each platform individually (i.e. Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo etc.) or hire someone to do those processes for you then give you full control thereafter. They also talked about ‘vanity’ publishing. Self-publishing publishers will only do the work for you that you would do. You would retain all your rights, be able to access your Amazon bookshelf, be paid your royalties directly rather than via the publisher etc.
• This session’s panel was: David Wake, Elizabeth Ducie, Julie Harris (no video), Lesley Bootiman, Ryan Stark with Morgen Bailey moderating.

• 4pm: marketing/advertising inc. social media, website design etc. ~ you’re ready to tell the world about your book. How much of an online presence do you need? Do you need a website or is social media enough? Which social media platforms should you be on? What should you do on them? What are blog tours? Should you go out in the real world too?
• This session’s panel was: Denise Beddows, Elizabeth Ducie, Jack Chandler, Sherry Hostler with Morgen Bailey moderating.

Authors on today’s panels included:

• Science-fiction, fantasy, cosy mystery, thriller and comedy author David Wake (10am: editing and 11.30am: cover design and 1pm: what else and 2.30pm: publishing)
• Crime; non-fiction (crime-related and local history) author Denise Beddows (11.30am: cover design and 4pm: marketing)
• Thriller and cozy mystery novelist, short story author and poet Elizabeth Ducie (1pm: what else and 2.30pm: publishing and 4pm: marketing)
• Thriller and romantasy novelist Jack Chandler (11.30am: cover design and 1pm: what else and 4pm: marketing)
• Non-fiction author Jacqueline Lambert (11.30am: cover design)
• Historical, crime and romance novelist Janet Pywell (10am: editing)
• Crime/thriller novelist Jill Todd (11.30am: cover design and 1pm: what else)
• Crime novelist Julie Harris (1pm: what else and 2.30pm: publishing)
• Women’s novelist, author of non-fiction and comedy scripts Lesley Bootiman (2.30pm: publishing)
• Non-fiction biographer Malcolm Alexander (10am: editing)
• Self-Pub Fest founder, novelist and non-fiction author, editor, speaker, mentor and much more! Morgen Bailey (moderating all the sessions)
• Science fiction/fantasy novelist Phil Oddy (11.30am: cover design)
• Crime/thriller novelist; publisher; writing coach Ryan Stark (10am: editing and 2.30pm: publishing)
• Psychological thriller novelist Sherry Hostler (4pm: marketing)

New to Self-Pub Fest? If you are a self-published author or provide any of the services above (or another!) to self-published authors, please see the Participate page.

These are free events but we’re raising money for local book-related charities and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.