From the streets of London last week to the Wild Atlantic Way this week, we’re closing out our second week of publishing events at the second annual Ireland’s Publishing Show. The event kicked off with an informal meet-up Monday, followed by vendor and networking events Tuesday and two days of sessions Wednesday and Thursday. Scheduled presentations and panels covered topics related to craft, marketing, social media, and smaller workshops hosted simultaneously allowed authors to dive deeper into certain topics, such as co-writing or getting press coverage for your books. (IAM publisher Chelle Honiker hosted a workshop on social media automation during Thursday’s sessions.)
If you didn’t make it to Ireland for this year’s conference, there’s always next year! The event will be back in 2027 with a name change—next year’s conference will be called “Indie Network Ireland" and will run from March 16 to 18, with Craig Martelle as the keynote speaker, show runners announced at the conference. Watch the conference’s website for more information: https://www.indienetworkevents.com.
The indie publishing events season is also only just getting started; if you’re interested in attending other author events this year, you can check out our 2026 events calendar for upcoming conferences and workshops and for information on how to register.
Robyn Sarty
This Week's Indie Author Magazine Articles
Indie authors today juggle more platforms than ever before. They manage writing and organizing drafts in one place, direct sales in another, social media scheduling in yet another, marketing and analytics in still more …
StorytellerOS enters this landscape with a broader approach; instead of specializing in one part of the publishing workflow, it attempts to bring many of them together in a single dashboard designed specifically for authors. In this week’s Technology feature, IAM staff writer Jenn Lessmann provides an objective look at the platform created by IAM publisher Chelle Honiker, which is currently in beta and is set to launch fully April 30. You can read Lessmann’s article below and learn more about the platform at https://storytelleros.com.
Jenn Lessmann
Are you a pants-er, a planner, or something in the middle? In this week's installment of her Author Inklings column, Susan Odev explains why every author benefits from some level of structure during the writing process, plus how to make outlining work for you—even if, like her, you prefer to let your characters take the wheel in your first draft. As we close out the first quarter of the year, Odev also reflects on the steps she’s taken so far in building her new pen name.
Susan Odev
Teachings from Indie Author Training This Week
Webinar: “Kickstarter for Authors”
This week Oriana Leckert, head of publishing at Kickstarter, joined us. We've all heard about the runaway successes on the platform, but how realistic is it for newbies? Would the format work for you if you don't write in a genre that lends itself to foil covers and sprayed edges?
Oriana gave an overview of just what's possible for indie authors using Kickstarter and, spoiler alert, it all starts with your imagination. She demonstrated how to navigate the platform, what you need to understand about the Kickstarter ecosystem, and how, in turn, that community can help you.
Beneath the video replay is a “join the discussion” field, so if you couldn't make the live session but have a question or want to share a high five moment, type it in there and we'll keep the conversation going.
You can access the replay here: https://webinars.indieauthortraining.com/talks/kickstarter-for-authors/
More Indie Publishing News
Here’s a look beyond our pages at the latest headlines and happenings in the publishing world.
- This week, The Guardian explored the threat AI marketing scams continue to pose for independent and self-published authors and highlights some of the stories of those who’ve fallen victim to the fraudulent offers: https://www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2026/mar/12/ai-book-scams-publishing-fraud.
IAM spoke to the Alliance of Independent Authors about these scams in November 2025 and what authors can do to avoid them. You can read that article here.
Nicole Schroeder
- This women’s history month, Forbes highlighted women who are using independent publishing to challenge traditional publishing models, especially those where men long held more power. From reevaluating the traditional publishing timeline to returning more control to authors, many of their successes model those that author-publishers have celebrated in the indie publishing industry as it’s grown in recent years. Read the article at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyshoenthal/2026/03/11/these-women-are-redesigning-the-book-publishing-industry/.
Anything we’ve missed that you think we should cover? Any topics or questions you’d like our team to explore? Let us know at feedback@indieauthormagazine.com. Your suggestion may just make it into an upcoming article.
