The TriCon
Symposium Series
Part of TriCon’s mission is to keep the conversations sparked at the convention going even after the doors close, and bring them out into the wider world. Towards that end we will be hosting a pair of Symposiums on urgent issues facing the Spec Community. These sessions will take the form of moderated town hall discussions, bringing together like-minded attendees who are interested in turning our collective knowledge into meaningful action.
The Symposiums will be held on Friday and Saturday evening, with a follow up session provided on Sunday morning to facilitate continuing discussion and developing action plans. The Symposiums will be recorded, and discussions from the panel may be used in future literature produced or supported by the TriCon convention.
Collective Power in Self-Publishing
Symposium, Friday May 15th
Towards a movement for collective action within self publishing.
Thesis Statement
Although indie publishing is becoming a more and more viable career model for writers, the Amazon-centric self-publishing model disadvantages indies in many ways. The mercenary nature of the Indie/Self Pub market leaves each individual responsible for work which would be diffused into multiple jobs in the trad market. From writing copy to marketing to formatting to sales–Indie authors must master all these skills with none of the protection traditionally published authors enjoy through centralized distribution, grants and subsidies, legal departments, and more.
How can indie publishing as an industry establish the systems, networks, and leverage needed to compete on equal footing with traditional publishing? Can we develop a standard of rights and protections? Can indie authors move towards autonomous collective organization without competition, dependency on corporate platforms, and without simply recreating the trad pub model?
Moderator
Mark Leslie
Mark Leslie (Lefebvre) has spent more than three decades immersed in the world of books—as a bookseller, bookstore manager, and publishing industry professional who helps authors navigate the ever-evolving landscape of traditional and independent publishing.
Mark is a writer, speaker and podcaster, sharing his passion for narrative and his expertise in publishing with audiences and fellow creators—through non-fiction books for writers and his weekly Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing podcast. He is the former Director of Self-Publishing & Author Relations with Kobo Canada.
Whether he’s relaying the investigation of a reportedly haunted location, advising writers on publishing strategies, or spinning tales of things that go bump in the night, Mark brings curiosity, warmth, and a deep love of storytelling to everything he does.
Mark lives in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
The next Symposium topic will be announced soon…