The Book Entrepreneur: A Panel Discussion

Did you know that most indie authors spend more time on their book business than writing? How do you get seen? Should you form a company? How active on social media should you be? Is the indie writing life right for you? Our panel, including both indie authors and a publishing consultant, will pull back the curtain and show you what you need to know to be a successful book entrepreneur. Scroll down to see speaker bios below. Click on any of the presenter's names to visit their websites.

Panelists (left to right): April Eberhardt (AGENT), Sharvette Mitchell, Ran Walker

Moderator: Kris Spisak

PANELISTS:

April Eberhardt (AGENT) is a self-described “literary change agent” and author advocate passionate about helping authors be published in the most satisfying way. After 25 years as a corporate strategist and management consultant, April joined the literary world, where she saw strategic opportunity to play a role in the changing world of publishing. She advises and assists authors as they choose the best pathway to publication, and serves as a consultant to publishing startups serving indie authors. She represents a diverse group of clients in the U.S. and abroad, and speaks at conferences worldwide. April serves on the Advisory Council for The American Library in Paris, and is a reader for The Best American Short Stories series published annually by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. April divides her time between San Francisco, New York and Paris.

Sharvette Mitchell works with entrepreneurs to enable them to build their online platform so that they generate more revenue with an amazing personal brand. She does this in a couple of ways by focusing on visibility and marketing with one on one consulting, group coaching programs, speaking, and conferences. She is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. For over 13 years she has hosted a weekly internet talk radio show - The Sharvette Mitchell Radio Show. Sharvette has been seen on CBS 6, The CW Network and featured in publications such as Huffington Post. She is the visionary author of the book collaboration, PROPEL - The Essential Handbook for Emerging Women in Business & Leadership and the book collaboration, POUR, The Secret Effects of Serving and Giving in Business & Leadership

Ran Walker is the author of twenty books. He is the winner of the 2019 Indie Author of the Year and 2019 Black Caucus American Library Association Fiction Ebook Awards. He teaches creative writing at Hampton University and lives with his wife and daughter in Virginia. Ran also serves on the Board of James River Writers.

Kris Spisak wrote her first book, Get a Grip on Your Grammar: 250 Writing and Editing Reminders for the Curious or Confused (Career Press, 2017), with a goal to help writers of all kinds sharpen their craft and empower their communications. Her “Words You Should Know” podcast and “Grammartopia” events follow the same mission, as does her second book, The Novel Editing Workbook: 105 Tricks and Tips for Revising Your Fiction Manuscript (Davro Press, 2020). Her third book, dedicated to personal storytelling, is The Family Story Workbook: 105 Prompts & Pointers for Writing Your History (Davro Press, 2020). A former college writing instructor, having taught at institutions including the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University, Kris is now an active speaker, workshop leader, and fiction editor. She is on the advisory board of James River Writers and is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors, the Virginia Writers Club, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.