JULY 24, 5:00PM - 7:00PM

Each year, our Welcome Event proves to be the perfect kickoff to the weekend's festivities - as nearly all of our attending authors are on hand to drink, eat, mingle, catch up with old acquaintances and make new friends. 

The event will be held from 5pm to 7pm, to give everyone a chance to go out and enjoy the Nashville nightlife (don't have anyone to go out with? Don't worry about it - we'll plan something fun!)

We'll have our own private space for everyone to get together, including some opening words from the Summit organizers, a delicious array of lite bites and appetizers, and a cash bar so you can unwind. 

Are you part of our subscription-based FB group, The Insider's Guide to Publishing for Profit, as of Jan, 31, 2026? If so, then we are happy to invite you to this year's Welcome event for FREE! We love seeing familiar faces, so make sure you get to Nashville in time to grab a drink with us. 

Please note: In order to attend the Welcome Event, you MUST also be registered for the Main Summit event on Saturday, July 25

JULY 25, 9:00AM - 5:00PM

Author Wes Filleman isn't an international celebrity. He doesn't have a dozen titles, or the financial backing of a large, traditional publisher. He's just a hardworking indie author like you, with one big difference: he's figured out the formula for building a successful brand with a single, book, and selling over 10,000 units per year from his own website, with incredible profits. 

In this fascinating keynote presentation, Wes will give you the background of his journey, and walk you through how he's built a wildly successful publishing business - without using Amazon. 

Along with the Keynote speaker, Summit 6 will provide two learning tracks (you can bounce between them, so you can sit in in any presentation that you'd like):

Author Jay Miletsky wrote his first children's book, "Ricky, the Rock that Couldn't Roll" in 2017, while living out of a hotel room. Since then, he's published 12 titles and sold over 1M units. This is the true, inside story of how he did it. 

You may start with just an idea for a book, but at some point, as you begin to invest in your yourself, you'll need to start thinking more about your long term goals. Learn the 5 most important steps you can take to grow your business from a simple idea for a book to something you can sell for a large and lucrative exit. 

School visits can be one of the most lucrative ways of generating profits with your books. Timothy Young has built a successful publishing career by focusing on school visits, and can show you how you can do the same!

Schools are an outstanding resource for sales - each time a teacher readers your book, they are marketing it to a classroom full of students. Lesson plans can help dramatically increase the number of teachers who use your book in their classrooms - if they're done the right way!

Few people realize the vast resources that non-profits and other organizations control. Savvy authors can tap into them, generating large and profitable sales orders. This presentation will show you how to pinpoint which organizations can work for you, and how to establish relationships with them

Each year, we feature one really boring - but incredibly important - topic. This year, we're featuring a certified financial planner to go through the details of how much publishing will really cost in the short term, the long term, what your cash flow will look like, and what you need to do to budget and make sure you can comfortably afford to build your business. 

When an author uses AI, people immediately think they are using it to write the books for them, or create the illustrations. And for a variety of reasons, authors should never do that. But that doesn't mean there aren't huge ways for AI to help you grow your business, from advertising to fact-checking to sales growth analysis, and everything in-between. We'll go over all of the best ways indie authors can smartly use AI!

Ever dream about going on Shark Tank, pitching your book and getting a big investment from one of the sharks? Author Stacey Laviolette did just that, getting an investment on Dragon's Den, the Canadian version of Shark Tank. She'll tell her story, and give you her insights on getting investors, and how to manage those relationships. 

For most people, becoming a successful author seems like an easy process. But is it really?  This presentation will break down the stats and figures, take a look at the reality of finding success in publishing...and give you important tips for stacking the deck in your favor, and increasing your odds of making a profit. 

For most children's book authors, working with illustrators is a necessary part of the publishing process. It's also that part many authors find the most confusing: How to find a good one? How much should you pay? Are royalties required? How much direction can you give? What should the contract look like? Author Timothy Young give you the inside scoop to successfully finding and working with a quality illustrator.

AND OF COURSE, ALL ATTENDEES WILL COME TOGETHER TO ENJOY A HIGHLY ENERGETIC, HIGHLY EDUCATIONAL AND HUGELY ENTERTAINING KEYNOTE SPEAKER. WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE...BUT WE'RE NOT SAYING WHO YET!

• Plenty of time for networking with other authors
• Onsite bookstore - sell your books to other attendees!
• Illustrators' Gallery: See portfolios of talented illustrators for hire
• Expanded vendor tables with Summit-only discounts for services 
• A delicious breakfast bar to start the day
• A hot, gourmet lunch buffet
• All day coffees, water and sodas
  
• A SWAG bag valued at at least $200, with exclusive discounts and gifts
• Discount tickets for spouses 
• Free entry for kids 4-12

JULY 26, 10:00AM - 1:00PM

This year, we're changing things up! At Summit 6, you'll enjoy a hot, 5-star brunch buffet, while also gaining access to the "bullpen" - where you can engage in multiple pitch meetings, reviews and 1-on-1 consultations with a wide variety of experts and professionals. Pitch to one, two...or as many as you can fit into the three hour pitch window!

Pitch / Consultation opportunities will include:

• Distributor pitch (two stations): 5 minutes
• Kids Read Now school catalog pitch: 5 minutes (Contracts in less than 1 week!)
• Literary agent pitch (two stations): 5 minutes
• Amazon ad review & consultation: 15 minutes 
• Manuscript review & consultation: 10 minutes 
• Your brand, social media and website review: 10 minutes 
• "Budget & financing your business" consultation: 10 minutes 
• "Creating lesson plans for your book" consultation: 10 minutes
• "Printing your book" consultation: 10 minutes 
• Portfolio review (for illustrators): 10 minutes 
• "Protecting your IP" consultation: 10 minutes