In the fast paced literary world, surprises are to be expected and where else better to find them than at a writer’s conference? There are so many views expressed at such events that people have a hard time determining which ones to accept and which ones to take with a pinch of salt. The following are some of the lessons learnt from the conference.

Agents and not publishers are resisting the indie movement: There has been a recent uproar about authors that have decided to take the self-publishing route. At first, few people could identify the source of so much discontent with most blaming publishers for the noise. However, it appears that publishers are not the ones leading the charge against indie publishing. Although they are not happy about indie publishing, agents are the ones that have refused to ‘adapt.’ Big publishers are finding creative ways to discover and work with indie publishers.

Self-publishers are winning followers by fan fiction sites and blogs: Some time ago, people thought that the books being produced were so many for there to be enough people to read them. However, indie authors have busted this myth wide open. They are proving that readers are not hard to come by when authors take the initiative to reach out to them directly.

Traditionally published authors have no intention of changing: About 90% of authors who publish their books with big publishers don’t see themselves ever publishing their own books. According to these authors, self-publishing is not even an option to be considered even if it seems viable.

How can authors understand elements of a story? There are several questions authors should ask themselves to understand their story. These questions include: How can I make readers anticipate the climax? How do I know what readers are rooting for? What are the stakes in my story? What is the motivation and goal of my main character? Do I have mission-driven scenes?

Center stage belongs to authors: The publishing industry has undergone many changes that have been gradually shifting the balance of power towards authors. Now many agents, consultants, publishers, and publicists admit that they are the entourage surrounding authors who are the real stars. Once an author gets his books out and readers love his work, they will follow the author wherever he goes. It doesn’t matter if he decides to self-publish or to go with a big publishing house. Many readers consider agents and publishers to be working in the background because it is authors that they are interested in.

Selecting the proper category for a book is vital: Authors should know that many readers discover good books by searching for them. Books at both brick and mortar stores and online stores are arranged according to categories. If an author writes a book for an obscure category, few people will discover the book and the author cannot change the category after publishing the book.

Rankings don’t tell the whole story: This is especially relevant to people who publish their books online. They should know that rankings in places such as Amazon often represent the rates at which sales of particular books are changing. They don’t represent actual sales figures.