Lara Nance is a prolific author. She writes in a few genres, and has won several awards. Her work is mostly self-published, and she’s exactly the example of authors we love to see “making it happen” with their author self-marketing.

I first met Lara at this year’s PubSmart. She was on a mission: to better learn how to market and promote her work, and to make new connections. She did both.

One thing to come out of her PubSmart experience was to land a publishing deal for a new children’s book with BQB Publishing. (BQB in fact signed two authors at PubSmart, so far! The other is California author and journalist, Jackie Madden Haugh.)

Lara also decided to re-brand herself, letting readers know that yes, she may cross genres, but at its core, all of her writing came down to a single word, her ultimate writing goal – to entertain her readers! Her new branding graphic, shown above, reflects that. Whether steampunk, paranormal, mystery or hot romance, Lara’s work is FUN.

Lara Nance’s next trip was up to New York City. The following is in Lara’s own words, about how she took herself to another new level at this year’s BookExpo America…

I came to BEA this year with low expectations. I wouldn’t have come at all if it hadn’t been for Author Hub. As a self-published author, I wasn’t sure this mega-publishing event would offer me a lot. So, I settled on being satisfied if I had the chance to simply absorb some literary mojo and meet some interesting people.

I was wrong.

Thanks to Author Hub, I found a home I could scurry back to when overwhelmed with the crush of stimulation and information outside our little partitioned spot on the vast floor of the Javits Center. There I could bond and interact with other BEA virgins and self-pubbed heroes.

From my table I could meet with select vendors whose services interested me, listen to speakers every half-hour imparting wisdom and insight on every aspect of publishing, or just gulp in a breath and take notes on all I was learning.

On Thursday morning as Authors Hub opened, I was inspired to start the day by Hugh Howey giving an update on his Author Earning reports, which comforts us self-pubs that we made the right decision.

From there, I discovered the incredible Book†Track service and promptly went online to add music and sound effects to an excerpt of my first steampunk novel. (Authors, you must check out this cool new tool!) A super way to promote your work. (And it’s FREE.)

Ed. Note: Hugh Howey has teamed with the new BookTrack for TWO cool contests. Click the image below to get there and win!

Then I chatted with different PR companies, hoping to find the right one for me. After that it was on to foreign rights opportunities, promo ideas like the super cool Bublish and exploring new startups like Openbooks.com and Publisher’s Weekly’s booklife.com.

Thursday ended on excellent discussions with innovative companies, Where Writers Win and BiblioCrunch. I’ve been a member of WWW’s Winners Circle since its inception, but being able to talk with Shari Stauch in person gave me even more insight into their services. Same with Miral Sattar, who showed me how BiblioCrunch could help me with a myriad of author services…

Friday began with a fantastic start when Orna Ross handed me a copy of Choosing a Self Publishing Service, like manna from Heaven. Honestly, if you’re not a member of ALLi, you’re missing a lot of great information and support like this book, which is chock-full of resources for authors.

I learned more about running Goodreads promotions from Patrick Brown himself. Visited with the folks at KDP to chat about what I like and don’t like about their new dashboard. Got a hint there might be some new promo opportunities coming for Select members, weee… 

Then my very own BEA autographing session on Saturday at 10:30 where I signed and gave away copies of the first book in my DraculaVille series. People were actually lined up to receive a copy. Wow. Just Wow.

I gave away the remainder of my books at my table in Authors Hub. Readers came looking for my book based on the description in BEA info. I guess I got that blurb right… I was simply blown away and humbled to have the opportunity to interact with so many readers and fans…

Congratulations, Lara, on another successful outing, and we invite all of you to share your recent event success stories with your comments below! Learn more about the Author Hub from onsite reporter Porter Anderson.