BookPlan 2026: How to Market Your Nonfiction Book

A three-day online workshop to help you create a solid marketing plan.

BookPlan: How to Market Your Nonfiction Book, April 22-24, 2026

Register before September 30, 2025, and you’ll also get access to the 12 best sessions from our 2023, 2024, and 2025 workshops!

BookPlan 2026: The Details

What: Live online workshop over Zoom

When: Wednesday–Friday, April 22–24

Time: Exact schedule TBD, but typically 9 am–2:30 pm Pacific Time (12 pm–5:30 pm Eastern Time)

Who: Around 80-100 nonfiction authors (seats limited!)

You are here because you want to change the world.

You’ve written a book to share your message and impact thousands of lives.

There’s just one problem.

Books don’t sell themselves.

Why Books Don’t Sell Themselves

The book market is oversaturated, with around 3 million new titles added annually in the US alone, competing with an estimated 40 million existing titles.

Even in niche categories, your book competes with thousands of titles.

Your book could be the best ever written, but it won’t matter if no one knows about it.

So, easy, right? Just let people know about your book!

Well . . .

Many Book Marketing Methods Don’t Work

Social media? It’s horribly inefficient for selling books. With engagement rates for most platforms well below 1%, selling 10,000 books requires millions of followers—no simple task.

Hiring a PR firm to get onto traditional media? Highly expensive, with hit-and-miss results, and even if you do get on a major show—that rarely translates into book sales.

Amazon ads? Daily TikTok videos? Apply for book awards? They either take too much time, cost too much money, or underdeliver in most cases. (Or all three.)

The Good News: A Framework that Gets Results

There is a proven system for marketing books successfully, used by hundreds of authors and taught by leading experts such as Jane Friedman, Nick Stephenson, Tim Grahl, and Thomas Umstattd.

This framework is:

clear and cost-effective
cohesive, with every part working together
aligned with your values—no spammy self-promotion
designed to grow your book sales and the rest of your business

The Framework

Reader Magnet – Give an irresistible reason for your ideal reader to join your email list.
Content – Build trust by giving your email subscribers high-value content.
Outreach – Reach new readers by consistently sharing that content through 1–3 strategically chosen methods.
Offers – Invite your email subscribers to get even more value by purchasing your books or services.

This simple, effective system is the focus of BookPlan 2026, a 3-day workshop where we’ll help you implement it step by step.

BookPlan 2026: The Details

What: Live online workshop over Zoom

When: Wednesday–Friday, April 22–24

Time: 9 am–2:45 pm Pacific Time (12 pm–5:45 pm Eastern Time)

Who: Nonfiction authors (seats limited!)

Full Agenda Coming Soon

Register Now

Frequently Asked Questions

What is BK Authors, Inc.?

We are a group of authors who know how hard it is to market our books.

BK Authors, Inc. represents all the authors published with Berrett-Koehler Publishers—the leading independent publisher of business, leadership, and personal development books.

In the last 30 years, Berrett-Koehler (BK) has published more than 2,000 titles, including bestsellers like Eat That Frog; Leadership and Self-Deception; The Anatomy of Peace; Change Your Questions, Change Your Life; and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.

But we know, more than anyone, how hard it can be to market nonfiction. For every BK bestseller, there are many more BK books that have struggled to get traction in the overcrowded book market.

We know the power of authors banding together to help authors. So we created a book marketing workshop, BookPlan, where bestselling BK authors and marketing experts from Berrett-Koehler Publishers could teach new authors the skills they need to be successful.

This workshop has been running annually for over 15 years now, and we have helped hundreds of authors step up their marketing game.

We’re a nonprofit. We’re not in it for the money. Most of us are volunteering our time. We’re doing this because we want to help you change the world.

How is BookPlan different from other book marketing workshops?

We focus exclusively on nonfiction. Most book marketing events serve both fiction and nonfiction authors. We focus specifically on how to market nonfiction books with a message: books on business innovation, personal development, social change, and organizational improvement.

We focus on published or soon-to-be-published authors. Many workshops focus heavily on the process of getting published (query letters, pitches, etc.) and not on what you need to do after you sign the publishing contract to build an audience, sell books long-term, and make a lasting impact with your message.

We’re online but still interactive. Forget the hassle of travel, hotel lodging, and parking. But also forget staring at a pre-recorded video series. Our workshop is packed with time to discuss ideas in small groups, brainstorm, receive feedback, and ask questions.

We offer a network of support. BK Authors, the hosting organization of BookPlan, is a close-knit group of nonfiction authors with activities year-round. At BookPlan, you can develop friendships with other authors who can help hold you accountable and actively support your book marketing efforts.

We provide breadth of expertise. This workshop isn’t one author’s “secret formula” (which only works for them). Instead, our speakers come from a variety of companies and represent a wide range of experts, including bestselling authors, publishing professionals, publicity agents, marketing strategists, and social media managers.

Do you have a refund policy?

Yes! You can cancel for a full refund up until the night before the event. Email us at [email protected] to request a refund.

The add-on of session recordings from past BookPlan workshops is not refundable, as you get access immediately.

Are there discounts or scholarships for Berrett-Koehler authors?

Yes! All authors published or under contract with Berrett-Koehler Publishers get a $50 discount to the workshop. You can apply this discount by entering the coupon BKAUTHOR on the registration page.

Financial-need scholarships are available to Berrett-Koehler authors with limited resources. Learn more here.

How can my company become an event sponsor?

Becoming a platinum, gold, or silver sponsor is a tremendous way to reach our authors and find new clients. See sponsorship details here.

Register by September 30 to get our Super Early Bird price!

$175

Seats are limited and may sell out.