Sponsor Spotlight: Red Camel Press
Writing
Liza Elliott to host mixer for local bloggers, authors, and poets
Birmingham-based author Liza Elliott |
Tell me about your writing process. Do you write daily? Do you write in a certain place or at a certain time of the day? What do you use to keep yourself inspired?
Liza Elliott will host a mixer for bloggers, authors, and poets Sunday at Little Professor Book Centers in Homewood. |
Birmingham also has a terrific literary magazine, the Birmingham Arts Journal, edited by author Jim Reed. He is the godfather of writers around here and is a longtime leader in the Alabama Writers Conclave.
A Recap of Our Latest Event, I Wrote a Book…Now What?
Our Amazing Panelists: Irene Latham, Kathryn C. Lang and TK Thorne |
Another See Jane Write event is in the books! Last night’s panel discussion I Wrote a Book…Now What? was a huge success with more than 50 people in attendance. Irene Latham, Kathryn C. Lang, and Teresa (T.K.) Thorne were amazing panelists and I can’t thank Stephanie Naman enough for being such a great moderator.
Thanks to Christina J. Wade for tweeting this picture. She was ready to take notes!
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Things went so smoothly. The hardest part of the night was trying to tweet out and take note of all the words of wisdom our panelists and moderator were sharing about the publishing industry. I learned so much.
The question that seemed to be on the minds of many attendees was if they should self-publish or go the traditional publishing route. Lang stressed that this was a question you’d really have to answer for yourself based on what you really want out of your writing career.
One of the advantages of going the traditional publishing route is greater distribution and more opportunities to get your book reviewed. Also, with a traditional publishing house you will receive help with marketing. Even if you have a book deal with a major publisher, however, Latham advises doing your own marketing in addition to what your publisher provides for you. For example, when she published her children’s book Leaving Gee’s Bend with Putnam/Penguin in 2010, she took it upon herself to arrange school visits to help market her book.
If you are publishing the traditional way, one important relationship will be that with your literary agent.
Additionally, if you read a book that’s similar to yours check the acknowledgements as writers often thank their agents. Find the agent and send him or her a query letter.
Moderator Stephanie Naman had plenty of wisdom to share too! |
By a show of hands, most of the people in the audience last night were interested in self-publishing. There was a time when self-publishing was looked down upon in the writing world, but Naman said that’s changing. For example, self-publishing is now a huge topic at writing conferences, she added.
Having a good marketing plan is essential for writers who want to self-publish. And the key to successful marketing is, you guessed it, building relationships.
I Wrote a Book…Now What?
Irene Latham |
Kathryn Lang |
TK Thorne |