We had a fun meeting today, with several discussions about the various ways to publish, among other things. I found a couple of events starting soon that should be helpful.

Before that, in case you couldn’t make it to see Kate White at the Westport Library last week – here’s the video of the event. I had huge fun asking Kate if she’d ever taken revenge on someone by killing them in a book… (Her answer is at around 6:30!) She’s pictured here with her brother, who came to see her there.
https://youtu.be/-L-NI4KtcTU

If you’re a woman with a podcast, or who wants to start a podcast, a free online All Women Rock Summit will help. Taking place from June 22-24, which features various podcasters and marketers. Subjects include: Starting a podcast, Incorporating video into your podcasts, How to monetize with a small audience.  For more details, check here. (Photo courtesy of IKEA)

For five days starting next Monday, June 26, the free Get Published Summit brings together some of the top experts in book publishing to help you create, publish, and market your book. This event includes presentations on book publicity tips, and platform-building for authors, with Sandra Beckwith. You’ll also hear about: Book launch marketing, Generating long-term sales with Amazon Ads, and How to get booked on radio shows and podcasts, and more. There’s also a presentation on Using artificial intelligence to help write your book, which should be interesting. If you can’t attend every session, recordings will be available for 48 hours after. Details here

On Saturday, July 22, from 10-12 the Westport Writers Workshop are offering something for people who want to self-publish but aren’t sure how to go about it. It’s a self-publishing Q&A with our own Libby Waterford, who has successfully published many novels. It’s available both in-person and on Zoom, and will give you a chance to get your questions answered. Details here.

Venerable Connecticut Indie bookstore RJ Julia is restarting its local author events. They plan to host up to six authors in any given genre at their Wesleyan RJ Julia store in Middletown. To be considered, you need to fill out an application form. Here’s the list of events and application dates.

Historical Fiction: submissions accepted in July 2023; event in September. Kids and Young Adult: submissions accepted in August 2023; event in November. Non-Fiction: submission accepted in October 2023; event in January 2024. Literary Fiction & Fiction: submissions accepted in December 2023; event in March 2024. Fantasy & Science Fiction: submissions accepted in February 2024; event in May 2024.

The Gotham Writers Genre Fiction Conference will take place on Zoom and in NYC, on August 12-13. If you have a mystery, thriller, horror, science fiction, or fantasy book, then this is the conference for you. They are accepting applications to the pitching roundtables, featuring some of the top agents seeking genre fiction. Day 1 offers a series of panels on Zoom populated by some of the best and brightest writers in the industry, including a keynote interview with Hugo, Nebula & World Fantasy Award-winner, Ken Liu. On Day 2, writers whose applications have been successful will participate in pitching roundtables for genre projects. At each table, two top agents will lead a four-hour discussion around the query letter and first two pages of eight writers, focusing on the potential for publication of each project and preparing writers for next steps in their writing journey. One roundtable will be in-person in NYC, and the rest will be held on Zoom. Register here.

The oft-quoted Authors Publish has given us a list of publishers who publish children’s books. Some just publish picture books, some publish only middle-grade fiction, and some publish a wide variety of genres aimed at adults as well. Some are looking for educational work, others are open to anything. A number of these publishers are large and established. Others are small and just starting out. The majority are currently open to submissions, but not all of them are.

Also from Authors Publish, a free ebook How to Write a Dynamic Act One is your guide to writing the first part of a story – so you can win over readers and set them up for a satisfying conclusion. (All while meeting the needs of publishers.)

More to come in a day or two…