Well, folks, Local Author Day at the Woodbury Library on Saturday was a lot of fun! I met some lovely authors and delightful readers and attended some excellent panels for writers. If next Saturday’s Connecticut Book Festival is half as delightful, I’ll be happy.
The 2022 Gotham Writers Conference will be happening on Zoom this year, October 14-16. Although virtual, the organizers promise that the two-part conference will genuinely connect writers with agents and give a close-up look at how to get a book published. Days 1 and 2 – Panels and Presentations. This is for people who are ready for publication or just gearing up to enter the publishing process. Plus, a free online social event, giving you a chance to mingle a bit with fellow attendees. $160. Day 3 – Pitching Roundtables. Each “table” will have two agents and a group of pre-selected writers with book projects. You’ll spend four and a half hours with your “table”—pitching, reading pages, and discussing your work. There will be “tables” specializing in various genres.
If you’re already published, or would like to be, Indie Author Day is for you. Norwalk Public Library is the only venue in Connecticut that hosts Indie Author Day, and this year it’s on Friday and Saturday, November 4-5. It’s a fabulous opportunity for local indie authors to connect with each other & the community. The library will host Zoom and in-person programs and panels with authors and publishers. Panels include How to get Independently Published, How to Get Your Books into Libraries, as well as various paths to publication, and of course, writing. I’ll be on a panel of memoir writers, and another on hybrid publishing. If you’re an indie author (published by a small or hybrid publisher, or self-published, it’s not too late to join. If you’d like to, please email Cynde Bloom Lahey, clahey@norwalkpl.org to register.
Booksie’s Halloween Horror Contest is open for submissions until November 11. 5,000 words max. $4.99 entry fee. Top prize is $250 plus exposure on the Booksie website, which receives hundreds of thousands of readers per month.
Emerging and established writers located in the Nutmeg State are encouraged to submit unpublished fiction (3500 words max), nonfiction (3500 words max), and poetry (max two poems) to the 2023 Connecticut Literary Anthology. Flash prose (work up to 750 words) is welcome. Deadline November 15. You have to have been resident in Connecticut as of January 1, 2022, and can only submit one piece per genre. Email your submission to ctlitanthology@gmail.com Full guidelines here.
CATCHING UP
If you’re trying to decide on the best way to get published, you might be considering a hybrid press. If so, you might be interested in the article I wrote for Publishers Weekly recently, called 7 Questions for Finding the Right Hybrid Publisher.
Our friends at Authors Weekly, have come up with a list of twelve places that pay for writing about writing. Check it out here.
Jane Friedman, whose regular newsletters are full of great information for writers, has started a new column on her website called Ask the Editor. The right editor can help make your career, but sometimes the writer-editor relationship can be confusing. The column answers your questions about the editing process and editors themselves. Maybe you don’t know what to expect in terms of payment or contracts, or how to tell if an editor is a good fit (or what’s fair to ask of them before paying). Whatever your question, a professional with years of experience will answer forthrightly and humanely, with suggestions on how to move forward.
And for those of you querying a book, member Richard Seltzer recommends this article from British agent Madeleine Milburn on how to query your book.
Keep writing!
