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Showing posts with the label writers conference

Not Exactly a Book Tour

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In the minds of many, a book tour is a glamorous thing, but like most everything else, reality is more prosaic than poetic. There are authors who draw crowds of adoring fans, like Rick Castle always does on the TV show. (BTW, I wish I had a quarter for every time someone asked me if I think Nathan Fillion really writes those books. PulEEZE!) Most of us don't draw crowds; in fact, we're happy for every person that shows up. A speaker at Sleuthfest, the conference I attended in Florida last week, described arriving at a bookstore to find every audience chair filled, only to have them empty when it was announced over the loudspeaker that his presentation was about to start. He learned the homeless of the area were allowed to come in out of the cold and sit in the chairs, but they knew they had to leave when his talk began. Not only did he have an audience of only one person, he was responsible for the rest being tossed out into the cold! People also imagine that publishers arr

What Writers Talk About

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Looking way too serious before the panel If you're not a writer, don't ever get caught in a group of them. The discussions are never-ending, and we love them, even if we've heard them a thousand times before. I sat on a panel Saturday that discussed writers' dilemmas and how to solve them. After sharing a few of our own problem areas, we asked the audience to share theirs. We could have stayed all day. The funny thing is that in the final analysis, they're the same. How to overcome a stalled story (I recommend a break, even if it takes a week or two). How to cut to a reasonable word count (I listen to the MS read by my computer. Others read it aloud to themselves or to others). How to beef up a MS that's too short (I added a subplot; others add a secondary character). How to recognize your "personal errors," those things we all do that irritate readers (I use SmartEdit, which points out how many times I used the word just or how many sentences

A Conference for Writers

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I'm a member of EPIC, the Electronically Published  Internet Coalition. I've only been  to this conference once, but it was productive,  and I love San Antonio. They're a great group, so I told them I'd help with publicity. (TA-DA!)   Please join us in the lovely city of San Antonio,  Texas for EPICon 2015 *EPICon- Bringing ePublishing Partners Together* March 13-14th, 2015 The Menger Hotel, San Antonio, TX Sponsored by the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Enjoy two days of all things ePublishing. With workshops  for any author or publishing professional, this short period will be packed  with information, news, and most importantly: education. Authors, old and new,  will have the opportunity to learn about small press ePublishing and network with publishers, editors, and experienced published authors. For 2015, we have a full schedule of educational and informative workshops for authors and publishers, with gu