As we turn another page on the 2008 calendar, I’m reminded of how important it is for authors to periodically assess where we are and where we’re going. Are you a hopeful or struggling author? Do you sometimes feel stuck—not knowing what to do next in your quest toward publication or how to attract more attention to your published book? Maybe you’ve been closed up in your writing room working on the book of your dreams or you have run out of steam and enthusiasm for promoting your published book. Are you ready to start approaching publishers, and aren’t sure where to start? Do you have questions about book publishing, distribution, bookstore sales, finding an agent, book promotion or???
Perhaps it’s the right time for you to do something different. If what you’re doing isn’t working for you—if you just don’t know what to do next—consider a change. One positive change that can help you along your publishing path is to connect with others who are on a similar journey. Join a local writers group. Attend writers/authors’ workshops and conferences. Join publishing organizations such as SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network).
We signed up 8 new SPAWN members at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books over the weekend. And we spoke to dozens and dozens of other authors at all stages of their projects—hoping to steer them in a direction toward success. How do we help authors to succeed? By providing the information and resources they need. Our mission is not to brain wash authors into using a certain service or publisher. We keep our fingers on the pulse of the industry and provide our members and our site visitors with the information they need in order to make the best decisions for their particular projects.
Members are eligible to have their books or services listed in our SPAWN Catalog of Members’ Books and Services. As a member, you can participate with us at book festivals and other events. (An additional fee is required for both of these benefits.) And you can post announcements for your new book, an upcoming book signing, awards you’ve earned, etc. in SPAWNews, which goes out to 2,000 subscribers.
There is an enormous amount of information and resources available to anyone who visits our site. But we also provide a member area where members can network with other members, learn about discounts on services and products and peruse the monthly SPAWN Market Update. This 8 to 11 page e-publication is worth many times the $45 annual membership fee. Herein, we provide a plethora of ideas and opportunities for authors, scriptwriters, freelance writers and artists. For example, we list directories of jobs for writers, unusual and/or promising book promotion opportunities, publishers seeking manuscripts, freelance writing opportunities and lots of these.
Members have access to 7 years of the SPAWN Market Update in our archives. Sure, some of the information is old, but many of the resources and all of the agent, publisher, author, editor, etc. interviews and thought-provoking, informative articles as well as most of the resources are quite valuable still today. How many resources and information bites will one find in the archives? Thousands!
I suggest that you visit the SPAWN website today—really take some time to check out the articles, resources, recommended books, our FREE newsletter archives and more. Use the Index to find the information you need. Sign up for the FREE SPAWNews. This e-newsletter will come to your email box every first of the month. http://www.spawn.org
By the way, SPAWN is 12 years old this month, and a few of us who are working to keep the information and resources coming your way have been with SPAWN from the beginning.
If you’d like a hint at what you’ll find in the SPAWN Market Update (for members only), email me and I’ll send you some Tables of Contents for this amazing newsletter. I subscribe to dozens of newsletters for authors and writers and I can tell you that this is one of the best around. And we do not publish ads in our publications or at our site. So you won’t have to scroll through advertising clutter.
Also, we do not have an agenda other than to provide you with the information, resources and opportunities you need in order to succeed on your publishing path.
Email me at: PLFry620@yahoo.com and ask for sample Tables of Contents for the SPAWN Market Update.
I’ll be traveling over the weekend and may not be able to continue my daily blog commitment during that time. I’ll try to check in with you and let you know what’s going on at the Maryland Writers’ Association Conference.