Last Saturday I, along with 3 intrepid fellow members of my RWA Chapter, trekked from Manhattan to Nutley, New Jersey to see a panel of romance authors discuss the e-publishing business.
Now, imagine if you will, a day with high winds, below freezing temperatures (albeit sunny). We congregate at the Port Authority (which, I must say, has come a long way from the mid-70's when I was busing it back and forth to Skidmore College. There's food courts as far as the eye can see, and nary a homeless person). There was however, also no bus as far as the eye could see. For 50 minutes we waited, regaling ourselves (and no doubt our fellow travelers) loudly and with good natured grousing. The bus ride was short, and Nutley was a lovely town. However, the bus stop was 1 1/4 miles from the Nutley Library and as it was nearly 12:30 we hoofed it while following our living breathing MapQuest guide, Lis, and laughing, stumbling and essentially freezing our tits off.
We passed a girls' touch football game attended by many from Nutley High. We kept track of the numerous bars and restaurants because we had already decided we REALLY needed a cocktail! And, fortunately, upon our arrival at the library, we found ourselves not so late as to have missed the start of the event, and with food and beverages still to be had no less.
A wonderful panel ensued - with RWA members Cathy Greenfeder, Kathy Quick and Patt Milhailoff, along with Penny Marzac who offered a succinct "history of the e-book" for those of us less familiar with the operations.
Cathy spoke of her experiences publishing two novels with Wings E Press. Kathy Q. and Patt (writing as P. K. Eden as well as individually) discussed their writing process, the work on their joint book, and particulars of their marketing efforts which, as the panel agreed, require more from the e-published author than they do from the traditionally published book that has the added benefit of being available to pick up, look at, glance through - all of which encourage purchase.
The pluses of e-publishing - the ability to write outside of the fairly rigid and sales-driven genre "box" that traditional editors and publishers insist upon. The opportunity to blend genres and write about those eras and subject matters that "aren't popular now".
With handouts from Cathy G. that provided a wealth of info on different e-publishers and other resources, and an encouraging pep talk from Patt M. urging everyone to take advantage of the e-publishing opportunity and write the book of your heart, along with a spirited question and answer session and a fun photo shoot, it was a marvelous afternoon.
That Cathy invited us back to her lovely home, introduced us to her rambunctious new pup, Murphy, and plied us with tea and nibbles, as well as a lovely conversation on writing, publishing, and Hugh Jackman, was the piece de resistance. It was a truly fun "class trip".
I arrived home at 8 pm. A long day. A full day.
But what was best was the chance to join in with like-minded ladies and support our friends. Cheer on their efforts and learn from their experiences. Hug them, laugh with them, and share good food and drink with them.
I ask you, what better community is there than the one we inhabit? Generosity, enthusiasm, mentoring, compassion, support and hilarity. Nothing can match it and I wanted to take this chance to applaud us all.
Long may we write!
