AN AUTHOR'S POST MORTEM EVENT PHOTOS

Gloria Ferris and Donna Warner had a tour of the Kingston Penitentiary. Relieved they let us out in time for the book Expo.

Enjoyed participating on three panels with fellow authors at the May 26-27 Limestone Genre Book Expo in Kingston, Ontario.This author’s take-away messages from lively panel discussions follow:

 1) "Using Travel as a Way to Generate Ideas for Writing": Brandon Crilly (Moderator), Hayden Trenholm, Donna Warner, Lisa de Nikolits, A.A. Jankiewicz

·         Gives writers an additional tool to add to their creative efforts; observation of people, places, and things adds richness and authenticity to our writing;

·         Internet research is wonderful for acquiring information to aid with our writing projects;

·         There’s the added benefit for writers traveling to conduct research for their books—expenses are tax deductible against earnings.

2) "Are There too Many eBooks Available for Free?" Hayden Trenholm (Moderator), Brett Savory, M.H. Callway, Kit Davon, Donna Warner, Merridy Cox

Offering a free eBook for a limited time as a marketing option may increase exposure for a newly published author or possibly help an author sell books in their back list. However, we were cautioned that many readers consider a free eBook as “getting what they paid for” with content (writing and editing) not up to publishable standards.

·         The mass of free eBooks available from the Internet may be educating readers to expect to pay nothing for their reading material.

·         There are now two categories of sales tracked by Amazon:  paid and unpaid sales.

·         Authors must adhere to their country's anti-spam legislation when sending e-mails to prospective readers and to ensure their mailing and newsletter lists provide the option to “unsubscribe”.

·         One publisher commented that they have seen increased digital sales by keeping books by their authors priced competitively and not offering discounts often.

·         Libraries offer both paperback and e-Books to their patrons. Authors should approach local libraries acquisitions managers to request their books be available since libraries are encouraged to support local authors.

·         A number of eBook marketing options were mentioned for authors including getting listed on Canada Reads and submitting work to contests since winning awards is a great way to increase visibility. One of the fastest growing book markets is audio books.

3) "What Makes a Hero or Heroine?" Douglas Smith (Moderator), Kate Heartfield, Tobin Elliott, Therese Greenwood, Nina Munteanu, Donna Warner

(Photo for this panel unavailable at time of posting.)

·         A memorable character with interesting quirks, flaws, skills or handicaps to overcome;

·         Evidence of their value system;

·         The psychology of the character (what makes them tick);

·         A protagonist that is likeable and an antagonist that is feared or disliked;

·         Selfless acts or putting one’s life at stake.

·         Character must captivate a reader’s interest.

 Book Vendors' Displays

When not on panels, my crime thriller novella series co-author, Gloria Ferris and I networked with fiction readers, authors, and publishers on the 6th Floor of the downtown Holiday Inn Harbour Front hotel. Our banner shows our Guelph writers' group name, Genre5.  Looking forward to having Pam Blance, Liz Lindsay, and Donna Houghton join us at our next book event.

The book vendors' (authors and publishers) displays at the Expo.