Writers Conference

Publishing Seminar in Decatur/Atlanta, GA March 1

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Book Publishing & Marketing Seminar on Saturday, March 1

Are you . . .

·    Interested in learning how you can promote your book for free?

·    A seasoned author, wanting to know more about e-book publishing?

·    A novice writer wanting to learn about the publishing industry?

·    Baffled / intimidated by Social Media & want to learn how to navigate it?  

·    Interested to learn about Writers Grants and Residencies?

·    The author of a brand new book who needs marketing help for your title?

·    Not sure about where to start when it comes to blogs, websites, foreign rights & audio books?

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Then this Saturday-Seminar on March 1, from 10:00am – 4:30pm about
Book Publishing and Book Marketing is a definite MUST for you!  

Admission is only $59 for Early-Birds, signing up until March 26.

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You will receive lots of useful information for your further literary career in our workshop. Find out how to navigate the modern publishing world, get hundreds of valuable marketing tips during this seminar while in the relaxed atmosphere of a group of writers. Learn how to promote your book without even spending money for it.  Get practical hands-on tips to market your book and earn more money with leveraging your manuscript.
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These are the WRITERS SEMINAR main topics:

·         Learn about the new publishing & pre-publishing process

·         Identify your target readers and their demographic

·         Find out how to reach these readers online and off-line

·         Create your own brand and your platform

·         Choose the type of publishing that is right for you

·         Market and publicize your book successfully on a budget

·         Leverage the content of your book into other markets & earn more with your writing

.         Prepare your next bestseller & find free book publishing funding sources

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Don’t forget to tell all your friends about this writer’s event.  To sign up go to our website:

http://www.111publishing.com/publishing-seminar-in-decatur-atlanta-ga/

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,000 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: Atlanta, Decatur, how to promote your book, learn how to publish a book, leveraging your manuscript, literary career, modern publishing world, Publishing Seminar March 1

Book Fairs: The Do’s and Don’ts

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During these last days of the old year, equipped with brand new calendars, you might be sitting down to plan the marketing for your book(s) in 2014. Which Book Fairs or other Literary Events will you attend in the coming months to present your work?
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Carefully Check Out the Fair Organizer
Before you sign up and spend any money, let the organizers show you how they promote this book fair in detail. Don’t settle for general statements, such as: “We advertise everywhere in the area” or “Our clients post it all over the Internet and on Social Media”. Rather inquire and ask detailed questions:

  • How many shows did they previously organize and how was the outcome?
  • Which advertisements did they purchase for this upcoming book fair?
  • To which audience (in follower numbers) and how often do they announce it on Social Media?
  • Which articles did they prepare and where will it be published, and to how many readers?
  • What is the percentage of recurring exhibitors?
  • Can they give you names of exhibitors / authors you might contact about their experience?
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Make sure that organizing a book fair is not an attempt for this company to make a fast buck, but rather to promote authors and their books, considering that you have the cost of buying a table, transportation / parking costs, promoting, maybe accommodation and restaurant bills or even expenses to have a helper at your booth.
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These tips might help you to evaluate if it is worth to attend the book fair.  I visited lots of great organized and promoted exhibitions – but here is an example how the event organizers and even authors can spoil the experience for visitors:
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Can it Get Any Worse?
Last Fall I attended a Book Fair, organized by a large group of author-publishers. My expectations were pretty low, as I feared, it was not sufficiently advertised, such as in their earlier book events.  And it was in fact even worse…
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Barely Advertised:
Instead of writing articles about the show, listing the authors that were present and rave about their books – and distribute these articles at least through all the local papers for free – there was nothing publicized…. Not even on Google+ nor on Goodreads’ free event sites was this book fair advertised, which would have cost them not a dime.
Only one promotional article about one of the organizers was published, also not directly about the show, but rather about his achievements in writing a huge number of books (which averaged exactly 72 copies sold per title…).
The book fair was neither advertised at local online magazines nor in print (for a very low fee) in newspaper event pages. Even their own website did not show a proper invitation for the public – instead an announcement for members to purchase a table at the show.  Members were encouraged to send out tweets to the public to purchase a table!  Did they mean instead of visiting a book fair to rent their tables? A promotional disaster!
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Inconvenient Layout:
The book fair was set up on the second floor of a recreational facility. The room itself was very long and narrow, a wheel chair could barely roll through between the tables, without touching books and throwing them to the floor. I watched as visitors were polite and stepped back or sidewards to let wheel chairs pass. When looking at the books or purchase something, the people in wheelchairs felt embarrassed as they blocked inadvertenly the whole aisle.

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Self-Published-Looking Book Covers
Only two of about 150 books showed a professional cover – all others screamed: “self-published”. OK, some of the covers could work for a print book, potential customers in bookstores could read all the details on the front and back cover, but they were mostly available as e-books too, and I imagined them on Internet retailer sites, among many other books with professional covers displayed … where they would be difficult to read due to the small print.

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Lack of Displays
Most of the books were laid out flat on the tables and visitors had to lean over in order to read the title. There are so many inexpensive Acryl presentations available to show books upright!  Just visit a trade book fair, such as Book Expo NY, Frankfurt Book Fair and see how professional publishing houses present their books. Or get a video from these fairs on YouTube to see how a book presentation should look like.

Only one of the authors at the show had a background display – a real attention-grabber – showcasing the cover of one of his titles. It was one of these roll-out display posters that one can carry very easily, being not much bigger than a golf umbrella when dissembled ……. URL
Other book exhibitors did not invest a single dollar in display and had in the best case a copy of their book cover or a 8×11′ black & white computer print-out “poster” with the book title on it, pinned to the wall behind them.

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No Credit Cards
Everybody knows how easy it is to spend money when you don’t have to pay with cash. I overheard several times that patrons said: “I have to leave it with this one book, as I don’t have enough cash with me”. Another said: “I just found out by chance about this book exhibition, but I don’t have any money with me”.
So, why not making it easy for customers and accept credit cards or any of the new ways of paying digitally? Nothing easier than this: use one of these “Square Cards” or bring your smart phone of iPad with you and let people pay, using their PayPal account – or even better, sending you the money by email / online banking (available at Canadian bank accounts, not sure if available in other countries) – right at your exhibition booth! Make it as easy as possible for people to buy your books!

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Approachable or Unfriendly?
For a couple of hours I watched authors how they approached potential patrons, at their book tables. I asked everyone of the authors, why they wrote this book (lots of memoirs there!), what’s the background of their novel, or how long it took them to write it, how they were promoted it. It was a mixed bag: Some where cheerful talking about their writing process, the background story etc., while others only asked which one of their books I wanted to buy, and when I was not taking out my purse right away, they turned around and talked with their neighbors. Wow, I was pretty astonished – and guess who’s books I bought?

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One Book Seller Stood Out
Her book, Kathleen’s Cariole Ride was available in print and digital form. She bundled both, similar to the book bundles that Amazon offers now. And almost everyone of her print book customers bought a digital version too, which she offered for only $1 at a promotional price, either for themselves or as a gift. How she did it? She brought two tools her: an iPad and a small poster. As soon as someone declared to buy the paperback, she pointed out to her poster and showed them her Amazon page on her iPad. When readers saw the official book price on Amazon and compared it to her offer at the book show, they could not resist to get the e-book too.
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Conclusion:
Why make all the effort to write and spend the money to publish a book?  I know that some of these authors at the book show had paid thousands of dollars to a Vanity book company to get their book(s) “published”. Why then not invest a couple of dollars in presenting their work properly?
Again: Writing is an art – Publishing is a business! I hope these examples give you food for thought and encourage you to present your books professional at this year’s book shows. And a word to book show organizers: Don’t just fleece authors and sell tables, but offer them value in promoting the book event professionally. You can do it even for free, using all these new media possibilities out there!

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $159 for three months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 970 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: BEA, book display, Book Expo America, book fair, book selling, book show, event organizers, Frankfurt Book Fair, Kathleen's Cariole Ride, Margaret Kell, Organizer of Book Fair, OTTAWA

Mixed Stocking of Publishing News

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Christmas-Tree
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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY READERS – ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS

 

Inspire!: Toronto Launches New Book Fair in 2014
Inspire!, a four-day Toronto International Book Fair, will make its debut next November at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. News of the fair’s launch comes just three months after the release of a feasibility study, funded by the Ontario Media Development Corp., which raised the tantalizing prospect of a reimagined Toronto book fair after six years without one.”

Steven Levy, a “master of big consumer trade shows, has partnered in the venture with Rita Davies, former executive director of culture for the city of Toronto, and publisher John Calabro of Quattro Books, according to the Star. Levy noted that while the show partially fills a gap left by the demise of BookExpo Canada, Inspire! will be 80% public and about 20% for publishing industry insiders.

“In Toronto we have a large audience with a serious interest in both print and digital subjects,” he said. “And we have a highly diversified society, with many different languages and cultures. Our challenge is to create a number of unique events that will be entertaining and educational, and engage this audience.”
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PAINTER OF THE HEAVENS Amazon Kindle Countdown Deal

“A Novel of Crime and the Heart” by Bart Stewart   http://bit.ly/18YaHqY
Starts Dec ember 26, at 08:00 am, @ 99cents

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Kobo to Raise Revenues for Authors
e-Book retailer Kobo is raising the minimum price for an e-book to qualify for 70% royalties from $1.99 to $2.99 and has dropped the upper range limit of $9.99, this way DOUBLING the revenue offered by Amazon’s Kindle on higher-priced e-books. The change represents a 50% increase as, previously, to qualify for 70% payments, an e-book on Kobo Writing Life had to be priced between $1.99-$12.99, with the royalty dropping to 45% for e-books outside that range.  In comparison: Amazon pays 70% royalties on e-books priced between $2.99 and $9.99 and 35% outside that range.  It looks like a move that could attract a new wave of authors to Kobo, especially those with high-end e-books, such as text books and “coffee-table” books or those with lots of images.

The minimum prices internationally to qualify for 70% e-book royalties from Kobo are:

  • £2.99 in the UK (previously £1.99-£7.99)
  • $2.99 CAD in Canada (previously $1.99-$12.99)
  • $2.99 AUD in Australia (previously $1.99-$11.99)
  • €2.99 in the European Union (previously €1.99-€12.99)
  • $2.99 NZD in New Zealand (previously $1.99-$12.99)

Certain conditions apply: See the Kobo website
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From Kobo’s News Release:
Kobo expanded its distribution channel in France with the addition of top France retailers Pixmania, Cora, Casino, Auchan, and Boulanger.

Kobo takes e-Reading to a New Continent
World-Class Platform Now Available to South African Consumers :
Kobo brings eReading to South Africa through its partnership with Pick n Pay, one of the largest and most successful retailers in the country. Not even a month after partnering with the New Zealand Booksellers Association and Paper Plus, Kobo brings its world-class e-Reading experience to people in South Africa, with the award-winning Kobo Touch e-Reader and a localized online customer experience.  Local content is also available in both English and Afrikaans, including works from authors such as Deon Meyer, Leon van Nierop and Tess Gerritsen.

More Languages
Kobo’s self-publishing platform is now available in German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch, in addition to English.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $159 for three months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 960 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://www.111publishing.com

http://www.e-Book-PR.com/

http://www.international-ebooks.com/

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: Kobo brings eReading to South Africa, Kobo in South Africa, Kobo publisher news, Kobo to raise revenues for authors, Ontario Media Development Corp, Toronto Book Fair "Inspire"

HAPPY CANADA DAY !!! HAPPY CANADIAN WRITERS!

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July 1 is Canada’s National Day, and today’s blog post is dedicated to everything Canadian. The Canadian government is supporting and fostering literature, writers and publishers, even ISBN’s are FREE in Canada!
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There is a huge list of government grants and support for writers and publishers. The Canada Council for the Arts offers a range of benefits for professional Canadian writers, collectives and publishers.  In addition to providing support for the creation, translation, publication and promotion of Canadian literature, the “Writing and Publishing Section” funds among others for example author residencies, literary readings and festivals, as well as new areas of activity such as rap poetry, storytelling and electronic literature.
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PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT BENEFITS
Just one of many provincial benefits for publishers is the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit, offering  generous tax deductions.
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WHERE and HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE ISBN IN CANADA
Good news for Canadian authors and publishers: the ISBN application process is simple and free of charge – but only if you are living in Canada and your publishing company is registered in Canada.
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COPYRIGHT CANADA
What Every Writer Needs to Know About Copyright. Register your manuscript or articles online to the Copyright Office, Canadian Intellectual Property Office Web site (fee Can $50).
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CANADA’s ONLINE BOOK RETAILERS
Mobile media and cloud computing emerged over the past years and enabled the e-book market to rapidly expand worldwide. These are just a few of the numerous possibilities to submit e-books in and to Canada:

Native - PowWow

Native – PowWow


http://www.Amazon.ca

http://www.Chapters.indigo.ca

http://itunes.apple.com/ca

http://www.kobobooks.com
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CANADIAN WRITERS DON’T NEED AGENTS
“You must get an agent!” is an advice that aspiring authors hear and read everywhere. Is it really true? Not for Canadian writers! Beacon Literary Services owner Julie Ferguson says: ”Publishing statistics in Canada demonstrate that it is simply a misconception caused by American influence. In Canada, only ten percent of books are agented. Aspiring and established authors here successfully submit the majority (10,000) of the titles published every year directly to editors.”  Julie Ferguson wrote a great blog post for Canadian authors, explaining in detail how publishing “north of 49th parallel” works, with a link to Publishers.ca, featuring listings and contact information for several important literary agents and agencies in Canada.

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CANADIAN SHORT STORY PRIZE 2013
Canada Writes, with partners CBC, Canada Council for the Arts, Air Canada’s enRoute magazine and “The Banff Centre”, are pleased to announce the Grand Prize winner will receive $6,000, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts, and will have his/her story published in Air Canada’s enRoute magazine and on the Canada Writes website. She or he will also be awarded a two-week residency at The Banff Centre’s Leighton Artists’ Colony, and will be interviewed on CBC Radio. The 4 runners-up will each receive $1,000, courtesy of the Canada Council for the Arts, and their stories will be published on the Canada Writes website.
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WRITE FOR AIR CANADA INFLIGHT MAGAZINE “ENROUTE”
Writing for airline magazines, such as enRoute represents a real opportunity for freelance writers. Travel pieces are a staple of in-flights, yet airline publications also offer articles on technology, business, sports, and food, as well as lifestyle trends. Find as much of the articles online. Or try to get hard copies. Since in-flights are not sold on newsstands, request a copy from the magazine’s publisher and ask traveling friends for their help.
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Canada-Day-Ottawa

Canada Day in Ottawa

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HOW TO OPEN A PUBLISHING BUSINESS IN CANADA?
Authors are smart and able to start their own publishing business, REAL publishing, not POD and not Vanity Publishing: Finding and getting quotes or referrals for an editor, a book lay-out company or book designer, cover artist, e-book formatting company and a printer is not difficult.
Setting up their own company can be done online – in minutes.
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READING CANADIAN BOOKS and ARTICLES
English is English! – No! Not at all! Canada and America are two countries separated by a common language – this is how George Bernard Shaw’s statement could be converted. Many American (and other) readers are surprised to learn that there are huge differences in spelling between English-speaking countries. A book, written and published in Canada, needs almost to be “translated” into American English and vice versa.
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BERTON HOUSE Writers’ Retreat, Dawson City, Yukon Territory
Professional Canadian writers who have one published book and are established in any creative literary discipline(s) — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, play-writing, journalism — are all encouraged to apply for Canada’s most northern Writers’ Retreat.  The Writer’s Retreat offers writers time, and a remote location to pursue their professional projects. The writer will be housed in the Berton House at no cost in rent or utilities. Travel costs to and from Dawson will also be covered! The writer is responsible for a public reading in Whitehorse and Dawson City and a summary of their stay at Berton House.
Applications may be submitted by mail or email to: jdavies@writerstrust.com
Berton House Writers’ Retreat,  c/o The Writers’ Trust of Canada
200-90 Richmond St. East, Toronto, ON M5C 1P1
http://www.bertonhouse.ca/retreat.html

A monthly honorarium is provided to help cover food and other living expenses. The competition to be a writer-in-residency during the 2014-15 season is now open. An online application form is available.  The deadline for submissions is October 4, 2013.
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Canada Day celebrations July 1, in front of the Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario. Image courtesy NCC.
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HAIG BROWN RESIDENCY
Published authors are being invited to apply for the 2013-2014 Haig-Brown House Writer in Residence position. The residency entails spending the winter months (or a portion thereof) living in the Haig-Brown Heritage House, which is under the management of the Museum at Campbell River on Vancouver Island (BC).

The modest four bedroom house reflects the character of writer Roderick Haig-Brown and his wife Ann. Located in a peaceful setting on the banks of the Campbell River on Vancouver Island, it contains a Heritage library and is surrounded by two acres of garden and 17 acres of public parkland.

The writer’s time will be divided between pursuing personal writing projects and providing literary advice and support to the local community, and participate in Museum winter programming.  A stipend of up to $2000 per month, depending on available funding, will be provided.

Please include a resume (maximum two pages), a list of publications, a one-page proposal of anticipated community activities, and a sample of work in progress (20 pages); with reasons why the residency would further your work. Forward your application package to Sandra Parrish, Museum at Campbell River, Box 70 Stn A, Campbell River, BC V9W 4Z9. Deadline is January 31, 2014. For further information contact sandra.parrish@crmuseum.ca.
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CANADIAN WRITER ASSOCIATIONS

Writers Guild

Professional Writers Association of Canada

Canadian Writers Union

Canadian Authors Association and Branches

Crime Writers of Canada

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RCMP-officers-on-horse, courtesy NCC

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CANADA WRITER CONFERENCES

Surrey Intl. Writers Conference Oct 25-27, 2013 Surrey, BC

Guelph, Ontario Writers Conference

Writers Conference Orillia, Ontario

Ontario Writers Conference Ajax, Ontario

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WRITING CONTESTS in CANADA
compiled by Can Authors
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LIST OF CANADIAN WRITERS
Past and present writers, including poetsnovelistschildren’s writersessayists, and scholars. compiled in a Wikipedia article.
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PUBLIC LENDING RIGHT PAYMENTS TO AUTHORS
Canadian authors receive approx. $10 Million per year/ in average $600, and up to $3,500 The Canada Council for the Arts distributes annual payments to Canadian authors through the Public Lending Right (PLR) Program as compensation for the free public access to their books in Canadian public libraries. Canada is one of 29 countries with an active public lending right payment program.  Well, not bad to be a writer in Canada! Happy Canada Day!

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/    Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.
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Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 785 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://pinterest.com/111publishing/
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Nassau, Bahamas: There is more than Shopping…

I am very excited to tell you about our upcoming Writer’s Seminar at Sea. We’ll be sailing on
November 3, 2013, aboard the incredible new cruise ship “Breeze”, recently named 2012’s “Best New Ship” by Cruise Critic. Learn effective techniques to market your books, network with peers, and have the time of your life in the exotic Caribbean! Partially tax de-ductable!

Seminars are on days at sea, so there is lots of time to explore the Caribbean Islands. Seminar-Cruise starts from $1.032 pp ALL INCLUSIVE & for spouses who don’t attend only $832. See complete details http://writers.thecruiseevent.com/

“Grace Unexpected”, a novel by Gale Martin

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‘Boy, are YOU in for a surprise…’
“I thoroughly enjoyed reading Grace Unexpected  and those around me thoroughly enjoyed watching me jump out of my seat and scream “ARE YOU SERIOUS?” while reading the second to last chapter of the book. Want to find out more? You’ll just have to pick this one up!”

Reviewer N. Whiffen, Amazon.com
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What others say:

“Martin delivers an engaging plot, with witty banter, comedic elements that border on farce and cleverly titled chapters . . . its ending contains a welcome twist. An entertaining light read.”
Kirkus Reviews

“This is Gale Martin’s second novel and I can’t wait to see what she does next. Not many authors can be intelligent, witty and funny with such ease. Five and of five huge stars.”
— Book Evolution

“I absolutely LOVED Gale Martin’s ‘Grace Unexpected’ and recommend it to anyone who
loves chick lit.”
— Endless Days of Literary Ecstacy

“GRACE UNEXPECTED is chick-lit at its finest. Wit, drama and surprise fill every page. A 5-
star read. 273 pages of fun!”
— Literary R&R

“A simple gift of comic genius”

“Calling all single ladies! In this charming and witty story, Gale Martin reminds us how humorous and daunting the dating life can be. GRACE UNEXPECTED is a delightful mix of love and loss. Snark kept me laughing on each page, but it was Grace Savage’s voice that kept me wanting more.”
— Marni Mann

Read more Book-Blurbs 
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About the book:

Thirty-something Grace Savage has slogged through crummy jobs and dead-end relationships with men who would rather go bald than say “I do”. In search of a respite from her current job, she visits a Shaker Village in New Hampshire. Instead of renewal, she’s unnerved to learn that Shaker men and women lived and worked side by side in complete celibacy.

When her longtime boyfriend dumps her instead of proposing, Grace avows the sexless Shaker ways. Resolved to stick to her new plan – dubbed the Shaker Plan – and despite the fact that her ovaries are ticking, she returns to her life in Pennsylvania.  Almost immediately, she’s juggling two eligible bachelors: Addison, a young beat reporter; and True, a venerable anthropology professor. Both men have ample charms and real soul mate potential to test her new-found Shaker-style self-control. Grace appears to be on the fast track to a marriage proposal… until secrets revealed deliver a death rattle to the Shaker Plan.
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Grace Unexpected, e-book ($3.99) and print ( $13.35), 273 pages,
Amazon:
Barnes&Noble
Independent Bookstores in North America with store locator

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Gale Martin

Gale Martin

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About the Author

Gale Martin  is an award-winning writer of contemporary fiction who plied her childhood penchant for lying into a legitimate literary pursuit during midlife. She began writing her first novel at age eleven, finishing her first book three decades later.

Her debut novel, DON JUAN IN HANKEY, PA, published in 2011, is a humorous backstage novel inspired by Don Giovanni, Mozart’s famous tragicomic opera about the last two days of Don Juan’s life. It was named a Finalist in the 2012 National Indie Excellence Awards for New Fiction.

Her second novel GRACE UNEXPECTED, published in 2012, is wryly witty women’s fiction that features a protagonist who can hear her ovaries ticking, who has a heart of pure gold, wrapped in lead. But a string of crummy boyfriends would do that to any lovable woman while waiting for Mr. Right.

She has a master of arts in creative writing from Wilkes University. Her work has been published in: The Christian Science Monitor, Duck & Herring Company’s Pocket Field Guide, Sirens Magazine, Giggle Water Review, and in several anthologies.  Gale hosts a blog about opera called “Operatoonity.com” and an opera-themed Twitter account @operatoonity.
Visit her Goodreads presence
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Gale is a also a very popular guest speaker, her next appearances are:

  • AAUW Book and Author Luncheon, Willingboro, NJ, April 26, 2013
  • Author Event, Alvernia University Literary Festival, Reading, PAOctober 24, 2013
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Don’t miss to read Gale Martin’s blog when visiting her appealing website http://galemartin.me.  Every time I log on, I enjoy her amazing posts, and spend way too much time reading it all. Her website is a real show case, a role model for other authors.
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3-Day Writers Workshop

West Virginia Writers Logo

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Held annually at the scenic Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV, 40+ workshops, presentations and panel discussions with talented and well-published presenters are offered.

Three days of writing workshops include all genres for all ages, as well as for beginning to polished writers.

The Annual WV Writers Spring Conference is the premier writing conference for West Virginia  will take place on June 7, 8 and 9, 2013 at the Cedar Lakes Conference Center near Ripley, West Virginia.

Registration will open on March 1, 2013 and registration forms for both the conference itself and for lodging and meals through Cedar Lakes will be posted at their website: http://www.wvwriters.org/conference.html

Join West Virgina Writers, their yearly membership fee is only $20. West Virginia Writers, Inc. is the largest non-profit writers’ resource and service organization serving literary interests in West Virginia.

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