Agents do consider self-published authors

This article has mostly good news for writers of self-published books.

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2010/09/25/literary-agents-open-the-door-to-self-published-writers/

Random Readings January 30, 2010

The publishing world is changing daily, it seems, and there’s a lot of interest in the area of non-traditional forms of publishing. As “Writers Working for Writers,” the Idaho Writer’s Guild is proudly launching a new series called “Random Readings” on Saturday, January 30th from 1-3 pm at The Cabin, in Boise. Featured writers will share their experiences, from writing to publishing.

Here’s what you can look forward to: authors will read from their books, with commentary. Afterwards, there will be time for asking questions and sharing thoughts about the nuts and bolts of a variety of publishing processes. Not-to-be-missed refreshments will be served.

Southern Idaho residents Bonnie Dodge, Dixie Thomas Reale and Patricia Santos Marcantonio wrote and published “Voices from the Snake River Plain.” A collection of short stories, poems and essays, the book has been described as “a small treasure….we learn there is beauty in the landscape around us and people with stories to tell.” Some of the tales by these award-winning writers include a jackalope, an old Mexican ghost story, haunting landscapes and a road trip with Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey.

Val Robertson was the former president of The Couer du Bois Chapter of Romance Writers of America, and the founding and current president of the Popular Fiction Association of Idaho, which produces the Murder in the Grove mystery conference. She is also the organizer of the Boise Speculative Fiction writer’s support group. Her debut novel is entitled “Blade’s Edge.”

Also from Boise, Ken McConnell is both traditionally published and self-published. A Software Test Technician, Ken wrote and published “Starstrikers” in 2008. His first novel is “a military space novel that takes place between two galactic civilizations.” He also wrote “Null Pointer,” a mystery novel about a programmer sleuth.

“Random Readings” will take place in the Jean Wilson Reading Room, on the basement level at The Cabin, 801 S. Capitol Blvd, Boise. Admission is free. For further information contact Diane Graham at diane@idahowritersguild.org.

Thank you, Magic Valley

On November 6, Pat, Dixie and I enjoyed reading excerpts from Voices from the Snake River Plain to a standing-room-only crowd in Twin Falls, Idaho. A heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who helped celebrate the launch of our new book. If you missed the event, copies are still available at the Magic Valley Arts Council, 132 Main Avenue South, Twin Falls, Idaho. They are also available at the Log Cabin Literary Center, 801 S. Capitol Boulevard in Boise, Idaho.

Voices from the Snake River Plain is here!

Voices from the Snake River Plain is a collection of short stories, essays, and poems written by Bonnie Dodge, Dixie Thomas Reale, and Patricia Santos Marcantonio. Edited by Jennifer Sandmann, the anthology includes tales that range from humorous to haunting, poignant to tragic. Sometimes the stories rise out of the landscape and from dreams. Sometimes they reach into the past, or into the future, but mostly, the stories echo the human heart. Many of the selections have been printed in other publications or have won writing awards. With a foreword by Diane Josephy Peavey, author of Bitterbrush Country: Living on the Edge of the Land, this is a book you will want to add to your collection.

Voices from the Snake River Plain was made possible in part by the Embodiment Grant of Boise.

ISBN 978-0-9627690-1-6

$15 plus tax, shipping & handling

To order contact Bonnie.

IWL State Conference

Lance Thompson, Patricia Santos Marcantonio, and Angela Abderhalden discuss the current state of publishing.

Question of the Month

I have a recurring nightmare. In this dream I am all dressed up in my Sunday best and am in the barnyard. There are no people around, only farm animals and me. I am slopping the hogs and scattering grain to the chickens while spouting my beautiful words. I am ridiculous in the dream and always wake feeling useless, unappreciated and depressed. It is a horrible feeling.

I don’t know what the dream means. Maybe I am afraid that I am out of touch with or a misfit in my surroundings. Maybe I feel out of touch with my readers. Maybe I am afraid that if I do not get my words into the hands of a reading public that I will never have an audience. I do not know but I do not want the dream to come true.

So I have vowed to do something every day related to writing or marketing my words. Some days I might only mail a letter or post card, other days I sit at the computer and pound the keys all day long. Or I might pick through words and delete or replace more than I started with. But I do try to do something everyday related to writing or marketing my stories. And I am determined to get my words to a reading human audience.

We, The Other Bunch, are in the middle of preparing a collection of stories, poems and essays for publication. The collection is called Voices From The Snake River Plain. Watch for it this fall, it is almost ready to go to the printer.

Dixie Thomas Reale

Dixie Thomas Reale’s fiction included in national anthology

Dixie Thomas Reale’s short story “Earth’s Song” is included in Dan River Anthology 2009. Writers Digest named Dan River Anthology among the top 50 fiction markets in the United States.

Dan River Anthology 2009 is available from Dan River Press, Ordering Department, P.O. Box 298, Thomaston, Me. 04861 for $16.95 plus $3.95 shipping. Or you can order online at www.Amazon.com, at www.bestbargainbooks.com, www.barnesandnoble.com or order through your favorite bookstore.  The ISBN number for Dan River Anthology 2009 is 978-897540-233-3.