St. Louis Publishers Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Lessons Learned: A Writer’s Journey from Baseball Fields to Battlefields -- presented by Alan Spector
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
In
that regard, in 2006, when I was developing the manuscript of my first
book, I was at a family gathering and asked a would-be-author cousin how
her book was progressing. She excitedly reported she was working
closely with her agent and editors at the publisher toward a final
draft. In return, she asked me how I was doing on my early draft and
what kind of feedback I had received.
“Feedback?”
She was incredulous, “You mean you haven’t shared your work with others yet? When are you going to get out of your cave?”
I immediately knew what she meant, and added “get out of my cave” to
my list of things I was learning about being an author. Sure, I had
interviewed people for my book and done a lot of research away from the
confines of my computer, but I was enjoying the actual writing process
so much I hadn’t reached out to others to get any critical feedback.
My next steps were to 1) join a local writer critique group, 2)
register for a couple of writers’ conferences, and 3) develop a list of
willing beta readers — the first of which was my wife, who is now the
more-than-willing first-reader on all of my manuscripts and is ecstatic
when she gets to wield her red editing pen.
My list of lessons learned continues to grow, and First Lady
Roosevelt was right. I’ve been learning from others’ mistakes — because
I’m out of my cave. And I’ve been making plenty of my own. Here are but a
few of the lessons that I’ll be glad to share with you in more detail
at the SLPA meeting on February 8:
- Don’t quit your day job… unless you already have.
- Grow thick skin… rejection is inevitable.
- Everyone will have an idea for your next book… and some of them are good.
- Self-published? Tolerate Amazon… but market to direct sales.
I also look forward to hearing what you’ve learned from your mistakes
and those of others — oh, and from successes as well. If you’re like
me, you’ve had both. I hope to see you and learn from each other on
February 8.
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Our regular Monthly Meeting location
(the second Wednesday of every month)
THE HEIGHTS: Richmond Heights Community Center
Argus Room
8001 Dale Ave.
Richmond Heights, MO 63117
Here's a link to Google Maps for location and directions.
Doors open at 6:30 PM for networking.
Business meeting begins at 7:00 PM and continues till 8:30 PM or so with
networking continuing afterward till about 9.
