Tag Archives: editing

Getting Ready For Our October 15 Self-Publishing Workshop

Our workshop about self publishing is coming soon. October 15th we’ll be conducting an all-day (9AM-9PM) workshop: From Inspiration To Publication. In one day we’ll discuss topics from writing to editing to formatting to publishing to selling your book. 

The previous time we made the presentation was at the local library (thank you, Sno-Isle Libraries and the Friends of Langley Library); and we covered as much as we could in under a couple of hours. It was a bit of a rush. (#massiveunderstatement) This time we’ll give each topic more time. We’re also hosting it in downtown Coupeville, at the Rec Hall, so the setting is sweet, again. 

But what should you bring?

The good news is that you don’t need to bring much, but you can also bring a lot. Whatever way you prefer to take notes, laptop or paper, bring it. (Sorry, no recordings for privacy concerns.) You may just have an idea or you have a completed manuscript; either way there’s enough to get started with. Don’t be surprised if we ask you to describe your project in three sentences. Aside from that, Coupeville has the rest like plenty of restaurants. Park at the building. Pay that day. (check, cash, PayPal) Take breaks if you need to. 

We’ll have wi-fi and presentations, of course, but we’ll also bring publishing and merchandising examples. The very nature of the presentation means we’ll also have the props and support ideas that we use when we present our books at readings and signings.

Don’t worry about signing up. We appreciate knowing how many people to expect, but this is an island thing. There’s no need to be formal. 

We’ll start at 9AM, but should have the doors open before then. We’ll close at 9PM, but there will be breaks throughout the day. We have a schedule but will be flexible because we’ll try to emphasize what you want to work on.

There’s always more to say, but it may be best to hear your questions directly from you. (Contact us)

Looking forward to it!

Popular Posts 2020

Welcome to the ten most popular posts, the posts that received the most traffic in 2020.

That’s a nice mix. Authors, librarians, booksellers, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, editing, and rare books. That diversity is one of the reasons the Whidbey Island writing community is broad and deep, able to support the members of the informal, unofficial, highly creative community. Personally, it is nice to see people returning to episode 1, to better understand our intent. And remember, a grade school class got the most traffic by a large margin. Forget the MBA. Maybe tune into 5th graders, instead.

 

Surfing Writing And Staying Stoked – An Interview with Drew Kampion

“Life is a wave. Your attitude is your surfboard.
Stay stoked & aim for the light!”

Subscribers to drewslist, a much friendlier and more neighborly (and very Whidbey) version of craigslist, can recognize that as the signature at the end of each email from the service that Drew Kampion started years ago. (As Drew put it, “It is like craigslist, but exactly opposite.” paraphrased)

That attitude and philosophy was handy during this wintry recording of the podcast that involved internet glitches and dropped signals. Drew rode those waves with a laugh and a smile. Whew. (And thanks to co-host and audio techie, Don, for stitching it back together.)

For this podcast about Writing On Whidbey Island, we talked less about For Sale ads and more about the books he has written, his time as a journalist, the early era of the now-famous Patagonia company, surfing (the subject of much of his work), how he got to Whidbey, and what he did when he got here. Fake spoiler alert: that signature philosophy isn’t theoretical, it’s practical, and has been steering him through an interesting story.

I’ll leave the storytelling to him, but will mention that it is fun to hear about someone who loves something like surfing can take a talent like writing and create a career in a way that wouldn’t make any textbook. Find what you enjoy. Find what you can do well. And if the two can work together, then celebrate that. Listen in for his story of the ride.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 20 – Drew Kampion, writer, author, editor, journalist, surfer, and founder of drewslist

DrewKampion.com

Drew Kampion on Amazon

drewslist

Steel Lace Apples And Editing – An Interview With Holly Thomas

Pluck another apple, Eve, and finish it. Or more appropriately, “Pluck Another Apple, Eve, And Finish It”; or something like that. (What is the right way to capitalize a title?) Maybe we should ask an editor. Actually, we did. Holly Thomas, editor, poet, artist was kind enough to let us interview her. We didn’t ask about this title or her artistry (this is a podcast about writing); but we did ask about life as an editor and her work as a poet. If you haven’t noticed the graphic below in some preview pane, she published a collection of her poems titled, “Pluck Another Apple, Eve, And Finish It“.

Holly’s work is a reminder that while some of us count how many words we write per hour, poets can spend hours per word – and it shows. Easy grace can require effort and introspection. As captured in the book’s description on Amazon, the term “steel lace” comes to mind. (There may also be some poems that touch on nature, emotions, and physics – a wide range that gets tied together.)

Poets have a difficult time paying bills with poems, which is why she is also an editor, earlier with Microsoft and more recently as an editor working with individual authors. Managing the creative spirit internally, in a group, in a corporation, or with fellow creatives is a special talent, possibly a collection of talents as each environment is different. Her insights into how to work with an editor are valuable. Being able to respect another’s creativity while polishing the product is a rare and hopefully appreciated skill.

(Writer’s note: Writing about an editor’s work can make a writer incredibly self-conscious. Oh well, she’s probably edited worse.)

Listen in for a range of perspectives from corporate to consulting to publishing to working on items that are so personal they may never be shared – oh yeah, and laughter. We can all use a good laugh.

Writing on Whidbey Island (WOWI) episode 19 – Holly Thomas, editor, poet, artist

Holly Thomas, main page

Her book on Amazon

Allied Arts Foundation Emerging Poet Award – Holly Thomas reading Burrs