Schedule 2008-2009

Meetings September through May

  

NOVEMBER 18th – AUTHOR PANEL, "HOW DO I MARKET MY BOOK?
Tuesday, November 18th at 7 p.m.
Joseph-Beth Booksellers at SouthPark Mall, 4345 Barclay Downs Drive, Charlotte
Panelists: Margaret Bigger, Susan Woodring & Ann Wicker

Margaret Bigger	Susan Woodring	Ann Wicker

Three Member Panel To Answer The Question, "How Do I Market My Book?"

Our November 18th meeting brings together three distinguished authors to answer the question, “How do I market my book?” It’s a question we often get from members and prospective members who have a book in the works or already on hand, and the answer is frankly elusive, usually containing the clause, “It depends.” On what? Genre? The size of the publisher? The target audience? There seems to be no single answer that fits all.

Our panel consists of three individuals with diverse backgrounds and experience in writing, editing, and the business of getting their books in the hands of readers.

Margaret Bigger, long time CWC member, respected author, editor and publisher, and master of the “As Told To” genre, is venerated as a frequent teacher and advisor to other writers. Margaret has a depth of experience to share in the areas of publishing and marketing as well as the craft of writing. Many of her books are listed on amazon.com.

Susan Woodring is the author of The Traveling Disease, selected as the first novel published by Main Street Rag Publishing Company, and Springtime on Mars: Stories. Her short fiction has been published in numerous journals including Isotope, Passages North, and The William and Mary Review. She is the recipient of the Charlotte Writers' Club 2006 Elizabeth Simpson Smith Short Fiction Award and the 2006 Isotope Editor’s Prize, among others.

A native of North Carolina, Ann Wicker is a graduate of Davidson College and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University in Charlotte. Over the last 29 years, she has worked as a reporter and editor at a daily newspaper, a weekly paper and a monthly magazine. In 2008, Novello Festival Press published Making Notes: Music of the Carolinas, a collection of nonfiction essays and articles about the musical legacy of North and South Carolina. As the editor of the collection, Ann sought out writers and musicians with authentic voices and strong, interesting stories to tell.

Our three panelists each have their unique perspectives and experiences to share about the business of marketing books they have written, edited or published. Got a book to market to the world? Bring your questions.

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OCTOBER 21st - SPEAKER, GAIL MARTIN
Tuesday, October 21st at 7 p.m.
Joseph-Beth Booksellers at SouthPark Mall, 4345 Barclay Downs Drive, Charlotte

The resurgence in fantasy fiction that began in the mid-20th century with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbitt and Lord of the Rings got a big boost from J.K. Rowling, who found her pot of gold with the Harry Potter series. Charlotte’s Gail Z. Martin, featured presenter at our October 21st meeting, continues the movement with her successful novels, The Summoner, The Blood King and Dark Haven.

A native of Pennsylvania, Gail earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Grove City College in 1984 and an MBA from Penn State in Marketing. As President of her own company, DreamSpinner Communications, she bases her writing and publishing business in Charlotte.

The Summoner is the launch title release by Solaris Books, a UK-based fantasy and science fiction imprint from BL Publishing and Games Workshop. The Blood King, second in the series, appeared in February 2008 and is currently in its second printing. The third book, Dark Haven, is slated for publication in 2009. Gail’s books are distributed in the U.S. by Simon & Schuster. She uses the services of the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency in New York City.

Gail wrote her first story, at age five, about a vampire. Her favorite TV show as a pre-schooler was Dark Shadows. At age fourteen, she decided to become a writer.

Gail will read from her work, which blends magic, ghosts, vampires and romance—so appropriate for October. She will also discuss her adventures in the business of writing and publishing, and share her personal observations and advice to other writers, particularly in the art and craft of fiction writing.

Struggling to promote your own book? Be sure to visit Gail’s web site, http://www.chroniclesofthenecromancer.com/page/page/3827767.htm, a very fine example of how to use the Internet to market your books.

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SEPTEMBER 16TH - SPEAKER, KAY MCSPADDEN
Tuesday, September 16th at 7 p.m.
Joseph-Beth Booksellers at SouthPark Mall, 4345 Barclay Downs Drive, Charlotte

To kick off an exciting new year for the Charlotte Writers’ Club, we welcome Kay McSpadden in September. Kay will be present “Finding Your Writing Voice: Four Things You Have to Know” at 7 p.m., Sept. 16, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, SouthPark. Having a desire to write isn't enough--you have to define your purpose, your message, your audience, and your style in order to develop your own writing voice. Kay offers some suggestions for exploring each of the four necessary components of voice. Kay McSpadden has taught high school English in rural South Carolina since 1977. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Winthrop University and earned national certification in English Language Arts/Adolescence and Young Adulthood from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 2001.

Since 1999 she has written op-ed columns for the Viewpoint page of the Charlotte Observer and currently writes on alternating Saturdays. Kay has written and recorded radio commentaries for WFAE, the Charlotte affiliate of National Public Radio, and she contributed to the series Trust Matters, which won the Delta Sigma Chi Award, the Radio and Television News Directors Association Award, and the 2005 Edward R. Murrow Regional Award. A selection of some of her Observer columns and radio commentaries was published in November 2007 as Notes from a Classroom: Reflections on Teaching. Her first novel, Feeding the Ghosts, was a finalist in the 2004 Novello Contest. She has also written several award-winning short stories and poems. Kay and her husband Randy, a Presbyterian minister, have two sons: Jamie, who graduated in May from Yale, and Will, a junior at Emory. 

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