Stand Together or Hang Alone

Excuse my forgetfulness. I don't remember exactly which of the founding fathers made the statement, 'We must stand together or we will surely hang alone' or something like that but I believe the sentiment holds true for writers as well as rebels.

All writers are voracious readers also. As a group we're supportive of each other with words and with our actions. We critique for each other, give advice, help each other make contacts and buy each other's books. When there is a booksigning we promote for each other on our blogs, we go to the booksigning even if we've already bought the author's books and cheer for each other when all is said and done.

Last Friday night at Aaron's Book Shop, I was pleasantly reminded of this as I signed copies of my first fantasy novel, The Keepers of Sulbreth. Not only did I have the entertaining company of my fellow CPRW authors, Victoria Burkholder, Misty Simon and Victoria Smith with their wonderful books for sale, we were blessed by several friends dropping by to support us.

Kim Wenger and Donna Grant from CPRW stopped in, made purchases, and offered their support. It was so great for me to have a chance to speak with them outside our meetings. I learned how interesting Kim's job is and about Donna's upcoming adventure to Europe. Another very welcome visitor was Walt Honsinger's from Pennwriters. Walter not only is an accomplished author himself, he's the area representative for Pennwriters and does a terrific job with a monthly newsletter detailing all our successes and promoting our appearances and latest releases. Thank you, Walt!

If you live anywhere near Lititz, you must visit Aaron's Books. Not only is it comfortable and friendly, it contains nearly any book you might desire. It has none of the rushed, noisy, take-a-number feel of the big chain stores. If you can't find a book, they'll order it for you. If you love a certain author, they can recommend a similar author you might want to try. And the town of Lititz has atmosphere aplenty.

Last but not least, I should mention how our booksigning fared. WONDERFUL! I believe I sold every book they'd ordered for me and my fellow writers did as well or better. Thank you everyone!

Remember support each other and support your local independent bookstore. If you have one to recommend in your part of the country let us know so we can all stand together and help each other survive.

The recent Pennwriters Conference in Pittsburgh was a huge success. Over 190 people attended. Lisa Scottoline was the guest speaker on Friday night. She talked about how she had found herself with a small child and no real means of support so she started writing and it worked. She talked about how she finds her ideas for novels all around her. A funny woman, her talk was great.
Nancy Martin an author with nearly fifty novels in 17 languages taught how to perfect your pitch. She also moderated a panel with agents Colleen Lindsay, Lucienne Diver, Becca Stumpf and Uwe Stender, covering subjects from what agents are looking for to how they track foreign rights. Martin knew the right questions to ask and the panel was very productive.
All total, there were thirty-one panels ranging from a study in grammar, to series characters, to crime fiction, and playwriting.
On Friday evening, attendees were able to get the first two pages of their novels critiqued by agents, editors, and published authors.
All in all, a great conference.