Fiction Among Friends has drawn together a group of people from the writing/publishing world to talk about various ways for writers to become published. Too often writers have that single-minded goal of finding a publisher who will snap up their work, make some magic and pop it onto bookstore shelves and onto the New York Times Bestseller List. With that narrow focus, they may fail to think "outside the box", missing bread-and-butter writing opportunities that might prove personally and financially rewarding (at least until the New York Times comes through). This panel will talk about both traditional and non-traditional methods of book publication and other kinds of writing that one can pursue to bring in a paycheck while the Great American Novel is still in draft. Read about our presenters and their areas of expertise below, and visit their respective web sites (where applicable) to learn more about them.

Margaret Bartley is the author of GRISHA: The Story of Cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, winner of the 2005 Adirondack Literary Award for Non-Fiction. Margaret had taught at the secondary and college level, and earned a Master of Creative Writing degree from John Hopkins University in 2002. She is a freelance writer for several magazines, including Adirondack Life, Vermont Life, Strings, and Yoga Journal. She has organized and led writers' groups, and is editor at Otis Mountain Press, www.otismountainpress.com. During the panel discussion she will talk about what it takes to start an independent publishing company and how it differs from self publishing. She'll cover taking a book from manuscript to print and the marketing process.

Margaret also will be presenting a workshop entitled "Point of View: Letting your characters speak" and, at the Story Concert, performing a dramatic reading from her book, GRISHA, at the Fiction Among Friends Story Concert.

 

"At the heart of the story are the valley’s creatures. How to settle in and observe them, without interfering unduly, became the challenge. Watching coyotes, wild turkeys, egg-laying turtles, migrating birds and butterflies and other wildlife immersed them in life’s circular conundrum. Life becomes death and death becomes life."

Pyramid Publishing Inc. is a publishing service that assists authors with the self-publishing of their work. They provide the following services: editing, typesetting, graphic design, printing, illustrations, photographs, promotional materials, ISBN numbers, barcodes, and more. Pyramid Publishing Inc. is owned and operated by Zach Steffen, General Manager of North Country Books; Paul Dischiavo, freelance writer and editor; and Rob Igoe Jr., President of North Country Books.

Zach and Paul will join us for the Adirondack Mountain Writers' Retreat and Story Workshops on Monday, July 16th. Their presentation includes an overview of the publishing industry, options for authors seeking publication (including traditional publishing and self-publishing), dos and don'ts for authors seeking publication, and a description of the services provided by Pyramid Publishing.

At left see one of their recent publications, At the End of the Road, by Ruth Mary Lamb. "This ten chapter memoir starts in 1990 when Ruth and Sandy Lamb undertook a retirement adventure that moved them from their lives as health professionals in the Boston area—Sandy was director of the Boston Health Department and Ruth was a nutritionist—to the southern Adirondacks. Their plan was to live simply, in a valley deserted by people." Read more under the cover graphic, and come to the workshop to learn from Zach and Paul how this book and others are produced by Pyramid Publishing.

Mark Frost has been writing professionally since the age of 14, starting as a junior high school correspondent writing sports articles at 12 cents an inch for The Glens Falls Times. After graduating with high honors in American Studies from Wesleyan University and cum laude from the University of Maryland School of Law, Mark became a newsman and commentator for radio station WWSC in Glens Falls. In 1978 he self-published a book, Scattered Frost, compiling some of his best radio commentaries and weekly columns he'd written for The Post-Star. The success of the book, which went into a second printing, set the stage for him in September 1980 to launch The Chronicle newspaper, now in its 27th year and employing 18 people, plus a delivery crew. Mark also self-published PermaFrost, a compilation of some of his early work from The Chronicle. The Chronicle - officially Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. - intends to publish two new books later this year.

Publishing issues Mark planned to address during the panel discussion included: "Is there room for the 'little guy\' in the era of Goliath?" and "The money's in self-publishing."

Persis "Perky" Granger, with Cassie Selleck, is co-organizer of Fiction Among Friends Adirondack Mountain Writers' Retreat and Story Workshops. The decision to organize activities for writers (Cassie and Perky have organized November retreats in Florida, as well), was born of a desire to participate in more writing activities, do more networking with writers and make more time to write. More time to write? Go figure!

Perky is the editor/co-author of Shared Stories from Daughters of Alzheimer's: Writing a Path to Peace, an anthology dubbed "a support group in print" for families coping with Alzheimer's disease, (iUniverse 2002; iUniverse Star, 2004) and a young adult novel and accompanying teacher's guide, Adirondack Gold, (self-published under the name of Beaver Meadow Publishing with the help of an individual artist grant from the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council (2003). While working on a sequel to Adirondack Gold, she freelances (Adirondack Life--see March '07 article on Toad Hill Maple Farm), Adirondack Family, BackRoads, area newspapers), and writes for and edits the Quarterly, published by the John Thurman Historical Society. She is active in Thurman volunteer work, having chaired the Thurman Townwide Sale, Fiddlers' Jamboree, Historic House Tour, and two train events. She presents Alzheimer's talks for adult groups and book and living history programs for schools, libraries and organizations. In this discussion, Perky compared print on demand publishing with self-publishing, and pointed out some pros and cons of each. To learn more about Perky, visit www.persisgranger.com.

Amanda Magee - A west coast transplant living in Glens Falls, Amanda Magee began an odyssey of freelance writing and exploration of the blogosphere after her husband opened an advertising agency and began using her for all his copy needs. Three blogs, two kids and several writing gigs later she is happy to call herself a freelance writer and certifiable internet junkie.

Visit her blogs:

The Wink http://www.toddlywinks.blogspot.com
Tumble Dry http://www.lifewithbriar.blogspot.com
Adk Chamber http://www.adk-chamber.blogspot.com (something she is just now developing for the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce)

Christina McEntee, a resident of Thurman, works as an agent producing illustrated books for independent artists, writers, and photographers, as well as for larger publishing houses, museums, and galleries. Before she and her husband moved to Thurman full-time in 2003, she lived in New York City and was the publisher of a company producing advertising resource books for commercial artists and photographers.