Two Talks on the Business of Writing
On the Saturday afternoon of the Harvest Writers Retreat, there will be two optional talks on the business of writing for retreat participants, one on building a plan for submissions and another on putting together a successful reading. Each will cover essential aspects of moving your writing out into the world. To see the full retreat schedule, click here.
Who, What, Why, When, Where: Building a Plan for Submissions
with Gibson Fay-LeBlanc
Very few writers have editors and publishers knocking on their doors asking for writing. So no matter the genre you’re writing in or how many publication credits you have to your name, you need a plan for submitting your work. Where should you send your work? When should you send out your work? What should you send? How might you deal with all of the inevitable rejections? How might you build on your successful submissions? These and many other questions related to submitting will be asked and answered. This talk will give participants a roadmap for developing their own unique submissions plan that is appropriate for their goals in the coming year(s).
Gibson Fay-LeBlanc’s first collection of poems, Death of a Ventriloquist, won the Vassar Miller Prize, was published in 2012, and was featured by Poets & Writers as one of a dozen debut collections to watch. His second book, Dangle Dazzle Dive, was published by CavanKerry Press in 2021. Gibson’s poems have appeared in magazines including the New Republic, Tin House, jubilat, Orion, and Poetry Northwest, and his prose has appeared in magazines including Kenyon Review, Portland Magazine, and SLICE. He currently serves as executive director of the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance and lives in Portland with his family.
How to Put together a Successful Reading
with Barbara Kelly
Barbara Kelly will bring her long career as an event and conference bookseller to bear and give her best advice for putting your best foot forward for a reading or conversation. What should you definitely not do? What are the most common mistakes that even the most experienced authors fall into? How do you create the event magic that allows audience members to relate with you and your work and buy your book?
Barbara Kelly has been a independent bookseller for the past 34 years. She started out as a frontline seller at the Bookland of Maine chain in South Portland and then transitioned to Tradebook Manager at the University of Southern Maine (USM) bookstores. After 24 years at USM being the bookseller for university events and professional conferences, Barbara Kelly opened this Maine-based business specializing in book sales at conferences, special events and author appearances. She sponsors author events on her own at various Southern Maine locations and acts as the bookseller for authors at libraries and other venues. Kelly (as she is commonly known) also works as a costume designer for various theatre groups in Southern Maine and when not attending a theatrical event can be found reading a good book!