Romance Writer's Workshop (So you Signed the Contract, Now What?)

Mar 24, 2015

Free

🆓

Byline

Christyna Hunter, Library Associate, Lovettsville (Va.) Library/Loudon County Public Library

The Romance Writers' Workshop featured a moderated panel of successful romance authors who debated the differences, commonalities and merits of publishing through a small press and a traditional publisher. Writing techniques and how to reach a niche audience were also discussed.

Advanced Planning

When our programming director initially contacted me with the idea, I reached out to the local Romance Writers of American (RWA) chapters. It turns out that there were three authors who had previously given presentations on small press vs. traditional publishers. Planning for this event became a matter of finding a schedule that met everyone’s needs. All participants were contacted via e-mail to work out scheduling and details. Overall planning for this event took three to four months.

Marketing

We promoted this program primarily in our calendar of events. Authors also promoted it by posting on their websites.

Day-of-event Activity

Set-up involved providing chairs for attendees and tables at the front of the room for authors. Since the presentation was on a laptop, the laptop was set up to display on a large screen.

Program Execution

Twenty people attended the event, which is a good number for an adult program. The staff was pleased with the results and the authors seemed to enjoy themselves. Overall, we felt our goals were achieved with this program.

Advice

My advice would be to contact your local RWA chapter. Most chapters are well organized and have authors that do similar presentations within the community. Also, the topic of the event can vary greatly depending on what the library's community and goals are.