I was honored and delighted when Patricia Dunn, the Director of Graduate Support Services at the esteemed Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY, asked me if I would participate on a panel about self-publishing for the first annual The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College Publish and Promote Your Book Conference on June 21, 2014.
Just so happens I know a thing or two about that. Before I was signed by SparkPress, On Grace (in its first iteration) found its way into this world as a self-published novel. I used CreateSpace and KDP, thinking going full throttle with Amazon was the way to go. I learned a great deal on my indie journey, and I was so happy to share that information with all the writers who paid good money to come to this conference. And I was so so so happy to hear, at the end of the conference, as attendees lined up to speak to me, that my story inspired them and was really helpful as they consider the world of self publishing.
The whipped cream and double cherries on top of this whole thing are that I got to listen in on the other panels:
L to R: Alexandra Soiseth, Julie Schoerke, Susie Orman Schnall, Tessa Smith McGovern
The Agents Panel featured Marly Rusoff of the Marly Rusoff Literary Agency, Miriam Goderich of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, and Sarah LaPolla from Bradford Literary Agency. Moderator: Cynthia Manson of the Cynthia Manson Literary Agency.
The Editors Panel featured Dan Ambrosio of Perseus Books, Ellen Edwards of New American Library, Peter Borland of Atria, Abby Zidle of Gallery and Pocket Books, and Anne Groell of Penguin Random House. Moderator: Editor Caitlin Alexander.
The Promoting Your Book Through Social Media & PR Panel featured Julie Schoerke of JKSCommunications and Tessa Smith McGovern of BookGirlTV. Moderator: Publicist Suzanne Grossberg.
My panel, The Trials, Tribulations, and Benefits of Self-Publishing in Today’s Market, also featured Julie Schoerke and Tessa Smith McGovern. Moderator: Writer and Director of the Sarah Lawrence MFA Program Alexandra Soiseth.
I learned a great deal from this impressive group, and I look forward to participating in some capacity in next year’s conference!
Susie, I learned so much from you and the other panelists. And, your novel, ON GRACE, looks amazing – I can’t wait to get to a quiet spot and read it all day and all night!