Enthusiasm, passion and a willingness to succeed are all the right ingredients a writer will need to create a great story. Sometimes though writers block gets in the way of that great masterpiece and I find that a perfect way of getting rid of this irritating glitch is to talk to other writers.

I find social media is a great way to meet other writers and authors but sometimes you need a bit more of a helping hand. You might need an in-depth conversation about where your book is going or what steps you can take once your novel is finished. This is where our ‘Author Days’ come in handy!

On Saturday 21^st June, both myself and Alexandra Murphy held a successful ‘Author Day’ at Lincoln’s Waterside Shopping Centre. We came armed for the job! We brought with us, tons of leaflets and information to help guide and support aspiring writers. We came with everything under the sun from how to upload your story onto Amazon Kindle right down to the ten golden rules of writing fiction.

We set up our event just inside the shopping centre and I have to say it was a beautiful day and the sun was beating down on the glass roof (thankfully the windows were open so we didn’t bake too much). Like most authors, I love talking about books and literature so an event like this is just a perfect day out for me. Chatting about what everyone has either achieved or is trying to achieve is fascinating and inspires me too. As soon as I start talking to another writer, everything else just fades away and I am living their moment with them. I adore listening to their exciting plots and ideas and really enjoy their imaginary fictional characters. Of course there are those who only write non-fiction which is just as interesting and I adore history so when someone starts telling me that they’re writing about their uncle who was a bomber pilot in the Second World War, I’m simply all ears.

The aim of the day is to simply support and inspire both the young and the old and if both myself and Alexandra can help anyone in any way, well, that’s just a bonus. We spoke to a gentleman who had written a book several years earlier and who now had a stock pile having been a bit over zealous with the amount of books he thought he would sell in a short period of time. I gave him the idea of starting his own (free) website and perhaps adding PayPal so that he could sell signed copies. This is always popular with readers and if they can receive them without having to leave their armchair then that’s usually a really good incentive.

Another gentleman needed some vision with his writing. He had lots of ideas but he didn’t keep with one long enough to actually create anything substantial. I tried to guide him to focusing on one working progress at a time and to file away the rest until needed. The problem with jumping from one story to the next might work for some, but for this man it was making his writing life a misery.

I have to say we met some great students who were all fired up and passionate about their next WIP (work in progress) which just makes me ooze with happiness. Some just needed to know what kind of websites were available alongside Kindle and we explained there was also Createspace, Smashwords, Kobo and Nook to name just a few. Others needed information on the differences between going down the traditional route of publishing or trying self-publishing.

 Saturday turned out to be a very interesting day for all of us as we met some really interesting people. We met someone who writes on a boat, a young lady who is writing a novel set in 1875 and a successful playwright. There is so much talent out there and we need to spread the word that it’s no longer difficult to get yourself noticed or raise your platform in the hope that publishers and agents might one day be knocking at your door.

We may not have all the answers but if you would like to get in touch with either myself or Alexandra about your writing or holding an event, please contact us via our email address and we will help all we can: aspiringCW@hotmail.com

Remember … Getting that book published has never been easier!

A Few Pictures From Our ‘Author Day’