Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Link Corral: Poets on Place, Digital Publishing Seminar; Kim Roberts on Redux

Several years ago, my old grad school friend W.T. Pfefferle lived the dream:  he and his wife traveled around the country in an RV, with their only mission to meet up with 62 poets and talk about the importance of “place” in their work.  The result was a beautiful book of words and photographs called Poets on Place: Interviews and Tales from the Road.

Now, the entire text and photographs are available—for free!—online, simply by going here:  http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=usupress_pubs

Warning:  you will get lost amidst this book, but isn’t that an essential aspect to any road trip?

*****
From The Writer’s Center, a one-day digital publishing conference on June 23:

The Publish Now! digital publishing seminar is fast approaching! At this comprehensive day-long seminar, keynote speaker Justin Branch, a publisher with Greenleaf Book Group, will give an overview of the changing publishing landscape and offer guidance on how to control your own publishing experience and maneuver the world of ebooks and digital publishing. Other presenters include award-winning authors, publishers, editors, agents and attorneys who will cover the essentials of writing, publishing and marketing a book in the digital age.

Publish Now!
Take Your Writing from Manuscript to Book & ebook in the New World of Digital Publishing
Saturday, June 23
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
$100 non-members, $85 members/$50 students
Registration fee includes networking lunch & reception
Call 301-654-8664 or visit www.writer.org  for more information.

Publishing
- “The New World of Publishing” will be led by Justin Branch, a publisher with Greenleaf Book Group, whose clients range from well-known brands such as John Gray and Kanye West to debut authors.
- Ken Ackerman & Neal Gillen will present “The Non-Traditional Publishing Experience.”  Ackerman has authored four published books and is founder of Viral History Press. Gillen is the author of eight self-published novels.
Writing
- “The Story – The Manuscript is Finished – Or is It – What’s Next?”, led by C.M. Mayo, author of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, a Library Journal Best Book 2009; Miraculous Air and Sky Over El Nido, winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, among many other works. Her presentation will answer the question, How do I know when my manuscript is ready to be published, and whose help do I need to get it there; for example, a private editor, writing coach, or trusted reader?

Marketing
- “Developing Your Marketing Plan,” led by Ally Peltier, chief editor, writer and editor of Ambitious Enterprises and Angela Render, owner of Thunderpaw Business Intelligence & Network Systems Management and author of “Marketing for Writers,” will break down what a successful manuscript is and how to design your own program for marketing it.

Legal & Business
- Attorneys Laura Strachan and Cynthia Blake Sanders will demystify copyright, fair use and commercial speech laws, which are changing rapidly in the new world of publishing and help you understand who owns your manuscript.

*****

New on Redux:  Three poems by DC writer Kim Roberts:

from NOT-SO-SUPER HEROES
Edema Man can make others swell at will
so their rings no longer fit.
Dustball Man distracts foes
with repetitive domestic chores.
Each Spring thaw, Ice Damage Man
reveals new potholes along your daily commute.
Papercut Man leaves his enemies with cruel,
nearly invisible hand wounds….