We’ve made it to the Siouxland Libraries Author Fair weekend and I’m so excited! It’ll be a fun few days of book loving, learning new things, and meeting new people.
My dad and I participated in the Publishing Workshop they held on Friday at the library and it was great. The workshop was all about how to prepare a book for publishing, and the steps to take to traditionally publish. Mary Winters was the speaker – her real name is Mary Honerman, but Mary Winters is one of her author names. She has an agent and has taken the traditional publishing route, so it was great to hear some insight from her about the process.
As many of you probably remember, I’ve self-published both of my books, but I was trying to query an agent for a while when I first finished book #2. I queried about 60 agents before I gave up and stuck with the self-publishing, and it has worked well for me, but it would still be a dream of mine to get an agent and get picked up by a publishing house someday. I really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about it at the event and learn a few new things.
We even had some time at the end where Mary took a few minutes to go over one of the query letters I had written a few years ago, and she gave me some pointers on what to do and what not to do next time I query an agent. It was SO helpful, and I’m really glad she took the time to sit down and help me. It really makes me excited to try again someday. Even some of the most famous authors out there were rejected dozens of times before finding the right agent. I’ve just got to put my head down and keep trying!
The author fair is Saturday, and from 1-3pm you’ll have the opportunity to visit with all of the authors and maybe add a few new books to your collection. I’ll have copies of both Sink or Swim and Below the Surface available at the fair, so if you haven’t gotten a physical copy yet, this would be a great opportunity to do so! The holidays are also coming up, so get a few extra as gifts while you’re at it! 😉
Like I said a few weeks ago, there will be a few speakers as well, so come join me in learning some new things! The event officially begins at noon and goes until 4pm, at the Oak View branch at 3700 E 3rd St, Sioux Falls, SD 57103.
Hope to see you there!
Until next time! 🙂
Megan Nelson