Portsmouth Bookfest, Star & Crescent and the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries, University of Portsmouth present:
Publishing Weekend @ Portsmouth Bookfest
Saturday 17th February – Sunday 18th February 2018
10am – 4pm
White Swan Building, New Theatre Royal
£20 per day (includes tea/coffee and a light lunch) or two day Saturday and Sunday combined ticket offer £30
This event will be useful to anyone looking to research and edit their writing, publish their work and build their author brand. Whether you are thinking of self-publishing or going down the traditional route, understanding the process is essential. Our range of experienced experts will be sharing their wealth of knowledge on all aspects of the publishing journey and there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions.
Saturday: Working towards Publication: The focus on Saturday is working towards getting ready for publication with talks and practical workshops on researching, editing and pitching your ideas to publishers.
Sunday: Publication and being a published author: On Sunday we focus on the publishing process and how to build your author brand through book cover design, book reviews and the use of social media.
You can book for either day or attend both days at a discounted price! Your ticket price includes a light networking lunch and tea and coffee.
Programme:
Saturday:
10am: Introduction
10.15am: Editing tips and traps with Helen Garvey and Tom Sykes
Writing a book is easy, right? Perhaps, but how about producing something you can be confident is of top publishable quality? Join professional freelance editor Helen Garvey as she discusses the process of taking your first draft through to publication, sharing her tips and highlighting the traps she wishes she had known about when she started writing.
Tom Sykes will explore the processes behind line-editing nonfiction books, making large structural adjustments to narratives, and compiling anthologies of short stories and articles.
11.45am: Coffee break
12noon: Pitching your idea/work with Wendy Metcalfe and Tom Sykes
Wendy will talk about submitting fiction short stories and novels. She will cover preparing your story, submission guidelines, and keeping your motivation up when the rejections roll in.
Wendy has been submitting short stories and novels for over twenty years. She will share stories from her own struggle to scale the slush pile.
Tom will examine proposing non-fiction works and journalistic articles to a range of professional markets, drawing on real-life contracts, pitch letters and editorial suggestions.
1.30pm: Networking lunch
2.30pm: Do your research with Suzie Wilde
Rudyard Kipling writes …
“I KEEP six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.”
… which is a good mantra for researchers, too. But the first question is, what kind of researcher are you? Suzie will help you decide.
3.30pm: Bookshop and Q and A
Sunday:
10am: Introduction
10.15am: Thinking of self -publishing? With Chindi
CHINDI authors have self-published novels and non-fiction books in various formats over the last five years. They’ve made audio books, e-books and printed books that have sold to thousands of readers. They’ve also made a lot of mistakes along the way. Christopher Joyce will lead a discussion of how to publish your book, where to go and what not to do using experiences from the group of 22 authors. www.chindi-authors.co.uk
11.15am: Coffee break
11.30am: Judging a book by its cover – your book as a product with Christine Hammacott
In traditional publishing producing a book is all about creating a saleable product. Whether you are aiming to be traditionally published or are self-publishing the marketing and selling process starts with the cover. This workshop is designed to give an understanding of book cover design and formatting, and why getting to grips with genre is so important by publication stage. It will also cover positioning your book in the marketplace, and the all important considerations when producing your ‘product’.
12.45pm: How to build an author platform from scratch with Jo Mallory
Jo’s workshop will cover: Where to start 101; your Website; let’s talk platforms and your social media, with the opportunity for questions.
1.30pm: Networking lunch
2.30pm: Writing book reviews to establish yourself as a writer with Carol Westron
“Many of the exciting opportunities I’ve received in the past few years have stemmed from my first reviews for Mystery People. I’ve made some wonderful friends, raised my profile as a writer and honed my reading and writing skills. In this talk I will discuss the benefits of reviewing and how to write a review that shows you at your best”.
3pm: Organic marketing with social media with Jo Mallory
In this workshop Jo will cover: Knowing your audience and where to find them; mailing lists; growing your audience organically Vs paid advertising; a fun tips session; the writer trap; don’t be afraid to cull and don’t feed the trolls.
3.45pm: Conclusion, questions and feedback
Tom Sykes 