Toolkit for New Writers and Night 7

Holy Moly!

Are you quaking?

The thing with a 9-day long festival is that you want to get caught up but it keeps happening. So let's try and get caught up before tonight's Stories on Stage (altho once again there are so many quality options tonight, it almost makes me weep).

On Monday (I know, it's Thursday - can you even believe all the things we can talk about!), I caught the two part series entitled Writer's Toolkit, which consisted of two panels. The first, called Authors Reveal All, included 5 first-time novelists and 1 (bloody) two-timer. Hosted by Litquake's CFO Elise Proulx, the main function of this panel was to discuss the various paths each author underwent, from personal exercises all the way to sitting on the panel. First, to give you an idea of the type of writing each author does, Elise had them read about 5 minutes from their books:

Elise's Intro

Joanna Smith Rakoff

Michael Sledge

Vanitha Sankaran

Jason Headley

Elaine Beale

Shanthi Sekaran

:: Part 1 ::

— When did you start writing and how long until you published something?

— Was getting an MFA part of the process and how do you feel about MFAs?

:: Part 2 ::

— What would be your single biggest tip if you could give your start-up self advice?

:: Part 3 ::

— What is your personal writing process?

— How do you write if you have kids?




The second part of the series, called How to Navigate the New World of Publishing, was moderated by Scott James and featured various industry experts: founder and CEO of Blurb Eileen Gittins, Untreed Reads founder Jay A. Hartman, Graywolf Press Editor-at-Large Ethan Nosowsky, literary agent Amy Rennert, and Associate Publisher of Cleis Press, Brenda Knight. The conversation was wide-ranging and audience participation quite lively. I've broken it into smaller chunks:

:: Intro ::

Scott introduces each panelist

:: Part 1 ::

The panelists explain what their jobs really consist of

:: Part 2 ::

— Where does the industry stand at the moment. Are deals really up?

— How do you get your work out there?

— How has the role of agents changed?

— Here we are. The dawn of eBooks.

:: Part 3 ::

— How the cost of a book breaks down.

— How do publishers justify their jobs?

— Social media rocks the boat. How?

:: Part 4 ::

— Who is Stephen Elliott? This is one of the freshest perspectives on new-age publishing. Sign-up for the Daily Rumpus.

— Is there a role for the misfit writer in our culture anymore?

— What are publishers doing in this new age to facilitate an introduction between writers and readers?

— What does publishing an eBook entail?

— DIY only gets you so far. True or false?

:: Part 5 ::

— Using your platforms and social reading.

— Advice for the traditional publishing route.

:: Part 6 ::

— Q&A: Digital Rights Management and giving your work away for free

— Raising money to publish your work

— You've got the book finished and a strong platform. What do you do now?

— How does the new world of publishing effect poetry?

:: Part 7 ::

— Visual art in eBooks

— The average print run and cost for each book and the guessing game of P&L

— Is it necessary to know someone to get an agent?




I was going to launch straight into my analysis and coverage of Tao Lin's reading at Booksmith, to which I frantically biked after these panels, but I have a coffee date right now and not enough time to do the event justice. Give me a few hours and we'll be talking again, just as though no time passed at all.




In the meantime, here's a guide to this evening's festivities:

The Booksmith Bookswap: Litquake Edition, 6:30-9:30 pm. The Booksmith, 1644 Haight St. Admission for this show was $25 and advance only. I'm not sure if they're still selling, but you can call 800-838-3006 to find out, or drop by The Booksmith. I went to one of these events and cannot recommend them too highly. Featured guests will be:





Poets 11 2010 Showcase, 7 pm. Readers Café, Fort Mason Center, Building C, SF. Free. This will be a great way to spend your evening and at no cost. Jack Hirschman organizes this annual submission-based best-of, selecting 3 poets from each of SF's 11 districts. This is what happened when (nearly) all 33 of them got together this year at the library. They are also selling a pretty compilation.



Litquake in the Bookstore: Thaddeus Russell at City Lights, 7 pm.City Lights, 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco. Free.



Spiritual Journeys at Marin Osher JCC, 7:30 pm. Osher Marin JCC, 200 N. San Pedro Rd., San Rafael. Admission: $12 for members of Litquake and Osher Marin JCC, $15 general public; tickets (415) 444-8000 or online.





Feminine Wiles, 7 pm. Noe Valley Recreational Center, 295 Day St., San Francisco. Free. What's there to say about this one? Litquake knows how to put together great all-women events. This one is from last year (plus I caught one last night, which will be up in the next 2 or so days). By the way: this is an all-star lineup.






Stories on Stage, 7:30 pm. Berkeley Repertory Theater, Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. Admission: $22.50 in advance (at brownpapertickets.com or by phone 800-838-3006); $25 at the door. If you can afford this event, have nothing against the EBay, appreciate recent McArthur Genius Award recipients, brilliant funnymen, and people on top 20 under 40 lists, oh and theater … you should probably fork over the cash. I'll see you at the Rep.





Talk to you soon,

Evan