A shout out to the SF/Peninsula Writers' co-chairs Tory Hartmann and Elliotte Mao for putting on one heck of writers conference in Foster City, California. This was my first visit to the Jack London Conference, an annual event that draws over 300 Bay Area authors. Headliners included Lemony Snicket himself, Daniel Handler, Christopher Moore ("You Suck: A Love Story") and Steve Hockensmith ("Holmes on the Range"). All were funny. All told of their personal journeys to being a published author. All inspired the attendees.
The rest of the day was filled with workshops, networking, and one-on-one consultations. I had three early consultations with authors that are seriously looking at AuthorHouse to publish their next book. Alice Cochran published her prior book, "Roberta's Rules of Order", with Jossey Bass (an imprint of Wiley) but has developed a workbook to go along with her organizational guidance book. Jossey Bass gave her a pass (pun intended) on this book and she's looking to self-publish it and use it to market her consulting business. AuthorHouse is a great fit for her book, and Alice agreed.
After our 1:30 pm "Publishers Shootout", let's just say my consultation schedule picked up. Our panel discussion hosted two traditional publishing companies (Jossey Bass & Chronicle Books) squared off against two self-publishing companies (AuthorHouse & Lulu). An estimated 150 people listened intently as Geri Spieler (which I nicknamed Jerry Springer) moderated our discussion by talking about industry trends, self vs. traditional publishing and the future of the business. It was obvious to me, and I believe others in the room, that self-publishing is no longer a dirty word in the publishing industry.
I had the pleasure of meeting some great people while I was there.
- Tom Ontis, a school teacher from Brentwood that hopes to be done with his book "The Brown Chronicles: The Education of a Teacher". Get that book done this summer Tom!
- Frances Fong Chin, a retired (doesn't look a day over 45) writer that has written a memoir and is looking to publish it for her family and friends in her retirement community. "Everyone tells me they would buy my book," she said. Get it published Frances and they can!
- Frank Lopez, a retired Vietnam vet that has been dealing with post traumatic stress disorder for years and wants to help other vets deal with their problems. Frank truly just wants to help others and AuthorHouse is a great fit for him.
- Ruth Josa from San Carlos has her book "Happily Ever Asperger" nearly completed (she's editing for the last time now). Thanks for your patience Ruth, I was pulled a few different directions in the afternoon and you stuck it out so I could meet with you. We're anxious to get your book started.
