Your Writing Career: It’s More Than Your Books

     Once you’re published, many new adventures come your way. It’s not just about your book(s) anymore. Folks will become interested in you; who you are, what you write, why you write and how you write? You may not have bargained for more than an autograph party or two but like anything in life, when you finally achieve a goal, there’s always more waiting for you than meets the eye.

     Speaking at a local school was the first request I received. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of presenting to school children from Alaska to Florida, and British Columbia to London, England. I’ve spoken to parent groups, other educational organizations, at library and educational conferences on the local, state, national and world levels, and even addressed business meetings; sometimes about my books but more often about the process of living and working as a writer.

     Last week, I had the pleasure of joining Gretchen Griffith, author of Lessons Learned: The Story of Pilot Mountain School, and other works of non-fiction and children’s books as well, to offer a class on memoir writing that we titled, Preserving the Past: Collecting & Recording Family History & Life Experiences.  Between the two of us we've authored five memoirs including nurses serving in the Persian Gulf War, a female pastor in the Salvation Army, the story of a school, and an early entrepreneur who built stagecoaches, brought roller skating to North Carolina and helped people turn moonshine into gasohol. 

                 

     This opportunity came to the two of us because others heard about our books and wanted to know how to write their own memoir. So, we took our knowledge and experience and turned it into a two-hour workshop. It wasn't a session on “how to” write a memoir. Our focus was directed at our process; what each of us did that was similar and more importantly, how our processes differed. We looked at gathering and organizing information,  researching facts to enhance the memoir, resources to help and legal things to consider, just to name a few.  Our goal was to encourage students to develop their own strategies because, in the end, no matter how many classes or webinars or seminars you take, when it comes to writing, you have to take that information and make it your own.

     If you’re already published, then you know what I’m talking about. If not, get ready. Your time is coming, hopefully, sooner than later.

     If you’re already published, please share the most unusual request you've received for a presentation or one that took you by surprise.

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     Gretchen and I are ready to take the memoir writing class on the road. If you know of a group that might be interested, please have them contact us at one of the following websites:

www.gretchengriffith.com

www.sandrawarren.com