Reading and Writing

The Anson County Writers' Club in Wadesboro, NC sponsored their fourth annual writers' conference April 13th-14th with storytellers, authors, and writers as presenters throughout the two days. Authors Marjorie Hudson, Hope Clark, and Gary Carden were just three of the many who presented. I felt honored I too was a speaker. More info about the conference is available on the website http://www.ansoncountywritersclub.org/.

The topic I chose for my presentation was "A Writer's Journey." My writer's journey began in 2006 after the death of my dad, at which time I began writing poetry as a way of dealing with grief. That eventually led to writing a human interest column for a local newspaper, the Salisbury Post. Writing workshops, critique groups, networking on sites such as Linkedin.com., Twitter, and Facebook have helped me grow as a writer and develop my craft.

In 2010 I published my first book, Tired of My Bath. It didn't take long for me to realize publishing a book was not the end of the process, but only the beginning. Marketing must go hand in hand with publishing in order to be successful.

I have shared my books at schools, churches, organizations, book signings, and festivals. It's really fun to visit schools because you never know what children are going to say. I generally end my presentations with a motivational message, although I find I'm often the one motivated because of the energy I get from the audience.

Although marketing can be scary, it's well worth the effort. You never know who you might meet or what life you may have touched by sharing a little of yourself with others.