On November 13, I was pleased to give a talk to the Capital Crime Writers, the venerable Ottawa-based crime writing group. I was invited by my good friend C.B. Forrest, whom I've edited three times, and each of his three Charlie McKelvey novels is a gem. Also in attendance were old friends and successful Canuck mystery novelists Barbara Fradkin and Mary Jane Maffini, in a supportive observational capacity.
I talked about lots of stuff — from some dos and don'ts of crime writing and writing fiction in general, to mutually beneficial strategies for working with an editor (and the necessity of hiring one!) to the realities of book publishing in our current epoch. By which I mean the decline of traditional publishing and the rise of genuinely workable self-publishing. I attempted not to give short shrift to either option, though I do believe that self-publishing is increasingly becoming a good possibility for a writer, which it was not really in the past.
Hopefully the accumulated wisdom, such as it is, of my years working in publishing and editing tons of people was of value to the attendees.
The crowd was pleasant and responsive and asked a bunch of great questions. And Forrest himself was a charming moderator, as one would expect.
The wife and I enjoyed a lovely trip and I look forward to seeing the group again someday.
I talked about lots of stuff — from some dos and don'ts of crime writing and writing fiction in general, to mutually beneficial strategies for working with an editor (and the necessity of hiring one!) to the realities of book publishing in our current epoch. By which I mean the decline of traditional publishing and the rise of genuinely workable self-publishing. I attempted not to give short shrift to either option, though I do believe that self-publishing is increasingly becoming a good possibility for a writer, which it was not really in the past.
Hopefully the accumulated wisdom, such as it is, of my years working in publishing and editing tons of people was of value to the attendees.
The crowd was pleasant and responsive and asked a bunch of great questions. And Forrest himself was a charming moderator, as one would expect.
The wife and I enjoyed a lovely trip and I look forward to seeing the group again someday.
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