From conception to publication, we help writers of all genres. It’s our mission to help writers achieve their goals, both personal and professional, through education and community.
Upcoming Event
If you have any questions about our upcoming events, please email Programs at programs@highsierrawriters.org.
This event is free and open to the public. We will do the First Pages Program at this meeting.
APRIL MEETING
Saturday, April 14th at 10 A.M.
At the South Valleys Library (15650 Wedge Pkwy Reno, NV 89511)
LEARN MORE ABOUT PUBLISHING AND HOW TO GET YOUR BOOKS SOLD
Randy Peyser helps people get book deals with literary agents and publishers. She edits and ghostwrites books and pitches manuscripts to literary agents and publishers. Her clients have been featured in Oprah Magazine, Time Magazine, on the Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestseller Lists, and on Hallmark TV and Daily Mail TV. Her authors’ books have been sold nationally to big box stores and airport bookstores, have been featured in other prominent media outlets, and a number of them have won prestigious awards. Randy also places books in 5-star luxury hotels and national magazines. Her company is www.AuthorOneStop.com.
For our meeting, Randy’s topic is GET A BOOK DEAL WITH A PUBLISHER
There’s the book you want to write and the book a publisher–and readers–will buy: Are they the same book?
Literary agents receive 1500+ manuscripts a month. Publishers receive 10,000+ manuscripts a year. If you want to get a publishing deal and more readers, you’ve got to know what publishers (and readers) buy and how to make your book stand out from the pack.
Publishing coach, Randy Peyser, pitches books to agents and publishers. Her company also edits and ghostwrites books. This past October, six of Randy’s clients were offered eleven contracts for a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Randy will tell you exactly what you need to know to get an agent or publisher to offer you a contract.
You will discover:
- What topics are hot and what’s not.
- The most essential sales tool you need in order to sell a manuscript to a publisher.
- The quickest way to get an agent or publisher to stop in their tracks.
- The one thing to absolutely not do if you are serious about getting a publishing contract.
- How to get cover endorsements when you don’t know anybody who’s famous.
- The biggest mistakes authors make.
- The things you absolutely must do to make your book stand out.
- Details about your writing that publishers always look for.
- The biggest questions publishers ask before they make a buying decision.
Our other speaker is Janice Hermsen, who is the co-founder and managing partner for LeRue Press, a publisher, printer and a professional business center and bookseller located in Reno, NV. She is also the editor of What’s the Story?™ Hermsen recently joined the board for the No Strings Attached E News (NSAEN) International Film Festival, and hosts two radio shows, Book Hound™ and What’s the Story?™ that air in northern Nevada and stream live via the internet and TuneIn Radio. With the help of the internet, she has followers from around the world.
For our meeting, Janice will be covering the topic of HOW PUBLISHING HAS CHANGED BUT AUTHORS HAVE NOT
The world of publishing has gone through many technological and business model changes in the last decade. Authors have had to change too…but have they? Janice Hermsen, publisher and business consultant, will explore the many publishing models and some of her experiences with authors and publishing over the last 10 years
FIRST PAGES
If you’d like to participate in this month’s first pages critique with Matt, please bring in your book’s first page. Please print the page in at least 12 point font and double spaced. If you have more than one manuscript, feel free to bring in more than one sample.
MAY MEETING PREVIEW
In May, we will be announcing our annual writing contest. Donna Stegman will bring us the latest news in publishing and what books publishers are looking for now as well as giving us the details of the contest. Mark your calendars now for May 12th.
DUES ARE DUE!
If you haven’t renewed your membership, now is the time to do it. The small membership fee of $25 per year goes toward renting our meeting space at the library, paying speakers to make presentations and hold workshops, buying supplies such as name tags and markers, keeping a post office box, and operating a bank account. Your membership fee is tax deductible; High Sierra Writers is a 501 (3) (c) non-profit corporation.
Membership includes several great benefits, such as the Critique Groups mentioned below, reduced fees when we have a special speaker and need to charge a fee, your book listed on the HSW page, contests. and more.
