Words in Print & Partners in Words (including tips for writers!)

Words in Print

First up, find me on p13 of The Manly Daily today! Or in the image below, he he…

Representing the Northern Beaches Writers' Group

Representing the Northern Beaches Writers’ Group: Kristin Prescott, me & Kylie Pfeiffer.

Woo hoo – I love being in print!

This article is all about the teen fiction books I write collaboratively with a bunch of awesome authors to raise money for The Kids’ Cancer Project. Looking for an extra Christmas present for your 8-14 year old? Then give them the gift of knowing they’re helping research into childhood cancer by reading one of these adventures!! They’ve won a load of awards!

If you’d like to donate to The Kids’ Cancer Project, simply order your print copy or ebook through your favourite online retailer, or contact me as we have some stock here too.

Zena Shapter NBWG SCRIBBLES - RGB

Read more here. Buy now here.

Zena Shapter NBWG DOLPHIN - RGB

Read more here. Buy now here.

They’re great stocking-fillers!

Partners in Words – Tips for Writers

Next up, some advice for writers!

Last night I attended a fabulous ‘Partners in Words‘ meeting – a network of Sydney-based authors, librarians, booksellers, publishers and editors… We meet at the Blue Gum Hotel, Waitara, several times a year. This meeting was particularly fabulous because Lisa Heidke, Chris Allen, Melinda Seed, Libby Sherrard and Jo Coffey all shared with us their top publishing tips. It was such an informative session, I thought I’d share a summary with you…

Jo Coffey, Libby Sherrard, Melinda Seed, Chris Allen and Lisa Heidke.

Jo Coffey, Libby Sherrard, Melinda Seed, Chris Allen and Lisa Heidke.

Lisa Heidke

Her main advice to writers was to rest your manuscript after you’ve written it, and don’t ‘write what you know’ as the maxim says. Instead, extend yourself so you and your readers don’t get bored. You might never have murdered someone before, but that doesn’t mean you can’t kill off a character in your book!

Chris Allen

He told writers to get their stuff out there and not to write to a formula. Trust your instincts!

Melinda Seed

Talking about social media, Melinda said to “always be yourself, unless you suck, in which case be someone else!” He he, great advice Melinda! She also reminded people that you go on social media to be social. If you want to sell your book, take out an advert. Authors shouldn’t use their accounts solely for book promotion.

Libby Sherrard

Libby also spoke about social media and advised authors not to let things sit out there online.

Jo Coffey from Novella Books

Finally, Jo told us some funny anecdotes from her time as a bookseller and gave us two pieces of advice – never tell someone you’ve read a book when you haven’t, and don’t harass booksellers about stocking your book!

Hanging with my author buddies Anna Maguire and Pip Harry.

Hanging with my author buddies Anna Maguire and Pip Harry.

If you’re a Sydney writer and want to come along to the next meeting of Partners in Words, just send me a message and I’ll put you in touch with the organisers.

In the meantime, have a great day and, if you can, read a stories!

Zena Shapter

Zena Shapter writes from a castle in a flying city hidden by a thundercloud, reaching across age and genre into the heart of storytelling. A multi-award-winning author of speculative and contemporary fiction, she teaches writing at festivals, libraries and schools, judges various literary awards, mentors and edits other writers, and encourages everyone to value the importance of creativity. She loves movies, frogs, chocolate, and potatoes, though not at the same time!

Comments are closed.