Local Quad Cities authors to support independent bookstores on Small Business Saturday

The QC Book Rack, an independent bookstore with locations in Davenport and Moline, and 918studio, an independent literary press in LeClaire, have teamed up to participate in Indies First and are promoting a local author event for Small Business Saturday sponsored by the American Booksellers Association (ABA).   

Quad City area local authors, Ann Boaden, Sean Leary, Cindy McDermott, Jane Reinhardt-Martin, Lilly Setterdahl, Jodie Toohey, Robin Throne, Connie Corcoran Wilson, Karin Youngberg, and illustrator William Hannan will join about 700 authors across the U.S. at more than 400 independent bookstores to make appearances at the Book Rack locations on Saturday, November 30, to sign books, recommend books, and talk about books in support of independent bookstores. An interactive map of the event can be viewed at http://www.indiebound.org/indies-first   

The QC Book Rack offers a local author section at both stores and other local authors will also have their book recommendations on display for holiday shoppers. McDermott, Toohey, and Throne will be at the Davenport store, and Boaden, Hannan, Leary, Reinhardt-Martin, Setterdahl, Wilson, and Youngberg will make appearances at the Moline store.

Economic indicators have shown independent bookstores have begun a new chapter in a shifting bookselling climate when compared to the past decade. The ABA reported that since 2009 more independent bookstores have opened than closed in America.  In September, the noted Native American writer, Sherman Alexie, called for local authors to use Small Business Saturday to support independent bookstores in turn for their ongoing support of both authors and readers.  

Learn About Self-Publishing at Pen In Hand

With advances in technology and the ability to cheaply and easily produce e-books and print-on-demand-books, self-publishing has grown immensely in the past several years. But it has always been around. Just do an internet search and you can find the identities of several writers who started or spent their entire careers as self-publishers. Self-publishing can be rewarding and lucrative but there are a lot of things to consider. How much will you do yourself? Will you secure the services of a subsidized or so-called vanity publisher or will you open your own publishing company and take care of everything from production to distribution? And that’s only the beginning. You can’t just produce a book and expect people to start buying it; you have to let people know it’s out there.

Before you step into the DIY book publishing business, it is important to fully understand how self-publishing works, what it involves, and what it does and doesn’t do. Self-publishing is a valid choice to make to get your work out into the world, but it is a choice that must be made consciously, with purpose, and backed by information. To get this information, plan to attend the Midwest Writing Center’s “DIY Publishing – Is It For You?” workshop from 1:20 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at its Pen In Hand Mini Writing Conference on Saturday, October 6, 2012.

During the workshop Lilly Setterdahl and David Dorris will discuss things to consider when deciding whether to try to get your book published traditionally, to go on your own in a full blow DIY publishing project, or to pay a publishing company. It will not advocate one form over the other but will give you the information needed to open your eyes and know what to expect if you choose a self-publishing method. David has written three books published both on his own and traditionally: Life Is Too Short, Life Is Too Short: Choices In Life and Life Is Too Short: Life Is What We Make It. Lilly has written 16 books, 14 of them nonfiction, some published traditionally and some self-published as well. Her latest book, Not my time to die: Titanic and the Swedes on board came out on April 15, 2012.

Other sessions offered at Pen In Hand on October 6^th address e-book publishing, traditional publishing, and marketing (important no matter how you publish). Discounts are offered for early-bird registrants as well as members of MWC. Click here to learn more and sign up.

JUNE'S FEATURED AUTHOR: LILLY SETTERDAHL

Midwest Writing Center introduces LillySetterdahl, June’s featured author of the month. Lilly is an authority on Sweden and the Titanic. She has published sixteen books, fifteen in English and one in Swedish. Her first book was published in 1981 by Augustana College and was entitled Swedish American Newspapers. She has had books published each of the past three years. Chicago Swedes: They Spoke From the Heart was published in 2010; Hero of theTitanic, the sequel to her novel Maiden of the Titanic, was published in 2011; and Not My Timeto Die: Titanic and the Swedes on Board was published recently in 2012.

Not My Time to Die is a nonfiction book about the Swedes on board the Titanic who made up the third largest ethnic group among the ship’s passengers. It was published on April 15, 2012, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking. Lilly says she decided to write the book while she was working on Hero of the Titanic because nobody outside of Sweden had written a book about the Swedes aboard the Titanic and because she was encouraged by Titanic scholars to write such a book. The book is ideal for anyone interested in the Titanic, the Swedish people, or both. It describes what happened with the Titanic, Sweden’s condition in 1912, and the reasons the Swedish passengers decided to make the trip. Profiles of each of the 123 Swedish passengers and the stories of the 34 Swedish survivors are covered through the some one hundred pages of Not My Time to Die. The work contains a wealth of new information including material previously unknown to English-speakers which Lilly translated and stories about third-class passengers who have received little media attention.

 

Lilly started writing as a new bride in Sweden in the 1950s. She was inspired by a local writer who had a first novel published which was made into a film. This led to an article published in a woman’s magazine for which Lilly won first prize. When not writing, Lilly enjoys research and travelling to visit family. Lilly offers this advice for aspiring authors: “Find a subject that will attract readers. Take classes and attend workshops. Be prepared to work long hours. Don’t forget what you have already written before proceeding. Keep notes or copies of your research. Back up your files.” Lilly also expresses appreciation for MWC who published her Maiden of the Titanic and Hero of the Titanic novels. She says she has “enjoyed the guidance of the Midwest Writing Center and the fellowship with the board, the members, and other writers.”

Please join the Lilly on June 13th at 7 p.m. at the Bettendorf Public Library where she will be reading as part of the Bettendorf Public Library's and Midwest Writing Center's Read Local series. This event is free. Not my Time to Die is availablefor sale on Amazon.com.