Today I’m hosting Marilyn Meredith, a writing friend I’ve known for quite a few years. In fact, it’s because of Marilyn that I now have 20 books published, and have my own publishing company.
When I first moved to the Central Coast and found SLO NightWriters, Marilyn was the speaker at the first meeting I attended. She had just indie-published one of her books and spoke about the process of DIY in the publishing world. I thought, I can do that! So I did, and I’ve never looked back.
Today, Marilyn tells us all about speaking engagements. I’m starting to think: I can do that!
Enjoy… take it away, Marilyn!
WHY I LOVE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Writing, as much as I love it, is a solitary profession most of the time. There are many parts to being a writer, and one important part is promotion. Speaking engagements are one of the ways to promote.
When you are invited to give a talk, no matter where it is or for what kind of audience, it means you are going to be out among other people, people who for the most part love to read. And isn’t that one of the reasons why we authors write? To give people something to read?
I particularly like speaking to other writers because they understand what it is to be a writer; the thrill of seeing your book in print, the exhilaration when someone tells you how much they liked the book, disappointment when it doesn’t sell as well as you’d hoped, or when you receive not such a good review, or you don’t get many reviews at all. I also like sharing information about writing that I’ve learned along the way.
To be honest, I’ll speak to any group that wants to hear me. I’ve learned over the years if I can make people laugh, I’ll probably do well selling my books. Because I believe in being honest about my career as a writer, there’s plenty to laugh about.
Having the opportunity to speak about something I love, writing and the books I’ve produced, is to me a great way to spend some time away from my computer. It is also a way to meet many interesting people and make new friends.
And that my friends, is why I love speaking engagements.
Marilyn, who writes the RBPD series as F. M. Meredith
(Ed. Note: If you haven’t tried the Rocky Bluff series yet, you’re really missing the boat! Trust me, one page and you’ll be hooked! And as a curious aside, that first book Marilyn inspired me to publish? It’s also titled Tangled Webs… what is it they say about great minds??)
Tangled Webs: Too many people are telling lies: The husband of the murder victim and his secretary, the victim’s boss and co-workers in the day care center, her stalker, and Detective Milligan’s daughter.
Bio: F. M. Meredith who is also known as Marilyn once lived in a beach town much like Rocky Bluff. She has many friends and relatives in law enforcement. She’s a member of MWA, 3 chapters of Sisters in Crime and serves on the PSWA Board.
Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com
Blog: https://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com
Facebook: Marilyn Meredith
Twitter: @marilynmeredith
Tomorrow I share where some of my ideas came from: https://amymbennettbooks.blogspot.com/
Thank you for hosting me today, Susan, and the kind words you wrote about me and my books.
Thank you so much for hosting me today, Susan, and for the kind words about me and my books.
It was my pleasure, Marilyn. I love hosting you… you always have such interesting and insightful things to say about writers and writing…
Good blog.
And you gave one one of the best presentations on editing that I’ve ever heard!
Thank you, Janet!
Wonderful post, Marilyn! I’ve heard you speak a number of times and always enjoy listening to you. Not only that, but you’ve encouraged me to get back to promoting. Thank you!