I love e-courses, you can attend them without having to organise babysitting, without having to take your slippers off, without having to find parking and, best of all, at a time that suits you.

Whether that’s the reason this e-course has been so popular in the past or because it’s an excellent course at an excellent price, I’m not sure. The first year I was astounded by the interest, the second year I had double the amount of people applying.

Here’s a few quotes from last year’s ‘Writing From The Heart’ e-course

‘Thanks to Elizabeth I can now source markets for personal stories, competently make my writing market-ready and sell it with confidence. Her editing skills are an asset in the writing community. I recommend this course to any writer who wants to break into this market.’          JOH, Australia 

‘I’m delighted and proud of my first attempt. Thank you for a wonderful course. I have been enriched.’       AK, Zimbabwe

‘I thought the way the market information was presented was not only informative but importantly for me it was written in a friendly manner. It took away some of the awesome fear I have of confronting the real world of publishing.’        KM, Australia

‘Great course Elizabeth! I would not have taken the time to seriously try this genre but for your course. I made the last few changes you suggested and have the essay in to …………. After reviewing their requirements I see that my piece fits in every way possible.’     SM, Canada

 This year’s course start Thursday 5th July.

To find out more CLICK HERE

When it comes to selling your books or writing goods at a festival or display there are obviously, to make the best of the opportunity, a bundle of things you have to bear in mind. Here are a few things that the past weekend reminded us.

• If possible get a stall close to the toilets, not just for convenience but because sooner or later most people will have to pass you on their way to or from there.
• Get to know the person on the stall next to you. Firstly, it makes the time go faster, is more fun, but also means if they are going off to get a coffee you can ask them to get you one too.
• When you are at the furthest point away from your stall (this usually only happens when things are quiet) it doesn’t matter how fast or slow you are at getting back, the customer who was hovering will just have left.
• Using a tablecloth, sheet or even picnic rug over your display table will always make it look professional than bare boards.
• Sometimes the value in holding a stall is in the people you meet not the sales you make. (Although it’s better if you do well at both.)

Just a few thoughts which I hope will help, although if you’re seasoned seller there are probably more that you follow. If so, I would love to hear them.

So it’s now four days since we got back from the Boyup Brook Book Bonanza. The suitcase is almost unpacked and all our clothes are once again clean and hanging in the walk-in robe, however I’m left with one question. If there are so few events (cultural for want of a better word) in the country, why are the ones that are held so poorly attended?

As a previously country dweller, I know that three country kilometres are equivilent to about one metro kilometre when it comes to driving, so surely it can’t be due to driving distance.

What is so sad about this past weekend is that the workshops, classes and infrastructure of the weekend could easily have supported ten, if not twenty times the attendence. Don’t get me wrong, people turned up, bought books, attended workshops and drank coffee, but no where near as many as should have been there. They have 14,000 people attend their music festival for heaven’s sake.

Having said that though it was great for us who did go. We got almost one on one tuition in workshops conducted by recognised names in writing, we didn’t have to elbow ourselves into the free talks to get a seat and there was plenty of time to sit and chat to other writers.

So here is the question, what writing related event would drive a 120 minute round trip (or more) to see, hear or learn? 

Happy Mothers’ Day.

I’m pretty sure that it’s only Australia that celebrates the day today, but I think mothers everywhere deserve the recognition.

Have a great day and may you be as spoilt as I am.

Isn’t timing an interesting thing?

Just after I wrote yesterday’s post about the importance of access to the internet I received a phone call from a friend. Apparently the motherboard on her computer had just blown, she’s lost everything and hasn’t got a recent back up.

I don’t know about you, but everytime I hear a story like that I always react the same way. First, I curse computers for making us so vulnerable to their frailties and whims, and secondly I scurry off to find a spare disk to back-up my information on.

Copying and saving data, like dusting and phoning my mum, is something I never do often enough. Therefore when I hear a story like the one above I always take it as a serious reminder, and one that is worth passing on.

PLEASE remember to make a disk copy of everything important on your computer. If you think you’re too busy to do it now, what are you going to think when you have to re-enter all your email addresses, re-write all your stories, re-load pictures, re-research your favourite websites ….

I’ve got a question for you. It’s a topic that keeps coming up in conversations at the moment and I’m wondering if my answer to it is realistic or just due to my age and the lifestyle I live.

If a person is serious about being a writer and having their work published should they have access to, and use the internet?

To me, not using the internet when you’re a writer is like not using your local library. But, it’s not just the endless information (which may or may not be correct)  that makes me feel this way, it’s also the fact that publishers use emails and the internet and if you want to deal with them, don’t you have to use the same or else risk lessening your chances of publication?

I understand the concept that many people find technology scary, expensive, brainbending and so on, but isn’t that what adult education, free library internet access and grandchildren are for?

So what do you think, are these thoughts realistic or just the hard-hearted ramblings of a person who was brought up in the computer generation? 

To all the recent requests I have had from writers who live in the South-west of Western Australia I have one response - it’s official, I am holding a writing workshop at the Lost Lake Winery in Pemberton on Saturday 23rd June. So now you have no excuse.

I’m really quite excited about it. Lost Lake is a wonderful piece of the South-west, picturesque and green, especially since they have rediscovered the lake. What’s more there have fantastic food and wine. Even if you aren’t coming to workshop, it would be worth calling in some time for wine tasting.

Anyway, getting back to matter in hand, I’ll be running an all day workshop on ‘Making Money From Writing’. In a fun, friendly workshop I’ll be sharing different ways you can get paid for writing fact and fiction, as well as letting on about bundle of things I learned the hard way and how you can avoid them. I’ll even be handing out complimentary copies of my ‘Effective Goal Setting For Writers’ DVD and my popular workbook, ‘I Want To Write, But Don’t Know Where To Start’, to keep you on track after I am back in the city.

All this interspersed with fun, laughter and the wonderful Lost Lake food. No wonder I’m looking forward to it. 

To find out more have a look at my Events page.

I’ve just come back from a great weekend writing retreat with the Society of Women Writers, WA . However while I was staring at the papers in front of me, and wondering when I’d rediscover my desk, it occured to me that most of the things I learned from the weekend were not writing based.

Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of workshops (prose, poetry, dream writing, fun writing, writing exercises) but that’s not usually the reason I go. These days it’s more to mix with other writers, to enjoy the comraderie and to work on which ever of my writing projects has the most immediate deadline.

I played a part in organising this retreat, it was held in what used to be a convent and by all accounts seems to have been successful. But, since I’m always eager to learn more, I would love to hear about retreats you’ve been on (the good, the bad and the funny), and also why do you (or would you) go to a writer’s retreat?

One of my lingering memories from this weekend is me (baptised Anglican) meditating in a Roman Catholic chapel to Buddhist chants. I know it’s possible that I’ve upset a few people with that combination, but to me it was a wonderful sign of diversity and acceptance.

So having said that, if you’re a writer and you get the chance to go on a writing retreat - take it.