Great Ways to Plan and Enjoy Your Next Author Event

Busy writers don't have to go it alone in planning and doing an author event. Nor does an event have to be all work. Here are ways to plan your next author experience to help build your audience, enhance your skills and foster your enjoyment of the writing life.

Consider existing events that are reputable, innovative and enjoyable. One of my friends is a documentary filmmaker who educates emerging and established creatives in the art and industry of film. This busy artist uses his time and energy to select events whose planners, participants and attendees he can partner with on future projects. To that end, he chooses venues with workshops and panels that allow him to share his skills and familiarize others with his work.
Tip: When considering your next event, don’t reinvent the wheel. Research existing events to see how you might participate, for example, as a planner, reader, workshop leader or panelist.

Collaborate with artists in other disciplines to enrich the event experience. One of my colleagues is a multidisciplinary painter whose interests in poetry, music and architectural engineering inspire her colorful multimedia abstracts. When she does an event, often at an art gallery, she invites artists in other disciplines to enrich the experience for attendees and participants alike. Writers can use this approach to expand their audience and share the stage with others so that the success of an experience isn’t solely on them.
Tip: Think outside the writing box. Look for events that include various artists, including performers, whose works complement yours.

Plan for the event as you would a writer's conference. Before committing to participate in an event, research the topic, offerings, participants and target audience. Reach out in advance to event planners and participants with whom you have common ground, and seek them out when you arrive. Meet and greet attendees as if you were at a writer's conference. Bring promotional materials tailored to the experience. When following up with your new contacts, think long-term. Suggest ways you might work together in the future. Look for events that offer personal growth opportunities. Schedule downtime so that you can recharge and enjoy the experience.
Tip: When selecting an event, consider your writing goals and see if the venue offers ways you can grow as a writer.

Evaluate the event for future participation. During and after an event, it’s tempting to just go on to the next thing. As you do, make notes on the event, such as number of attendees, venue, organization, cost-effectiveness and outcome.
Tip: Ask yourself whether you would attend the event in the future, and answer why or why not. Also consider whether you would be involved in the same opportunities or pursue different options.

Whether you’re an emerging or established writer, are taking a traditional or hybrid approach to publishing, you know how much time, energy and financial resources go into writing and the writing life. Why not look for ways to maximize your event experience and enjoy it, too.

Happy writing!

Adele Annesi is an award-winning writer, editor and instructor. Her bestselling cultural heritage novel is What She Takes Away (Bordighera Press, 2023). Adele coauthored and coedited Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA. Her MFA in creative writing is from Fairfield University, and her long-running blog for writers is Word for Words. Her podcast is Adele Annesi on Writing.

Design Your Own Writing Retreat

Spring is a great time to escape distractions and write. But with high gas prices and other constraints, it’s hard to find a retreat package that fits your time and budget. So why not design your own writing getaway. Here's how.

Know your purpose and goals. The first step in designing a retreat is knowing why you want to get away and what you’d like to accomplish. Let’s take that in reverse order, goals first. List the goals you feel are most important at this stage of your writing life. Do you want to start, develop, complete a writing project? Would you like to plan an article or event, teach a class, develop a seminar or workshop? After listing your goals, arrange them in priority order. For the why question, knowing (and admitting) why you want time away is key to accomplishing your goals.

Select the appropriate duration, venue and setting. Estimate how much time you can spend away. Decide what facilities you need, for example, outdoor creative space, inside writing area, en suite private room. Also decide where you'd like to go. Would you like an urban, suburban or rural setting? Do you mind roughing it, or do you prefer room service? Now consider these elements based on your budget. Knowing what you can spend will help the decision-making process. You don’t have to go far to accomplish a lot. Just getting out of the rut of routine can be refreshing. The key is envisioning the location and deciding if you can see yourself there.

Consider the results your retreat will bring to your skillset. An outcome is different than a goal. Looking ahead to the results of your time away helps you decide what you’d most like to gain from your investment of time, energy and budget. To that end, consider your existing skills and accomplishments, and note the gaps. Then determine how the retreat could help provide what’s missing.

Record and remember your experience. Journaling your retreat and evaluating its results offer a sense of accomplishment. They also help you assess how well the retreat went, whether to repeat the experience, where to make adjustments. You can use the guidelines in this column to create a questionnaire to plan and record your trip.

Consider these tips. Be realistic about what you can manage. A retreat should be a benefit, not a burden. Research the venues in advance, check the reviews and ask others if they know the area and venue. Ask writer friends for recommendations. If the location is nearby, make a brief visit. Fold your retreat results into a current project, for example, an article or post on the venue.

As with all good things, spring seems shorter each year. For all the more reason, it's important to take time away. So design a retreat that's right for you and record your experience. You can blog about it, do a podcast, add it to your website and CV, post it on social. Memories can rekindle the enjoyment and keep you writing.

Happy writing!

Adele Annesi is an award-winning writer, editor and instructor. Her bestselling cultural heritage novel is What She Takes Away (Bordighera Press, 2023). Adele coauthored and coedited Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA. Her MFA in creative writing is from Fairfield University, and her long-running blog for writers is Word for Words. Her podcast is Adele Annesi on Writing.

Use Negation to Engage Readers and Increase Buy-in

Negation goes a step beyond just enough.
Savvy writers know how to give just enough details, just enough interaction, in a scene to reveal something of the characters and what the scene means to the overall story. Negation goes a step further. It calls attention to what the people in that scene chose not to say, not to do. Rather than satisfy the reader’s curiosity, negation piques it. 

Here’s an example.

You’re picking up your Starbucks mobile order. The person beside you is well-dressed, a hand-tooled leather briefcase slung over their shoulder. Their leather shoes match the case. Not someone you usually see in Starbucks. The person turns, looks you over. Suddenly, you’re hyperaware that you rushed from the house in stained sweats, a weathered cap over your uncombed hair. The well-dressed stranger must be judging you. “You don’t happen to know where Social Services is,” they say. You’re so surprised at the question you can’t answer. “No worries,” the person supplies. “I’ll find it.” They grab their order, turn, give you a knowing smile and leave.  

What's a person to think?
At first, you thought you were being weighed in the scales and found wanting. Now you don’t know what to think. Was the other person in need? Was it a pickup line? Did they ask about social services because you look like you’re in need? Because you look honest? In this instance, you’re not likely to ever have your questions answered. But you’ll remember the moment.

Negation is like suspense.
Like suspense, negation focuses on the meticulous doling out of information through details that are concrete, sensory and thematic, germane to the story. But negation’s emphasis is on how and when to withhold those details.  As writer-observers, we’re interested in what we see and hear. Yet, we’re often even more interested in what we didn’t see or hear because now we have to fill in the blanks. Putting readers in this position engages their attention and enhances buy-in for your story. 

Here's how to make the best use of negation.

• Think of a real situation where you were left wondering about someone you encountered.
• Describe the scene—where and when it happened, who was in it, why it’s of interest.
• Look back over the scene and list the questions that arise.
• Review your questions and try to answer each.
• Where in the scene do you feel like you suddenly get a sense of what the scene is really about? Why?

For your writing project, keep a list of questions you introduce, and when and how you’ll answer those questions. If you can’t think of a real-life situation for this exercise, make one up or use a scene from your project, and follow the same guidelines.

Life’s most intriguing moments are often ambiguous.
We turn them over and over in memory to figure out what happened and what it meant. It’s in this liminal space of uncertainty that we often find the real depth and meaning of a scene. This also gives us room to explore what these moments can mean for the story as a whole. 

Happy writing! 

If you have a writing topic you’d like me to cover, email a.annesi@sbcglobal.net. 

Adele Annesi is an award-winning writer, editor and instructor. Her bestselling cultural heritage novel is What She Takes Away (Bordighera Press, 2023). Adele coauthored and coedited Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA. Her MFA in creative writing is from Fairfield University, and her long-running blog for writers is Word for Words. Her podcast is Adele Annesi on Writing.

Savor Successes and Serendipity in 2025

The new year is often a time for writers to reflect on the year before and what we accomplished. Yet, we sometimes dread looking back because we didn’t achieve all we hoped or planned. Still, we’ve had successes, planned and unplanned, and probably more than we realize. This guide to looking back can help writers note and evaluate their achievements, and replicate them (and more) in the new year.

Organic Grower Agraria Guerrieri
Est. 1800
Marche Region, Italy

Kudos to You
It takes time and thought to identify our accomplishments, not just what they were but why they happened. This is especially true when we try something new. Whether you set the same yearly goals or add spice to your plans, it’s important to pinpoint what you did, familiar and new, what worked and why.

If you’re a goal-setter or want to be, here are questions to ask to record and celebrate successes, including the unexpected:

• What were your most significant goals and accomplishments for 2025?
• Separate the list into planned and unplanned accomplishments.
• Next to each item, note why it’s important to you.
• What successes did you achieve in areas that were new to you?
• What were the outcomes of all your accomplishments?
• What happened that made them successes?
• What unexpected outcomes resulted from your set goals?
• What enabled you to reach your goals and their results?
• Answer these two question for the unexpected.
• Whether or not your successes were planned, note how you might replicate them going forward.

Serendipity
Unexpected successes, especially in areas new to us, are bonuses. Yet, we need to pay attention to what comes out of the blue so that we know what happened, why it was a success and how it came about. We also need to record the outcomes of our experiences.

Here are questions to ask to savor and make the most of serendipity:

• What were your unexpected accomplishments?
• What makes you consider them successes?
• What were their outcomes?
• What surprised you most about these successes and their results?
• How might you replicate these going forward?

To enhance the savor of success, use whatever forms of recordkeeping you most enjoy, including voice recordings and photos. Pictures really do paint a thousand words. They also motivate us and ignite our imagination through memory. And don’t forget to update your bio, CV and online presence. In doing so, you’ll derive even more pleasure from seeing the rewards of your hard work and the unexpected.

Whatever method we use to record our accomplishments, let’s savor success, planned and unplanned, and recalibrate the shortfalls. It’s a great way to set the stage for the rest of 2026.

Happy writing and very happy New Year!

Adele Annesi is an award-winning writer, editor, instructor and poet. Her five-star cultural heritage novel is What She Takes Away (Bordighera Press). She coauthored and coedited Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA. Her MFA in creative writing is from Fairfield University. Also a vocal performer, Adele has the podcast Adele Annesi on Writing. 

Use Place to Gain Inspiration and Insight

After six years, I returned to Italy in October. The trip gave me time with family and a break from the routine. It also provided something Bob Dylan noted in his memoir, Chronicles: Volume One—experience. And from experience comes inspiration.

Like my dad, whose lifelong love affair with Italy was partly the subject of What She Takes Away, my first novel, autumn is my favorite season. Falling leaves, the smell of woodsmoke, the angle of the light are pleasures. Even more so when a writer experiences them elsewhere.

This autumn my elsewhere was Lake Como. The change of venue sparked my imagination and my writing, A change can spark yours, too. Before airport security lines and delayed flights, I was inspired by travel. Going someplace new, even revisiting the familiar, made me feel my life was going somewhere and that my writing was, too.

Over the years, the need for caution and contingencies eclipsed the value of these benefits. When I thought about travel, especially overseas, all I could see was trouble. So what was different this time, and what were the benefits?

This year I planned the Italy trip a step at a time and accepted that my efforts and their outcome wouldn’t look as they had before. Freed from the burdens of perfection and predictability, I flew out of JFK (on time) to Milan. Rail construction en route from the airport to Como forced a track change and a mile walk to a connecting station. As a result, I got exercise, met new people and became adept at using scheduling apps. All new experiences, all new opportunities.

I’ve been to Como twice before. The last time, forty years ago. Since the novel I’m writing now is set there, I needed to know the Como of today. I also needed more of the story. And that’s what I got. Equipped with the fresh perspective that comes with being in a different place, I recognized gaps in the current storyline and holes in the characters’ backstories. But I didn’t just see what was missing, I saw what could be.

Casting off the inherent boundaries of the world left behind—even comfort, predictability and safety—the writer is free to explore and discover. This opens us to new opportunities. That’s where real growth lies, in our work, our lives, ourselves as writers.

Tip: Writers don’t have to go far to write great stories, but new venues open the mind. To broaden your perspective, try writing in a new place or somewhere you haven’t been in a while. If possible, spend a few days there. Don’t just use the time to write. Try living the time and jotting down experiences and insights as they arise. You’ll be surprised at how a place sparks the ability to see beyond place to what can be.

Reference
To sharpen travel memories for later use, use a blank journal, preferably pocket-sized, to jot down insights, experiences, memories and ideas longhand.

Happy writing!

Adele Annesi is a curator for the Ridgefield Independent Film Festival. Her bestselling cultural heritage novel is What She Takes Away (Bordighera Press). Her MFA in creative writing is from Fairfield University, and her long-running blog for writers is Word for Words. Her podcast is Adele Annesi on Writing.

Use Escalation to Transform Story

At some point most of us benefit from a writing coach. Mine is Pete Nelson, author of the novel I Thought You Were Dead. One point Pete often makes about developing a novel is this. The king died and then the queen died is a statement. The king died and then the queen died of grief is a story. Here, escalation happens in the reason for the queen’s death.

George Saunders, author of the novel Lincoln in the Bardo and the essential reference work for writers A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, makes the further point that escalation doesn’t just make a story but transforms it.

In Swim, Saunders says that a fundamental element of storytelling is really this two-part move. First, the writer creates an expectation. The classic example is: Once upon a time ... Second, the writer meets that expectation. But in the case of escalation, instead of fulfilling the expectation in one deft move and essentially ending the story, the writer creates a series of expectations, for example, through a pattern. Saunders’ illustration of this is the short story “The Darling,” by Anton Chekhov.

In “The Darling,” a woman meets and marries a man then takes on his personality. When her husband leaves or dies, she goes on to marry the next man. With each successive marriage, she takes on the personality of the new husband, but each time with a slight alteration. Once the writer sets a pattern like this, the reader expects the pattern to reappear. When it does, with a shift or an adjustment, readers are further engaged by the change because they see meaning in it. Which is what the writer intends.

When readers grasp a pattern, they don’t just anticipate the pattern. They wait for something to happen that disrupts it, either by challenging the pattern or by showing its consequences. Thus, what transforms an anecdote into a story is escalation. When readers feel escalation happening, they actually feel events becoming story and watch for a complication that will propel the story to rising action, climax and falling action.

Now we know that escalation transforms story and why. Our next question is, how can I get my story to make this transformation? If you feel trapped writing and writing but your story’s action isn't rising, add this sentence to that place in the work: Then something happened that changed everything forever. Now ask yourself what that is and write it.

But what happens when there’s more than one “something”? How do we choose? A great way to find out is to mine the story we have. Our work is already about something. It already has a theme, maybe more than one, and that’s where we find the possibilities for the kind of changes we need. When this happens, our pulse quickens. Then, inevitably, questions arise, questions we may fear answering. 

As John Updike said, it’s in the story you’re afraid to tell yourself that you find the real story. And that’s the one to write.

Reference
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders

Happy writing!

Adele Annesi is a curator for the Ridgefield Independent Film Festival. Her bestselling cultural heritage novel is What She Takes Away (Bordighera Press). Her MFA in creative writing is from Fairfield University, and her long-running blog for writers is Word for Words. Her podcast is Adele Annesi on Writing.

Advantages of Indie Conference: Writing With Great Independent Publishers a Success

Many thanks to all who attended Advantages of Indie Conference: Writing With Great Independent Publishers!

Due to the resounding success of the conference, we will present an expanded event on Saturday, September 12, 2026.

Check back with us to learn more. 

Date: Saturday, September 13
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Venue: Ridgefield Library
Address: 400 Main Street, Ridgefield CT
Phone: 203.438.2282
Registration: Free at Advantages of Indie: Writing With Great Independent Publishers

Join us Saturday, September 13, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ridgefield Library in Ridgefield, Connecticut, for the inaugural Advantages of Indie Conference: Writing for Great Independent Publishers.

This free event features morning and afternoon sessions with outstanding independent presses: Woodhall Press of Connecticut and Bordighera Press of New York.

The conference begins with a keynote on traditional and indie publishing with David Legere, editorial director for the FalconGuides and Globe Pequot imprints of Globe Pequot Press and CEO of Woodhall Press, followed by a panel discussion with Legere and Woodhall authors on the inner workings of the editorial process.

The afternoon session features a roundtable discussion with representatives of Bordighera Press, a cultural heritage imprint of the Calandra Institute of Queens College CUNY, on the soup-to-nuts submissions and publishing process.

Both sessions include opportunities for audience Q&A, networking, and author book sales and signings.

Publishing areas include:

• Essay
• Fiction
• Memoir
• Nonfiction
• Poetry

The event is free but requires registration. To register, click on Advantages of Indie: Writing With Great Independent Publishers.

For questions, email Adele Annesi a.annesi@sbcglobal.net or Lucy Handley lthandley@ridgefieldlibrary.org.

Authors and publishers will have books available for signing, purchase and discussion. A full event schedule is below. We look forward to seeing you!

Conference Schedule
Attendee sign-in
9:45 a.m.
Morning Schedule
10:00 a.m. – Introduction: Indie author Adele Annesi
10:15 a.m. – Keynote: David Legere, CEO Woodhall Press
10:45 a.m. – Break
11:00 a.m. – Moderated Woodhall publisher/author panel with audience Q&A
11:45 a.m. – Networking with publisher and authors plus author book sales and signings
Lunch Break
12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Break for lunch at area eateries
Afternoon Schedule
1:30 p.m. – Introduction: Indie author Adele Annesi

Bordighera Press

1:45 p.m. – Moderated roundtable with Bordighera Press and attendee Q&A
2:30 p.m. – Networking with publishers and authors plus author book sales and signings
3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Reception with publishers, representatives, authors and attendees

Author of New Children's Book Melds Joy and Learning in Unique Format

Emerging children’s book author Laran Woods has a new all-in-one children's book/workbook geared toward children in second grade. Published by Dorrance, a longstanding publishing services company, The Carousel Kids reflects Woods' imagination, love for learning, and longtime experience as a teacher of children in grades K-12.

Here, Woods speaks about her writing and publishing journey.

What is your teaching background?
I was a K-12 teacher and administrator for more than twenty years, and my mother was an elementary-school teacher for twenty-five years.

I specialized in teaching French, German and Spanish, and my mother, special education.  Most of my experience was in Grades 8 and 9, while my mother’s experience was with second grade.

What is it about storytelling that appeals to you?
Because stories make learning effective, and because children engage so well with storytelling, my mother came up with the idea of creating a workbook showing children from all ethnicities in the primary grades enjoying learning while using different animals, both magical and real as a vehicle. Since I was an only child, I spent a lot of my childhood entertaining myself by telling imaginative stories.

How did your new children's book come into being?
I wrote the story for The Carousel Kids and contributed to the activities. My father, who was both a multilinguist and Liberal Arts graduate, wrote poetry after retiring from the FBI. He also served briefly as a high school French teacher before moving on to the FBI. He helped my mother write the poem and the lyrics for the song for my all-in-one story and workbook. In summary, this book was a family project.

What were your main obstacles to writing The Carousel Kids, and how did you overcome them?
My primary obstacles were my extensive vocabulary and complex sentence structure. The way I addressed these so that elementary-age children can understand and enjoy the stories I have written was twofold.

For The Carousel Kids, I had my mother help me edit. For the next book, I included a dictionary at the end of the story. I also paid an artist to do the artwork. Even so, it is easier, I think, to write a children’s story than it is to write an adult novel.

What drew you to writing this book in particular?
As much as I would like to say that I mostly write to delight children, I must honestly admit that I do it because I have a passion for the craft of telling fanciful tales. I include the workbook to help children become good enough readers to comprehend what I write and, thereby, like it too.

What is your next project?
I have another book and workbook coming out next year where I share one of my girlhood stories, one that I originated about my dogs and cats, along with workbook activities designed to build vocabulary. The future book/workbook is best-suited for Grades 4 and 5 and possibly Grade 6 due to the level of word sophistication.

The Carousel Kids is available from Amazon.

Laran Woods is a bilingual French and English consumer relations representative for J.M. Smucker. She previously worked for PepsiCo in the same role. Woods’ specialty is educating children and adults. She inherited her talent for learning foreign languages from her father. Her passion is writing and telling imaginative stories for children. Her next book is due out in 2026, from Dorrance Publishers.