Earlier today, a small posse from WordWatchers made its way across to Sonning to participate in the 2013 Annual Writers' Day hosted by Reading Writers. As part of a two-way, tit-for-tat barter, we were WordWatchers' response for Julie Cohen spending the evening with us back in March (when much fun was had, and many new 'people' were introduced to the group - like Stephen Alexander, for example).Today's response involved John Hoggard, John Potter and me presenting our thoughts on writers in the digital world - covering what this has meant for WordWatchers as a group and for the individual writers within it.Before we got down to business, though, the day kicked off with some literary limbering up, as teams collaborated for 20 minutes to produce a short story based on three pieces - a prop, a location and a character. Entries were then read out - and if you want to enjoy (?) the WordWatchers effort, you'll find the whole thing at the end of this post.So, for our main event...I kicked things off by taking everyone through the evolution of the group, and how we'd gone from an inwardly focused bunch to a much more industry-aware group of established writers with a great mix of skills and a strong vision for how best to serve the needs of its members.Then, John Potter spoke about his experiences in producing Chasing Innocence, and how important it is to ensure that the words you've slaved over for months or years aren't let down by poor quality packaging. He spoke about formatting for print and eBook, making sure it's able to stand head and shoulders alongside the traditionally published offerings with which it needs to compete for attention. He also spoke about the many mistakes he'd made along the way, and how each production, from Chasing Innocence, to Mahrie (his novella) and Out of Time (the WordWatchers' anthology), have introduced new challenges and forced the learning of new skills to ensure the best possible product.John Hoggard then spoke about social marketing, and the need to make sure your high-quality, well packaged book has every chance to stand out in the market, and rise above the noise with some savvy online activity. He spoke about Twitter, and the approach WordWatchers has taken in eschewing volume for quality, in terms of followers, and how the approach is paying off through some very rewarding online interactions. And then Facebook, and just how much effort is involved in making the platform work.
And there was cake. Aside from the fine spread put on by our hosts, John H upheld the WordWatchers' tradition and provided a particularly wonderful (and gluten free) apple and cinnamon cake.It was a great opportunity to meet up and discuss writing in a lovely setting, and share in the vast array of experiences (and cake) that each writer brings to the table.And now, you know that short story collaboration you've been waiting for? On reflection, in the spirit of 'what goes on tour stays on tour', perhaps it's best I don't share it. What I will say is, it was a lot of fun... and certainly brought out some creativity. After all, take a look at the prop we had (in the photo). And that paper on its chest - that's our character (a 19th century body snatcher) and our location (an old convent with echoing corridors).
We called it 'The Legend of the Hairy Nun' and it began like this:
Definitely not one to be taken too seriously.Well done Reading Writers on a great day. I look forward to future collaborations.Julian