I’ve joined a new group of writers, Authors Supporting Authors. We meet in Rockford on the last Tuesday of the month from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Community Room at the Goodwill store, 3068 McFarland Road. New members are welcome.
To get acquainted at our first meeting, we each gave a brief bio. Age wasn’t mentioned, but, as I looked around, it was obvious I was the oldest person in the room. Many of the others resembled my children.
Most of these people pen stories but I am a nonfiction writer. Except for my blog, lolita-s-bigtoe.com, which I’ve posted on Wednesdays for the last four years, much of my experience is outdated. In 1969, all this stay-at-home mom needed to begin a career as a freelance journalist was a typewriter and a 35 mm camera. I learned by doing and joined the Illinois Woman’s Press Association, which is affiliated with the National Federation of Press Women. Through the years, I’ve received many awards from both organizations for articles published by area newspapers, national magazines and a literary journal. My memoir and one of my radio interviews for In Print also garnered recognition.
After my husband and I celebrated our Golden Anniversary in 2009, I began a memoir about our seven-year courtship during the 1950s. To make my book read like a novel, I attended workshops to learn to write creative nonfiction. Twice a month on Wednesday evenings, I drove forty-five minutes to meet with the Janesville (Wisconsin) Area Writers. I read aloud ten-minute excerpts from my tale and received constructive criticism from the other dozen members. It took a decade of research, writing and rewriting before I submitted my proposal to Adelaide Books, an independent New York firm. I was elated when they offered me a contract to publish “The View from a Midwest Ferris Wheel” in paperback and Kindle. I’ve received some royalties but now I’m hoping to learn more about boosting area sale. I’ll be looking for opportunities to contribute to the group.
How do you relate to the younger generations?