April Speaker and Announcements

Hi, Inksters and Friends


Apologies if you're getting multiple copies of this announcement over the past week. Some mail servers are currently rejecting mail from our mail host due to spammers (not us) abusing the system.

April Speaker: Susan Calder on the post-sale editing process. Susan's first mystery novel Deadly Fall was accepted for publication last spring. She was immediately assigned an editor and plunged into the process of whipping the novel into publishable shape. Susan will share the joys and challenges of working with your editor after the novel's acceptance. 7 p.m. on April 14 at Owl's Nest books.


This month's guest blogger is Alberta playwright, personality and YA mystery author Marty Chan, encapsulating for those of us who missed his AWCS workshop the rationale behind his low-key promotional style.

Meeting Marty Chan



Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlist Event 2011


Join us for the announcement of the shortlist for Canada’s national award for crime writing. Hear author readings by local mystery writers Jayne Barnard, Susan Calder, Linda Kupecek and Garry Ryan. Come and join the conversation.

Presented by Calgary Public Library and the Crime Writers of Canada.
Thursday April 28
6.30-7.30pm
Calgary Public Library
Central Library
Main Floor
New and Notable Area
No registration required


In other news:

The Alexandra Writers' Centre Society Spring Session begins April 20th with a wide array of courses, workshops and weekend intensives. Included this session are 8 week courses in Creative Writing, Novel, Short Story, Humour, and Writing for Young Markets with Shirlee-Smith Matheson. Last year's INK speaker Caroline Russell-King offers a weekend intensive in playwriting; INK member Susan Calder will teach a Dynamic Dialogue workshop on Saturday, April 23.

For a full course list and more information visit: www.alexandrawriters.org or phone 403-264-4730.


The Shuswap Writers' Festival takes place May 27-29 in Salmon Arm, BC. This year's presenters and workshop leaders include mystery authors William Deverell and Michael Slade.



And TWO short story contests upcoming:


The Wolfe Island "Scene of the Crime"

SHORT MYSTERY STORY CONTEST, 2011
• Contest open to Canadian citizens or those resident in
Canada and not previously published in the mystery or crime
fiction genre.

First Prize: $100 Second Prize: $50 Third Prize: $35
Contest Guidelines

Robin Herrington Memorial Short Story Contest

• Adult category: 5000 word limit, prizes: $125, $100 and $75, plus two honourable mentions $25 each
• Student category (author is under 18 years old): 3000 word limit, prizes: $75, $50 and $35 plus two honourable mentions $20 each

Prize winners announced at When Words Collide a festival for readers, writers, artists, and publishers of imaginative fiction — Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Romance and other genres.

August 12-14, 2011 in Calgary, AB.


REMINDER: If you have news or upcoming events of general interest to Inksters and other Calgary-area mystery writers and readers, send them to info@mysterywritersink.com for inclusion in the next e-nnoucements.


Jayne Barnard
Secretary-Treasurer
Mystery Writers Ink

Meeting Marty Chan

Alberta author Marty Chan has mysteries, plays, radio and television tales to his credit. Since 2004, when Thistledown Press launched his first YA novel, The Mystery of the Frozen Brains, he has learned a lot about the promotional side of the publishing industry. In this interview, he shares his perspective on Selling your Novel, not your Soul (taken from his recent AWCS workshop of the same title):

Welcome, Marty!

The title of your AWCS presentation was 'Sell your book, not your soul'. What of your own experiences and observations inspired it, and what were you hoping attendees would take away from the day?

My experiences as a playwright producing my own work at the Edmonton Fringe Festival inspired the workshop title, Sell Your Book, Not Your Soul. I'm an introvert who despises having to go on the street to hawk flyers. At my first festival, I quickly realized that if I didn't promote my own show I wouldn't be able to cover my expenses, so out of sheer desperation I hit the streets. On site, I noticed other producers getting in people's faces and acting like desperate used cars salesmen. I didn't want to sell myself out to sell my show, so I approached people the way I wanted to be approached. I was low-key, respectful and positive. My style worked!

From then on I approached promotion with the same diplomatic and generous style that I used the first time out. You can promote without being pushy and you can sell your book without selling your soul. The key is to find a style that is true to who you are. I hoped that's the lesson the participants came away with.


There are a great many options for publicizing one's book nowadays. How can authors figure out where best to focus their time and dollars?


The best way to figure out how to focus your efforts is to take a step back and do some goal setting. If you set realistic goals for yourself, then you can better plan what resources you need. If you want a national bestseller, but you don't have any money or time to make this happen, you're bound to be frustrated with the results. Often times writers have more time than money to put into promotion, so I always advise writers to make the best use of their time by finding people who are willing to help spread the word. The key is figuring out what's in it for those people who help. If they're your friends and family, you know you owe them a favour. If they are strangers, find an offer that gives them an incentive to see you succeed.

For True Story, my picture book about my two cats, I set the launch at the Edmonton Humane Society and promised them 30 percent of my book sales for the day. This gave them incentive to include me in their publicity and marketing plans.



Do you have a personal favourite publicity tactic and why - or why not - should other writers use it?

My favourite publicity tactic is to research the media outlet and figure out what they need, then brainstorm a segment that fills that need. You can't go wrong if you provide a TV producer, a visual segment (ie. actors performing an excerpt from your novel) with a funny and/or engaging talk. Think about what the media outlet needs and how you can plug into their needs, and your chances of getting some air time or ink greatly increase.

Mystery Writers Ink thanks Marty for sharing his expertise with us.


Marty's newest YA novel is

The Mystery of the Cyber Bully
(Thistledown Press Sept 2010).

How do you find a bully who lurks on the internet and lashes out at helpless victims? Intrepid kid detectives Marty, Remi and Trina must answer that question if they're to stop a cyber bully targeting their classmates.

We'll be drawing for this book at Ink's April meeting.

Jayne Barnard