A local romance book author will be at the Grand Forks and District Public Library for a workshop and reading on Feb. 23 between 3 and 4:30 p.m.
Entitled Romance and Chocolates, the event will also feature local chocolatiers Rosie Gartner, who will provide sample chocolate.
Dani Collins has been writing in one form or another for over two decades, occasionally even for money. (She wrote for the Grand Forks Gazette in 2007-08.)
Her preference is romance novels. She found them in high school and has wanted to publish her own ever since.
With many near misses along the way, she was finally offered a contract by Harlequin Mills & Boon London in May of 2012.
Five weeks later, she was offered a contract from Champagne Books, a small press out of Calgary. Shortly thereafter, she realized another dream and indie-published a romantic comedy she’d been sitting on for years.
This doesn’t exactly make Collins an expert on traditional, digital, or self-publishing, but she’s got eggs in all of those baskets.
“It makes sense,” she says of her diversity. “The publishing industry is not just changing, it’s evolving. The gatekeepers between writers and readers are gone. There are pros and cons to that, but it definitely places power in the writer’s hands, which is completely opposite to the old structure. I’m going to exercise my options.”
While romance in its many forms accounts for the largest share in the fiction market – 1.36 billion annually – you don’t have to be a romance writer to learn about publishing from one. Have you been considering jumping into the ebook pool? Are you wondering if there are still opportunities with print publishers? Are you curious about how reading on a computer or other device works?
Join Dani as she talks about her experience and takes questions on finding your place in this new world of publishing on Feb. 23 at the Grand Forks and District Public Library.
– Submitted by Grand Forks and District Public Library