NaNo WriMo Webinar

BySarra Cannon

Anyone who has followed me long enough knows I am a huge fan of NaNo WriMo (National Novel Writing Month). When I was first starting out as a writer, NaNo was one of the first events that inspired me to let go of my inner critic and just write the story that was in my head. I mean, the slogan is “Thirty days and nights of literary abandon!” How fun is that? No edits. No judgment. No worries. Just writing.

I first participated in 2008 and even though I haven’t won every year, I’ve gotten a lot of writing done every November since then.

  • 2008 – INTO DARKNESS (A horror novel about a girl whose twin brother goes missing during his freshman year at college. She leaves her school behind to go in search of him – and finds way more than she bargained for in the small mountain town where he lived.) I won that year, but still haven’t finished this novel. I’m thinking of going back to that novel this year!
  • 2009 – PANDEMIC (My zombie novel! I am currently editing this and will publish it this spring under the new title DEATH’S AWAKENING.)
  • 2010 – INNER DEMONS (Book 2 in my Demons series. I wrote the entire book in November and self-published it in December.)
  • 2011 – RIVAL DEMONS
  • 2012 – DEMONS FOREVER
  • 2013 – ??? Something awesome!

NaNo WriMo has been a huge part of my writing career. For me, it’s time to give back. When Grant Faulkner, executive director, contacted me about participating in a webinar on self-publishing, I jumped on it. When he told me Hugh Howey was the other author participating, I almost fainted. Hugh is truly one of my heroes. If you haven’t read his WOOL series, you are honestly missing out.

I’m not kidding. Go. Buy it now!

If you’ve got some questions about self-publishing, this is your chance. Hugh is an NYT Best Seller. He recently signed a print-only deal with Simon & Schuster. He has sold foreign rights to his books in many countries and he even has a movie deal with Ridley Scott. Hello! This is truly a golden opportunity to chat with one of the most successful indie authors on the planet.

You’ll also have a chance to talk to Amanda Wilson from Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.

I hope some of you will also come out to support me! I may not be as famous as Hugh Howey, but I have managed to sell 120,000 ebooks in just over 2 years. I also have a contract with Sea Lion Books to create a graphic novel adaptation of Beautiful Demons. I can give you some practical advice on how to get your novel off the ground.

You can sign up here:  So You Want To Self-Publish. All it takes is a $50 donation to the Office of Letters and Light. All proceeds go to NaNo WriMo 2013. I have a feeling it’s going to fill up fast, so reserve your spot now!!