Below are the topics that have been covered or are coming up. If you’d particularly like one of these topics to be scheduled, or have other suggestions, please email Morgen to discuss.

• advice for wannabe writers: what have you learned through your writing journey? What advice can you pass on? What advice have you been given? 
• alpha and beta readers: who reads your writing before it’s published? Do you have readers you’ve never met? How did you find them? What kind of feedback do you get? Do your family and friends read your writing? Are they honest with you? Other than you, who’s the last person to read the book/story before it’s published?
• Amazon’s KDP Select exclusive or go wide?: do you have your books listed solely with Amazon to take advantage of their KDP Select programme or are your books available on other sites such as Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple etc. Why did you choose your route? Do you sell your books on your own website? If so, how do you manage that?
• audiobooks: tell us about the books you’ve read as audiobooks ~ why do you choose that format? Have you achieved getting your books as audiobooks? How did you choose your narrator? Which platform did you choose to host your audiobook?
• banned books – see taboo topics below
• beginnings: what should a beginning do? It’s said you need a hook but should it follow chronologically thereafter? Where do you start with your poem, short story, novel, script, non-fiction book? Do you start with description or dialogue? Does it matter? Do you have a favourite beginning from a book you’ve read? 
• the best/worst aspects of being in publishing: it’s a wonderful industry to be in, and who doesn’t like killing off someone who grieves you on paper? What are the best/worst aspects of the industry for you?
• book covers: Do you design yours? If not, who does it for you? How much do they charge for an eBook and paperback? Do you ensure yours fits the genre/market or do you want to stand out? As a reader, do you judge a book by its cover? Should you? Which are your favourite covers… of your own and/or another author’s?
• book launches ~ how do you launch your book? Do you do launches online and in real life? How do they differ? Did you do the launch yourself? If not, who helped you? Did you launch online first or in person? How long ahead did you prepare? Did you create pre-orders? Which social media platforms did you use/find most productive? If you launched your book in real life, how did you get the ‘gigs’ and where did you go? How do you continue to market your book?
• book reviews ~ do you leave bad ones? How do you react to bad reviews on your books? Are you kinder when leaving a review for a book rather than another household product? How do you balance positive and negative/contructive reviews? Have you learned from a specific review of your book?
• books you wish you’d written/been involved in: from any era ~ a question I ask of authors at festivals!
• characters: how do you name your characters, make them distinctive (in looks and voice). Do you base them on people you know? Who are your favourite characters from fiction you’ve read?
• children and animals in literature: do you write about children or animals in your books? Have books you’ve read that feature children or animals resonated with you? In film and TV they say ‘Never work with children or animals’ (both can be unpredictable) but in fiction we shouldn’t kill them off. Are there rules for writing for them?
• writing for children/YA ~ what differences are there between writing for younger children vs young adults ~ what kind of language you use ~ should there be a message (educational or otherwise)
• collaborating: who do you work with at the stages involved in your book’s life? Do you collaborate with another author, an editor, alpha/beta readers, genuine marketing gurus? How did you find them? How did you know whether they were charging a fair rate? If you co-wrote your book which parts did you/they write? 
• cover design, illustrations and book formatting ~ when you know what your book is finished (before or while the editor has it) you want to think about your cover, and any illustrations you might like inside, especially if you’re creating a children’s book or graphic novel. When it’s ready, how do you want the inside to look? What software might be used?
• description vs dialogue: do you have a preference between description and dialogue? As a writer or reader? Does the balance depend on the genre you’re writing? How do you make description interesting? How do you make dialogue natural, distinctive and engaging? 
• editing: you’ve finished your book, you’ve had someone you trust to go through it so now you’re ready for a professional to go through it, and get it ready for publication. Do you use alpha/beta readers? Who can you trust?
• endings: what should an ending do? Does it make a difference per format, e.g. poem, flash fiction, short story, novel, script, non-fiction? What if you’re writing a series rather than a standalone? What should you include/leave out? How should an ending make you feel? If you have a twist, how late should it be?
• mixing genres: do you write more than one genre? And/or form i.e. novels, short stories, poetry, scriptwriting? Do you have a preference? Do you find one easier to write than others? If you could choose only one…
• how long is a story? from micro fiction, short stories, novelettes, novellas right up to novels, do you know how long your story is going to be? Does it matter? Do readers prefer shorter books, chapters, depending on what device they’re reading them on?
• how real life affects our writing (for better or worse): do you find inspiration from the world around you? Do things happen that you think readers might not believe? Do you struggle to find time to write?
• ideas: how do you get your ideas? how do you catalogue them (in a notebook or on a device)?
• I’m not yet published: a panel of unpublished authors. Does publishing a book feel daunting? What you are dreading? What are you looking forward to? Do you have any questions about any aspect of the process?
• marketing/advertising inc. social media, website design etc.: you’re ready to tell the world about your book. How much of an online presence do you need? Do you need a website or is social media enough? Which social media platforms should you be on? What should you do on them? What are blog tours? Should you go out in the real world too?
• the saggy middle of a novel: how do you avoid a saggy middle? The start has been exciting (the character has a problem), the ending is satisfying (the problem is resolved) but what if a sub-plot has been resolved and now there’s a new problem? It’s said you have a man enter the room with a gun, i.e. a new character with a new problem. Does that work for you? Does it vary depending on the length of the piece and/or whether it’s a series or standalone?
• newsletters and Substack, Patreon, sharing etc.: Do you subscribe to one or both? Do you host one or both? What works for you, what doesn’t? How often do you run them? How often is too often? Which platform have you found successful… different platforms for different audiences?
• writing non-fiction: do you write non-fiction? What do you write about? What skill do you have to be able to write that topic? If you’ve written fiction, how do the formats vary, i.e. where a novel has a start~middle~end, where do you start your non-fiction book?
• pen names: do you use a pen name? A version of your real name? Why did you choose a different name to yours? Do you use more than one name? How do you market them?
• plots: have you ever written yourself into a corner and had to shelve a project? What does a plot mean to you? Do you keep them simple or try to have twists? How to you avoid a reader guessing your twist? Are there plots of other books that have stayed with, or influenced, you?
• plotting vs pantsing: do you plot your books or do you get an idea and ‘fly by the seat of your pants’? Or are you a plantser, so a little planning then you write.
• podcasts: do you host one? If so, what is it called? Why did you create it? Do you listen to podcasts? Do you have a favourite writing-related show? How long should an episode be? What kind of host do you prefer? Male… female (does it matter depending on the topic)? From your country or another?
• forms of poetry ~ which forms you write ~ form vs free verse ~ serious vs humorous poetry ~ why is poetry misunderstood or difficult for some to understand
• the price of eBooks: what we’re prepared to pay for the books we read, and the price we should charge for ours
• publishing: you have your edited/formatted book and cover with all the information you need to proceed… how do you publish it? Do you do it yourself via Amazon’s KDP, Draft2Digital (who helps go wide), or each platform individually (i.e. Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo etc.) or hire someone to do those processes for you then give you full control thereafter. They will also talk about ‘vanity’ publishing. Self-publishing publishers will only do the work for you that you would do. You would retain all your rights, be able to access your Amazon bookshelf, be paid your royalties directly rather than via the publisher etc
• publishing routes: get an agent, publisher, self-publish or a mix? Which routes have you taken to publication? Do you want to publish but don’t know which path to choose? Have you self-published but now want to find an agent/publisher instead of, or as well as, continuing to self-publish? Have you been traditionally published but now want to self-publish? What’s holding you back?
• how to self-publish: our journey as well as providing tips on how to go from a Word document to the finished product
• readers panel: what readers think of the books they read and what format do they read (eBooks and/or paperbacks)?
• scammers and spammers: have you been approached (by email, online or in real life) by spammers or scammers? How did you know they weren’t real? Did they pretend to be someone else? How do you weed through all the spam posts on social media? If you are genuinely offering a service, how you stand out from the crowd?
• scriptwriting: do you write scripts? Do you read them? What advice would you give to wannabe scriptwriters? Have you ever written the script version of your novel? Or someone else’s novel?
• series vs standalones: what are the advantages and disadvantages of writing one form over the other? Do you have a preferences? Do you write/read serials (one story in several editions), spin-offs (related books), seasons (like TV seasons) and settings (a series’s universe).
• social media advertising: do you post for free, pay for Amazon Ads, Facebook Ads, do you pay for a social media scheduler such as Buffer or Hootsuite? If so, what have you learned from these processes? What would you recommend we avoid? What kind of adverts do you run? How do you choose your keywords? How do you find your competitors’ books? Do the adverts make a difference or do you get more traffic from your profile pages?
• taboo topics: something you’d never write about ~ and banned books you’ve read. How long ago was it banned? Is it still in some areas, e.g. schools? Was the ‘fuss’ justified? Do you feel some books include sensitive topics purely to be sensational? Have you received negative feedback because of something you’ve written?
• tell us about your books ~ congratulations, you’ve published a book! Tell us how you got the idea, what you did with it (plan or simply write), whether you collaborated with others to get it perfected/published and how you market it. This is also your opportunity to read a five-minute extract from one of your books
• the therapy of writing: do you find writing therapeutic? Do you write books that help others? Do you write knowing it’s never going to be shared? Do you feel/know that some of your writing has helped others?
• time management: juggling work with writing ~ do you still have a day job or are a writer as well as a publishing-related expert? How do you fit writing into your day? Do you class it as a ‘job’ even if you make your living through a different activity?
• what else do you need before your book is published? what else is needed, i.e. what price will you charge? Should you use Amazon’s ISBN or pay for your own? How many ISBNs should you buy ~ how prolific are you going to be? What should your blurb look like? How long should it be? What should it give away? Do you have a plan for each stage of your book’s cycle, i.e. the process from finishing the book to getting it out into the world, and beyond? Where do you catalogue your information?
• where in the world: locations you’ve used/want to use for your writing or read, edited, published etc. How do you choose your settings? Is it easier to use fictional rather than real places?
• the Writer’s Toolbox ~ what a writer needs (hardware and software) and where to put the hippopotamus scene!
• writing competitions ~ do you enter them? If so, how often? Do you have favourites? How much do you pay on average? Do you have a fee limit? Do you prefer themed or open competitions? Do you judge writing competitions? If so, what’s your area of expertise? How much do you charge? Do you judge for online or in-person competitions? If the latter, how far would you travel? Have you run a writing competition? If so, how did this come about? What was great, what not so great? Do you still run it? If so, please give us the details. If not, why did you stop?
• writing (for) magazines: do you buy writing-related magazines? If so, paper and/or online? Are they instructional / informative (e.g. Writing Magazine, Mslexia etc.) and/or purely for reading (e.g. People’s Friend for the short stories)? Have they helped launch your writing career? Do you write for magazines? If so what genre? For your own country and/or in other countries? How did you start? How do you find new opportunities? How much do they pay? Do they? Do you get paid on acceptance or publication?
• writing groups: do you belong to a writing group? What benefits do you enjoy? Are there any negatives to belonging to a group? Do you run a group? If so why and how did you set it up? Is it online or in real life? How do you run them?
• writing life: writing inspired by, or based on, real life, and the authors’ relationship with the publishing industry
• your writing process: when do you write? Where do you write? Do you like quiet or a busy environment? If the latter, are you inspired by those around you? Do you listen to music when you write? What format do you use, e.g. paper/pen, Word and/or Scrivener document? Has using a computer more often changed the way you write by hand?

These are free events but we’re raising money for local book-related charities and we’d be really grateful if you would donate whatever you afford via the Charities & Donate page. Thank you so much.