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Lawrence King
Lawrence King
Lawrence King

Stratford Authors

article by Jennifer Zammit, photos by Ann Baggley

Hop by the Stratford Farmers' Market on any given Saturday morning and itʼs obvious to see how many people appreciate locally-sourced things.

 

Among the many advantages is having the opportunity to meet your neighbours. With every purchase, you're helping to boost the Perth County economy. And there's the thrill of discovering that a local farmer can produce something so exotic or different, you will marvel at new and exciting flavours.

 

Literature, like food, can offer the same thrills. There's the excitement of coming across a new book that really speaks to you, or trying a completely new genre. You may also discover that woman in your spin class is, in fact, a superb award-winning storyteller or, if you're a writer yourself, meeting another author who had a vastly different path to publication can open your eyes to unexpected possibilities.

 

A new website has been offering just such an adventure. Stratford Authors is a blog created a year ago to introduce readers to local authors and also connect local writers to each other. It features interviews with Perth County writers and promotes upcoming events for authors and their audience.

 

“We got the idea from The 100 Mile Diet,” said Deborah Cooke, a best-selling romance writer and co-founder of Stratford Authors, along with librarian and blogger Melanie Kindrachuk. “Of course, I knew there were other authors other than myself in town, but I didnʼt know who or how many. It was an adventure. ʻLet's find them out!ʼ”

 

Kindrachuk echoed the benefits of knowing your community. “When people sign out library books by local authors, I'll let them know they live in town. Itʼs always a good reaction,” she said. “People get excited to know the person who wrote their book lives in town.”

 

With fresh posts every week, the blog currently has interviews from 30 authors, links to their own websites and awards, and local literary news including Stratford Authors' monthly events.

 

“Our first panel was about how to get published. So much has changed now with digital publishing. Even among authors, it's interesting to review each other's different experiences,” said Cooke. Both women recognized the importance of promoting diverse avenues for new and established writers. Making them aware that others like them are facing similar challenges nurtures a better understanding of the industry.

 

“It showed there's lots of different routes to get your work out there,” added Kindrachuk. “There's enough people around here that are published differently or market themselves differently. So we can offer that variety.” Although the authors are given the same questions for their features in the blog, the published answers vary because people take different paths. The writers are usually very quick to respond. Despite what could be a time commitment, even first-time authors get back to them in a day.

 

“You have to remember that for many of the people weʼre dealing with, writing is just something they do on the side. They have full-time jobs and families,” said Cooke. “For full-time authors, self-promotion is part of the job. They just add the interview in their to-do list and getting it done quickly isn't an issue.”

 

Added Kindrachuk, “We don't take them out to dinner or anything. Weʼre only volunteering.” There is the added bonus of fostering community and networking, which is also a significant aspect of the blog and panels. Kindrachuk and Cooke, as well as those who participate in the panel discussions, get to meet many interesting people with different perspectives, giving insight into the variety of tools and niches that are out there for creative people.

 

Not all events have a local connection either. Yet these, too, can be just as informative and useful to residents. One such event occurred last March when Stratford Authors hosted a discussion with Mark Lefebvre, author and Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations at Kobo.

 

“I met him at a writers' conference in Toronto and asked if heʼd be interested,” said Cooke, who also writes as Claire Delacroix and Claire Cross. “Itʼs part of his job mandate; he's an evangelist for Kobo. But he's also an author himself. He brought his books, and he also explained, step-by-step, how you'd get published digitally.” One lucky attendee also walked away with a new Kobo.

 

Unpredictable moments of mingling and socializing with others in the industry offers authors a chance to directly help one another out as well. As Cooke explained, simple interactions with fellow writers can inspire you.

 

“We can cherry pick from each other and learn from our differences,” explained Cooke. “There is so much variety between authors and I'm not just referring to style or genre. I enjoy getting together with someone and asking about why one does things the way they do. For example, using social media is imperative to a commercial author like myself. When I meet those who don't use it, I think, ʻWow! That's so different from my experiences!ʼ”

 

But the education isnʼt limited to the already published. Attendance to their events has been good and their “Meet the Authors” panel was so successful in increasing visibility, that they plan to host another one in the winter.

 

“We also had someone come to a panel discussion who is now on her way to being self-published,” said Kindrachuk.

 

In addition to the blog, the women are taking advantage of other social media avenues. They have a Stratford Authors Facebook page for those who prefer that platform and to expand their reach, which has been far.

 

“Two of the first to 'like' it weren't even from town. They were from Colorado and Alberta,” said Cooke. “I find people just like the idea of sourcing local authors.”

 

There are some slight limitations with genres that the women must acknowledge. One such area not directly reached by Stratford Authors is the erotica audience. “We want this to be accessed by libraries and school reading programs. Itʼs not that we're being prudish, but we don't want to put any filters on the blog,” said Cooke. “We wouldn't want someone in high school to be surprised by something on the website.”

 

However, they are sensitive to that community and have developed a different means of publicity for these writers. “There are authors that we feature who do write erotica but they talk about their other genres and give us the covers of their other work for us to put online,” said Kindrachuk.

 

People have suggested membership dues so it can expand and use the money for better promotion and hiring speakers. But for now, the women are keeping things as hassle-free as possible, tapping into their own resources to help keep the website going.

 

“This is just a simple thing two people can do to be informative,” said Cooke. “Our expenses? Okay, I own the domain name. That's $20. The rest of the expense is time.”

 

“It's not part of my library job,” added Kindrachuk, “but the library has supported us by giving us the room for events and putting up signage, and they've sent authors and readers our way. We don't have a board of directors or anything like that. It's low-key because we're low-key people. We just do it because it's interesting to us, we're in the field and we feel like we're filling a niche. It comes pretty simply.”

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