Series to guide writers on road to getting published

Publishing a manuscript can be intimidating for any writer, but a new lecture series "Inside Writing and Publishing," offered by DuPage libraries may help make the process less daunting.

Eight local libraries will each offer a free seminar on breaking into the publishing world during the next seven weeks. Presenters are well-known, Chicago-area authors who will speak on various aspects of the publishing business of writing fiction, magazine articles, poetry, children's books, researching nonfiction, and signing with a publishing house.

Inspired by the North Suburban Library System's own "Inside Writing & Publishing" series, Linda Schehl, head of adult services at the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library in Lombard, wanted to introduce a similar program to the Western suburbs.

"The North Suburban libraries have been running this series for 20 years," Schehl said. "I visited a few of the programs, and sat in on their own programming sessions."

For the upcoming series, each DuPage library recruits its own speakers from nearby communities.

"I wanted a variety of writers," Schehl added, so those selected will cover a spectrum of writing and publishing topics.

Author J.A. Konrath will kick off the sessions with "Creating Series Characters" at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Bloomingdale Public Library, 101 Fairfield Way.

His own series character is the 40-something, divorced, Chicago police lieutenant, Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels. In developing his character, Konrath said, "Most mystery fiction is bought by women, and as Americans we root for the underdog and a woman cop in the country's second largest city is just that."

Originally from Chicago and now living in Schaumburg, Konrath's fifth book of the series will come out this summer.

The second speaker is Kelly James-Enger of Downers Grove with "Breaking In: The Basics of Writing for Magazines" at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Warrenville Public Library, 28W751 Stafford Place.

James-Enger wrote "Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money" after she left her full-time job as a lawyer to become a full-time writer. She will discuss "how to pitch, write and research a magazine article with a focus on query letters," that she described as "a combination of cover letter and resume."

Former private investigator and Chicago crime writer Sean Chercover will focus on "After You Type 'The End': Finding an Agent, Signing with a Publishing House, and Working with an Editor" at 1 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library, 110 W. Maple St., Lombard.

Chercover's "Big City, Bad Blood" is described as the "next Sara Paretsky," who is author of the V.I. Warshawski series. Chercover will discuss how his own collaboration with an agent brought him a two-book deal with William Morrow.

Next is award-winning poet Charlie Rossiter and "Truth: The Soul of Poetry," at 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Addison Public Library, Two Friendship Plaza.

In this workshop, Rossiter will discuss how to discover and express a truth poetically and offer specific writing activities to demonstrate how ideas are examined. He authored the anthology of poetry, "BackBeat," now in its second edition.

Villa Park's own Allie Pleiter will discuss "Getting it Done: Plans, Goals, and Models for Writers" at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Villa Park Public Library, 305 S. Ardmore Ave.

Pleiter, whose latest book, "The Perfect Blend," came out this summer, described her presentation as "time management for writers who need to be creative on demand." She added that "you need to figure out what your own creative process is and how to manage and maximize it. Then based on that, create a system to keep you."

Pastor Robin Currie of Grace Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn and a children's author will present "Strange Tale of Fluffy Kitten: Writing for Children." She will discuss how writing for the younger reader is different than writing for adults at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane St.

Author of 20 books including the "Baby Bible Storybook" series, Currie will discuss the special satisfaction writing for children brings.

Bloomingdale will host its second speaker, Lindsay Longford, on "Writing Commercial Fiction: Why? How?" at 7 p.m. Feb. 13.

Longford, author of 17 Silhouette romance and romantic suspense novels, will discuss commercial versus literary fiction writing and offer specific writing techniques. For her book, "Annie and the Wise Men," Longford received a RITA, the annual Romance Writers of America award.

Alexa Ganakos, author of "Greektown Chicago -- Its History -- Its Recipes," will reveal behind-the-scenes secrets of magazine publishing in "Publishing on Paper" at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road.

Her presentation will include how magazines balance content, marketing objectives and advertising revenues with strict editorial and publishing deadlines, while still attracting readers.

Wrapping up the series is Glennette Tilley Turner of Wheaton, a teacher, historian and writer, speaking on "Doing Research for Nonfiction Writing" at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Bartlett Public Library, 800 S. Bartlett Road.

Turner will highlight successful techniques for the nonfiction writer. Author of "The Underground Railroad in DuPage County," Turner has also contributed to the "Encyclopedia of Chicago" and "Women Building Chicago 1790-1990." Turner is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Studs Terkel Humanities Award.

In addition to learning writing and publishing strategies, "would-be should-be" writers will have the opportunity to meet and speak with the local authors individually. This series is free, but the libraries request that attendees register with the hosting library for the programs they wish to attend. For details including maps, visit the participating libraries' Web sites.

If you go

What:Participating DuPage libraries will offer a free series of eight local authors speaking on writing and publishing. Reservations are requested by contacting the libraries' adult services:

• J.A. Konrath, "Creating Series Characters," 2 p.m. Saturday at Bloomingdale Public Library, 101 Fairfield Way, Bloomingdale (630) 924-2730 or www.mybpl.org

• Kelly James-Enger, "Breaking In: The Basics of Writing for Magazines," 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at Warrenville Public Library District, 28W751 Stafford Place (630) 393-1171 or www.warrenville.com

• Sean Chercover, "After You Type 'The End': Finding an Agent, Signing with a Publishing House, and Working with an Editor," 1 p.m. Jan. 26 at Helen M. Plum Memorial Library, 110 W. Maple St., Lombard (630) 627-0316 or www.plum.lib.il.us

• Charlie Rossiter, "Truth: The Soul of Poetry" at 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at Addison Public Library, 2 Friendship Plaza, Addison (630) 458-3320 or www.addisonlibrary.org

• Allie Pleiter, "Getting it Done: Plans, Goals, and Models for Writers" at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at Villa Park Public Library, 305 S. Ardmore Ave. (630) 834-1164 or www.villapark.lib.il.us

• Robin Currie, "Strange Tale of Fluffy Kitten: Writing for Children" at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane Street (630) 469-0879 or www.gepl.org

• Lindsay Longford, "Writing Commercial Fiction: Why? How?" at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 at Bloomingdale Public Library

• Alexa Ganakos, "Publishing on Paper" 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, (630) 368-7725 or www.oak-brook.lib.il.us

• Glennette Tilley Turner, "Doing Research for Nonfiction Writing" at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at Bartlett Public Library District, 800 S. Bartlett Road (630) 837-3560 or www.bartlett.lib.il.us