A respectable sea of talent

Being a writer is often a lonely endeavor. A lot of the copywriting and editing I do is from behind the scenes. Some of my clients are across the country in corporate offices, or are shrouded by email. I don't get to meet any of my peers, hobnob with folks in the business or rub elbows with anyone who shares my love of the craft.

So I was quite interested in particpating in the First Annual Book Fair Blitz put on by Key Business Partners and Local Shops 1. Local authors and business services? I'm there! But what I didn't realize until I got there was, I'm not really used to promoting myself. I can write press releases and blogs seven ways to Sunday; my last direct mail marketing piece increased my client's sales by 40 percent. So I can beat a drum and herd cats with aplomb ... as long as it's not my own drum I'm beating.
I'd much rather toot someone else's horn, and with the group of local talent amassed at this tradeshow, I had plenty of choices.
Like Pam Butler of Life Reflections, expert videographer, who came up with a truly unique concept: tell people's life stories. Everything from video wedding invitations to video life celebrations to video resumes, Pam puts you in the studio and makes you the star. Imagine sending out DVD invitations for your perfect beach wedding! That ought to make the Bridezillas roar! And a video resume? Genius! In today's rising unemployment market, these little three minute gems are sure to slash the envious competition.
Speaking of envy, I had the humbling experience of meeting Gloria Tesch, the world's youngest novel writer, who wrote and published the 810-page "Maradonia and the Seven Bridges" just after her 13th birthday. Yep. She's 14. And when she hefted the book over to me, it was one of those speechless moments I'll remember forever. It seems that everyone I know (myself included) walks around talking about the book they're in the middle of writing, the book they're going to write or the book they wish they'd written. And while we're all talking about it, this remarkable prodigy is busy cranking out the sequel, due in late March.
The specific local author talents in the room are too numerous to mention each in ink here, but they can rest assured that they made giant impressions on me and inspired me to dig in my heels and get it done. I learned a few things today, just being near them.