A report back by Kim Hunter
Wow! What can I say? Eight jam-packed hours of learning from eight learned speakers and then later, a brilliant talk from Keynote Speaker, Joss Woods at the Gala Dinner and Awards Evening. Nothing can top this for an author – except getting to mingle and chat with not only the speakers, but also the other authors attending the event.
Thank you to Mandy and her team for all the time and hard work which went into making this event the success it was. A highlight (and I’m only mentioning one because there were so many for me!) was the tree planting ceremony. ROSA has made an indelible mark in the form of a Cunonia capensis planted in honour of our conference at Misty Hills. What a thrill to know that tree will continue to grow roots deep into the earth long after we are gone – much in the way we hope ROSA will withstand the changing times and trends and will remain a part of the South African landscape for many years to come.
For those who opted to stay at Misty Hills, the event started on the Friday night with dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant. Mmmm, mmmm! Finger-licking good!
Despite the dreary weather, those staying over at Misty Hills had fireplaces to cuddle up to for breakfast.
We started the day with a warm welcome from Vice-Chair Person Mandy Verbaan, the co-ordinator of the event, followed by an informative talk about ‘Getting the most from StoryOrigin and Book Funnel‘, by the incredible Sian Claven. Pens scratched on paper as many notes were taken.
Jaws dropped as Christiaan Steyn from Steyn IP educated us on the difference between Trademarks and Copyright and so much more. At this point, I thought the event couldn’t get any better….
The delightful Cheryl from Willow Trading clued the attendees in on the ways to get our hardcopy books into South African bookshops. My take from this talk – it’s a nice to have but perhaps not worth much in terms of seeing a return on my investment. I’d love to know if anyone found it different to me.
Troubles with the sound did not deter me from listening to Samara Thorn, talking about ‘Writing as an Intuitive Author’. This Author and Coach suggested we look to where our intuitive strengths lie and so much more. For this talk alone, I would have paid double.
A very pregnant Nicolette Stephens still made her way to Misty Hills to enlighten us on ‘The “Science” of Blurb Writing’. I can’t thank you enough for coming through. The insights I gained into the skills of blurb writing was invaluable.
No images for the next talk because I had the honour of chatting with Jo Watson, Erika Bester, and AK MacBride, about ‘Where do Authors Spend the $$$ – winners and losers‘. These three successful authors each had a different take on which platforms they believe is the place to invest in advertising (or to simply have a vigorous presence) right now in 2024. Jo believes TikTok is the place to be, Erika firmly believes growing your email list with ardent fans is where you should be spending your marketing time and AK MacBride is keen on FaceBook. My take from this lively discussion was: PICK YOUR PLATFORM! We all become overwhelmed with the many choices we have, so choose one, learn how best to use it to your advantage and go for it!
Did you know your could learn so much from watching K-Dramas? I did not, so this talk from the knowledgable Romy Sommer on ‘What Authors can Learn from K-Dramas‘ blew my mind. Romy’s passion for writing and flexibility in how to structure a novel really came through in this talk.
Micaela White had the room in an uproar when we all learned #romance is a banned hashtag on Instagram! “Social Media Do’s and Don’ts for Authors’ was an eye-opener! I am truly grateful for all I learned during this talk.
And that wrapped up the day’s talks. In my opinion, well-worth the money it cost me (or the investment in my author career, if you want to be specific!) But it wasn’t only about the learning, it was also about spending time with like-minded people. People who have the same struggles and I do as an author. For me, THAT was the most invaluable part of the day.
I hope there will be another conference next year because I’ll be putting money into a special savings account dedicated to paying for me to attend. Any sacrifice to make my target will be well worth it.