September 3 2018
Northland indie author Michael Botur is delivering a workshop on fiction writing at the Dargaville Town Hall on Saturday
October 6, and says he’s looking forward to bringing Kaipara writers together – which doesn’t happen often enough.
Botur says he follows which Kaipara writers are actively contributing to literature in Northland thanks to his day job
writing journalism and providing literary writing services, as well as running the Write Up North website and Facebook
group.
“Three of the Kaipara people who are keeping the talent up around Dargaville are Hokianga short story writer Susy
Pointon, Jody Reynolds of Dargaville – who is particularly good as managing fans over the internet – and I’ve been
really impressed by Wild Side Publishing emerging from Ruawai. I’m hoping at the workshop I can give people who haven’t
published themselves lots of tools to get their writing read online. The literary industry is depressing and tries to
take power away from writers. This workshop is about putting that power back in writers’ hands.”
The 4.5 hour workshop looks at the workflow required to get a story polished on the page so authors can be confident
publishing the work in a literary magazine or online.
Also covered in the workshop are voice, character, prose and editing, but Botur says the bigger theme of the day is
understanding that words on the page are just the start. “Reaching an audience these days is about capturing
inspiration, checking that the words are good enough to publish, then sharing it with the world online.”
“Things move so quickly in the writing world that publication options which made sense ten years ago may not be relevant
anymore in 2018 – however, the fundamentals of how to get difficult pieces of writing completed remain the same. So I’ll
be offering realistic advice about how to make the most of those hours in front of the computer screen.”
Whangarei-based Botur is author of several acclaimed short story collections and young adult novel, Moneyland, which has
gained a cult following on the world’s largest publishing platform for teenagers, Wattpad – a site which has 65 million
unique visitors per month. Botur said he recently blogged about how writers can have too much dependence on literary
‘gatekeepers,’ whereas it is more rewarding to go online and put writing straight in the hands of the audience.
The workshop will include a brief introduction to Medium, Smashwords, Createspace, Wattpad, Bookfunnel, Goodreads and
other online self-publishing and promotion platforms.
*
Dargaville Town Hall – Conference Room
10am- 3pm.
Registration is essential - please RSVP to Mike@michaelboturwriter.com.
Cost is $45 for the day - RSVP by email and Mike can invoice those attending.
Mike will contact you to ask for details about your level of writing experience, and give you some feedback on your
writing to focus on for the day, as well as advice and support to take away.
See www.MichaelBoturwriter.com and Eventfinda for more information and updates.
ends