SCBWI: Steve Cotler

This past Saturday, my friend, Jennifer, and I headed over to Sebastopol to see this author:

SCBWI Sonoma County North Bay Meeting Sat. June 27, Promoting Your Book with author Steve Cotler When Saturday June 27, 2015 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM PDT Where Sebastopol Center for the Arts   Join Steve Cotler to learn how to switch your role from author to promoter. Whether you have worked with a traditional publisher or you are self-published, Steve offers the insights you need about websites, public relations, collateral materials, marketing and social media. Author of the award-winning Cheesie Mack five-book middle grade series published by Random House, Steve relates why writing and publishing are just the first two steps. Though his books have received spectacular reviews, his job has just begun. Steve has already visited over 300 schools across the country (and in Australia), given nearly 750 presentations, and spoken to almost 80,000 students.          Steve Cotler is a retired Little League catcher who’s also been a shoe salesman, telecom scientist, singer-songwriter, Harvard Business School MBA, investment banker, and door-to-door eggman. He lives with his wife and writes in Sonoma County in Northern California’s Wine Country. He thinks he is and always will be eleven years old. To learn more about Steve, visit his website HERE!

I really like going to these things.  SCBWI is a great resource and the more authors I get to meet, the better.  There is always more to learn and these meetings and presentations are a great way to meet other writers, illustrators and people in the business of publishing.

Mr. Cotler was a wonderful speaker and very entertaining.  I bought one of his books (autographed of course), even though this is not really my area.  But I am curious to see how he writes and get an idea of this type of book – and if his books are as entertaining and funny as he is, then I ought to enjoy reading it.  I certainly enjoyed speaking to him briefly.

As we were leaving, I ended up talking to another (local) author, Land Wilson.  This man has recently had a children’s picture book published and I was intrigued because his book is in rhyme.  Most of my things are in rhyme and I have detected some negativity in the field where rhyming is concerned.  So I was curious to see this book.  Unfortunately he did not have any of his books on hand to sell, so I simply ordered one online when I got home.  It’s a perfectly lovely book.

Are his rhymes significantly better than mine?  I don’t think so.  And that gives me hope.