* SOLD OUT *
MARY CUNNANE’S
Publishing School for Authors
About This Program
In this online program comprising 3 x 90-minute sessions, former publisher, agent and advisor to ACT Writers’ highly regarded HARDCOPY program, Mary Cunnane will demystify the publishing process both in Australia and overseas. How are books ‘signed’? What will a publisher do for an author? Do you really need an agent? What’s the best way to develop an effective book proposal? These are just some of the questions that will be answered in this short program. Drawing on her extensive experience as a publisher and agent, Mary Cunnane will provide up-to-date information and help participants navigate their way to representation and/or publication.
Session 1
2pm-3.30pm Saturday 7 Nov
Overview of the current state of trade publishing in Australia as well as overseas.
The Publishing Process: how books are signed up; the editorial process; the legal and financial basics: contracts; royalties; subsidiary rights; marketing and publicity; what you can expect the publisher to do for you and your book and what you can’t; the ins and outs of finding overseas publishers.
Agents: Do you Need One? What do they do? How do you find one? Pitfalls and pluses.
Session 2
2pm-3.30pm Saturday 14 Nov
Developing your book project.
How to write a killer proposal.
Session 3
2pm-3.30pm Saturday 21 Nov
Mock Acquisitions Meeting.
Participants will act together as an editorial committee to which individually they present/pitch their projects.
Please note: as this program has been designed as an interconnected series of sessions, participants will not be able to pay by session. Each participant to be responsible for the stability of their internet connection.
About Mary Cunnane
Mary is a highly regarded former publisher and literary agent and now freelance editor and consultant. With three decades of experience in the book-publishing industry in the United States and Australia, Mary now provides freelance editorial services – manuscript evaluation and development, structural editing and line-editing – directly to authors, as well as via agent referrals or on behalf of publishers. Her track record in list-building, author relations, rights management and IP development informs her consulting services to publishers, cultural institutions, universities and for-profit businesses. She was the Advisory Publishing Editor on the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature. From 2014 to 2019, Mary was the program advisor to HARDCOPY, the ACT Writers Centre’s highly regarded writers development initiative funded by the Australia Council for the Arts. For more information, visit www.marycunnane.com.