During the event, Tony Bradman, ALCS Chair, was joined by writer panellists from around the North-East to discuss how they make their living as writers, and to pinpoint any advice for other writers present that might be helpful in improving their incomes.

The panellists were Barry Hutchison, an author of books, comics and animation, who formed his own publishing imprint in 2016; Amy Lord, a writer, blogger and digital marketer; and Tracey Sinclair, a freelance editor and writer.

The panellists suggested that one of the best ways to market your work is to build a network during the writing process, as these people will go on to be your consumers. By involving them from the ground up, it’s easier to secure yourself a readership base. Amy’s first novel was published by Unbound, a crowdfunding publisher, and so she was able to include her audience in her writing process, so they felt more invested in the end product. Similarly, Barry ran his own crowdfunder for one of his novels, through which supporters could have their names included in his book, thus giving his audience more of a connection with his work. Tracey suggested social media as a great way of building a writing network because it can be a relaxed, fun forum for writers to share their work and build a community.

The panel took questions from the audience and then discussed their own personal support systems whilst writing and how these had helped them .

Thank you to all members who attended the AGM and the panel discussion beforehand. If you didn’t manage to join us in Newcastle upon Tyne, you can watch the full panel discussion here.