Learn with me.
Early this week, I went to my library and asked if I could donate a book. Apparently, that is not the process to get your book into the libraries. The man who helped me was great though. He directed me to Capital City Press and told me I had a deadline to get listed, and it is quickly approaching! The call for submissions is open until April 15, 2022. I quickly headed to the website when I returned home and was able to easily submit my work.
There was more information on this website though. And I received even more information from another librarian I contacted.
I am wowed by the amount of support that Edmonton has in place to support local authors and am excited to take this journey.
Capital City Press
Capital City Press is a program that supports local author’s in their writing endeavors. Here you can find featured authors from Edmonton Local, or Alberta local.
The more I browse through this website, the more excited I get. There is a calendar, which lists events for you to attend, or schedule your own events.
This site is a must-view.
Legal deposit Program
The Legal Deposit Program appears to be a program in place to preserve Canadian Content. Canada has regulations in place to promote Canadian content. For this reason, I feel it’s important to submit my work.
Public Lending Right Program
The Public Lending Right Program is the way that authors receive annual compensation for the use of their books in Canadian Libraries.
I am not currently in the libraries, but as per a suggestion by a local librarian, I signed onto my EPL account and suggested that EPL carry my book. What a great idea.
If you don’t have an Edmonton Public Library Card and are from Edmonton, I recommend you get one.
Did you know that EPL gives you access to a ton of learning resources, including LinkedIn Learning? Linked in learning was formerly Lynda.com (I learned PHP there!). Everyone should know about these tools.
https://www.epl.ca/
The librarian I spoke to also recommended that I get signed on with LSC’s Small Press/Author Program. She stated that LSC is one of the main vendors that EPL uses to purchase their books.
LSC’s Small Press Program
LSC is a Non-Profit owned by libraries. They offer a ton of services, of which I understand none of them. Yet, their Small Press Author Program allows Small Press (like myself) to submit their work to a catalogue that libraries can order from.
And the last recommendation she had, was that I get in touch with Norma Dunning. Norma Dunning is the EPL’s writer in residence.
Writer in Residence
The Writer in Residence program is a support program for aspiring authors. The program employs an Author to offer direct assistance to aspiring authors and offers services like “manuscript consultations, public readings and talks, information on the publishing process and networking with the writing community.”
I sent out an email to Norma Dunning, and we are booked to have a chat this upcoming Monday. Ms. Dunning informed me that she is not a Children’s Lit author, however, I am more concerned about how to get my books in people’s hands, than authoring. Hopefully, she can offer some assistance!
I gained all this knowledge in a relatively short period of time and am floored by how well-informed the EPL staff is in this process.
Now, Let’s go make something of ourselves.