France was a dream retreat. Not only did our retreaters receive quality craft teaching, but they also got valuable insights into the European markets from Kobo Writing Life and from Literary Translations. Things I've never before realized...like you have to reinvent your author self in another country. It's not just the language barrier, it's not just translations, it's about relating to the culture and creating a new community in the country you're expanding to.
Wow - talk about an eye-opener!
And that doesn't even scratch the surface of the revelations we had while on the retreat.
The morning brainstorming walks were especially productive. Guys, I brainstormed an entire new book on one of those, using the collective talent and brain power of the other authors.
The workshop on meditating to find your inner writing voice was a great way to start off our week, and the know-how offered by Louise Fury, our literary agent for the week, and by Liz Pelletier, editor of Entangled Publishing...I have pages and pages of notes that I scribbled on everything within reach! The marketing insights given at dinner alone one night were worth the entire retreat for some of our retreaters. And that wasn't even a part of their workshop!!
Ready to retreat with us? Don't miss this September's cruise to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Cozumel with Lisa Cron (Story Genius and Wired for Story), Angela Ackerman (The Emotion Thesaurus), Michelle Grajkowski (Agent, Three Seas Literary), and Deb Werksman (Editor, Sourcebooks)!
Check out our YouTube video for more of what we learned in France!