Senior Planet News

Calling All Authors!

Want to lend your experience and expertise to help other older adults break into the literary world?

Senior Planet is seeking authors who have had their work published as an older adult to join our upcoming Author Panel event on April 20 at 1:30pm EST. You will have the opportunity to share your story and give advice on how other older adults can tap into their creativity, write their masterpiece and snag a publisher.

Writers of any genre are welcome! We are not accepting self-published applicants at this time.

Click here for event details and to apply!

COMMENTS

19 responses to “Calling All Authors!

  1. I am a panelist for the Author Panel event on April 20 at 1:30 pm EST. We will be taking questions on all things author and writing for seniors (not just publishing). All four panelists are seniors that wrote books and got them published (or self-published) after the age of 60. I myself am 70 and have had 7 books published. My latest is called Untethered Aging. Learn more about the panelists and writing here. https://seniorplanet.org/news/2021/04/15/expert-advice-how-to-beat-writers-block/ If you want to write a book, this event will be enlightening! Will

  2. I am interested in mentoring caregivers of spouses with progressive dementias. Currently I facilitate a group for Younger Onset dementia with the Alzheimer’s Association and have personal experience as well. I also facilitate a recent dementia spouse caregivers group for grief and loss. Mentoring through writing is challenging to keep up with the many changes so use of the web and e-mail as well as by phone comes in handy. I find many who are at a loss as to what is available for them and often are so overwhelmed that often poor decisions are made out of exhaustion and desperation. There is a need for encouragement and support from those who have experienced the journey and respect that we all wear different shoes. I am a retired RN ready to help and looking for opportunities.

  3. I’ve taken writing classes most of my adult life. The subject of writing is significant to me. Some of my replies to columnists have been published. One article I’m particularly proud of was a response to a feature in Country magazine. And yes, they can use that as a plug if they would like to.

  4. Hello,
    I am a self published author , first published in my 47th birthday. I would encourage you to include an expert who has had experience with the self publishing industry. While I had a good experience a dear friend was scammed out of thousands of dollars.
    I caution would be authors to do their homework and know the pros and cons of their choices. There are some cases, such as publishing for family or posterity when a vanity publisher may be a good choice, but knowing your publishing goals is as important as knowing your reading audience.

    1. Dear Andora: thanks for the information you give. You say that self publishing might be good for family or posterity. I find the idea of posterity very interesting. Could you elaborate on it. What do you mean by posterity? With thanks and best wishes. Rina

      I might have sent this already by mistake !

    2. Hi Andora, I am a self-published author also, and I feel I too have something to offer would be authors. My book, The Face in the Wave was rated in the top 10% of books in Kirkus Review, so I think it is wrong to assume that self-publishers do so because their work isn’t worth publishing. I hope Senior Planet changes this policy. Best, Joanne

    3. Hi Andora! Thank you for your input and insight. We are pleased to see the clear interested in self publishing that the community is expressing! So while we will keep this event focused on finding a publisher, the team is excited to work on an event focused specifically on self publishing to follow.

      1. I was filling out the form – all excited – then I see that it asks for my last published book. I have only published online articles at this point.

        Thanks so much anyway,
        Maggie

      1. Hello, this is more of a question: Are you interested in poems, plays, articles that concern specific interests or ideas? How is the publication going to work? I have been an academic for any number of years and now, of course, retired. I have published two books and numbers of articles on various forms of literature. If I can be of assistance, please tell me what functions I may be able to perform. I have also written several poems on ageing, some funny, others meditative.

        Well, I am curious about what you are proposing. If you want to respond, I would be glad to receive any information.

        Sincerely,
        Marilyn Jurich

      2. Hi Marilyn – This article is exclusively to recruit published authors of any genre to join our panel in April about how to get published as an older adult. If you are interested in joining the panel please fill out the form above. We are not publishing anyone’s work in connection to this event. Thanks!

  5. Dear Senior Planet,
    I very much enjoy the articles in your magazine. I am not a published writer but
    I have taken many writing classes as I enjoy the creativity of expressing in essay
    form my journey through life. According to my teachers and members of our literary
    group, my essays are well written always ending on a positive note even when at times, the experiences have been negative. I believe that a person never stops growing and can continually climb many conscious levels when they can take the positive out of
    the negativity that we all experience. If there is a place in your magazine for people who enjoy writing, please let me know. Thank you!

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