A collaborative group to support authors in their journeys has taken root in Okotoks and area.
The Indie Author Group was developed in partnership with the Okotoks Library and Rae-Lynne Byerly, co-owner of Yooneek Books. Founders of the group, Byerly and Laurie Carmichael, wanted to create a collaborative environment for writers where they could support each other and provide information on writing processes, editing, marketing and so on.
“So we are approximately 20 independent authors. Some people are just putting pen to paper. Some people have been published authors for a long period of time and have quite a few books out there,” said Carmichael.
She said the group focuses on camaraderie to help one another with challenges writers often find themselves in.
“Being a writer can often be a lonely journey and the world of publishing and marketing can be daunting,” she said.
The group is fairly new and has had two meetings to date.
Meetings are every third Thursday, with the next one on July 21 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Okotoks Public Library.
The group has also been out to Pride Festival and BuskersFest.
“Whether you're starting as a brand new writer or whether you are a more experienced writer, you're welcome to come to our group,” said Carmichael.
The author group encourages anyone who is interested in writing to join and is open to everyone over the age of 18.
“The idea behind it is that we wanted to make sure that anybody that's coming in there doesn't feel like oh, I have to be an experienced writer. I might just be starting on this journey,” she said.
