Is there an author in the house?

• Author: LUSKY, HEATHER
• Position: Brief Article

To paraphrase Tom Sawyer, ya cain't swing a daid cat these days wiffout hittin' somebody aworkin' on a book. Here are some words of wisdom and wishing from and for these Colorado literati:

What's hot?

Sandy Whelchel, executive director of the Denver-based National Writers Association, said the publishing odds for "nonfiction outweigh fiction by at least five-to-one. There are so many nonfiction publishers, and they're all looking for material."

Based on the 250-person membership in the Denver-based Colorado Authors' League, Whelchel said Colorado is home to, easily, 500 or more published authors whose work ranges from "poetry to features to books ... Inspirational and spiritual books are very hot and business books are very big."

Inspiration

Former ER doc Paul Schadler is working on a book about what makes people happy. "I noticed a really big difference between the way people reacted to injury - some had a great gift for being happy, no matter what. Others were unhappy if hey had an ingrown toenail."

Business

Karen Sussman, national speaker, corporate trainer and president of the Colorado Authors' League, produced and marketed a guidebook, 50 Ways to Improve Your Laugh Life as a way to boost her speaking gigs, "generating an easy income stream." Her advice: "Think about the stuff you know. You can easily package it and market it (using the guidebook concept), and give people information they can use."

Need an agent?

Free-lance writer and editor Bruce Most mostly writes articles for...