AIR DATE DECEMBER 16, 2021
Title: Orange County Authors
In this episode of Emily Tells All, we discover local Orange County Authors during Read a New Book Month.
Guests and Locations
Librarian and Author of The Night We Said Yes, Autofocus, and This Tiny Perfect World – Lauren Gibaldi
Writing Professor and Author of Bright Lights, Medium-Sized City – Nathan Holic
Orange County Libraries, Librarian – Michael Donahue
Discover Local Orange County Writers and Hear Their Stories
Orange County is full of passionate local authors eager to share their stories with the community and beyond.
Sit down and hear from two incredibly talented Orange County writers- Nathan Holic and Lauren Gibaldi.
Michael Donohue, the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Orange County Library System, also shares how the libraries and local authors collaborate.
Orange County Writer: Lauren Gibaldi
Lauren is an Orlando public librarian and author of several books: The Night We Said Yes, Autofocus, and This Tiny Perfect World. “My own novels all actually take place in various parts of Florida,” she explains.
One National Novel Writing Month challenge later and Lauren produced a manuscript with enough bones to be published.
She edited her short manuscript, got an agent who sold it, and then started her journey of being a published Orange County author.
Lauren advises that editing your work is the first step before finding an agent. It’s also wise to find support- your network- among other writers.
“Publishing is such a solitary world in a way, as you know. Like, not everyone knows what’s going on, and when you’re writing a book, it’s just you. So, it’s nice having local buddies,” she reassures.
Orange County Writer: Nathan Holic
Nathan teaches writing at the University of Central Florida and has published several books as well: Bright Lights, Medium-Sized City, and The Things I Don’t See. Both of his novels take place in Orlando. He explains, “I’ve lived in Orlando since 1998, and it just feels natural to write about the area, to write about Florida.”
No author starts their journey the same, and Nathan’s actually started after a career in advertising. He went back to school to receive a graduate degree in creative writing and then started leaning into the local writing community.
It took a decade for one of his books to see the light of day, which proves that publishing is not set into a timeline. Write when you can and when you feel inspired. The piece will eventually finish itself.
Tips on Becoming an Author
Both Lauren and Nathan advise getting involved with your local library system. Authors and writers of all sorts host events and workshops in Orange County. So, it’s a helpful way to make connections and learn things like book plotting, how to get an agent, creating query letters, and more.
“I think that there’s something about getting into a group with people that all have that same sort of passion or looking for inspiration in those kinds of workshops settings. And you don’t have to produce a bestseller out of it. You just have to engage with yourself or engage with writing. And hopefully, you walk away with something that could maybe lead to something else.” – Nathan
If you’re considering becoming an author, get involved in the local writing community and just start putting pen to paper.
Merging Local Storytelling with the Orange County Libraries
Michael shares how the Orange County library system supports local authors and what books you can submit for reading.
“What’s great about our local author collection is we get all sorts of genres. We do children’s books, fiction, nonfiction, political-related things, religious-related things, faith-based related novels. And we accept all kinds of books here. So, it’s a really cool, diverse collection of materials,” he explains.
Thanks to a growing number of Orange County writers, their book collection has skyrocketed. All you have to do is reach out to the library, telling them you have a book you want to make available, and they will take it from there.
“We also have something called ePULP, which is an ebook database that we actually own and curate. So if someone wants to make their book available for download, we also have that opportunity for them too,” Michael reveals.
Aside from virtual writing workshops and events, you can come up to the 3rd floor of the Orlando Public Library to browse their entire local author collection.
