Turn a page and finally publish that book

One guy thought he was the next Erma Bombeck.

Another man was working on a how-to-succeed book for kids heading to college.

There were a couple of parenting-book people in the room. One fiction writer. And one woman was hoping to create a cookbook from her family recipes.

Guiding this literary lot one recent night were Kerry Colburn and Jennifer Worick, two former book editors and published authors who have been bringing their expertise to the masses with sessions on how to get your idea on the shelves.

It makes sense that Seattleites are itching to put their own words on the page. In 2008, we tied with Minneapolis in a Central Connecticut State University study based on local newspaper and magazine circulation, library data, online news readership and book purchases, among other things.

"Everybody in Seattle has a book idea," Colburn said. She would know. People corner her at parties and playgrounds to talk up their potential best-sellers and prod her for tips. They tell her they've had a book idea for years — and never acted on it.

"It makes me weepy when people have had it sitting there all this time," Worick said. "Publishing seems so mysterious to people who aren't in it. You don't know what you know."

But while Seattle may be well-read and home to major booksellers like Amazon.com and Costco, we are not a publishing town. So there aren't a lot of people with in-house experience to offer first-time authors.

"There's not an easy resource for what people need," Colburn said. "They look online, they look at books about publishing, but they don't know what they're doing, so they don't send their proposal at all."

Ah, but remember the words of Ernest Hemingway: The sun also rises.

This month, Colburn and Worick will kick off a three-session series, "The Business of Books with Jen & Kerry," at Seattle's Hotel 1000, giving wannabe authors a place to pick up the guidance and skills they need to realize their bookshelf dreams.

The first session, to be held Jan. 13, is called "Prepare to Get Published," and will focus on how to find an idea and grow it into a viable proposal, as well as how to research the marketplace and target publishers, editors and literary agents.

"Secrets of a Successful Proposal," on Feb. 17, will cover what publishers look for in a proposal, and how to get a good one going.

"We're not writing coaches, we're publishing professionals," said Colburn. "We've read a lot of good proposals and a lot of bad ones."

The March session, "Navigating the World of Publishing," will focus on Colburn and Worick's combined 40 years of publishing experience, and offer advice on publishing options, royalties and contracts, sales and marketing.

(Cost is $40 per event, or $99 for the entire three-part series. To reserve a space, go to brownpapertickets.com).

"Everyone has a story to tell," said Kim Ricketts, whose events company connects authors and readers in various contexts where often the conversation turns to how to get published. There is no one offering what Colburn and Worick are, she said.

"It would be helpful to learn from some 'been-there' kind of experts who can tell you how the publishing world really works," she said. "And it is an ever-changing jungle."

Indeed, publishing has changed in the last few years, thanks to technology like e-readers and iPods. Some ideas may not even work as books, but as downloads, or decks of cards for touring a city or cooking a meal.

Colburn and Worick are full of ideas, and love to brainstorm.

"We hope that people will come and be ready to take the next step and dive in," Colburn said.

Said Worick: "There's always room for new book ideas and fresh voices. "We're taking back the New Year's resolution as something that's achievable," she said, "and does not involve self-loathing."

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Tuesday and Friday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

Diary of a Mad Columnist.