Grand Ouest Authors (GOA) is a free networking group for writers who live in the Grand Ouest region of France - Brittany, Normandy and the Pays de la Loire - and who produce books in English.
Our members have books in print - either through mainstream publishers or self-published - or are working towards publication in the near future.
The aim of GOA is to bring together both individual authors and writers groups, to:
- Explore opportunities for joint marketing and promotion.
- Provide an online forum for exchanging ideas and promoting our books.
- Encourage new writers in the area.
We aim to have both a real-world and a virtual existence.
This website provides a shop window for our authors. Members can have a page for each of their books, with links that allow visitors to buy online. Each book is also entered in our online shop. Members also have Author Profile pages, with links to their own sites.
We also have a forum, most of which is members-only, where writers can discuss projects, throw around ideas, seek help and offer advice.
All of this is available to anyone, with or without a book, and so we hope the virtual incarnation of the group will be of help to beginners and those for whom writing is simply a hobby.
The motivation for starting the group, however, was to support writers with a professional attitude, particularly published (including self-published) book authors who want to promote themselves and their work. The idea is that, by working as a group rather than individuals, we can promote ourselves more effectively. Joint activities may include:
- Group book signings
- Group participation in cultural events, such as taking a stand selling our books at fairs
- Group PR - for example, issuing press releases about new titles or group activities
- Approaching local and regional retail outlets (supermarkets, bookshops, etc) with a group point-of-sale display selling our titles.
This is just a sample of what we have in mind.
