Renea Winchester is the award-winning author of several books. Her latest title, Farming, Friends, and Fried Bologna Sandwiches was chosen as a “Hot New Release” in the essay category and spent several days as a number bestseller. She is passionate about supporting emerging authors and partnered with Make Your Mark Publishing to release Stress-free Marketing: Practical Advice for the Newly Published Author. Click here for ebook version. Her ebook Mountain Memories: True Stories and Half Truths from Appalachia introduces readers to Southern characters, not stereotypes. Her first book, In The Garden With Billy: Lessons About Life, Love & Tomatoes, featured the last farmer in Roswell Georgia. Winchester is the two-time winner of the Appalachian Writer’s Award. In 2010, she was awarded the Denny Plattner award. Her work has appeared in Appalachian Heritage, Georgia Backroads, Smoky Mountain Living, Long Leaf Style and Georgia Magazine.
She is a frequent radio guest, appearing on many radio stations, including Georgia Public Radio 90.1 FM, All Things Southern, and a television appearance of the Atlanta Fulton County Television show Writers in Focus. Her writing earned a SIBA and GAYA nomination. In 2011, the Atlanta Chapter of the National League of American Pen Women named her the Author of the Year. She is a frequent presenter at writing workshops where she teaches authors how to create memorable characters, market their book, and make time to write in today’s hurried world.
Renea is a sought-after editor who is available to authors regardless of level. Whether an emerging author, or a seasoned veteran, contact her first, before releasing your book.
Renea believes in the power of relationships. She believes the best way to increase sales is to develop relationships with readers, fellow authors, and booksellers. Contact her here
adviceforauthors 
Hi Renea,
How did you go about getting your first book published? did you find an agent?
Thank you,
Pam
Pam,
Thank you for visiting my blog, and for asking this question. I did approach several agents with my first book. Some who kindly responded that they they didn’t feel In the Garden With Billy: Lessons About Life Love & Tomatoes would “sell” outside of the south. So when I made my first sale in Australia and Europe I had to smile. Today, more than ever, agents are under tremendous pressure to find specific “niche’ markets.” This means several veteran authors (who have penned multiple titles) have been dropped by their agents.
The agent is responsible for securing a publishing contract. Publicists receive compensation (from you) each time they schedule an event (radio appearance, television appearance etc). The industry standard now is for authors to do approximately 80% of the marketing themselves.
That being said, I boldly approached every publisher who accepted submissions without an agent and eventually found a traditional small press. Find a listing of them in the Writer’s Market, which is available at most libraries in the reference section. For this book, Stress-Free Marketing: Practical Advice for the Newly Published Author, a friend referred me to Make Your Mark. They accept a wide variety of manuscripts. You can learn more about them at this link.
Thank you for your comments.