Author Draws on Experiences to Help Others

Helen Murdock-Prep took her experiences as an author to the Huntington Public Library Saturday afternoon, telling a crowd of eager listeners about the steps needed to successfully write, publish and sell their own novels

The Huntington resident described the work that went into producing High Drama, A Novel, a work of fiction set in a milieu familiar to the theater arts teacher. She enlisted the help of two students and her daughter, Molly, a Huntington High School graduate now attending NYU, to create scenes from her novel, which depicts the chaos and drama that often accompanies life in high school.

After noting her advice might seem obvious, she said two key steps toward success were “First, get started. Second. Keep on going,” saying it was too easy to let other activities interfere in the creative process, and that authors should keep focused on their goals.

She and members of the audience, which included other authors, discussed the pitfalls and benefits of self-publishing vs. working with a publishing house, and reviewed the many tasks and costs first-time authors could confront.

Her book was published in December and is available at the Book Revue, Amazon and Kindle. She is also the creator of Shrinking Violets Comics.