Who Are We

Considered “a maven when it comes to counseling authors in the art of publishing and selling their books” ¹ and “one of the most well-known writing gurus,” ² Patricia Fry has been working with other freelance writers and authors for over two decades. She is a literary and manuscript consultant, an editor and a teacher. She can help you write a book with more publishing potential, professionally edit your book manuscript, guide you in preparing a more effective book proposal and coach you in more successfully promoting your book.

Patricia started writing for publication in 1973. Her first book was published by a New York publisher five years later. She published her second book, a comprehensive history of the Ojai Valley, California, through her own publishing company, Matilija Press, in 1983. Currently, she has over 49 books to her credit, representing an eclectic mix of subjects including several writing/publishing-related books. Her books are showcased here: http://www.matilijapress.com.

Having begun her writing career as a freelance writer, her articles have appeared in over 300 publications including Writer’s Digest, PMA (and IBPA) Independent, Writer’s Journal, The World and I, Entrepreneur, Mature Outlook, Cat Fancy, The Toastmaster, Woman’s Own, Woman’s World, Reminisce, Catholic Digest, Executive Update, Quarter Horse Journal, Kiwanis Magazine, Your Health, Pages, The Artist’s Magazine, IBPA Independent and many others.

She also presents writing/publishing seminars and workshops throughout the U.S. She has been a workshop leader/speaker for the Much Ado About Books event in Jacksonville, Florida; the National Association of Women Writers Conference in Arlington, Texas; the Meet Me In St. Louis Book Festival and Arts and Crafts Fair in St. Louis, Missouri (two years in a row); the Central Coast Book Festival and Writers’ Conference; the Northwest Regional Writers Association Conference in Seattle; the Pen Women’s Conference in Honolulu; the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Conference in Janesville, Wisconsin; the San Diego State University Writers’ Conference in that city (several times); Spring Book Show in Atlanta (three times); a writer's conference in Baltimore; and she was the lead speaker at the SPAN Marketing Conference in San Francisco. . In September of 2011, she was the keynote speaker at the Alaska Writers' Guild Writers' Conference in Anchorage.

Additionally, Patricia has been a guest speaker multiple times for SPAWN’s three chapter meetings; the Book Publicists of Southern California; the San Luis Obispo Night Writers; the Pen Women of Southern California; the West Coast Author Premiere; the Ventura Book Festival and Writers’ Conference and several other venues throughout Southern California. She has also attended the PMA Affiliate Retreat four years in a row in Nashville, San Diego & Redondo Beach, California and Chicago.

The highlight of Patricia’s extensive annual speaking tours was an all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai in 2006 where she spoke before 800 Toastmasters from throughout the Middle East at District 79's annual convention.

Recent Update on Patricia Fry's career:
In 2012, Patricia decided to add another dimension to her successful career. It was her birthday and she gave herself the gift of time and space to write her first book of fiction. Of course, she chose her favorite genre and her favorite subject—cozy (light) mysteries involving cats. She published her first Klepto Cat Mystery, Catnapped, in June of 2013 and has followed (and continues to follow) with new books in the series on an average of every two months. As of this update (January 2015), there are eight books in the Klepto Cat Mystery series. The ninth should be available by late February. To learn more about Patricia Fry's Klepto Cat Mysteries visit http://www.matilijapress.com/Klepto-Cat-Mysteries or Amazon.

For more information about Patricia Fry, visit the Web pages for each book. Access those book pages from http://www.matilijapress.com

Read our Writing & Publishing Blog!

Testimonials

Contact information:
Matilija Press
PMB 123
323 E. Matilija St., Ste. 110
Ojai, CA 93023
E-mail: info@matilijapress.com

Board Member of Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network
Member of IBPA, The Independent Book Publishers Association
Member of Cat Writer's Association
Member of Cassell Network of Writers

See the Consulting page.

References

*1 Norm Goldman, Book Pleasures
http://www.bookpleasures.com

*2 Magdelena Ball, The Compulsive Reader
http://www.compulsivereader.com

Appearances

Patricia Fry is available to speak at your conference or writers' group meeting.

See Appearances.