Mystery Writers of America, New England Chapter

Thrive as an Indie Author: Success Models, Traps to Avoid, and Saying “No” to Yourself
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
6:30 to socialize
The meeting proper starts at 7pm

Independent publishing has evolved from a “last resort” into a strategic business choice. This presentation explores the “why” behind that evolution and the necessary mindset shift from writer to “Publisher/CEO.” Attendees will examine the business case for indie—including rights retention, royalties, and speed-to-market—and how hybrid authors can leverage the best of both traditional and self-publishing worlds.

We will move beyond the hype to discuss the realities of wearing every hat, weighing upfront financial risks against long-term rewards, and utilizing pivot strategies that traditional publishers can’t match.

Crucially, the talk addresses why successful indies must learn to say “no” to themselves to ensure sales, professional quality and avoid losing money. Finally, we will cover essential logistics: distribution dilemmas, building a professional production team, and spotting the predatory “vanity” companies that prey on authors.

Scott Channell is the President of Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE.org), a fast-growing organization of independent authors and publishers. As the self-published author of eight books, Scott combines insights from his own publishing adventures with real-world lessons and observations drawn from the collective experiences of the IPNE community.

To join in person:
The Public Library of Brookline
361 Washington St
Brookline, MA 02445

Home

(617-730-2370)

How to Sell Your Book – Joanna Schaffhausen
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
6:30 to socialize
The meeting proper starts at 7pm

While there is no magic formula to guarantee book sales, there are many things you can do to position your book for success, no matter which path to publication you take. Joanna Schaffhausen will share eight years of hard-won wisdom on how to think strategically about book sales at all points in the process.

To join in person:
The Public Library of Brookline
361 Washington St
Brookline, MA 02445

Home

(617-730-2370)

Sharing Our Gifts
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
6:30 to socialize
The meeting proper starts at 7pm

We’ve swapped our usual December and June events. Instead of a holiday party during the dark and cold hours, we’ll have a “Welcome Summer” party in June. In December we will “share our gifts” with each other by reading aloud some of our recent writing. Please bring 1-2 pages of whatever work you’d like to share aloud with the group. It can be published, unpublished, a WIP…whatever you’d like.

Bonus! If you like, you can bring a dessert to share as well.

Celebrate!
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
6:30 to socialize
The meeting proper starts at 7pm

Read two pages of something you’ve written or recently published whether you’re coming to the library or joining via Zoom. Let me know by Tuesday the 10th to get on the reading list. Please include your name and the title of what you’ll be reading.

Author Idol
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
6:30 pm on Zoom to socialize
The meeting proper begins at 7:00

Send the first two pages of your double-spaced manuscript with your name removed to have your words read aloud by a professional reader and critiqued by our panel of agents:

Jessica Berg, Rosecliff Literary
Michelle Richter, Fuse Literary
Katharine Sands, Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency

Reading will continue until two of the three agents indicate that they would stop reading, after which the agents will discuss their reactions to the pages.

Find the Joy! – Randy Susan Meyers
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
6:30 to socialize
The meeting proper starts at 7pm

Many authors find book promotion to be challenging and intimidating. In her talk, Randy will discuss promotional activities before a book launch including: working collaboratively with a publisher, public readings, marketing, social media and author photos, and how we can approach these tasks with optimism and joy.

International bestselling author Randy Susan Meyers has been featured in People, The New York Times, The LA Times, and the Washington Post. Her books, translated into over 30 languages, earned an Indie Next Pick and were highlighted by Kirkus as among the ‘10 Best Books of the Year.’ The Massachusetts Council of the Book selected three of her novels as ‘Must Reads.’ Her books have been translated into over thirty languages.

Meyers’ novels explore domestic drama, societal issues, and cultural nuances, informed by her years working with troubled youth, community centers, governmental agencies, and criminal justice. She gained the most insight into family and other politics during her four years as a bartender in a small Boston neighborhood bar.

A Brooklyn-Boston hybrid, she lives in Jamaica Plain, teaches seminars at Grub Street and provides private classes and book counseling. She treasures family, friends, books, and NY bagels.

To join in person:
The Public Library of Brookline
361 Washington St
Brookline, MA 02445

Home

(617-730-2370)

Galiot Press – Henriette Lazaridis
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
6:30 to socialize
The meeting proper starts at 7pm

Henriette Lazaridis will be talking about her new publishing venture, Galiot Press, and how its unique take on the publishing industry creates opportunities for authors.

Henriette Lazaridis is the author of Last Days in Plaka (a Good Morning America Buzz pick), Terra Nova (which the New York Times called “ingenious”), and The Clover House (a Boston Globe bestseller). A first-generation Greek/American, she earned degrees in English literature from Middlebury College, Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and the University of Pennsylvania. Her essays and articles have been published in Elle, Forge, Narrative Magazine, The New York Times, New England Review, and elsewhere. She is co-founder of Galiot Press, an innovative new publishing venture, and runs the Krouna Writing Workshop in northern Greece. An avid athlete, Henriette writes about athletic and creative challenges at The Entropy Hotel on Substack.

To join in person:
The Public Library of Brookline
361 Washington St
Brookline, MA 02445

Home

(617-730-2370)

Beyond the Black Dahlia – Matt Berger (Dr. Noir)
Wednesday, January 8, 2025
6:30 to socialize
The meeting proper starts at 7pm

Matt Berger (Dr. Noir) will discuss Elizabeth Short, AKA The Black Dahlia. His talk will go beyond the details of the 1947 homicide and its still ongoing investigation to also look at Elizabeth Short the person and Medford native as well as his experience managing the YouTube channel Doctor Noir.

Dr. Matthew Berger was born in Philadelphia and raised in its suburbs. After earning political science degrees from Yale (BA) and Harvard (MA), he spent nearly two decades as a public health data analyst and project manager. During this time, he earned an MA in biostatistics and a PhD in epidemiology from Boston University. In 2016, Dr. Berger launched his non-fiction storytelling website Just Bear With Me. Essays he published there led him to write his first book, Interrogating Memory: Film Noir Spurs a Deep Dive Into My Family History…and My Own, which he published in 2022. Dr. Berger plans two additional books – one about his Philadelphia Jewish ancestors and one about his idiosyncratic life – to complete an “interrogating memory” trilogy. In 2023, he started the Doctor Noir YouTube channel. Dr. Berger lives in Brookline with his wife Nell, two daughters, and Casper the Friendly Golden.

To join in person:
The Public Library of Brookline
361 Washington St
Brookline, MA 02445

Home

(617-730-2370)

Season of the Witch – Bridget M. Marshall
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
6:30 to socialize
The meeting proper starts at 7pm

In the spirit of Halloween, Marshall will discuss the lesser known witch trials of western Massachusetts.

Bridget M. Marshall is Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell where she teaches courses on Gothic novels, disability in literature, witchcraft trials, and American literature. Her most recent book is Industrial Gothic: Workers, Exploitation and Urbanization in Transatlantic Nineteenth-Century Literature (2021, University of Wales Press). In it she explores how nineteenth-century British and American literature reflects anxieties about the Industrial Revolution and how authors used Gothic stock characters and imagery – vampires, ghosts, and haunted buildings – to explore some of the real-life terrors of the world’s industrial transformation.