Wow my pet did That! attended the Dog Writers Association Annual Event and Awards Banquet on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020.

The annual event and awards banquet takes place on the eve of Westminster Kennel Club’s annual dog show.

Both members and non-members attend for an evening of networking, education, celebration, photo opportunities, and more.

This year’s event featured two guest speakers: Anne Serling and Larry Woodward.

Anne Serling, daughter of Rod Serling, spoke about her father’s incredible career and personal life, his and her love of dogs, and how to get work published.

We had already read her book, “As I Knew Him; My Dad, Rod Serling,” and we are also avid fans of “The Twilight Zone,” so it was great to meet her and hear her speak.

She offered advice for writers, including:

Join or start a writers’ group to get feedback on and share writing, and build a social media presence.

Larry Woodward spoke about getting books specifically related to dogs published.

Woodward is president and lead editor for Dogwise Publishing, based in Washington.

He noted that the internet and the rise of big chain bookstores has changed the dog book publishing industry because people often go to the internet for breed information. Chainstores don’t really carry specific breed books or want to take a chance on a book about a dog unless it’s by someone well known.

For those interested in writing for his publishing company, he says, the contents should be based on scientific methods and writers need to be an expert on the topic they are planning on writing about (or pair with an expert).

Another route to publishing might be doing it on one’s own.

“You may make more money self publishing than you would any other way,” he said, although he added that you are then also responsible for your own copy editing and design.