Before publishing a single story, local legend Jack London nearly abandoned all aspirations of becoming a writer. Up until 1898 the financial horizon looked gloomy for the young novelist, with $5 as the highest bid for one of his works. But with the turn of the century came a massive economic boom in the magazine industry rocketing London’s acclaim from bookish nobody to literary giant.

With lower printing costs and bigger productions afforded through a slew of emerging printing technologies, literary magazines gripped America’s readers and writers in a wholly new way. In 1900 London earned an annual income of $2,500 from magazine writing—a value of around $70,000 today.

Along with the treasure-trove of timeless classics London produced in his lifetime, he also helped form a local community of poets, storytellers and journalists known as The Redwood Writers Club. Now more than a century since London first struggled to publish his words, the group today boasts more than 1,200 members.

Writers, publishers and literary agents from the organization will offer their insights into today’s world of publishing 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. April 28 at “Next Step,” a writing conference for beginning and advanced writers at SRJC’s Student Union, 311 Elliot Avenue. The event will focus on the challenges and advantages of getting published in the digital age, and will include workshops, breakout sessions and several speakers including Novelist David Corbett, Smashwords Founder Mark Coker, Press Democrat staff writer Robert Digitale and Joel Friedlander of the bookdesigner.com, whose website helps self-published authors navigate the world of book design.

“We’re bringing together ebook experts, book designers, literary agents and authors who possess a wealth of knowledge and experience,” Digitale said. “If you want to publish a book, these are the people who know what it takes to get the job done.”

With several workshops each highlighting a different aspect of the written craft, the event will feature something for everybody who attends, no matter what genre, medium or style they’re writing in. Topics covered will include character development, dialogue, historical fiction, screenwriting, research techniques, grammar, poetry, young adult fiction, mystery writing, publishing, marketing, Facebook and more.

Digitale, who wrote and published the fantasy novel, Horse Stalker, will discuss alongside colleagues how to navigate book-publishing in the emerging Internet market at “eBooks: Leap to the Future,” one of the conference’s featured panels.

SRJC English instructor Abby Bogomolny will guide participants through crafting a catalogue poem, one of the oldest and most accessible forms of poetry, at “The Oldest Literature,” a workshop on poetry. The workshop will introduce attendees to poetic meter, rhyme and scansion, and will place emphasis on selecting words for their sounds.

Digitale hopes the conference will bring writers one step closer toward getting their stories published and into the hands of readers. “Getting your book into reader’s hands is a daunting task,” he said. “Here’s a way for writers to learn more about getting their stories published in print and ebook versions, as well as how to connect with more readers.”

Tickets cost $150 for members, $180 for non-members and $75 for students, ages 14-22 (ID required). For registration and more information, go to www.redwoodwriters.org.