Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers (SASP) began in 1998 when Chuck O’Conner, Elmer Freeman, Joe Meiners, and Dan Vollmer, Spokane area authors formed a club in order to share their knowledge and experience with those interested in writing and alternative ways of publishing. Today, SASP is a large non-profit organization dedicated to anyone with interests in any aspect of writing and art. Members now include aspiring (and successful) authors, poets, journalists, illustrators, editors, publishers, printers, writing instructors, and many others. Monthly luncheon meetings provide inspiration and education by way of knowledgeable and entertaining guest speakers, and the cheerful camaraderie of people sharing common interests and goals. Membership is open to all who love writing, art, and interesting people.

Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers meets the first Thursday of each month, September through May, in the banquet (back) room of the Old Country Buffet

5504 N. Division St.

Spokane, WA 99208

(509) 484-5026

Speakers’ presentations begin at NOON. The room opens at 11:00 AM to allow members and guests to dine, converse, join, pay dues, browse, and perhaps buy other member’s books that are on display. Generally a short business meeting is held, either before or after the formal presentation. New members and guests are introduced, members relate their accomplishments, and various door prizes are awarded.

All members and guests are requested to buy lunch upon entering the establishment, and to leave an appropriate tip for the waiter/waitress.

Members need to be present to win door prizes.

Current membership benefits include a listing on the SASP website, www.spokaneauthors.org. Many members provide short biographies and links to external personal websites, creating more marketing exposure. Current members may list and describe their published works on the SASP website and offer their work for sale at meetings.

Guest speakers at our monthly meetings inform, inspire, and entertain members and guests with a variety of topics, all designed to provide knowledge pertinent to writing and publishing.

SASP members are encouraged to purchase or trade completed works of and with fellow members. They are also encouraged to donate examples of their work for use as door prizes. Those who win other members’ works are expected to provide a review of that work.

Dues for SASP membership are $15.00 per calendar year. Dues may be paid directly to our Treasurer at our monthly meetings. Alternatively, you may remit your dues to:

Spokane Authors & Self-Publishers

P. O. Box 18573

Spokane, WA 99228-0573

2010 Officers

President:

Dave McChesney (509) 325-2072

daveeva@comcast.net

Vice-President:

Bob Weldin (509) 327-2897

minersquest@comcast.net

Secretary:

Robert Pillsbury (509) 842-6803

rvpsasp07@comcast.net

Treasurer:

TBA

Public-Relations:

Russ Davis (509) 768-6206

info@graydogpress.com

Newsletter Editor:

Jim Parry 509) 325-9922

parry9922@q.com

Web Master:

TBA

Advisory Board:

Jolene Feher (509) 489-0544

fehersong@yahoo.com

Gail Mangano (509) 535-1434

mamamia3224@comcast.net

Bob Manion (509) 448-2901

gunnerbob@comcast.net

OUR NEXT MEETING!

Please join us on Thursday August 5 at 12 noon. We’ll be at our usual location (Old Country Buffet, 5504 N. Division St., Spokane, Washington.)

This month’s guest speaker will be Karen Estes. She will speak about the pros and cons of using iUniverse as a book publisher. Her book, Plane of the Ecliptic, has recently been published.

The President’s Page

July 2010

OUR LAST MEETING

The attendance level at our last meeting was remarkable, considering it was the middle of the summer, just prior to the Fourth of July weekend, and yours truly was scheduled to speak. It did my heart (ego) good to see so many of you there in spite of it all. I enjoyed passing along what I’ve learned about literary agents.

Being a slow time of the year, we only had one guest. Karen Estes, who will be our speaker on August 5^th, joined us to see what we are all about and was quite impressed with the group. Let’s give her a big welcome at our next meeting.

I also took a little time to offer some thoughts and opinions regarding our organization. In essence, I stated that I believed our mission was to help members get published by whatever means were most appropriate for them, their works, and their personal goals. I mentioned that one key to doing this was to be familiar with all aspects of the publishing world; hence the presentations on such things as literary agents, even when many members might be considering self-publishing or going with an independent press. Lastly, I suggested that one of our main goals should be to lessen the bias and eliminate the stigma that all too often is attached to self-published works and self-published authors. Our Peer Review Program is designed to help members publish a higher quality work, and we actively encourage members to exchange works in progress with each other for critique and comment.

Don Williams announced that his web-site, www.raccoonpress.com is up and running.

Lee Moore brought two packs of her remarkable hand made greeting cards for use as door prizes. Bonnie Stichart won one and Jim Vasquez won the other. Bonnie also brought in a large stack of Writer’s Digest magazines to give away to whomever wanted them.

Remember, our next meeting is set for the 5^th of August. Join us as Karen Estes talks about her book, Plane of the Ecliptic, and discusses the benefits and hazards of using iUniverse as a book publisher.

Write on,

For What It’s Worth

by Jim Parry

Definitions for the Uninitiated

Release Party – Your first event, to announce the publication of your book. Send formal announcement to all friends, relatives, neighbors, high school classmates (even the ones you didn’t like), and that weird guy at the end of the block. Enjoy the party because this is where you’ll sell all the books you’re ever gonna sell.

Reading – At a small venue you’ll read excerpts from your book to yourself and possibly to an accompanying author who will, in turn, read to you.

Signing – An event during which a dozen or so people walk by your table avoiding the eye contact that you are trying to establish. The only one who will stop is usually an interestingly-dressed person who will bore you with his/her one-sided, one-hour, unsolicited political/religious rantings.

Yer writing coach,

Jim

News

Listed below are acknowledgments of our member's accomplishments, book signing dates, locations, and other items of note:

Recent Newsletters now on Site

The nine issues of our recently revived SASP Newsletter are now posted and available on the web-site. Simply go to the Newsletter Tab on our home page and click on the month you are interested in. All the content of the e-mailed or “snail-mailed” versions are there, although the format has changed somewhat.

New “LINKS”

We’ve recently added several “general interest” links on the web-site page of the same name. Amongst the new links is one to a “writers how to” site by Australian science fiction and fantasy writer Richard Harland.

See it at:

www.writingtips.com.au

Upcoming Events

Release Party – Our very own B.J. Campbell’s CLOSE CALLS: THE TRUE TALES OF COUGAR BOB, Kroc Community Center 1765 W. Golf Course Rd., Coeur d’ Alene, Sat. July 31, 2-4 PM. Also, B.J. will be signing at Auntie’s on Sat. Aug. 28 from 1-3 PM, & at Hastings on 29^th Ave. Sat. Sept 4 from 1-4 PM.

Signing – Karen Estes will be signing her book, PLANE OF THE ECLIPTIC, on Sat July 31 from 2-4 PM at Hastings on Wellesley (& Ash).

A Local Publisher

Recently, Ditto’s Print and Copy Center has expanded to become Gray Dog Press. Besides publishing SPOKE WRITE, The Spokane/Coeur d’ Alene Journal of Art and Writing, Russ Davis and his crew offer three levels of printing and publishing for local writers. Depending upon the writer’s desires and the marketability of the work, Gray Dog Press will print self-published work, publish in partnership with the author, or publish totally at their expense. For more information, go to:

www.graydogpress.com

A Most Generous Offer

Writer Kirt Hickman has generously provided SASP with several “how to” articles on various aspects of writing. We are now posting one of Kirt’s articles on the WRITER’S TOOLS page of the web-site each month. Each will remain for approximately one month or until replaced by the next. Kirt’s book, REVISING FICTION: MAKING SENSE OF THE MADNESS has been released. An autographed copy has been received by Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers and won by James Vasquez at our October meeting.

This month we will be running another one of the articles Kirt sent us. If you would like copies of any of the articles, contact daveeva@comcast.net

If there is sufficient interest amongst SASP membership, we will see about ordering copies of Kirt’s book for those who would want it.

A New Publishing Company

Hello Spokane Authors & Self-Publishers. My name is Bob Griffin. I have just started a small publishing company that will be publishing fantasy, science fiction and horror stories. Below is my company's first press release. If anybody is interested in submitting their works of fiction, please visit us at

www.absentwillowreview.com

New Hampshire Authors Launch

Publishing Company.

Rochester, NH - New Hampshire authors Rick DeCost and Bob Griffin are proud to announce the launch of their publishing company and its online presence. Absent Willow Publishing LLC is an independent book publisher that will provide its readers with high quality stories of horror, fantasy and science fiction. Its online efforts include The Absent Willow Review, which plans to publish stories in the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres while allowing its readers access to the magazine anywhere in the world. Additionally, Absent Willow Review will publish paperback anthologies from their collected works. “We are huge fans of the genres we publish,” remarked Griffin. “We started this company to find great works of fiction and to locate the next generation of great writers.” With its online magazine spotlighting new works and its print publications soon to be available through Amazon.com and other retailers, the Company is planning to renew interest in short works of fiction. “For new and established authors of short fiction in the horror or fantasy vein, the market is light,” DeCost added. “We are hoping to change that.”

Rick Decost & Bob Griffin

Absent Willow Publishing LLC

PO Box 66

Rochester, NH 03866

MFA Opportunity

Spalding University’s four-semester, brief-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing combines superb instruction with unparalleled flexibility. At the beginning of each semester, students and faculty work together at a 10-day residency (in Louisville or abroad), after which they return home to correspond one-on-one through an exchange of 5 packets between the student and the faculty mentor for the rest of the semester. Students study fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, writing for children and young adults, screenwriting, or playwriting.

Request brochure FA35 by email: mfa@spalding.edu, by phone: (800) 896-8941, ext 2423, or see our website: www.spalding.edu/mfa.

And Yet another Contest

The second annual "Scare The Dickens Out of Us" ghost story contest offers $1000.00 first place, $500.00 second place and $250.00 third place prize money this year for a new, original ghost story up to 5000 words. Any genre is welcome.

This literary contest is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Dr. Eugene Clark Library in Lockhart, Texas, the oldest continuously in use library in Texas. Entry fee is $20.00. The contest is privately funded, all entry fees go to the Friends for Library projects.

Full rules are available at www.clarklibraryfriends.com or .org. Entries will be accepted from July 1 to October 1 2010.

We are also supporting a "Junior Scare the Dickens Out of Us" ghost story contest with a $250.00 first prize. This is for ages 12-18 and requires a $5.00 entry fee.

And thank you. We appreciate your time.

Roxanne and Gretchen Rix, contest coordinators "Scare The Dickens Out of Us" 2010

SASP 201O Speaking Schedule

(as of July 21)

Aug. 5---Karen Estes---(guest), speaking on her book “Plane of the Ecliptic” and the pros and cons of using iUniverse as a book publisher. (booked)

Sep. 2---Shirley Penna-Oakes---(guest), "Genealogy." She's from Out Reach, part of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society. (booked)

Oct. 7 ---C.K. Crigger---(guest), talking about “The Hook” in writing fiction (booked)

Nov. 4---Jess Walter---(guest), may be available to speak on his latest book. Says he will speak if we can work out a time. Says his publicist is running him ragged promoting his new book. (not booked yet)

Dec. 2---How about a Christmas Party where we honor our members who have published a book or completed a manuscript during 2010? They might each read a short excerpt. Also, we need to elect officers for 2011.