JANUARY 2011
JANUARY 2011
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
(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:
2010 Officers
President:
Dave McChesney (509) 325-2072
Vice-President:
Bob Weldin (509) 327-2897
Secretary:
Robert Pillsbury (509) 842-6803
rvpsasp07@comcast.net
Treasurer:
TBA
Public-Relations:
Russ
Davis (509) 768-6206
Newsletter Editor:
Jim
Parry 509)
325-9922
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,
Jan 6 at 12 noon. We’ll be at our
usual location, Old Country Buffet,
Paul
LeCoq will demonstrate and explain the software he has developed to help
fiction writers keep track of their characters, settings, and time frames. This should generate much discussion and
interaction.
The
President’s Page
December 2010
OUR LAST MEETING
Our
December meeting was unusual in that we did not have a speaker or presentation
of some kind. Instead, we elected
officers to serve for the next year and celebrated with those who have recently
been published.
The
entire slate of officers was re-elected for the next year, along with Bonnie
Stichart who has graciously volunteered to take over as Treasurer. It is a bit sad to note that only thirteen
ballots were cast in this election/reaffirmation. Perhaps we are a bit like the nation as a
whole and sometimes apathetic to the election process. (At my last count we now have ninety-seven
members, and I would not feel nearly as disturbed if sixty or seventy ballots
had been submitted.) I cannot speak for
the others who are serving in some capacity for Spokane Authors and
Self-Publishers, but I believe this will be my final year as President. It has been fun, interesting, and I
appreciate your confidence. Still, come
next December, it will be time to let someone else have the reins and allow me
the time the position requires to return to my writing pursuits.
Speaking
of “stepping down,” our editor Jim Parry has decided that he would like more
time to pursue the writing of a second book.
Consequently, he is looking at relinquishing the editor position. Therefore, we are calling for volunteers to
take over the position. He will help
ease the new editor into the job. Really
folks, it is not that difficult to do, so please think about it and let Jim or
me know if you are interested.
A
couple of other questions arose during the past few months. One concerned changing the organization’s
name. It was felt that the
“self-publisher” part was a turn-off to writers who might otherwise join the
organization. My recollection is that
there was some interest in eliminating the “self-publishing” aspect of the
name, and I was originally going to include it as an item on the ballot. I forgot, and as it turns out, it may be a
good thing that I did. In the December
edition of the SASP Newsletter, Jim Parry wrote an editorial concerning an
individual who stopped by a book signing and made a couple of somewhat
disparaging remarks about a local publishing company. This column evidently got to another of our
members, and before you could say “royalty check,” a lively, if brief, e-mail
exchange occurred. Jim’s original column
is available in the December newsletter and available elsewhere on this
web-page. I also thought the entire
discussion might be of interest or concern to a larger majority of SASP members
and writers in general. Last Wednesday,
the 8th of December, I posted Jim’s original remarks on my Live
Journal page. You can find the original
editorial at http://vespican.livejournal.com/55259.html. Today I posted Michael Marsden’s initial
response to Jim’s column at http://vespican.livejournal.com/55378.html. Russ Davis has also offered his thoughts on
the matter, not once but twice, and I’ll be posting those in the next few
days. My take on the entire matter is
that we might want to hold off on making any name changes until we firmly
establish what this group and its mission is all about.
The
other matter that came under discussion as of late was the possibility of
holding every third meeting or so later in the day to allow those members who
can’t attend at our current time to attend.
Honestly, this suggestion didn’t go well the first time it was brought
up, but a few suggestions were made that might ease things for those unable to
attend our normally scheduled meetings.
It was suggested that a poll be taken amongst the membership to see just
what would be wanted or needed. Another
idea was that we should keep to our current schedule and try to work in an
extra meeting every third month or so.
This additional meeting might not necessarily have a formal speaker, but
could be an “open mic” session.
Another
member mentioned that he would like to hear a little more of what others are
writing. To that end, I suggested that a
member could read a short selection of his or her work at the start of each
meeting. Lee Moore made a brief
presentation in November before the primary presentation and it was well
received. Unless our speaker will be
taking up all of the allotted time, we can have a member read for around five
minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
Two
guests attended, and by the time it ended, they, too, were members. Everyone please welcome Kevin Kuenkler and
Marcos Ruiz. I have finally gotten
around to updating the membership list on the web-site, so those of you who
joined in the past couple of months are now included. Sorry for the delay. I would also like to ask our newest members
to contact me via e-mail at daveeva@comcast.net. I’d like to get you on the e-contact list so
that I might send along meeting notices and other writing related
messages. Speaking of e-mail, if any of
you are not receiving meeting notices, etc., please contact me and make sure I
have your correct address. A few are
being returned when I send things. One
comes back undeliverable because the individual’s mailbox is full.
As
to member’s accomplishments, Chuck Lehman announced that Gray Dog Press is
going to publish an expanded version of Angels
Three-Six. He read an excerpt of the
expanded material to us. James Vasquez
will have a new book out soon, poetry themed on “the Words Jesus Spoke.” He read about the Good Samaritan from this,
his latest work.
Bob
Manion told us of attending a screen writing class in
Paul
Lecoq said he has developed a software program that should be of help to folks
writing a novel. He has agreed to
present it to us at a future meeting.
Lee
Moore read a bit more from her story about Scooter the Scottish Terrier. Robert Pillsbury, who has a new book of
poetry out read a selection from it, and Jim Parry regaled us with an excerpt
from Book All the Teachers.
General
announcements included mention of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association’s (www.pnwa.org) Holiday Gift Catalog. Several SASP members and individuals
published by Gray Dog Press are included.
A recent look at the Gray Dog Press web-site (www.graydogpress.com) shows that
several local writers, including at least one SASP member have recently
released books. Other announcements
called for members’ bios and book reviews for the web-site. As we are entering into a new calendar year,
our membership year is new as well. Dues
for 2011 are due, if you haven’t already paid.
If you haven’t please bring them to the next meeting or send them along
to SASP’s mailing address:
The
night before our meeting I discovered that several members’ e-mail addresses
had somehow dropped off the group listing I use to send things to the entire
membership. If you didn’t receive notice
of the last meeting, that is why. Since
then I’ve updated the group listings and all should be back in place.
We
also had a very nice selection of door prizes.
Bob Manion took home a wonderful painting and an accompanying poem by
Joan Carter. Loren Robinson donated two
of his audio books. Joan DeGroot won Follow Your Star, and Bob Weldin had the
winning ticket for The Guardian. M. Phoebe Daniels won a copy of Divine Power, which was donated by its
author, Soul Karriem.
Wishing
all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays (whatever you might celebrate) and
a Happy New Year! I hope 2011 is a
productive and creative one for all.
Write
on,
For What It’s Worth
2010 has been a very good year for Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers. It is safe to say that every member got, at least, a few words down on paper/computer. Several members completed manuscripts, and several more were published this year! As an organization we have grown stronger in 2010, thanks to the hard work and right-headedness of our officers and members.
Also, this past year we gained much insight into all aspects of writing, editing, promoting, and publishing. For instance, last January Lien Le told us about the process of condensing his remarkable life into a manuscript – that’s about to become a movie. In February Doreen Fox Kelsey related The Trials and Tribulations of a Financial Writer – problems similar to what most of us writers have faced. At our March meeting, artist, illustrator, and teachers Jack Rogers gave tips and insights about designing book covers and illustrations.
In April the amazing James Parry let his long and winding road toward publication unfold before us. The month of May produced Russ Davis of Gray Dog Press presenting tips, ideas, and contacts regarding book marketing. Dr. William Stimson revealed Six Writers’ Secrets about the writing process in June.
Just prior to the Independence Day weekend, our very own Dave McChesney listed and explained the pros and cons of using the services of a literary agent. At our August meeting Karen Estes related her experience with iUniverse – the pros and cons of using it as a publisher. In September Shirley Penna-Oakes discussed genealogy and the telling of family histories.
C.K. Crigger reminded us in October that EXCITEMENT is needed in any query letter. She also discussed the tag line and the hook. In November we were once again honored with a presentation by Dave McChesney. He discussed and gave us handouts of The Basics of What the Professionals Want in a Submission. December saw us elect our 2011 officers. We also were privileged to hear excerpts from many who had been published in 2010.
I
would like to end the year by relating this true story from my daughter,
Janine, who lives with her husband, twin four-year-olds, and a cat named
Immediately
after exiting their front door to play in the yard, Janine and the twins, Paul
and Kate, came upon the remains of a recently deceased bird. They all agreed that a small burial ceremony
was called for. During the service
Janine asked Kate if she would like to say a few words. Kate expressed her sentiments: “I believe she
chirped a beautiful song.” Then it was
Paul’s turn: “I believe she didn’t see
In the coming year, I hope you chirp a beautiful song because you never know what might be coming your way.
Jim
News
Listed below are acknowledgments of our member's accomplishments,
book signing dates, locations, and other items of note:
A New “How to” Book
THE WRITER’S PORTABLE
A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing
Life
By Priscilla Long
ISBN: 978-0-9842421-0-8, $17.95,
www.priscillalong.com
Web-site Improvements
Those web pages that had been saved in mht format have been
converted to htm. This should make it
easier for all to link to and open up these pages.
Recent Newsletters now on Site
All 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 content of the
e-mailed or “snail-mailed” versions is there, although the format is changed
somewhat.
New “LINKS”
We’ve recently added several “general
interest” links on the web-site page of the same name. (It seems that we are adding new links every
month!)
Price Reduction
SASP Member and former President Barbara Cagle has announced that
the price of her book 16 x MOM: A MASTERY OF MOTHERHOOD is now $17.95 and can
now be purchased on Amazon.com.
M. Marsden’s Reply to For What It’s Worth
I just read your column and it
upset me. A few months ago Dave and I
took offence to someone’s remarks about self-published authors. Now we hear a critical remark about Gray Dog
Press. Paul is not alone. I have a brother in
I write because I have something to say. I publish because I wish to share what I have to say with others. Publishing is however a business and marketing is a key to its success. In marketing image is important, it is also important to marketing our organization. Theories never solved any real problems but they can set the framework for finding practical solutions.
STOP! BACK TO THE REAL WORLD! Black Friday or not, it is laundry day at my house and the dryer just stopped.
Now where was I? Oh yes, I was talking about writing, publishing, marketing goals for us as individuals and as an organization. I’ll come back to image and the name of our organization later.
The best thing I can think of doing is encouraging people to read. For children this is critical to learning, but adults may need to be redirected from the television and movies to books. To do this we need to write the best books we can. If adults would rather sit in front of the television we can make an extra effort to present our works to the young and old.
Can this be translated into action? It might take more talent than any one of us can muster. Let’s use SASP as a sounding board for suggestions as to how to organize an event where we can read to children or to senior citizens. Let’s use SASP as a base to share what we know about writing with each other. I know we do have presenters and critiques but is there more we can do? How about writing contests within the group? How about scheduling a meeting at a library at night? How about a different library every three months? How about putting together a handout with the SASP authors and books that could be distributed at any book signing one of us has?
Now I must stop and go back to step one –let us use SASP as a sounding board for suggestions to improve us as writers and improve the image of the organization. Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers is a fine name to me but we could add something to it. Spokane Authors and Self-Publishers is an organization of writers from novice to best sellers. Okay Jim, I know I said too much. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving, Michael