Members Present: Jackie, Karen, Luneil, Patty, Pete, Rachael,
Valia
Jackie collected
the annual $10 dues.
Pete signed a
contract with Pen-It Publishers. His poetry book will soon be available on
Amazon.com and the Pen-It bookstore. There was a very minimal charge for
illustrations and Pete will receive 45% of proceeds. See their website for submission
guidelines and further details. We are excited for Pete and anxious to hear
more about his experience.
Karen talked
about Print On Demand. She also talked about her experiences as a guest speaker
and other ways she promotes her books. She has a tiny projector and had help
making Power Point slideshows. Jackie
said that Eric Litwin, author of Pete the
Cat books, visited Homan last year. She said videos of author school visits
can be found on Youtube. Authors need to come up with unique ways to keep their
young audience involved and excited. Often times a book pre-order form is sent
home to parents which obviously helps with sales. Schools may even allow the
author to do an additional presentation at night for parents and siblings.
Valia is going to
give Miracle Called Earth presentations
to different school groups up to 5th grade. He also wrote another book
for older children entitled Earth Giver.
Karen emailed the
first chapter of Ghost Lessons to members before the meeting. She would
appreciate any feedback. Karen and Valia
again discussed the invaluable advice they got from a local editor. Esther's website's link is http://www.estherhershenhorn.com.
Rachael read The Blue Pencil. She had spent a lot of
time editing and revising since reading it at the Write-On Hoosiers meeting.
Members encouraged her to read other rhyming books and keep working on
perfecting her story to get it ready for submitting.
Luneil read Barty, The Vampire Sleuth. She would
like members to give her ideas for subsequent chapters.
Valia read an emotional
article he wrote for The Times as a guest commentator. Father waited
to say his final goodbye to me was published in 2008.
Jackie passed
around pictures she took of the iced over St. Joseph Lighthouse in Michigan a few days
earlier and read the related poem That’s
Annoying. She also announced Chicken Soup for the Soul is accepting stories
and poems on cats and dogs. Submissions are due January 31st.
Guidelines can be found on their website.
Patty read the
synopsis she wrote for Vienne.
Next meeting will
be February 8, 2017 at Rosati’s in Schererville at 6:30 p.m.
JSH
