Newsletter February 2007 Guild Gram Newsletter: PALM SPRINGS WRITERS GUILD Newsletter serving writers of the Coachella Valley February 2007 REMEMBER: NEW LOCATION for all meetings!! Palm Desert Community Center 43900 San Pablo, Palm Desert, CA Located just north of Fred Waring on San Pablo (2 blocks east of the Palm Desert Library where we used to meet). Next Mtg: Sun. February 4, 2007 2:30 - 4:30 PM PRESIDENT'S LETTER by Dawn Huntley Spitz At our January 7 meeting, the Guild was fortunate to have an outstanding speaker, Dr. Edward Gordon, whose subject was writing non-fiction. All who heard him gave him high marks. We look forward to hearing Dr. Gordon again at a future meeting. What did not please our attendees, however, was the difficulty in finding a place to park. The problem was caused by a sports event nearby at the same time. We do not expect to have that conflict at our February meeting. Several members have questioned our reasons for moving from the Palm Desert library to the Community Center. After a thorough search of available facilities in the valley, we found the Community Center best fits our needs at this time. We need more space for our growing membership than the room at the library afforded. In addition, the library is never available any time during the month of December. We are also now permitted to charge a guest fee at our meetings which helps us to meet expenses. The charge for the room is very reasonable and includes a staff who sets up the chairs and tables, an onerous task which fell to the board in the past. Whether or not we must compete for parking space, I urge all of you to arrive a few minutes early for meetings. I think it is important to take the time to network with each other and especially to greet our new members. They will be recognizable by the red borders on their name tags. We must not only be ambassadors in recruiting new members for the Guild but in making sure they feel welcome. However many services the Guild offers to writers, the ultimate goal is to create a sense of community in which to work. In this, each of us bears a responsibility. The Crow's Nest By Dodie Cross This month I heard from Carol Mann with some big news to crow about. She had a short story accepted for publication by RiverSedge, a literary magazine. The story, titled "The First of the Season", is set in France during World War II. Member Frank Thornburgh has a lot to crow about this month. He writes: "Five of my short stories are included in the just released anthology Livermore Wine Country Literary Harvest, published by WingSpan Press. "The past year was good to me with stories in the Livermore Independent and the Danville Weekly newspapers, plus feature articles in Reminisce and Better Beagling magazines. The AAA auto club magazine VIA also included a short piece of mine. "The members might enjoy knowing that open-mic and other public events allow writers to present their short humorous stories. I have done this for two years now while recording them to catch the audience reaction. Several are currently being produced on three CDs." And, from our newsletter editor, Vicki Mills, comes this: "I had one of my poems published this month in "The Desert Woman" magazine. The poem title is "If Words Were Missiles of Peace." Ted Pannell had his most recent book, The Pocket Guide To Hold'Em Poker, published by a nonfiction-publishing house. In 1980, he had self-published Hold'Em Poker Guide for Beginning Players. It received moderate success, though the game wasn't well known at the time. With the resurgence of the game becoming popular, on a whim he sent his poker guide to the publisher, inquiring if they'd be interested in reprinting it with a new name and cover. They not only wanted to, but also requested Ted to revise and update it. Ted signed a contract, received an advance, and started writing. Ted says it wouldn't be a complete success story without including his wife, Sylvia. They worked as a team with Ted doing the rewrite, adding information and personal advice, and Sylvia doing the editing, and content collating. He also credits the Palm Desert Critique group's input for their tremendous help. He's previously published magazine articles, including one that Swim magazine ran on his nonfiction story that dealt with overcoming adversity. It was about his wife's recovery from a life-threatening stroke by using water therapy and eventually winning the gold medal swimming in the Senior Olympics. Okay, I'll do some crowing. This past summer, Dodie Cross (must insert author's name in bold here) had articles that appeared in the Palm Desert Sun: "Thanksgiving in Iran During the Revolution;" The Seattle Post Intelligencer: "Sailing with the P.I." and was promoted to "guest columnist" for the Lake Chelan Mirror in Washington State for two articles that they published. Excerpts from my soon to be published memoir, A Broad Abroad in Thailand: An Expat's Misadventures in The Pearl of the Orient, have been accepted by an "Expat" E-zine. Also, an article that I submitted to the University of Texas' publication, The RiverSedge, was accepted and should appear in February or March of this year. Whew! That's pretty exciting. So, gotta close now and get back to writing so that I can (hopefully) crow in the next issue. Thanks again, members, for sharing your exciting news with us. Now, come on, the rest of you shy, retiring types, let's hear from you! Got something to Crow about? E-mail me at dodiecross@dc.rr.com and inspire others. SEASON YOUR WRITING AT THE FEBRUARY MEETING!! Raymond Strait, our entertaining speaker this month, is a seasoned novelist and author of 28 celebrity biographies, many of which have been optioned for films. A veteran in the world of films, his contacts in Hollywood are legendary. He recently published a book on Bob Hope. He has written a syndicated column related to Hollywood. He was Jayne Mansfield's press secretary for ten years. Ray has been a frequent guest on radio and television. He often appears on the staff of writers conferences. His manner is both pragmatic and fun, filled with information for all levels of skill! His talk will be about "The Business of Writing." Now that your book is done, what will you do with it? As we know, this is the difficult part and we can't ever learn too much in this area. So be sure to attend to take advantage of Ray's years of experience and knowledge. I Was a 90 Pound Weakling Then I joined a Writers Guild critique group. I'm still a 90 pound weakling, but my writing is really showing some muscle. Strengthen your writing skills. Join a critique group. To inquire about meeting times and openings, call Gordon Gumpertz at 346-3429 or email: pscritgp@yahoo.com Sharpen up your pencils! The Guild Writing Contest will begin again in April. However, we still do not have anyone to take the helm. We now have seven readers, but no leaders! We need volunteers! Like a bank account, if you want to get something out of the Guild, you need to put something in. There are guidelines available. Let's hear from you! MEMBER PROFILE: CAROL MANN by Mary Barrer Carol Mann has been honored with the Buddy Award for her outstanding, dedicated service to the Guild for the year 2006. See box below. Carol Mann's membership in the Guild dates back to the mid-nineties. She belongs to Fran Kaplan's critique group and appreciates the mentoring and encouragement she receives. She has been a member of the Executive Board as Member-at-Large for the past two years. As a young woman, Carol aspired to become a teacher. To pursue her goal, she earned a B.S. in education with a minor in English from SUNY University in Buffalo, NY. Later she was awarded a Master's Degree in Theater Literary Criticism from Cal State at Fullerton, CA. Her career in education encompassed 34 years as an elementary school, junior high school, high school and community college teacher. Her work was nationally recognized in l975 when she was inducted into The National Teachers Hall of Fame. While still teaching, she embarked on an acting career and over time participated in several community theater productions. Again, her talent outshone scores of others when she won the Best Supporting Actress Award in Orange County for her role in Once Upon a Mattress. While in education she chaired her high school Theater Department and her one act plays were commended by the Southern California Education Theater Association. Love came into Carol's life when she met handsome Tony Mann. The couple have been married since 1980. Carol is the stepmother of two sons with three grandchildren and three great grandchildren. As a result of her affiliation with the Guild, Carol began fiction writing. She won first place in the Guild's 2005 competition and most recently received an Honorable Mention from the national Writer's Digest competition. Her short story "First of the Season" was accepted for publication in a national literary contest. In addition to the Guild, Carol was voted into the Palm Spring Branch of The National League of American Pen Women. Guest articles from members are welcome. The subject must be on some aspect of writing and no more than 500 words. GUEST POLICY We always welcome guests! To help defray the costs for our larger facility, we will be charging $5 per guest per meeting. This can be applied toward the annual $40 dues for the Guild membership if guest decides to join the Guild. MEMBERS: Membership dues are DUE TODAY!! No dues? Pay $5 per meeting. No dues? No Guild Gram newsletter. The National League of American Pen Women luncheon is the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 11:30. Contact Estelle Shanley for details. 760-771-5849 or estelleshanley@aol.com. BUDDY KAYE AWARD The Buddy Kaye Award for outstanding service to the Guild in the year 2006 has been awarded to Carol Mann. For the past 14 months she worked to win from the Federal government our 50l-c-non profit status. As a willing volunteer, she gave countless hours in preparing by-laws, minutes of meetings and volumes of paperwork. She presented documents for all Board members with meetings often held weekly. She has been active in every phase of Guild work -- as a member of a critique group, as a winning participant in the writing contests, as an ongoing member of the Board and as general factotum, willing to fill in wherever needed. She was instrumental in the Guild's incorporation and in establishing its tax status. Toward this end, she has shown relentless determination and endless patience with the paperwork involved in her dealings with the State Franchise Board and the IRS. The Guild is indebted to her for her diligence and her dedication. Attention: LIMERICK WRITERS I am delighted with the limericks that are coming in. You are getting better and better at writing them. I am sure there are still members who have not yet discovered their talent in this genre. I urge you all to try your hand. It's not only a challenge but a lot of fun. Remember that the subject must have some connection with writing, and hopefully have a point. Oh yes, it helps if it's humorous. There once was a writer so bad A friend left a note at his pad Your skills you must build Now go join the Guild. He did and was soon very glad. by Carol Mann My muse demands that I write About life, be it somber or bright But what makes me crazy Is my butt is so lazy What I write comes out shallow and trite By Mel Harter A diligent writer named Snelling Whose rejection slip volume kept swelling Stacked them ceiling to floor From front to back door And wrote himself out of his dwelling. By Gordon Gumptertz SPEAKERS REVIEW by Joanne Hardy With a new year and a new place to meet, Guild members listened to just the right speaker for those who have made that golden new years resolution, TO GET PUBLISHED THIS YEAR. Author Edward E. Gordon said he could not tell you how to get published in the non-fiction field, but he could tell you the elements of getting published. You can learn from other writers, he said, and try not to make the same mistakes. Dr. Gordon is a history major, teacher, and consultant plus the author of 16 books. He has been a writer since becoming the editor of high school newspaper. First, he said, decide what you are going to write. It should be a hot topic. But how do you know what will be hot by the time you finish the book? You don't, he said. You are betting on a topic. It took ten years to write Literacy in America, because a great deal of primary research was involved. In 2010 Meltdown took five years. You have only a few seconds for a potential buyer to decide if they want your book. There are about 4,000 book publishers in the United States and there will be about 180,000 books published this year. Of those, about 500 will be considered successful; that is, they will sell 5,000 or more copies. Writing that book clearly becomes a labor of love. Short books are in vogue now. The younger generation does not read books; they read articles. The title is of paramount importance and will probably change before it reaches the final form. The book title In 2010 Meltdown was changed several times. Use a simple style. If you are going to write for a general audience, use a journalistic style. You will use different styles to reach different reader audiences. Read. The more you read the more you can change your style to fit your target audience. You need a platform. Platform means marketing. Many writers are solitary souls, but you need to acquire some type A personality traits to sell your work. If you cannot present your idea in a clear, articulate way, you will not sell your book. An editor will ask how many speeches you have made. Most engagements, Dr. Gordon explained, come from websites, networking and marketing to organizations. He has three websites. People will Google you and find you on your website. Promoting your book means speaking, traveling and writing articles on your subject. (You may need to join Toastmasters.) Radio and television shows are looking for writers to interview a person who is an expert in a given area. You will be an expert once you have written the book and done the necessary research. You will have established a niche. If the editor knows, from your proposal, that you are capable of speaking, doing media interviews, traveling and writing articles it will help you get your book published. It means you are capable of promoting your work. Staying published means selling not only your work, but yourself. You need a press kit and articles you have written in your promotional endeavors. Prepare press questions (and answers) for the interviewer. Assume that they have not read your book Although perseverance counts, there is another element - luck. The right place at the right time. You can enhance your luck, however, by building a network. Join organizations to create a network, for example the Author's Guild, the Society of the Midland Authors - and the Palm Springs Writers Guild. Spend time researching and networking. An essential ingredient is talent. You need an agent. Most successful agents are in New York. It is the capital of the publishing market. Dr. Gordon is with a small agency, which he prefers -- more individual attention. It takes about six months to write a good proposal. His agent helped him put together a good proposal for presentation to editors. You need to consistently send articles you have written to your agent. Some newspapers and publications own the words you have written. You can rework your article and sell it again. Often you need to update the original article. If you use an article you have written in a book you are working on, be sure it is updated and reworked. The cover of the book is important. Publisher will ask if you have any ideas. Give them your ideas. The better the cover, the better the sales potential. People have to be grabbed in a split second. Endorsement of books come from web sites and network groups. Send out pre-published books to get reviews. Pre-published books look like a paperback. Publishers will want a short synopsis. You have to be able to accept constructive criticism. If an editor tells you to address an issue, to modify the proposal or cut a given number of words, do it. The name of the game is money. Dr. Gordon can be reached at Imperialcorp@juno.com, imperialcorp.com, tutoringliteracyresources.com, historypresentation.com or (760) 346-6364. FYI for future calendar planning: Please note that our March meeting date is going to be the SECOND Sunday of the month, not the first. The date will be March 11th at 2:30 - 4:30. Special note of thanks to Cheri Bentley-Buckman for her help in folding, stamping, labeling and sealing of our Guild Grams. Thanks to those others who offered after Cheri - your volunteer spirits are also much appreciated. PROGRAM SCHEDULE for 2007 by Phyllis Costello Feb 4 Ray Strait, author, biographer, 28 books; his experiences; how to find your way in the maze of publishing, selling, and the entertainment business. Mar 11 Julie Gorges and John Hacker, father/daughter team; she writes for young people and he writes humor about aging. March 27 Workshop with Cyndi Muscatel, author and writing teacher, on Writing Memoirs April 1 Judy Weigle, author, publishing and entertainment marketer brings to us Sell Your Book With a Winning Marketing Platform. May 6 Steve Peterson, author, poet, singer, performer; relates a new author's adventures into publishing a first novel. Election of officers. June 3 Ice cream social; new officers installed; writers' open readings. Barbara Seranella We recently heard through the Sisters in Crime network, an association of mystery writers, that Barbara Seranella died last Sunday, January 21st, 2007. Barbara will be greatly missed, both here at the Writers Guild and in her wider circle of writers, readers, and friends. Barbara Seranella lived a rich and heartfelt life. She was filled with drive, determination and an optimism that made her stand up and fight against the huge obstacles in her path. She was a no nonsense person who never flinched from telling it like it was. This resonated in her perfect pitch writing. But we won't remember her just for her work. It was her generosity of spirit, her humor, her tough tenderness, and her friendship that we will never be able to replace. Next Guild Gram we hope to share a little about her life and writing successes. Renew Membership or become a Member - click here Writers Guild Board and Committee Members - click here Palm Springs Writers Guild P.O. 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