A Couple of Second Thoughts

I again want to publically thank Russ for keeping this blog going in my absense. Altho, internet time was limited while gone, I also want to thank those of you who did write me some private 'good wishes'.

All is getting back to the normal 'me'. It's now 3:39 a.m. and I have been 'going to bed' since 11 o'clock. :) I slept like a newborn baby in all the daylight hours and now that I am once again enwrapped in darkness, I'm wide eyed! Can't believe it! At four this afternoon, I could've slept the clock around. The night wind has gripped me again already! I hope it's but a bit of left over jet lag!

I did want to share that we DID get our boat tour on the following day as Russ reported as planned after the high seas delays. And as the whole trip blessed me, we DID see a magnificent Humpback whale. I've watched countless programs and documentaries on whales and had accepted their mammoth size, however, I can only report that one must actually 'see' one along side of a tour boat, which was quite sizable itself, to fully absorb their magnificence. This incredible creature arced up out of the water and blew an exhalation from his/her blowhole that shot twenty feet in the air! Then, the huge tail fluke did the 'good bye' wave. When that tail slapped the water, I was just muttering, "Oh my god!"

The females can grow up to 50 feet in length (larger than the males) and my house is 25 feet across the front. This spectacular beast was twice as big as my HOUSE! I'm sure the circumfrence equaled the length. They eat up to 12 TONS a day!! Yes, 12 tons. That is not a typo! I had so counted on seeing an Orca but the Humpback was equally as much of a blessing.

I have about 50 poems and essays running through my head, not about "My" trip (you all know how I am about the 'me me me' attitude) but about the glory and treasure of this Planet Earth. Now to fully absorb and sort out the experiences. The entire event truly is/was overwhelming for one who has spent their entire life as an avid Nature lover and supporter. I wish I could take everyone with an interest up there. I can only hope I'll be able to share it with my heart and the written word with a modicum of its due justice.

The Haley Hiatus blog being so professionally done by my daughter-in-law is well worth a visit: http://thehaleyhiatus.blogspot.com/ Russ accidentally typed this FWA blog address, I think. Again, she is limited to new editions as the internet allows, but she writes them and works on all the photos off line, so it's near flawless!

As said earlier, if anyone wants to get together in August, it doesn't have to be on our regularly scheduled 1st and 3rd Wednesday. We have access to the room on any day but Thursday. Just send me an email with some suggestions and we'll see if we can come up with a night satisfactory to all. It could even be a social-type, no set agenda, meeting just to get together and have an updating visit. And, perhaps discuss some things to do this coming up season.

Hope all is well with everyone. The healing time was most advantageous to my conditions. :) Amazing what divorcing yourself from mind altering stress can accomplish! I am really going to try and maintain the regimen my son 'demanded' of me. Even if I am still up at now 4:15 a.m. It's only midnight in Alaska! :))

Susan

Back In The Sunshine State

Hello to all my writing family and friends here - I have 'staggered' back into the Sunshine State. Bearing in mind that I have been in 50-60ish temperatures, used to layering for warmth in high altitude locales, and one entire month without darkness plus dealing with a four hour time warp, you all can imagine how I felt de-boarding an airplane in two sweaters and my new Alaskan fleece jacket replete with new and most cool Alaska hat into 96 degree heat and darkness after 24 hours in airports and airplanes. :)) From Anchorage to Sarasota by way of Phoenix, AZ! Yes, Phoenix! Did they move Seattle in the last month?? Then Charlotte, North Carolina with three hour layovers at each point!
I fear it will take me a couple of days to crawl back into the rut of a scheduled everyday life. My first challenge will be determining day, date, time, and possibly, month!!
I am a blessed individual to have visited and mingled in such incredible Nature and wildlife. I plan on totally re-vamping my sucarha.com website with new pictures and sharings. That will take some time, tho.
Miss you all and if anyone wants to have a meeting in August, shoot me an email. We can work something out for those interested.

Now, Russ is gone for a week and I still have heard nothing from dear Sharon!!

Hugs to all,
Susan a.k.a Alaskan Maw!

Winding Down -- Winding Up

Susan's Alaskan Adventure is nearly over and my foray into the dreaded Klinkton County is about to begin! I don't have a blog to post my adventures but I'll try to post a summary when I return. To check out the blog that captures the essence of Susan's journey, and to see more of Karen's fantastic flower fotos go to www.fwasarasota.blogspot.com.

Posted by
Russ Heitz

Publishing News

For those who don't know him, Dan Poynter is an acknowledged guru in the independent publishing field. He's known not only in the United States, his world speaking tours cover just about every country on the globe. He also publishes a newsletter that is always chock full of up-to-date info about the writing and publishing world. His newsletter is FREE and you can sign up for it by going to his website, www.parapublishing.com. Here are just a few quotes from this month's issue.

"Books published in 2009 using traditional production methods: 288,355, a 1/2% decrease from 2008. Books published in 2009 using on-demand printing or internet printing services: 764, 488, a 181% increase over 2008.

"James Patterson has sold 1.4 million units of his books as eBooks for devices like Kindle and the iPad. "If eBooks get people who might otherwise not be reading to pick up a book, then that makes me happy," Patterson said.

"When bookseller Barnes and Noble started selling their new version of the Nook reader with both 3G and WiFi for $199, Amazon fired back and reduced the Kindle2 to $189. That's a $70.00 drop overnight.

"Barnes and Noble predicts that their sales of eBooks will reach $6 billion in three years while the sale of print books during that same period will fall by $6 billion.

"Authors who publish the digital edition of their books through Amazon will now receive 70% of the list price of their title. Amazon will serve as the publisher and retailer. Currently and typically, authors receive only 10-12% of the net receipts from large publishers. [Many publishers limit the royalties of their writers to 6% -- Ed.]

"The sales of eBook readers around the world totaled 1.43 million units in the first quarter of 2010. The shipment of eBook readers from manufacturers to vendors in April-May reached 740,000 units, with Barnes and Noble's Nook reader accounting for 37% and Amazon's Kindle trailing by 16%."

The writing and publishing world is rapidly changing, fellow writers, and adaptation is the key to survival.

Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com

Rain, Whales, Bears, Forests and Fjords

Sue Haley sent us another update on her Alaskan Adventures so, being the conduit that I am, I'll pass along her words again verbatim (more or less.)

"We have been in Seward for a week of pouring rain (intermittent WiFi signal, too) except for the day we hiked to the glacier! [My son] Bill went back the next day and took the difficult trail to the top of the mountain, to the ice fields. ... He said it was like being in Antarctica up there. The glaciers were gorgeous.

"We've done some exploring of the surrounding scenery and it's just beautiful. Even with the rain, the lushness and green in the forest almost looks tropical. I'd have never guessed so many beautiful ferns would carpet forest floors this far north.

"We donned rain gear and hiked a few short trails in the rain. I found a huge hole in among a tree root system that was attached to a huge rock wall and I'd bet my life it was a bear den. [We] trampled all around the entrance and [saw] what I think were droppings of a cub or two not far from the entrance. I decided NOT to knock on the 'door.'

"We did have a whale boat booked but they had to cancel every day due to 19 foot seas in the Gulf of Alaska! We are going to try one last time tomorrow and [then] we must move on to Homer on Tuesday. We can try again there, or take a shorter tour that stays in Resurrection Bay and at least see the fjords. ... They said the whales often come in there, too.

"Today the sun shown gloriously but seas hadn't diminished enough. Oh to see a whale after all else I've been so blessed to see would be the icing on a wonderful cake before leaving.

"Beautiful place, this planet Earth, as long as you get away from the hoards of people. I've made it a project of picking up trash in the forests; [I always] take a bag with me hiking. You wouldn't believe [the amount of tossed aside trash] even up here. People, collectively, are a scourge, I swear.

"I've eaten some great Alaskan halibut and cod and we did go to a stream where the salmon are on their tortuous trip upstream to spawn. Incredible how those fish jump to go against raging current on descending mountain rivers. ... 'Course, the bears are gathering at the major spawning sites for the hunt that will fatten them up for winter.

"After Homer, I'll be leaving out of Anchorage and not looking forward to it at all but Bill and Karen are beginning to think about their 5,000 miles trip [back to their home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania] and I can't go into Canada [because I have no passport.]"

So, our own "den mother" will be coming back to sunny Sarasota one of these weeks. She's obviously having a wonderful time and well deserved, to which we can all say, "Amen."

Posted by
Russ Heitz

Memoirist, Check THIS out

DOORWAYS MEMOIRS, a new local Sarasota County publication is looking for memoir-type submissions of 1500 words or less and they even PAY for accepted stories: $50.00! BUT there are some restrictions. Such as:

You must be a permanent or part-time resident of Sarasota County, age 50 or older. Your story must be true (no fiction); and a maximum of 1500 words. One submission only is allowed during their reading period, which runs from July 1st to October 31st. Previously published stories are acceptable, as long as you own the copyright. And the stories must be submitted by e-mail. No snailmail submissions allowed. And no photos or attachments.

For more information, send a note to DoorwaysMemoirs@aol.com.

Posted by
Russ Heitz

Top of the World -- and Higher!

The magic words for today are Chicken and Talkeetna. No, you don't have to use both of them in a sentence for the next FWA reading meeting. These two words are the names of some of the towns Susan Haley has been experiencing during her Alaskan sojourn.

Chicken is the home of the well-known Chicken Creek Cafe where it is said you can get a "fantastic lunch." Chicken is also the home of the Chicken Creek Gold Camp RV Park. And, yes, gold actually WAS mined at the Chicken Creek Gold Camp from 1938 to 1967. Chicken also has its own Post Master and U.S. Post Office where mail, we are told, can be picked up "twice a week." Sorry, no UPS Overnight Delivery.

If you're thinking about moving to Chicken, Susan assures us that "they do have a new school, a volunteer fire department, and a 911 system with a medical facility." Free helicoptor service to Anchorage is also provided for those with medical emergencies. What more could one ask, right?

Talkeetna, Susan tells us, is a "Different world. Different values. Different culture." ... The residents, she insists, want no part of "progress" and don't care much for a certain politician who describes herself as a gun totin' "rogue." "Everyone [in Talkeetna] pretty much has electricity," Susan says, "but many come to town for free water and hot showers and laundry. The most popular vehicle is an ATV in the summer and a snowmobile or dog team in the winter. No traffic, no redlights, no sales tax, and neighbors are family." Susan was so enthralled by this particular town that she'd "love to spend a whole summer right here in Talkeetna."

One of the recent highlights of Susan's rambles with her son, Billy, daughter-in-law Karen, and granddog, B.B. McPup, was their recent bush pilot flight through the Alaska Range that includes Denali. In fact, the pilot flew all the way around the massive mountain. Since Denali is 20,263 feet above sea level, the passengers and pilot all had to wear oxygen masks anytime the plane climbed above 18,000 feet.

Of the people who climb Denali the old fashioned way, with ropes and crampons, Susan says, "only 50% make it to the top where [the temperature often] drops to 40 below 0 in the SUMMER! ... Personally," Susan adds, "I'd rather not even try [to climb Denali] even if I could. I can't imagine surviving 40 below and god only knows what the wind chill factor would be."

The next update from Susan could come at anytime now, depending on the availability of internet service. In the meantime, additional background and beautiful photos of the Haley's Alaskan Adventure are available at www.thehaleyhiatus.blogspot.com. Check it out.

Posted by
Russ Heitz

Sue's Alaskan Adventures Abound

At this very moment, Susan Haley is somewhere in Alaska on another adventure with her son, Billy, and his wife, Karen, and their special canine family member, BB McPup. I had a long adventure-filled email from Sue and I promised I'd pass at least some of the info along to all of her friends down here in Civilization Land.

If you haven't heard, Billy and Karen have been touring the states since January in their pickup truck and pull-along trailer and they insisted that Sue join them for at least part of their Alaskan episodes. For those who are interested in Alaska, check out Karen's very interesting and beautifully photographed blog at www.thehaleyhiatus.blogspot.com.

As for Sue's experiences in the past week or so, here's a few quotes from her email.

"Never did I fully comprehend the utter joy of experiencing my first viewing close up of a wolf in his own domain. No words can describe it."

"The wolf and the fox actually stalked right down the road along side us totally oblivious to our presence. [The wolf] was zeroed in on the herd of Dall Sheep about 50 feet off the road. The fox ... on the horseshoe hare we stopped to view. The fox just came out of a clump of bush. He was gorgeous, tri-colored with a magnificant tail that literally drug the ground!"

"We saw a herd of Dall Sheep [and] the lone wolf (later we saw his mate laying outside their den, which had been staked off and closed to all foot trafic, even the rangers left them alone. The guide said they had four pups but we didn't get to see them."

"This is the rest of the list which I will describe more fully later. All were magnificent! 2 large male grizzlies. 1 mama grizzly with two cubs. (Spectacular to see!). She was playing with them. 3 large grizzlies traveling together. ... A mama moose with two calves drinking in a stream not ten feet away! ... Our second mama grizzly this time nursing two little guys! One was blonde and one was dark chocolate. She, too, ignored us!"

She also saw "a beautiful huge golden eagle gliding over a canyon. Many birds and beautiful meadows of wildflowers. ... Saw several ground squirrels and we were lucky to see a huge beaver house and community but the beavers weren't home."

"It's like being in another world. "The Mountain" or as the Natives call it "Denallee" formerly known as Mt. McKinley is so massive that it is only fully visable 20% of the time. We were most fortunate to view both the south and the north summits at 20,849 feet but a huge hunk of the middle was cloud covered. Then we saw the glacier base."

"We learned that in total rock bulk, the "Mountain" is bigger than Everest and since it's a 'young' mountain, it may someday surpass Everest in height, too."

"The scenery is magnificent. Cool days but if the sun comes out for the whole day, one ends up in shirt sleeves. It never gets totally dark. Sunset is 1:30-ish a.m. and sunrise is 3:30-ish a.m. Really weird when trying to keep track of day and time."

All of that, I might add, happened during Sue's first few days in Alaska. Who knows what's she's done and seen since then. But have no fear. Whenever she sends an update, I'll be sure to share it with all of you. By the way, you can still send emails to Sue but don't bog her down with a lot of "writing business stuff" right now. Remember, she's on VACATION! And she can't always get back to you because WiFi service in Alaska is spotty at best. And that can be a Very Good Thing -- especially when you're on a vacation!

Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com

Compare POD Publishers

For anyone considering using one of the popular POD Publishers for their next book please read a review of some of them in a newsletter called WritersWeekly. The newsletter is distributed FREE every Wednesday and is chock full of interesting and informative info for both published and unpublished writers, traditional or nontraditional.

The POD publishers reviewed this week are: BookLocker, iUniverse, CreateSpace, Trafford, Lulu, AuthorHouse, and Xlibris.

Check it out. You might save yourself some grief and also a lot of money. The website is http://www.writersweekly.com/.

Posted by
Russ Heitz
http://www.russheitz.com

Summer Break

For those who weren't at the meeting this past Wednesday night, Sue and I asked for some time off and a unanimous vote said we could have it. So there will NOT be any OFFICIAL meetings at the fire station during the months of July and August. HOWEVER, the room at the fire station is still available for our group on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. So anyone who wants to share some of their latest creations please feel free to drop in and read, just like always.

As I write this, Sue is already on her way to Alaska to meet her son, Billy, and his wife, Karen, who have been rambling around the country in their pickup and pull-along trailer, with BB McPup riding "shotgun." She left Sarasota this morning (the 21st) and will be landing in Alaska tomorrow at 1 a.m. Alaska time, 5 a.m. Sarasota time. So she's going to be one pooped-doobie by tomorrow morning. The length of her stay is uncertain at this point -- at least a couple weeks. My adventures will be a lot more modest: a 60+ mile bike trip through the Pine Creek Valley in Pennsylvania, deep in the wilderness heart of the infamous "Klinkton County." Plus I'll be doing some rambles around that whole area taking pictures for my website. But that won't happen till the end of next month. In the interim I'll be trying to catch up on some overdue stuff, re-doing my front yard, and studying some more suspense/mystery novels. Always something new to learn.

In the meantime, if anyone has anything they want to put on the blog, just send it to me and I'll be glad to post it. Sue may be out of touch for awhile but I'll be here for any emails, comments, suggestions, questions, or whatever.

So have a great summer! And keep in touch.

Posted by
Russ Heitz

New Words, Congrats & Recap

Two reminders: (1)our next meeting, our General Meeting, will be Wednesday evening the 16th, same time, same place, and (2) the Magic Words, contributed by Peter Frickel, are POOR and POUR. Use both words in one sentence, or each word in a separate sentence, or whatever other combination you can come up with. Your choice. And use your imagination. Let's see if we can create some unique sentences.

The congratulations go out to Kerri Dieffenwierth. The poignant and very original story she read at the last meeting about Chupa Chup, the old man who was trapped and died in an amusement park ride, placed 4th in a contest that had 400 entries. Way-to-go, Kerri! Let us know the details about the contest at the next meeting.

The meeting recap will include just about everyone who came to the meeting because nearly everyone brought something to read.

Joe Porter read a very moving piece about his experiences in Hiroshima shortly after The Bomb destroyed the whole city. Ed Lyman brought another one of his humorous short pieces. This one was about pickles and olives. Kris Palmer read a piece about Courage and demonstrated once again that she definitely has more courage than most of us. Our resident actor Tom Smith read, presented, and acted out his version of the Snow White fable. Jean Porter shared a couple poems about swimming and the current oil spill disaster going on in the Gulf of Mexico. One of our new visitors, Micki Knowles read her story about the Demonic Delights of the Cabbage Patch dolls. Phil Dobrin took us all into the operating room again and gave us a glimpse of what goes on during a heart operation. Andrew Parker read another one of his powerful and this time heart-rending story segments, about a young man who is trying to adjust to the results of a life-changing accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. And Peter Frickel brought the evening to a close with another poignant and powerfully presented dying scene from his novel.

During the meeting we also had a very lively and informative discussion about some of the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus author initiated publishing, usually referred to with the very broad and comprehensive terms "self publishing" and/or "POD publishing"

Don't forget to use our two Magic Words poor and pour in a sentence or two. CU all on the 16th.

Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com

Meeting Wednesday Night

Hi All,
Just a quick note to remind everyone that our "reading meeting" is tomorrow night, same time, same place. So bring your latest creation and share it with the rest of us. As Sue said, however, keep in mind that we have to keep our readings fairly brief, no more than three pages, so everyone can have a turn. Everyone who WANTS a turn, that is. Reading is not required. Just encouraged. And comments and critiques are always welcome. The primary purpose of the readings of course is to get feedback so you can improve what you've written.

And remember the two magic words for tomorrow night are MASK and AUTHENTIC. You can use both in the same sentence or a different sentence for each word. Or some combination thereof.

See you then!

Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com

E-Books: Wave of the Future?

This past Christmas, Amazon reported that for the first time ever, they sold more e-books than paper books. Other published reports suggest that there are six Kindle books sold now for every ten physical books, and the gap seems to be narrowing every day. So if you've been thinking about converting your paper book to an e-book, now's the time to do it.

There are a number of different sites and publishers and book shepherds and the like who will convert your book to an e-book for you. For a fee, of course. But there are also at least two sites that will convert your book for free! They will also list your book on their online e-book catalog. They will collect the money for your sales. And they will send the money to you on a regular schedule. What do you do? Not much. In fact, once you've completed the conversion process you don't have to do anything. Except put a link on your website and send out some emails announcing the good news. And add the availability to your automatic email signature, too. And, of course, promote the news in as many ways as you can.

All three of my books (CROSSHAIRS, DYING IN DEER COUNTRY and KRAZY KRITTERS OF FLORIDA) are now available as e-books at a site called www.smashwords.com. They do the conversion process for free, list your book, along with a synopsis & cover on their site, and also make your book compatible with all the major eReaders, such as Kindle, Nook, Sony, iPad, etc. They also provide very detailed instructions on how to go about formatting your book to meet their specifications. Smashwords will also get your book listed in a catalog that they distribute to Barnes & Noble, the Apple iPad, and Sony e-book stores.

The Kindle bookstore (www.amazon.com) is, of course, the best known e-book store at the moment. Their conversion process is much simpler than the Smashwords process but the final product is only compatible with the Kindle eReader. Although: Kindle also has free downloadable applications that can make their e-books readable on some of the other eReaders. Two of my three books are now available at the Kindle store. The third one has been delayed because the Kindle folks wanted some sort of written verification that I did, indeed, have the electronic rights to publish my book as an e-book. That required a letter to my publisher for clarification and validation, which I got, and then I forwarded that letter to the Kindle folks. Hopefully, my third book will soon be listed in the Kindle store as well.

That brings me to the final point. To do any of these conversions, you have to own or control the electronic rights for your book. If you've truly published your book yourself (bought the ISBN, did the layout, designed the cover, arranged for the printing, hold the copyright in your name, etc., etc.) you shouldn't have a problem. You still have ALL the rights because you were the author AND publisher. If you went through a traditional publisher, however, or through a POD publisher (like Infinity, AuthorHouse, Xlibris, PublishAmerica, etc.) you need to contact the publisher and make sure you do, indeed, still hold your electronic publishing rights. Some POD publishers will allow you to do your own e-books, some won't. Be safe. Find out for certain before you start the process. Just tell them what you want to do, and flat-out ask them if you, the author and copyright holder, have the electronic rights to publish your book yourself as an e-book. At least you'll know, right up front. This info should be spelled out in your contract as well, but sometimes the legal jargon of publishing contracts is hard for us laymen/laywomen to decipher.

E-books are here to stay, whether we like them or not. Get on board while you can. The train is definitely starting to pull away from the station.

Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com

A Poetry Party!

I'm thrilled to report that our poetry workshop meeting, based on my input from members, was a roaring success! We had a great time and a great exercise teacher in Jim Kelly. Everyone took part and we were even treated to a 'song' by Joanne Phillips. Ed Ellis and Irv Newman our former NON poets both wrote their very first poem ever and both were great using Jim's technique. Dear Irv said it took him 89 years, but he wrote his first poem! And it DID NOT rhyme as he'd previously insisted a poem must. He was so excited, everyone's heart was warmed. I want to thank the group and especially Jim Kelly for his active role.

We did read the words chosen by Jim previously, forever and haven, and he chose Kerri to pick the next two words. This is ending up a fun exercise as well, and I encourage everyone to give it a try. Kerri chose the words: AUTHENTIC and MASK. You can use both words in one sentence or each one in a sentence of its own. Kerri will choose the next person to pick words.

Our own John McCafferty sent me a couple of cool links to check out. Just the titles of the links are interesting. How Not to Write! http://denisdutton.com/language_crimes/.htm

While there check out the link to "Bad Writing Contest". Sorry but you'll have to copy and paste the link into your browser because I can't get it to auto link like Russ can. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Now it suddenly turned blue. :) Go figure. John found this link at what he says is another great link for writers: http://www.aldaily.com/

John does have the same email address and will soon be moving into his new condo in Philadelphia. He's not sure if they will make back to Florida for winter or not. I'll keep you posted.

Next Wednesday, June 2, will be our monthly Reading Meeting so get your excerpts ready, pay attention to time frames so all get a turn, and be prepared to offer input and ask questions. This is the purpose of reading excerpts. Look forward to seeing you all then. In the meantime, if you have news or information you'd like to post here send me or Russ an email with your request. And don't forget to occasionally take a look at your fellow writer's websites listed under the links. Not only will you get ideas for your own sites, but also get to know your writing friends better. Support! Support! Support! each other! The day will come when it will be your turn to be supported. "Writers Helping Writers" It's a two way street. I may considering doing the Networking Workshop again in the future. Also be thinking about summer hours. We will be settling that at the next meeting. Keeping in mind, of course, that we will still have access to the venue for smaller groups that are still in town and wish to get together.

Happy to report that Russ is recovering nicely from his nose surgery and Tuck is still progressing a little each day with the nerve damage as a result of his bout with Shingles. I visited him this morning. He remains cheerful and humorus and is anxious to get back to the group.

My best,
Susan

Workshop Reminder!!

Hi Everyone! This is just a quick reminder that it's that time again! Tomorrow night, Wednesday, is our meeting and come prepared to write and enjoy poetry! I've recently discovered that several of you that are writing prose ALSO write poetry. The workshop, which I presented for the first time in New Port Richey at Pasco County's Mini Conference so deftly run by the Pasco County Group Leader, Dahris Clair, is going to be interactive. That is thanks to Jim Kelly, who has heartily agreed to work with me again tomorrow night. Jim, as many of you know, volunteers his enviable poetry talents at the Venice schools teaching young children the various ways they can express themselves.
Jim has a really neat writing exercise that we will all be asked to give our best try. Me included! I'm taken with his methods. So bring a tablet and a writing tool. :)

I regret to announce that Russ is having some minor out-patient surgery tomorrow and will not be able to attend the meeting, so I'll be going it alone. Sharon is still off galavanting around the country. :) I think we've lost her to her young love! I've asked Jim to sit up front and assist me with the poetry meeting. Linda White is out of town and regrets missing this meeting as poetry is 'her thing'. I'm happy to announce, too, that Cecile visited our Thursday night poetry gathering at the Rookery. It is such a 'poetical' setting. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Kris Palmer for suggesting that be our summer meeting place. We love it!
Several of our FWA members take part in that group, as well. In fact, started there before they came to FWA. Joe Porter, Gaile Harpan and Kris Palmer to name a few. Linda White, of course, leads that group. Joanne, too, attends there but began, I believe with the Suncoast Writers Guild, presently directed by Ann Favreau. All are welcome to visit each group. You all know how I push the networking element!
I'm happy to announce that Ann is home from the hospital now and on the mend. We sure have missed her in her absense. She became ill very shortly after the Annual Review in April. Dear Ann has a history of fighting like a warrior against bad health issues! She's an inspiration to all writers! And, all women!

I'm looking forward to having fun with a night of poetry. Hope to see you all there. If you have written a poem that you'd like to share, bring it along and we'll have time to do some poetry readings, as well as some lively discussion.

To get started, Jim Kelly's words for the sentence project were/are FOREVER and HAVEN. We already read Cecile's efforts last time. Those who would still like to participate, we'll do it tomorrow to lead off the workshop.

My thoughts to Russ and Lee! Russ assures me it's a minor procedure on his nose, but still wishing you the best!

Susan

Buyer Beware: All POD Publishers Are Not Alike

The Suncoast Writers Guild newsletter, PENPOINTS, recently printed a very interesting and sobering article about Print On Demand (POD) publishers. Many of them have only one goal: enriching their own bank accounts. And they do this by taking advantage of a writer's own wish to succeed. But they use that wish to their own advantage. The article mentions a specific POD publisher but to avoid any legal entanglements I won't include the name here but will email it to anyone who is interested. I will also email the entire article to you if you wish. Just drop me a note (rlh3738@msn.com).

According to the article's author, Jean Airey, "Like many other companies around, [this POD publisher counts] on the fact that authors love their own books. They count on the fact that any author will want to buy some number of their books to give to friends and family -- and they [the POD publisher] will make money selling those books to 'their' authors. They lock the author into a seven-year contract where they own the rights to the book ... They say you don't have to pay them a cent to print your book -- and you don't. But you do have to buy your books from them -- and the books are way overpriced -- if you can even get them. There's horror story after horror story of people who ordered for a book signing they'd set up and they never got [the books]. [Bolded emphases are mine: rlh]

[This POD publisher] "recently sent a whole series of mailings to their customers," Airey goes on, "urging them to buy, say, 100 books (I'm not kidding), and 'Get your book on Oprah', or 'Get your book in the New York Times,' or even 'Get your book read by Stephen King.' King -- somewhat more accessible than the other two -- was not at all happy about having his name used in this fashion. The plan: you buy the books and [this POD publisher] would send some quantity of books to 'Oprah's staff,' etc.

"Who gets the money here?" Airey asks. [This POD publisher], right? How do you know if the books were even sent? What do you think [Oprah's] staff would do with an arrival of books they hadn't even asked for. This company is not alone, by far. Today anyone can set themselves up and call themselves a 'publisher.'

"Which is not to say that every 'POD' process is bad. Some are reasonable, realistic, and put out good product. But there are the masqueraders. And the key question you have to ask, first off, is: which way does the money go?"

Thanks, Jean Airey, for reminding us again that, when dealing with salesmen, that well known Old Law is still very much in effect: Buyer Beware.

Posted by Russ Heitz

http://www.russheitz.com/

Great Meeting but Sad News

Wednesday was a great meeting. We had a small turn out but a lot of fun and some fabulous readings. Kris Palmer read another excerpt from "Dancing With an Elephant" and it was excellent. Two new folks came, Pat Cassidy and Kathy Marine, who is putting together a book and photos about Mote Marine. Howz that for your job matching your name! Tom Smith returned for his second meeting and brought his adorable mother, Selma. She was a dear and enjoyed her evening out so much. Rod and Russ both read one of Ed Lyman's funny stories and Ed Ellis read his best piece of writing yet! We all remarked on how he was improving! Joanne entertained with her usual humor and also read one of our traveling Sharon's poems that is a favorite of hers. Kerri returned and we were glad to see her back. We didn't get back from break until almost 8:30 so spent the last thirty minutes talking about anything and everything including the horrors of quitting smoking. Spurned, of course, by Ed Ellis teasing me about my seemingly continued failure to make the mark. Cecile shared Jim's two 'words' that she'd used in a short poem. The rest will be saved for the 19th as Jim is up in New York until the 9th.

The sad news is Bart Stamper's revealing that this would be his last meeting as he and his family are moving permanently to Orlando for his work. He promised he'd visit when possible and WOULD keep in touch with us on the status of his incredible story on Viet Nam. He read us one final excerpt which totally moved the group. I feel sure that when this book is released, he'll have his first big sale to all of us. Also, that he would remain active in FWA at a group up there. I think there are two in the area. I believe he will keep in touch or we'll all bombard him with emails until he feels guilty! :)) Following Bart's reading, Joanne asked me to read her poem that she'd read when she and Bart presented their duo illustrating the power of a poem to bring together the longer prose. It is an amazing phenomona, really.

Kerri shared an announcement of a one day workshop being put on by the Poynter Institute featuring Pulitzer Prize winning Thomas French who wrote, "Zoo Story" about life and death at the Lowry Park Zoo to be released in July. Mr. French will be teaching how to write a non-fiction book, including a winning proposal, in "Turn You Idea Into a Book." It's to be held in St. Petersburg on May 22. Kerri said she had attended one of the Poynter Institute workshops in the past and that they are fabulous. For more information, visit: www.poynter.org/GetItPublished

One of the first place winners of the "Do It Write" Literary Competition at the FWA Mini Conference in New Port Richey, Laura Aldir-Hernandez, has requested the help of fellow FWA members. Her short children's story,"The Cobra Dance" is entered in the International Competition run by Smories.com. Viewer votes determine the winner in each category. Here's how to help Laura. The story is in the form of a 61 second video and each viewing counts as a vote. You can vote as many times as you wish between now and May 31st. They will be busy so you may not get through on the first try. Laura asks that we try again.

Here's what to do: Go to http://www.smories.com/watch/cobra_dance/

I don't know why these aren't making links so you may have to copy and paste. Russ?????? :) I did remind the group on Wednesday, "Remember FWA's Motto! Writers Helping Writers. Someday it may be you that will appreciate support from fellow members."

Steve Choby has missed a couple of meetings, but he's the one that was challenged to try a new look at the art of poetry. I've since learned that Rod, too, has gained an appreciation of the art. Previously, the group inquired if and when we'd do a poetry workshop. I explained that I was doing one at the NPR Conference and then, if all goes well, do if for our group. I wrote and Linda White approved the outline of the workshop itself for me, Our capable Jim Kelly added a teaching method and agreed to help me as co-presenter in Linda's absense. Jim did a great job and we've decided to do it on the 19th as Jim will be returning back north for an extended time after June. So put your poetic side in your hat and come prepared to have fun. People always enjoy these interactive workshops where the attendees can take part.

That's a wrap for this time. If I've forgotten anyone's notice please let me know. I see nothing else in my blog folder.

Best,
Susan

Help! Typist Needed -- Must Travel

Our member emeritus, Ed Lyman, desperately needs someone to type his 2-page manuscripts. He hasn't written anything since his daughter died almost a year ago but now he's writing again and he has two stories ready to go.

The problem is, Ed is not a very good typist. In fact, he's a very BAD typist even though he has a computer and knows all about E-Bay. To compound the problem, Ed's handwriting, by his own admission, is none too good either. But his brain works just fine, thank you very much. That's evident in the clever and humorous little stories he's been writing since the Stone Age.

So, bottom line. Ed needs someone to come to his beautiful condo at the corner of Jacaranda Blvd. and Route 41 in Venice maybe once or twice a month, depending on his production. And he doesn't want any freebies either. He'll DEFINITELY PAY whatever you want to charge to type up his stories. But he needs you to come to his condo so he can interpret his handwriting while you're typing up his manuscript.

Anyone who wants to give Ed a hand should see him tonight at the meeting. Or send me an email and I'll give you his phone number so you can set up a time.

Let's get Ed back into his writing mode again!

Posted by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com

Time goes too fast!

Since we have been on two monthly meetings every month, I can't seem to keep up with this blog. Especially for the second one as it's when all my other deadlines are due.



We had a good and informative meeting last week with Elizabeth's second visit. I even shared her tip about cutting words by taking out one word in each sentence, It works because then you find other sentences that are redundant and you can cut them entirely. It's easier to think in terms of words and sentences than entire excerpts or story lines. Slowly, the repetition or over explaning jumps out at you. I will put it into practice everytime I complete a chapter. Thanks, Elizabeth.

A few announcements: Check out Madeline Mora-Summonte's website. She has just had another story published in Referential Magazine. Madeline's stories are always excellent and if you'd like to see some more really good writing, check out the link to the latest on her website which is linked under the links column to the left of your screen.

I had a wonderful note from John McCafferty in which he sent a newspaper article about the Authors Event at the Free Library in Philadelphia. This is one of the better known events held every year and authors come from all over the country to display their wares and meet with writers and readers. Infinity Publishing has a big display there every year and encourages their authors to come. It is a gorgeous library and I visit it when I'm in Philadelphia. My problem is I'm always up there in the fall for Valley Forge Conference. I will bring John's article to the meeting and share it with all of you. Some good info on 'trends' in today's world of writing.

Rod Digruttolo shared the schedule for Adult Enrichment Courses provided by the Adult and Community Education Center for Sarasota County Schools. I was surprised at the number of writing courses available there. I strongly urge folks to go to their website and ask to be put on the mailing list for Fall Courses. www.ace-sarasota.com Or phone 941-361-6590. There may also be some openings for the Summer Schedule.

Diane Robertson, a freelance writer and author of "Adventures in Writing" is running a workshop this Saturday at Gulf Gate Library - How To Have a Productive and Respectful Critique Group - More information is available at her website www.freelancewritingbydiane.com
The workshop will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 and the cost is $30. For more information you may call Diane at 941-752-5669.

More good news - Jane Gill, who has attended our meetings at the firehall has just been accepted by a small publisher press, Double Edge Press out of Pennsylvania. They will be publishing her first novel, "A Matter of Pride". Guess where she met the editor?! At the FWA Annual Conference in Orlando. There's a sunray for those who don't think anything comes out of attending Writers Conferences. Congratulations Jane!!

Another FWA author to watch is Dr. Karen Pirnot. Karen, you will remember is the Child Psychologist who devoted her life to Garret Frey author of "As I Am". The story of how a quadriplegic child has grown into a productive young man. Karen also writes stories for kids and a novels. Her works continue to garner awards and the good news is a big house publishing agent is considering taking on her work. Congratulations Karen! More proof that Independent Publishing does NOT close the doors to major publishing houses. But may, in fact, help open them!

And, for Irv Newman who continues to resist the world of electronics, he is making his debut in coast to coast exposure on "Fox and Quill" just released today. His story on "Friendship" was accepted and he borrowed my access to the internet to send it in. :)) www.foxandquill.com
Congratulations Irv!

Again, I apologize for not posting here more often. My intent is there, the time isn't. See you all on Wednesday.
Susan

Hi Everybody!

Hope you weren't thinking I'd abandoned the blog. Since I saw you all last, I've done two weekends of reviews and conference workshops and entertained a friend, Lois Stern, from New York. Russ Heitz also went to both events and Jim Kelly and Lois, too, accompanied us. It was a great month for writers and poets. Now, I re-group and focus on our General Meeting on Wednesday, the 21st. Hope you are all planning on coming.

As some of you know, Elizabeth Sims spoke to our General Session in March and had penciled us in for a return this month. She has informed me that she is looking forward to joining us again. She has a couple of other exercises to try and also wanted to join in on our discussion and critique. I'm hoping she may be a frequent visitor if in the area more often.

At our reading meeting on the 3rd, Gaile Harpan brought a mother and daughter writing team to visit and Laura Aldir-Herna has decided to join FWA and asked me to post the following of interest to all children's and youth writers:
The Peace River Center for writers, http://www.peaceriverwriters.org/, has just the thing for both aspiring and established authors of books for young people. KIDS STUFF its critique group for children's writers is holding monthly sessions. The next meeting is Saturday, May 8th, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. until 12 noon in Room SA-116 at Edison State College in Punta Gorda. Non-members may attend before deciding whether to join. Bring several copies of an except for feedback or just listen in and share tips. KIDS STUFF is a listed critique group on the SCWBI-Florida chapter site, and the moderator belongs to both SCWBI and the Florida Writers Association. For information, contact (941) 637-3415 or PRWC@edison.edu.

I have no idea if these links are active, you may have to copy and paste. At least they came up blue this time and I have no idea what I did different. :)

A reminder, too, Jim Kelly picked the words 'forever' and 'haven' for our sentence excercise with words. You can tell Jim is a poet. :) I'd like to publically thank him for contributing his teaching exercise at my poetry workshop in New Port Richey in Linda's absense. Filling Linda's shoes is a challenging task, but Jim would have made Linda proud.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday.

Best,
Susan

eBooks for Everybody!

For those of us interested in converting our paper books into ebooks, be sure to read the Newsletter that Jerry Simmons distributes for free every other week. The present issue has a lot of very interesting info about the ins and out of ebook production and sales. My own very brief experiences with my own ebooks have, so far, been rocky at best.

On the other hand, a mystery writer named J.A. Konrath has recently sold 30,000 ebooks in a matter of a couple months, doing no promotion at all. Of course, he already has an established name. That makes a HUGE difference. But ebooks are the coming thing, something we will all have to deal with sooner or later, whether we want to or not.

For a copy of the Jerry Simmons newsletter go to http://www.WritersReaders.com. As I said, it's free. And also priceless.

Posted by
Russ Heitz

Meeting Tomorrow or Tonight If It's Morning. 4/7/10

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. The weather sure cooperated for a change!

Wednesday the seventh is upon us and we will gather at the usual place at the usual time. Be sure to check the reading guidelines if you plan to read.

I do have an announcement to make for all the Tim Dorsey fans out there. Rich McKee, our absent member, sent me the following:

"I want to let you know that Tim Dorsey is going to be at the Venice Campus of SCF on April 14 from 7 to whatever in the Selby Room auditorium. Please let your FWA members know, and come on down. He's appearing thanks to a program sponsored by the campus creative writing club, Swampscribes, and my creative writing class."

Anyone interested in seeing and meeting Tim Dorsey is welcome to attend.

Just a reminder for those interested in writing sentences with the words of the meeting . . . Rod picked wrought and rot.

Hope to see you all tomorrow night. Anyone with books is welcome to bring them so we can all support each other. Sales can be transacted before and after the meeting or on break.

Best
Susan

A Couple of Announcements

Hello and Happy Easter to all. And Happy National Poetry Month to all of our poets!

I wanted to make an announcement that Peter Frickle and Jim Kelly have joined the group of us that are now contributors to the Fox and Quill, a San Diego e-zine that gets National exposure. Peter and Jim join Russ Heitz, Rod Digruttolo, Richard Ide, Bart Stamper and myself just from our group. Jack Wolf has also included FWA Members from other County Chapters. Please take a moment and check out the publication which can be found at http://www.Foxandquill.com I don't know why I can't get these darn urls to turn in to an active link but you can copy and paste it in your browser and I may add it to our link column entries. Everyone that works with Jack enjoys the exposure and he's great to work with! Jim Kelly is included in the Poetry Tribute and Peter has one of his beautiful stories. He's in the process of talking with Jack on getting an audio up with his incredible reading voice. All of you are welcome to submit and I will make the introduction for you if you'd prefer. Russ and I have been contributing for a couple of years now. His readership continues to grow as does Dahris Clair's The Infinite Writer. The publications depend on authors for submissions and at the same time provide the author with a stage to be seen around the country. Check it out! It's a fun read and you'll hang with other writers. It's all about authors supporting authors!

And my Easter wish for all of you . . .

May you always have rainbows gracing your skies . . .
and butterflies dancing before your eyes.

Susan

Happy Easter, Passover, Spring and a New Link

Happy Tuesday! I think. I'm never quite sure what day it is when I work all night. Of course, I'm not a reliable source even when I don't. :) I hope everyone has a wonderful and peaceful Easter weekend however you chose to observe it. Russ and I will be doing the Suncoast Writers Guild's Annual Review on Saturday. Some of you will be there. Ed Ellis is reading the prose and Jim Kelly is reading the poetry. Russ and I are the Reviewers. This is my third year to be honored as Poetry Reviewer and Russ will be joining me this year to do the prose, formerly done by James Abraham. I think Russ will do a fine job for Ann Favreau's group.

I wanted to make sure that everyone realizes, too, that our next meeting is Wednesday, April 7th, a week from tomorrow! Due to the way the calendar falls, we have three weeks between meetings this time. It's been two weeks for the last few months, and I've had a couple of people ask. Decided I better make a post.

Also, if you will look to your left at the Link Section, I've added Weslynn McCallister and Jim Kelly's website URLs to our links. Remember, exploring each other's websites is a good way to get to know each other better. I understand Russ's site has undergone some upgrading to include his new book, "Dying In Deer Country" and he is also having them converted to e-books which which will be available for sale on his site.

My own new book, "Amber Returns to Maine" was just officially released last Friday and I've added a page for that in the Rainy Day Room for those who are familiar with Sucarha.com I don't sell anything on my site, however. I have them myself until it gets up on Amazon.

For all our poets, April is National Poetry Month and I'll be doing special Poetry tributes in the two E-zines I write for, The Infinite Writer and Fox and Quill. Checks out the links in my auto-signature on my email. I do include a 'stage' for other poets. It's not all about 'me'. Mostly, it's a tribute to the art of Poetry, itself. Which, by the way, is growing in popularity due to the expression possible in a few powerful words expressed well. Our group is blessed with some wonderful poets. Some who also write prose.

Be blessed.
Be safe.
Be writing!

Susan

Word Project for Next Meeting

Hello again!

Rod has chosen his two words for the sentence writing project. They are:

rot
wrought

Rod will pick the next person to have a turn choosing the word or words. It can be only one if you prefer. I like having two and it can be a challenge to use them both in the same sentence.

Have a great day and watch for a rainbow!

Susan

My Apologies!!

Hello everyone . . .

I must apologize for being so long in recapping the meeting held last Wednesday night. We did have a good turn out to hear Elizbeth Sims and I want to thank her publically. I did so privately. I'm NOT that lax. :)

It has simply been a crazy week. I did manage to meet with Sharon today and wish her and her new/old boyfriend a wonderful time on their trip to points west, and north, maybe even east! The Colonel assured me he would bring her back to us safe and sound.

Russ has family visiting from Pennsylvania and we are both attempting to prepare for two upcoming events we've commited to, the Suncoast Writers Guild Annual Review and Russ is doing a Mystery workshop for the St. Pete FWA WGL, John Rhege. (Please forgive any misspellings, I'm going from memory here, which is dangerous)

In addition, we are both preparing for the New Port Richey FWA Mini-Conference, where I'll be doing a poetry workshop. Russ and Jim Kelly are attending together. I wish more of you would have taken advantage of this "One Day" experience where the one and only Jerry Simmons will be the keynote! He's only the most knowing person in the Publishing Business today, arguably, bar none.

I've had great feedback regarding Elizabeth's visit with our group and I'm happy to announce she has 'penciled' in a return visit for the General Meeting in April. She couldn't write it in stone yet, however, will keep me posted.

Thank you all and I will now return to my four standing editing jobs! Yup, a crazy week!

Best,
Susan

Reminder Time!!

Is everyone ready for Wednesday's meeting? It is going to be special! I'm receiving some enthusiastic feedback from the group, so I expect an extra good turnout, especially now with the later daylight. Make sure you bring a notebook and pens as I'm sure you will want to take notes in addition to Elizabeth's hand-outs. She has also expressed a willingness to answer as many questions as she can following her presentation. I'm as excited to meet her as all of you.

We will start promptly at 6:30 this week, so if you want extra networking time, come early. I will take about ten or fifteen minutes to do our morning/mourning sentence project and make a few announcements. I will introduce Elizabeth following that and she can take the time necessary before break. If you want to do the sentences using the words, have them ready and put them in the suggestion box for Russ to draw. If it isn't in the box, you'll have to hold it until next time as the meeting can't be held up when we have a guest speaker.

Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Best,
Susan

My Monday Surprise to the Group

Over the course of our growth in the Sarasota County FWA Chapter, it became clear that our group enjoyed interaction and discussion. We have such a diverse and talented group, we've usually drawn from our own for our learning experiences. Occasionally, however, I am honored to have an opportunity to present a guest speaker that is special. This is one of those times! In fact, when first contacted, I was a bit speechless and said so!

You've all heard me recommend the magazine, "Writer's Digest". Some of you have subscriptions as I write this. How about a guest speaker that is actually a contributing editor to this magazine? How about a guest speaker who is a professional novelist, currently with a mystery series, The Rita Farmer Mysteries, under contract with St. Martin's Minotaur? How about a professional speaker teaching and coaching at Writers Conferences as well as mentoring individuals on the craft of good writing? What if you had a chance to meet any one of these kind of guest speakers free of charge with you as her sole subject to test a new teaching technique on how to write better and more freely? Wouldn't you jump at the chance? You would if you truly desire to be a writer!

Okay, what if you had the opportunity to meet all three at once? Would that not be the opportunity of new writer's lifetime? It would be for me and I've been in this business for ten years! That is my surprise! All three will be present at our March 17th meeting in the form of one professional and talented writer, Elizabeth Sims! Elizabeth's list of accomplishments can be viewed at www.elizabethsims.com

Elizabeth is in town for a period of time visiting her mother and she honored me with taking the time to find us! Now, you see why I was speechless when I got her message! We've since had email exchanges and today a lovely phone conversation. I was so impressed with her down to earth 'niceness'and caring for the craft. That quality I always look for in people. I'm so NOT a fan of condescension! I'd like to quote a few of her words.

"Right now I'm working on some new teaching techniques to help people write better and more freely, and I need some test subjects! I'd like to meet with your group and try them out on you. This would be free of charge. You guys would be doing me a favor volunteering as my 'guinea pigs' for an evening or two. Of course, I'd be glad to answer questions afterward about writing and getting published, etc."

Elizabeth Sims
"Literature makes life worth living."
The Rita Farmer Mysteries
The Lillian Byrd Crime Series
Contributing Editor, Writer's Digest Magazine
www.elizabethsims.com

As your group leader, I'm honored to be able to bring such a professional woman to our group as a guest. I assure you, this is NOT an opportunity to miss. I can guarantee one thing, Russ, Sharon and I will be there with bells on! Personally, I am thrilled at the prospect of meeting Elizabeth and I'm no stranger to meeting celebrities and have been most fortunate enough to call some of them friends now. Celebrities started where we start. They are dedicated to their craft and work darn hard to achieve their success. Some have horror stories about what they endured. How can they not deserve their status, success and our respect?

Mark your calendars for this 17th meeting as being a special not miss event! I'd hate for anyone to lose this chance.

Susan

Meeting Recap Plus a Big Surprise!!

We had another good meeting on the 3rd of March! I want to thank all those who braved the cold to come out. Especially, Kris, who resorted to 'determined' effort to make it at all. Everyone was thrilled to see her when she came in the door after eight o'clock. Talk about spirit! Irv immediately told her he loved her. :) And we all do!

Most got a turn to read and lively discussion followed. I received lots of positive feed back, but do understand that a couple of folks felt I'd been unfair on the reading time issue. I assure everyone, it is never my intent to be unfair. This 'time issue' seems to be an ongoing problem that must be solved. There were a total of three people that never did get their turn to read on Wednesday night. I won't embarrass them by naming names, but three people who'd been previously promised by me they'd be able to read didn't get to because some balk at going first! Once they see that time is running out and folks are getting restless, then they signal me they'll abstain.
Now, this is happening when we have a small turnout of 12-15. What about when the weather improves and we have longer daylight hours and 20-25 turn out? What? Those that don't get a turn, won't come? What?
As group leader, this puts me in a most precarious position as I want everyone to come, get something out of the meeting, and also have sessions that are just about learning! That's what a writing group is all about. Writers helping writers! It's not just a stage or theater for each to perform. To me, you are ALL stars already and it's my job to make it work! Work, even though we continually grow and add members.

Here, is but one of the areas where I depend on Russ and Sharon. I want concensus. It's not about 'my way' but the group's way! So I've enlisted their help and opinions and we've reached agreement. Poets are not subject to these strident guidelines because most never read more than three poems anyway and that is equal to maybe a page. Russ is the most concise and to the point so he agreed to write up the solution. As follows . . .

We will set a page limit rather than a time limit. Doing this will also provide each writer the discipline to 'select' the section he or she is going to read with that page limit in mind. This can be three pages of double-spaced, proper manuscript set up. If single spaced, it will be a page and one-half. This will entail thinking of the piece more as a complete 'scene' or 'mini-story' in itself. You would be allowed an oral introduction to set up the 'scene' so it will be understood, not a rambling, five-minute preliminary explanation.
This is in keeping with the idea that every word, sentence, paragraph and page of any piece of writing, fiction or non, long or short, should be absolutely essential to the overall piece. It should serve a specific purpose to the story, or not be included in the story. The writer should be able to explain, at least to him/herself why that particular scene is in the story or article at that particular place.

Thank you, Russ! In the business, such a procedure is often referred to as the 'elevator pitch'. Meaning a writer should be able to say what his/her entire book is about in no more words than a ride to the ninth floor on a elevator would take! Google 'elevator pitch' and you'll see. That's how well you should know your own work.
If you want to have chapter by chapter input, it isn't necessary to have each detail and thought, each line of dialogue read to an audience of listeners. Orally explain in a minute or less, what the scene is taken from and then read the part you may be struggling with. End it by saying what decision is giving you difficulty and then commentors, too, have to be somewhat brief. Not everyone can comment every time, and it isn't the time to break off into a long discussion, explanation or defense about the commentor's comment. That can be done privately if there seems to be an issue unsolved. I might add here, that a writer needs to develop a thick skin. If one can't take constructive criticism, one won't make it as a writer. Why else would one even ask for critique? Well-intended criticism is not disdain for your work and NOT rejection. Although, you'll take a lot of that, too.

This seems to be the only logical way to solve this problem to everyone's advantage. This procedure holds at the first monthly "Reading Meeting" only. The second General Meeting will be part workshop or discussion, questions and anwsers, an occasional guest speaker, and three or four pre-selected readers only. It is about learning, too!

We will be incorporating Ed's idea of discussing one or two words in a sentence to launch each meeting. If you decide to write a sentence containing a subject and a verb using these words, put it in the suggestion box upon arrival and we will randomly draw out about five, share them, and then move on. For the next meeting, Russ picked two words that sound alike but aren't spelled the same or mean the same. They are: MORNING and MOURNING.
Russ will pick the next person to pick the words and so on.

If anyone has a better idea or a complaint about this procedure, please feel free to share it with Russ, Sharon, or me. But something HAS to be adopted and enforced or we have continual hurt feelings and chaos. I don't want that and the group doesn't want that.

Now, I'll give you a day or two to absorb this new info and then I'll tell you my very exciting surprise news! Yup, that's a 'hook'. Every writer must know how to do the HOOK.

Till Monday . . . .

Susan, Russ and Sharon thank you.

Important Notice!!

I don't know what it is with me and computers but I've just gotten word that some scam hacker has lifted my sucarha at Yahoo email and is sending out a plea for money because I'm stranded in London! Yes, England! I assure everyone that it is NOT from me and I am NOT stranded in London! I'm getting to the point where I am going to adopt Irv Newman's idea and get the hell off of computers!

A meeting recap coming later . . .

Susan