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NWPA
Notes & News
NORTHWEST WRITERS & PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Volume 2, Number 1
January 2015
NWPA is dedicated
to encouraging
networking and
team building
among authors,
publishers, and all
those involved in our
changing industry.
Meetings
2nd Tuesday
each month
Tualatin Public Library
18878 SW Martinazzi Ave
Tualatin, OR
Time: 6:30–8:30pm
(Speakers 7-8pm)
No charge for NWPA
members or students
under the age of 18.
Guests: $10.
Member’s guest: $5.
Annual Membership: $50.
Trouble Staying Focused? Read a Book.
Jean Sheldon
In the 1960s, before many realized
the potential impact of computers, my
dad wrote programs, hard-wired circuit
boards, and worked on what we experience today as the internet to feed his hungry brood. This is not to imply that he
didn’t enjoy his job. He did, so much so
that on the occasional Saturday he carted
my brothers and me to his office where
massive mainframe computers supporting platter-sized reels of tape clicked and
whirred, delighting Dad and his fellow
early computer geeks. It is hard to imagine that those machines standing shoulder to shoulder and filling an entire floor
of offices in downtown Chicago had less
computing power than the phone in your
pocket.
In the mid-1970s, working as a graphic artist meant I needed at least a cursory
knowledge of computerized typesetting.
When the first personal computers became affordable in the 1980s, I was ready,
willing, and able to work at home doing
what had once involved a large space and
costly equipment. Over the next few de-
Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program
cades every aspect of graphic design became digitized, and I spent most of my
waking hours in front of a computer.
Graphics wasn’t the only industry
changed by computers. They soon offered games, entertainment, shopping,
and in the last few years, a place to hang
out with family and friends. I was too
enamored with the dazzling devices to
consider there might be a downside, but
(continued on page 2)
In This Issue…
Library: 503-691-3074
www.tualatinoregon.gov/
library
Trouble Staying Focused?.................. 1
NWPA Guest Speakers....................10
Member News ......................................4
Links to Articles & News.................11
The Amazing YA Paradigm Shift......5
Meet Some of Our Members ..........12
NWPA
Book Tips from Jennifer Omner....... 7
Book Events in the Northwest........13
Male Author Writing as Woman.......8
Independent Bookstores ..................14
[email protected]
503-913-6006
nwwriterspublishers.com
recently, a troubling pattern began to show in my work
habits. It was harder to concentrate and stay focused
on a project for hours at a time as I had often done,
a situation that affected my ability to plan, plot, and
write mysteries. My initial conclusion was that a growing number of achy bones and joints weren’t the only
consequence of six plus decades on the planet; my gray
matter appeared to be approaching an expiration date.
While the latter is no doubt partially true, I decided to
see if there was something else happening to my brain
and turned to cyber space to find out.
One of the first things my online research revealed
was that declining brainpower starts in our 20s, not our
50s. That was discouraging, but I clung to the knowledge that my favorite mystery writer, Agatha Christie,
managed to pen intriguing whodunits until her death
at 86. Even her renowned sleuth, Hercules Poirot depended on his “little gray cells” into his final case. Perhaps there was hope.
Further study pointed to technology as a serious
contributor to cognitive problems, more accurately
overuse of technology, and older brains were not the
only ones showing signs of wear. A number of researchers agree that since we are rarely unplugged
and because of the constant interruptions inherent in
digital devices, we are losing our capacity for extended
analytical thought, or deep thinking. (There is a large
amount of material available on computer use and the
brain, so I’ve presented only a summary of my experience and included links at the end of the article if you
want to learn more. Of course, after reading this you
may want to spend less time online.)
The concept of “linear and non-linear” reading intrigued me and I decided to run a test to see if I read
differently online than when reading a book. My online
reading felt fine. I stayed focused and made an effort
to read, not merely scan, but to my shock, when I went
directly from an online session (which often includes
15 to 20 minutes of Twitter) to disappear into a book,
I found I was scanning the pages. Not only that, I had
to reread passages to fully understand what I’d read. At
one point I felt a mental shift I had never before noticed, a cerebral nudge into reading mode.
The brain does not readily absorb and store scanned
information. If you don’t focus on the material, it might
not make its way into a permanent file. This is another
fact I can confirm. A year or so ago I started learning
French on an online language course offered by Oregon county library systems. I try to do it daily, but if
I make the mistake of leaving my email program open
during a French lesson, I can count on having to repeat
it. A brief stop to check an incoming email takes me
completely out of the lesson and I am not able to immerse fully when I return. When I start again the next
day, there is no stored information to retrieve.
The problem gets trickier because, as it turns out, we
are rewarded with a hit of dopamine when we respond
to interruptions, a reaction from a more primitive part
of our brain that takes action in case the interruption
is a potential threat. Constantly responding to disturbances wreaks havoc on deep thinking, and focus and
concentration suffer. Although humans are champions
at multitasking (driving and listening to the radio, or
cooking and having a conversation), doing so all day
every day can make it more difficult to sort through the
information overload and can cause anxiety and stress.
What’s going on with our brain?
Cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf at Tufts
University suggests that we have a “bi-literate” brain
that reads print matter differently than it reads computer text. Wolf believes our brains have learned to
manage the huge amount of information we see online
by scanning, which she describes as “non-linear” reading. In her book Proust and the Squid: The Story and
Science of the Reading Brain, she asks: “Will the splitsecond immediacy of information gained from a search
engine and the sheer volume of what is available derail
the slower, more deliberative processes that deepen our
understanding of complex concepts, of another’s inner
thought processes, and of our own consciousness?”1
Here’s the good news.
You can turn it around and reclaim your deep
thinking skills. Many researchers, including Wolf, recommend taking time every day to read printed matter. Others support thirty minutes of reading, whether
print or with a reading device—the important thing is
to avoid interruptions.
It works! I changed my work habits, reduced the
time I spent on the computer, and increased my reading. My concentration improved in only a few days,
and the more time I took off the computer, the easier it
was to focus when I had to be online. I check my email
1 Maryanne Wolf, Proust and the Squid. (New York: Harper Collins Publishers
2007), 221.
(continued on page 3)
2
only a few times a day and do not open my email client
at any other time.
Another thing that helped was something I did
previously but never as a regular practice—meditating.
This is not a plug for developing a spiritual practice; it
is simply a suggestion that you take time every day to
give your mind a rest.
Turn off the television. Outside of supplying weather and road information, it provides little neurological
stimulation. Reading a book, on the other hand, engages many areas and functions of your brain. Amazingly,
they work together to interpret symbols used to create words, interpret the meaning of those words, create
images of what you have interpreted and at the same
time gaze into the future pondering what is coming
next, or which character might be lying or planning to
do something rotten to the protagonist. Studies besides
my personal test show that the more you read the better
your focus and concentration. How’s that for a marketing pitch? “Read my book…your brain will love you
for it!”
challenge. So until those video games become available
to assist our mental workout, a quick and inexpensive
way to start pumping your brain is as close as a trip
to your local library or bookstore. The exercise will do
you good!
Further reading:
I find television very educating.
Every time somebody turns on the
set, I go into the other room and
read a book. –Groucho Marx
Of course, developing advanced digital dexterity
may be simply another step in the evolution of the human brain. That seems likely to me, and there are companies already working on ways to help. For seniors
having difficulty focusing, researchers at Gazzaley Lab
at UCSF have designed a video game called NeuroRacer. Results of the game’s multitasking challenges show
significant improvement in working memory and
sustained attention. Even better, these improvements
persisted at a six months follow-up with scores that
surpassed those of untrained 20-year-olds. As we age,
our ability to separate distractions diminishes. Do you
remember when you were able to read Kurt Vonnegut
and listen to Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young while your
roommates discussed politics in the next room? Today, at least for me, working with external noise is a
3
•
Video game training enhances cognitive control in
older adults
http://gazzaleylab.ucsf.edu/neuroscience-projects/neuroracer/
•
Is the internet destroying our attention span?
http://psychminds.com/is-the-internet-destroying-ourattentions-span/
•
Social Media and Short Attention Spans
http://www.ere.net/2013/02/05/social-media-andshort-attention-spans/
•
How to Rebuild an Attention Span
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/
how-to-rebuild-an-attention-span/279326/
•
Rate Your Attention Span 1 to 20
http://auxiliarymemory.com/2014/11/19/rate-yourattention-span-1-to-20/
•
How Today’s Computers Weaken Our Brain
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/how-todays-computers-weaken-our-brain
•
Read Slowly to Benefit Your Brain and Cut Stress
http://www.wsj.com/articles/read-slowly-to-benefityour-brain-and-cut-stress-1410823086
•
How Reading a Novel Can Improve the Brain
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/reading-improvebrain/story?id=21501657
Member News
From Indelible Mark Publishing
NWPA member and owner of
Indelible Mark Publishing Nancy
McDonald shared the news that
IMP author Laurence Overmire is
included in a new book GLOBAL
CHORUS: 365 Voices for the Future.
The book presents 365 daily
meditations along with some gorgeous photographs to encourage
all of us to do our part to create a
healthy world of beauty, peace and
prosperity, especially given the
enormous challenges that face us in
the 21st century.
Other contributors include Jane
Goodall, Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai
Lama, Bill McKibben, Jamie Oliver,
Alexandra Cousteau, David Suzuki,
Wendell Berry, Stephen Hawking,
Maya Angelou, and Paul Hawken.
All contributed their work to
help promote the book’s optimistic
message of hope for the future. Proceeds from the sales of the book are
being donated to charitable organizations.
Available on
Amazon.com
Why the Second Tuesday of each Month is Special
Not only is the second Tuesday of every month the regular meeting of
Northwest Writers and Publishers Association, it is also the day that NWPA
member Fred Swan posts his blog 2nd
Tuesday, Living a Finished Life.
Curating Your Soul
2nd Tuesday explores twelve realms of
what I have come to call “Living a Finished Life”
…a life that feels satisfied and
complete, a life in which we
are aware of not only the mo-
ment and our potential within it
but also one in which we are at
peace with our current needs and
achievements.
2nd Tuesday hosts guest writers, features the work of artists, suggests anything from a sandwich you should try
to an event that you might consider and
will welcome your input, ideas and accomplishments.
Check it out at:
http://www.fredrickswan.com
4
Meet with
writers,
publishers, and
others involved in
making the world
a better place.
The second Tuesday of
every monthe at Tualatin
Library
nwwriterspublishers.com
Reading Notes
The Amazing YA Paradigm Shift
J. Wandres
Really, now! Try not to stare too
long at the woman across from you.
It’s not her fashionably gray hair that
you notice. But you wonder: Isn’t she
a bit too old to be reading The Giver,
among the top-rated Young Adult
novels of all time? Aren’t books like
that, as well as Veronica Roth’s Divergent and Collins’s Hunger Games,
written for the older teen—the
vaunted young adult reader?
What’s going on here? Are certain adult readers enjoying a delayed
onset past-life regression? Here’s the
take-away from writer-reviewerreviler Ruth Graham (In Every Pew
Sits a Broken Heart, When Your
Rope Breaks). In a provocative blast
in Slate, she opined: “Read whatever
you want. But you should feel embarrassed when what you’re reading was written for children…. [YA]
indulges in the kind of endings that
teenagers want to see, but which
adult readers ought to reject as far
too simple.”1
Yeah; well? Booksellers and publishers are not exactly blind to the
groundswell among the older-thanYA reader, an increasing number
among which could be branded as
“Millennials,” “Gen Y-ers,” and even
“Boomers,” for crying out loud! It
is these cohorts who are helping to
push YA titles to the top of publishers’ best-seller lists. So, what seems
to be going on here? According to
YA author Roseanne Rivers (the
dystopian After The Fear): “The
appeal of [YA] fiction is that readers get to explore the setting along
with the character. As both reader
1 “Look Homeward, Reader,” by Meg Wolitzer, New
York Times, Oct. 19, 2014.
and character arrive at the place, it
is as unfamiliar to them as it is to
the reader. As both get used to the
institution it becomes ‘safe,’ where
the reader can feel at home (even
if there’s a murderer on the
loose….)”2
Here’s how
YA
author
Meg Wolitzer
(Belzhar) puts
it: “My group
definitely takes
pleasure in the
shared experience of reading
YA, but for me
the books and conversations serve
as a continuation of my education.
Not only do I feel an intense connection with my earlier….self, I feel
I’ve been given access to a pure form
of the complications involved with
being young….”3
For 2015 and beyond YA author
Rivers she sees a continuing decline
of the traditional “dystopian” downer themes, which are giving way to:
*instead of just being a setting, institutions are almost like a character in itself; *novels with a strong
male protagonist character; *contemporary mysteries with, possibly,
a comic element; *coming of age
in summer, coupled with bereavement/loss of family member; *sci-fi,
with a focus on space exploration,
possibly with a dystopian shading;
*contemporary thrillers set in a gritty, rough-edge milieu; *stories about
2 “Top Ten Hottest YA Trends of 2014” http://www.
roseannerivers.files.wordpress.com
3 New York Times. op cit.
the New Adult, where the protagonist is between 18 and 25.
A pair of Portland authors has
incorporated historic and medically
related themes into their novels. Cat
Winters’ In the Shadow of Blackbirds
delves into the 1918 worldwide epidemic of Spanish Influenza (like today’s fear of Ebola) along with the
horror of World War I, and a protagonist who gets an up-close-andpersonal look at life and death. Ripley Patton recently e-booked Ghost
Heart, the third in “The PSS Chronicles.” Patton has done some heavyduty research to incorporate PSS—
psyche sans soma—into her themes.
PSS refers to “phantom limbs,” or
limbs that are not there; that is, persons who are born without hands or
feet but actually feel as if they are really there. But a phantom heart?
Vampires? Zombies? Werewolves? Been there. Done that.
Publishers, are ramping up for new
wrinkles in time, and A-list YA
agents say they are being flooded
with au courant pitches and novels.
According to Husna Haq, a visionista at Publishers Weekly, YA houses
will be expecting “loveless futures…
in which love is the enemy in future societies that concoct inventive ways to suppress the emotion.”
Cyberpunk will still be around but
with a healthy toke of virtual reality
for those over-the-hill tweens who
teethed on virtual reality. 4
PW’s Sue Corbett quotes Aplus-list YA agent Michael Bourret:
“What everybody wants to be working on right now is contemporary
realistic.” Bourret cites John Green’s
4 Publishers Weekly (online) April 30, 2014.
(continued on page 6)
5
The Fault in Our Stars and Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park. Agent
Laura Rennert is on the lookout for
writers who can be “category killers”
—offering themes that can include
drug addiction, teen prostitution,
mental illness, even suicide.5
The question being whispered
in YA houses is, who out there is
going to hit a homer in the same
league as Rowling’s Harry Potter
and The Sorcerer’s Stone; Percy Jackson’s The Lightning Thief, and Karen Prince’s Switch! Lost Kingdoms
of Karibou. Hmmm? How about
something like this: The setting is
a gritty, down-at-the-heels part of
town. We go along with a dweebylooking high school senior football
team member (who usually winds
up warming the bench). He enters
the team’s inner sanctum locker
room to suit up before the Big Friday Night Lights game. We know—
we just know he is going to be bullied by the 310-pound nose-guard,
and he is. (In real life the actual
Jonathan Martin quit the NFL Miami Dolphins after being bullied by
gorilla Richie Incognito.) However,
here our YA hero gives his team’s
gorilla a mano-Lisa smile and says,
pleasantly, “Thank you for sharing.”
After the game while walking home,
our YA guy comes upon the gorilla’s
little sister about to commit suicide
by jumping off the Vista Bridge. She
is hysterical and crying because big
bro’ called her a “ho” after she dated
an ethnic minority from an upscale
part of town. YA talks little sister
down from the brink, and they walk
off into the bad moon rising and
their rising anticipation.
Ya think? Nah. I’ll stick to narrative biographies. –J. Wandres.
J. Wandres
began to write
professionally in
the 70s. He has sold
hundreds of features
to national, regional
and corporate
publications. His two nonfiction
books are: TravelSmart
Pennsylvania and New Jersey and
The Ablest Navigator. He is at work
on a travel guide to a little-seen
aspect of Oregon.
5 Publisher’s Weekly Sept. 27, 2013
Seeking Submisstions
MOSS, an online journal dedicated to Northwest literature, is now seeking fiction
and non-fiction submissions for its second issue. Published three times annually, MOSS
features short stories and essays that exemplify a distinctly Northwest voice, helping to
bring new audiences and appreciation to talented young and emerging Northwest writers.
Details about submissions requirements, can be found at www.mosslit.com
Please read our current issue to get a feel for the journal before submitting. Pay
for each accepted piece is $125 (for First Serial Rights); there is no fee to submit.
Thanks for your interest!
6
Book Tips
Many of you are familiar with Jennifer Omner’s twice
monthly e-newsletter. We are delighted by her offer to
share those tips with NWPA members and friends.
www.allpublications.com
by Jennifer Omner
• Combine forces with other authors for your author reading.
• Be grateful for the ride.
And to kick your marketing into full gear, here are
89+ Book Marketing Ideas That Will Change Your Life.
Many of them have to do with engaging readers/fans,
which is good advice for any business.
Book Tip
As a book designer, I spend much of my time typesetting the interior pages of books. In the interest of
good typography, please meet the Dash family: hyphen,
en dash, and em dash. A hyphen is a punctuation mark
used to separate syllables and join words. An en dash is
the second-longest dash in a typeface, separating numbers and meaning “up to and including.” An em dash
is the longest dash in a typeface, separating thoughts
within a sentence and acting as a pause.
Tidbit
To achieve the greatest sales, do what you can to
ensure that your book is a quality product and stands
out in the marketplace. If your book designer follows
the rules in The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential
Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers it will give
your book a professional advantage over self-published
books that don’t follow these rules.
Book Marketing Tip
Here are book marketing nuggets from the article
Authors Teaching Authors and the Idea of “Slow PR” :
• Perfect your elevator pitch so it describes your
book quickly and dynamically and practice
varying it for different audiences.
• Write guest blog posts.
Jennifer Omner is an awardwinning book designer who designs
interior pages, covers, and e-book
files for publishers. Sign up at www.
allpublications.com to receive free
book and marketing tips.
Member Books
Gregory’s Anomaly
Veronica’s Diary IV
Angels Among Us
Richard Sessions
Dr. Veronica Esagui
What makes a
human “human”?
Gregory’s Anomaly
takes readers on a
suspense filled tale
that tries to answer
this most fundamental question.
Angels Among Us takes the
reader deep into Veronica’s
world as she leaves college to
get married and returns to
Portugal to care for her aged
father. Her visit to Portugal
extends into a three month
honeymoon throughout
fifteen countries. Experiencing the darkest days of
her life, Veronica is thankful for the angels along her
path, some of who were still exorcising their ghostly
past as they strive to earn their wings.
Learn more at Richard’s website:
www.richardsessions.com
Available on Amazon.com
7
Writing Notes
Is It Difficult for a Man to Write from a Woman’s Point of View?
Richard Sessions
I chose to write Island Woman
from the point of view of a young,
modern, intellectual woman named
Abbie Spence. At the story’s beginning, Abbie has recently graduated
from Reed College in Portland,
Oregon and is trying to sort out
her life. She befriends an eccentric
Englishman, Gordon Bitterroot, at
his Hollywood bookshop and soon
finds herself stranded back in the
early 1700s on a California island
west of what is now the city of Santa
Barbara. This was a period when
Spaniards had colonized much of
the New World and were trying to
maintain control of the lands and
offshore waters.
I decided that a young woman
telling the story would be good for
two dynamics: (1) the conflict of a
modern person among the largely
uneducated people of 300 years ago,
and (2) the conflict of a liberated
woman encountering the “macho”
world of New Spain. One of my concerns was whether I, as a man, could
adopt a young woman’s viewpoint
and tell the story convincingly.
Abbie majored in both philosophy and literature during her time at
Reed College. I am somewhat of an
intellectual myself, so I found that
this part of her personality came to
me fairly naturally. The parts that I
struggled with were those involving
love and sexual relationships, which
the story needed in order to be exciting and realistic. Fortunately, there
was a woman at Oregon
Health and Science University who was a reader of all kinds of books,
and she and I developed
a good relationship at
the time I was writing
major parts of Island
Woman. I remember
giving her sections of
the book and saying,
“Please read this section
and tell me whether a
woman would do that.”
Often she would tell
me, “Well I certainly
wouldn’t do that, but I
could see where certain
women would in that
situation.”
My friend’s advice
on Abbie’s adventures
was invaluable to me.
This article first appeared on October 18,
Slowly I began to trust myself more 2013 in Richard's blog: http://www.richardsessions.com/blog/
as far as knowing who my lead character was and what she would and
would not do. I found myself beAfter a stint as an
coming more comfortable about
intelligence officer
plotting the story and Abbie’s parin the U.S. Navy,
ticular adventures, including the
Richard Sessions
settled in Los Angeles
love she finds on Juan Fernandez
and obtained masters
Island near the end of her journey.
degrees from U.S.C.
So is it difficult for a man to
and U.C.L.A. He self-published his
write from a woman’s point of view?
first novel, Island Woman, in 1997
I would say “yes” initially. However, and released Gregory’s Anomaly,
the author can learn to be comfort- an academic medical thriller, in
able with his lead character, and 2013. Learn more at his website
richardsessions.com
then the answer is “no”.
8
Member Books
Honey-Maker:
Living with Soul
How the Honey Bee
Worker Does What
She Does
Rosanna Mattingly
The Great Spiritual
Revolution
Linda Jane Becker
Established along with
European settlers, honey
bees are an essential
part of today’s American
landscape. Yet, how
does the honey bee
accomplish the many
tasks that aid not only the survival of the colony
but our own as well? Many of the answers involve
the worker bee, the unique focus of Honey-Maker:
How the Honey Bee Worker Does What She Does.
They are as astonishing as the exquisite structures
that enable the worker to perform her many tasks.
How our lives would be different were it not for this
small, golden wonder!
Do you realize from
the moment you took
your very first breath,
this world was forever
changed? Every cell in
your body has the life
force to create infinite possibilities.
Living with Soul is written with a no frills approach.
Whether you are just now acknowledging your
personal power or you have already spent your
lifetime creating with intent, The Disk of Potentiality
will assist you in accelerating your spiritual
evolution. This symbol is the keyhole and you are
the key that will open the doorway to the purity
of your soul. Please join me in The Great Spiritual
Revolution. It has begun!
Available on Amazon.com
To learn more, visit: www.beargrasspress.com.
The Ericksen Connection
Barry L. Becker
During a Taliban ambush in 2002, Mark Ericksen, a Navy SEAL Team-Six
platoon leader, takes command of Operation Daring Eagles in Afghanistan. The
deputy commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Colonel
Shane Dawkins, orders him by sat phone to kill Bashir Sadozai, his Afghan
translator, claiming he is a Talib. At first Ericksen resists the order, but in the thick
of battle, surrounded by wounded and dead team members, and with CIA-decoded
intercepts proving Sadozai is a spy, Ericksen complies with the order, murdering the
unarmed man.
A day later, he discovers that his intuition was correct, that the colonel had lied to
him. He resigns his commission and goes into private industry, working for defense contractors and hiding
his PTSD.
In 2009, the CIA receives actionable intel from Saudi intelligence stating a terrorist mastermind plans
to attack two American cities with nuclear suitcase bombs. The mastermind, Khalid Al-Bustani, wants to
obtain EyeD4’s cutting-edge biometrics security encrypted communications systems. The CIA contracts with
Ericksen, now executive vice-president of marketing for EyeD4, to sabotage the terrorist mastermind’s plans.
Can Ericksen avoid discovery, overcome his PTSD, and thwart the nuclear plot before a network of
international spies, counterspies, and terrorists achieve their evil goals?
Available on Amazon.com
9
NWPA Guest Speakers
More information on NWPA website
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Creating a Weebly Website
Veronica Esagui and Jean Sheldon
Beginner's Guide to the First Steps
If you have a book or service, or if you just want to introduce yourself
to the world, we'll show you the basics of creating a Weebly website.
Weebly offers free hosting for basic sites, and by the end of the class you
will have an online presence you control.
Veronica Esagui & Jean Sheldon
Bring your laptop!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Becoming Your Own Publisher
Sean Jones & John Williams of Inkwater Press
Join local book publisher Inkwater Press
for a free community workshop that
provides authors with all the tools and
guidance necessary to become their own
publishers.
Sean Jones
John Williams
Including aspects of professional editing
and design, logistics and distribution, and
publicity and marketing, this presentation will make you a "publishing professional,"
with an insider's knowledge of how to succeed in the publishing business and with
your writing.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Producing Pitch-perfect Project Promotion
J. Wandres
J. Wandres
Whether you have a publisher or plan to do it yourself, you must promote
your work. The key is to think of yourself as a company called A. Author, Inc.
whose product is your work and your brand. By all means use virtual communications and social media. Our “TEDdie” talk will consider new, old, and
Other-Than-Usual ways to promote your Work: When to launch a promo
push? Who are the target demographics? How to stand and deliver a bestselling PABS that converts browsers into buyers?
10
Links to Articles & News
Video link... The Top 3 Platforms for Self Publishing Your Book
In this video Natalie Sisson shares my top 3 recommended platforms if you want to self-publish
your book and their fundamental features. Whether you’re on a tighter budget or looking for an
all-in-one self-publishing service platform, there is one that will work for you.
Art vs. Commerce: Can Writers Make It Without Day
Jobs?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/holly-robinson/artvs-commerce-can-write_b_6088176.html
Words from the Writers’ Mill
A great article about a local writer’s group
http://portlandtribune.com/bvt/15-news/242740109891-words-from-the-writers-mill-
5 Key Trends in Self-Publishing for 2014
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/01/5-keytrends-in-self-publishing-for-2014/
Publishing: Assisted Self-Publishing for Beginners
http://www.selfpublishingadvice.org/assistedservices/
How To Self-Publish Your Book Through Amazon
http://www.forbes.com/sites/
deborahljacobs/2014/04/25/how-to-self-publishyour-book-through-amazon/
The Power in Writing About Yourself
Introspective writing keeps people alive and well. A
new tool makes it easy. Maybe too easy.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/
archive/2014/12/ew-feelings/383475/
The Fifty Shades effect: women dominate selfpublishing
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/09/
fifty-shades-of-grey-women-dominate-selfpublishing
How to Write Good
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/humor/
writegood.cfm
How to Write a Sentence
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/
write-sentence
Welcome to the Hotel Author Solutions
http://helensedwick.com/welcome-to-the-hotelauthor-solutions/
It Takes A Village: Self-Publishing Tips
http://nancyjcohen.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/ittakes-a-village-self-publishing-tips/
13 Amazing Non-Profit Writing Centers Around the
Country to Love, Because An MFA Isn’t Everything
http://www.bustle.com/articles/48484-13-amazingnon-profit-writing-centers-around-the-country-tolove-because-an-mfa-isnt-everything
Self-Published Authors Make A Living — And
Sometimes A Fortune
http://www.npr.org/blogs/
money/2014/07/25/334484331/unknown-authorsmake-a-living-self-publishing
89+ Book Marketing Ideas That Will Change Your Life
http://www.authormedia.com/89-book-marketingideas-that-will-change-your-life/
The top 10 words invented by writers
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/19/
top-10-words-invented-writers-authorisms
Writer Beware®: The Blog
http://accrispin.blogspot.com/
Do you have links to share?
Send them to [email protected]
11
Meet Some of Our Members
Linda Becker has studied and trained
in healing techniques from around the
world. She worked with hundreds of
people guiding and empowering them
to make changes in their lives. You can
find her book Living with Soul here
on Amazon, or check out her website
www.LivingWithSoulFoundation.com
Sue Mann has been a substantive
editor, copyeditor, and proofreader
since 1985. She has edited numerous
manuscripts, including cookbooks,
memoirs, self-help, and spiritual, as
well as training manuals, newsletters,
and business plans. [email protected]
Our thanks to Sue for editing this newsletter!
Barry L. Becker served as the vicepresident of global sales for Eyedentify,
a company specializing in eye retinal
technology for positive identification.
In 1987 his article entitled “Eyedentify
counters security threat” appeared in
the Journal of Defense & Diplomacy.
His first published novel, The Ericksen
Connection is available here on Amazon.com
With a B.A. in English from San
Francisco State College J. Wandres
began to write professionally in the
70s. He has sold hundreds of features
to national, regional and corporate
publications. His two nonfiction books
are: TravelSmart Pennsylvania and New
Jersey and The Ablest Navigator available
here at Amazon.com. He is at work on a travel guide to
a little-seen aspect of Oregon.
Donna Reynolds is an editor who
finds joy in helping writers produce
their best work possible. Reveling in
the details, but with an appreciation
of a good story, Donna can spot an
easily overlooked typo as well as a
major plot inconsistency. If you need
a second set of eyes so your manuscript really shines,
contact Donna at [email protected]
Sylvia Malagamba spent five years
as a feature writer and assistant food
editor for the Rochester, New York
award-winning Brighton Pittsford
Post newspaper, was an essayist for
the Lake Oswego Jottings column,
the West Linn Tidings, and the Portland Tribune.
Brad Branham admits to a varied
career in engineering and software
on NASA projects, neuroscience
research support, and scientific
pursuits. He enjoys writing sliceof-life adventures. Settings may be
rock’n’roll, fantasy, science-fiction.
bhbranham.wordpress.com
Fredrick Swan writes and paints
beside a creek just outside of Portland.
He recently released a memoir:
Parentheses: My Life Before, During
and After My Death and writes a blog
to inspire others to reimagine their
lives. The father of four, his art work
and blog can be found at www.fredrickswan.com.
12
Book Events in the Northwest
Search for Meaning Book Festival
SU campus
Saturday, February 28 — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m
$10 entrance fee
www.seattleu.edu/searchformeaning/
Northwest Book Festival
7th Annual NW Book Festival
at Pioneer Courthouse Square
Saturday, July 25, 2015
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
www.nwbookfestival.com.
Norwescon 38
April 2–5, 2015
DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport , SeaTac
Norwescon is the Pacific Northwest’s Premiere Science Fiction
and Fantasy Convention and one of the largest regional Science
Fiction and Fantasy conventions in the United States.
Northwest Comic Fest
We hope you can join us! www.norwescon.org
Salem, Oregon
August 15th and 16th, 2015
This isn't a "Con"; This is a celebration.
CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium
“Our Daily Bread: Women’s Stories of Food & Resilience”
The fourth CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium
Thursday May 7, 2015, through Saturday May 9, 2015
More Information
Gay Romance Northwest Meet-Up
The LGBTQ Romance Fiction Conference
of the Pacific Northwest
September 26, 2015 Seattle, WA
We hope you can join us!
PNWA 2015 Conference
July 16–19, 2015
SeaTac Hilton Hotel and Conference Center.
www.pnwa.org
Literary Arts presents Wordstock
The Festival will re-launch as a one-day event on Saturday,
November 7, 2015 at the Portland Art Museum in Downtown
Portland. Wordstock joins thousands of readers and writers with
hundreds of small presses, independent publishers, booksellers,
and authors.
Willamette Writers Conference
Learn more!
August 7-9, 2015
Doubletree Portland, OR
willamettewriters.com
13
Oregon Independent Bookstores
Click on store name to navigate to their website.
Aloha
Jan's Paperbacks
Hillsboro
Jacobsen's Books & More
Ashland
Bloomsbury Books
Hood River
Waucoma Bookstore
Ashland
Bookwagon
Lake Oswego
Graham's Books & Stationery
Astoria
Castlemere Children's Books
Lincoln City
Bob's Beach Books
Astoria
Godfather's Books
Lucy's Books
McMinnville
Third Street Books
Baker City
Betty's Books
Bandom
Winter River Books
Beaverton
Powell's Cedar Hills Crossing
Corvallis
The Book Bin
Grass Roots Books & Music
Cottage Grove
Books on Main
Enterprise
Bookloft
Gleneden Beach
Allegory Books & Music
Crystal Wizard
Grants Pass
Oregon Books & Games
Mapleton
Alpha-Bit
Newport
Canyon Way Bookstore
North Bend
Books By the Bay
Pendleton
Armchair Books
Portland
A Children’s Place
Annie Bloom’s Books
Another Read Through
Broadway Books, Inc
Future Dreams Books
Green Bean Books
Healing Waters & Sacred
Spaces
In Other Words
Mother Foucault’s
14
Murder by the Book
New Renaissance Bookshop
Powell’s at PDX
Powell’s City of Books
Powell’s On Hawthorne
River Run Books
Serenity Shop
St. Johns Bookseller
Wallace Books
Redmond
Paulina Springs Books
Salem
Reader’s Guide
Seaside
Beach Books
Sisters
Paulina Springs Books
Sunriver
Sunriver Books & Music
The Dalles
Klindt’s Booksellers &
Stationers
Tualatin
VJ Books
Warren
Pastiche Inc.
Yachats
Mari’s Books
Toad Hall