Meetings are still being held on the second Monday of each month from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Due to the way things are going now…meetings will be held via Zoom. Check the current newsletter for the link.
When things return to “normal”, meetings will resume at 5501 Dewey Drive, Fair Oaks in the Fellowship hall (straight back from the road, through the gate in the white fence) and visitors are always welcome.
It would normally have been our annual May Banquet, but due to that nasty ol’ virus, we are still holding off on any physical meetings. There are rumours that we will have the banquet as soon as things settle down. Keep an eye on this space to see what’s planned.
Thanks!
Unfortunately, due to the CoViD-19 issue, physical meetings are being cancelled. Please send a note to any of the board with questions.
Thank you for your patience…patients…whatever.
From Bike Messenger to Professional AuthorWhat’s it really like being a writer? David Kulczyk will tell you the cold, hard facts. He’ll tell you what you can expect, from dealing with incompetent editors, to negotiating a book deal, to getting out of a bad book deal, to having other writers steal your work. He’ll explain some of the pros and cons of publishing your own books. And let’s not forget the tricky act of balance work with your private life.
David is a Sacramento based writer and homicide historian. He is the author of six true crime or odd deaths books. As a freelance writer, his work has appeared in the Sacramento News and Review, Maximum Ink Music Magazine, Pop Culture Press, Madison Magazine, The Colorado Springs Independent, The SF Guardian, The East Bay Express, The Chico News and Review, and the Seattle Times as well as on TruTv. He even appeared in two episodes of the television show Deadly Women. He attended Madison College, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and graduated from California State University-Sacramento.
Discover the wicked side of Sacramento’s past.
Who murdered famous brothel owner Cherry de Saint Maurice? Was Kitty Nisetich’s death a suicide – or a murder? Who was the Bootlegging Boxer that circumvented Sacramento law in order to bring “the raggiest of modern music” to a floating palace? And what was the great Cheese Sandwich Controversy of 1916?
Learn all about Sacramento’s steamy past – the bootlegging, the gambling, the boxing, the stripteases, and the sex work – from historian and author William Burg.
Don’t miss this one!
What’s the difference between an Author Event and a Book Signing?Come listen to Drea Moore explain that along with how to organize an event at a bookstore and other marketing hints. Drea will cover misconceptions and myths about marketing so that you will walk away feeling more comfortable with self-promotion. Learn how to successfully plan, market, and hold a book event at a local bookstore or other venue!
Drea writes fantasy for all ages and is currently shopping around for a publisher for her latest project: a picture book about an electric car. She was the event coordinator for The Avid Reader from 2013-2016, where she worked with both traditionally published authors and independent authors to create events to promote their books. She is the mother of two boys and and is currently building a business with her husband to provide event planning and marketing services to authors.
It’s US!The December Potluck will take place on the 9th at 7pm.
Make certain to get there early, so you can pick a good seat.
Behind the Book Review: Advice from a Professional Book ReviewerDo you know what happens when you send an unsolicited book to a professional book reviewer?
Ross Rojek does.
As a professional book reviewer, Ross and his staff receive up to 1,000 unsolicited books a month. Out of those, they choose only 300 to feature. How do reviewers pick which books to review…and which to discard? What exactly is it that makes a book worthy of a prominent review…or a trip to the trash can?
Ross, along with his wife Heidi, has run a book review business since 2008. In the wake of the Great Recession, Ross and Heidi observed that arts section in local newspapers were either scaling back or being cut entirely. To close this gap, they founded City Book Review. Since then, it has grown to five imprints: Kids BookBuzz (reviews done exclusively by kids), San Francisco Book Review, Manhattan Book Review, Seattle Book Review, and Tulsa Book Review.
Ross is co-owner of the indie bookstore, Capital Books on K. He spent fifteen years in the comic book industry, working at local shops Beyond the Pale and Comics & Comix. After leaving comics, Ross has spent eleven years in the book business.
Learn more about Ross and Heidi’s book review business at https://citybookreview.com or visit their bookstore site at https://capitalbooksonk.com.
Nano WHO mo?National Novel Writing Month is soon upon us. Our own Mike will give us some pointers to help us get through the month, not only sane, but also having completed an entire novel! How’s that for an ambitious goal?
Page 8 of this month’s newsletter is Mike’s hand out. Please print at least that one page and bring it to the meeting. He’ll explain what it all means.
What’s involved in the Path to Publication?Come listen to Margaret talk about how she went from writer to published writer. Having published three novels in a series, she also has an extensive list of poems and short stories, as well as many accolades, including 2017 SLO Nightwriters Golden Quill and three different awards from our sister organisation: NCPA, in 2016, 2018, and 2019.
For links to Margaret and her work, visit her website at margaretduarte.com
Horror or not…Whether you write in the horror genre or not, Jeff Parsons will show us how we can use some of his insights to write unique stories. He will share his expertise in getting ideas for stories…any stories. He might even get those of you who write novels interested in the value of writing short stories. He will also help us reach the right publisher
As a professional engineer, he enjoys life in sunny California. His long history of technical writing often reads like pure fiction. He has a long list of publishing credits and can be reached at https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJeffParsons/