For those of you who weren't at the last meeting and missed
the news before, we've secured a fantastic place to meet for 2006 (and
hopefully beyond) -- the Encinitas Community Center. The feedback from
members has been very positive. Best of all, the lower fee for the room
(nearly half what we were paying at the hotel) allowed us to lower our
annual membership dues! More about that below ...
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== Member Diane Asitimbay wins book award ==
Diane's book What's Up America? A Foreigner's Guide to Understanding Americans
won the Travel Guide Finalist Award. For more details on the
awards, go to Writer's Marketing Association's "Fresh Voices" Awards --
http://www.wmaconnect.com/pages/6/index.htm. For more information on Diane's book, go to http://www.culturelinkpress.com.
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== Member Ray Gogolewski published in ezine ==
Coffee Cramp eZine (http://coffeecrampmagazine.tripod.com) has selected Ray's flash fiction story, On Leaving, to appear in the March 2006 issue. The January issue, currently available online, features Ray's creative fiction story, Another Dance. Ray's pen name is Ray Grant.
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== Dues are due, dude ==
With the new year come many exciting prospects and resolutions. How
about making one of them the action-packed adventure of writing a check
for your 2006 membership dues? Writer's cramp got your hand in a knot?
Not to worry -- you can pay cash in person at our next meeting! (No
cash in the mail, please!) Otherwise, good-old-fashioned checks are the
way to go. You can bring those to the next meeting as well, but if you
absolutely can't be there, here's our mailing address -- PWSD, 611 K
St, PMB 115, San Diego CA 92101.
As for the membership fee, you may be happy to hear we've lowered it
for 2006. At $37 for the entire year, it's a no-brainer! So, join or
re-join today.
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== "Book Promotion Bootcamp" -- February 26 ==
Suffering from sagging book sales? Embarrassed when family and friends
ask, "How's that book going?" Disappointed with the response you're
getting (or not getting) from agents and publishers? Then you need the
Book Promotion Bootcamp. This all-day, intensive, advanced workshop is
for authors who are serious about making 2006 their best year yet --
and it's limited to 11 authors for personalized attention. You will
walk away with a roadmap to best-seller status tailored specifically
for you and your book. And this program is ideal for other published
products as well (such as e-books, audio books, etc.).
Register now ... space is limited and the deadline is February 20.
The first three registered participants will receive a bonus
consultation, in addition to the bonus package included in the bootcamp.
For details and registration, go to http://www.julypublishing.com/bootcamp.
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== PMA University, Washington DC, May 2006 ==
If you haven't already received information on the annual PMAU, which
precedes BookExpo America each May, you can check out the conference
details at http://www.pma-online.org.
It is *the* national event for independent publishers, self-publishers,
authors, and writers, and highly recommended by PWSD. Each year,
numerous PWSD members are presenters and/or participants -- we hope to
see you there!
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== "How to Sell 1 Million Copies of Your Info Products to Corporations" ==
And prior to PMAU, our very own Paulette Ensign will be your expert
facilitator and tour guide for "How to Sell 1 Million Copies of Your
Info Products to Corporations" on Tuesday, May 16, 9 a.m. – 5
p.m. (in Washington DC). Details are at http://www.tipsbooklets.com/bbb_2006.htm. Register now to save money and while seats are still available.
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== Member request for stories for coming book ==
Author and PWSD member Maggie Crane is completing her book
Going Gray Gracefully. She is looking to contact women over 45 who have
stopped coloring their hair and allowed their natural gray to grow out.
She will select a gallery of these silver-haired women (their stories
as well as before and after pics) to be included in the book.
While the book began as a way to document the process of
allowing her silver hair to grow out, it evolved into a much deeper
spiritual journey in which all her conditioned fears about becoming
"old" in a youth-driven society had to be reckoned with. If you relate
or know of someone who does, please contact her for specifics on how to
submit your story -- maggie@goinggraygracefully.com.
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== Handicapped author seeks ride-sharing to PWSD meetings ==
An author in Escondido is interested in attending PWSD
meetings, but she is a recovering cancer patient with an oxygen tank
and is unable to drive. If you are located in or near Escondido and can
drive her to and from meetings, she will help with gas costs and would
be most appreciative. Contact her directly -- Rima Magee at
760-746-6377.
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== PWSD seeks volunteer website manager ==
The person who has been managing our website for the past year will no
longer be able to continue in the position. As such, we are seeking
someone to take over the task. Necessary abilities are text editing of
the site as needed, in basic HTML code, and downloading/uploading the
pages via FTP. Approximate time commitment is 2-3 hours per month,
depending on the individual's skill level. Although the position is
voluntary, our website manager does receive free membership and free
entry to all meetings. Interested parties should email andrew@achapman.com.
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== Membership directory ==
Don't forget about our membership directory! The PWSD website includes
a directory of members, and right now most of you aren't listed. While
we can't make guarantees as to results, some of our listed members have
received inquiries from visitors to the site (which numbers in the
hundreds each week). You may be missing out on a key contact or
potential prospect!
To see the current directory and for instructions to add your listing,
click on the link above and to the right (in the navigation graphic).
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== PMA and SPAN ==
PWSD is an affiliate of Publishers Marketing Association (PMA) and
Small Publishers of North America (SPAN). And as such, our members are
entitled to a discount membership with both organizations. As national
organizations with thousands of members, they offer tremendous
benefits, such as discounts on printing, shipping, and travel with
their preferred vendors. There are many other advantages to membership,
and we suggest you visit their websites at http://www.pma-online.org and http://www.spannet.org to learn more.
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== Three valuable resources ==
1. ListServ dedicated to independent and small-press publishing -- http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/smallpub-civil
2. Excellent site of info on self-publishing -- http://www.selfpublishing.com
3. Tool for converting ISBN-10 to ISBN-13 -- http://www.isbn.org/converterpub.asp
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== This month's marketing tip ==
Self-publishing expert Dan Poynter now publishes a monthly "Publishing
Poynters Marketplace" newsletter early each month (in addition to his
regular Publishing Poynters newsletter). For more info and subscription
details:
http://tipsbooklets.blogspot.com/2005/12/new-publishing-resource-from-dan.html
