== Website Whats and Whys ==
At the last meeting, we had an extensive presentation on making your
website more conducive to sales and more attractive to visitors -- from
the fundamentals to the latest on GooglePrint. If you weren't there,
you missed a lot; however, you have not missed out entirely. Read on
further in this newsletter for details on how you can get this
presentation and more on audio CD.
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== Welcome to our new members! ==
Last meeting we had the pleasure of adding five people to our
membership: Janine Roberts, Trish Brown, Kathe and Ray Gogoglewski, and
Yasmeen Hamud. At a future meeting, please take a moment to introduce
yourselves to them.
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== Member news and events ==
Members Holly Hunt and Matt Yubas have great news to share. Holly has a
workshop coming up, and Matt's book has been selected for use as a
textbook at the University of Texas. Please read more about it on our news page.
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== The publishing deal of the summer -- September 15 deadline ==
If you're looking to create or improve your website, or if you're
looking to establish a solid brand identity, two audio seminar programs
are coming soon to help you fill these needs. Best of all, you can get
the publishing deal of the summer if you take advantage of this offer
by September 15. The author of these two programs, Andrew Chapman,
publishing expert and 22-year veteran of the business, is offering an
incredible pre-publication discount to a limited number of people --
including members and supporters of PWSD. To check out the deal, go to http://www.julypublishing.com/deal.
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== Announcements from The San Diego Writers and Editors Guild ==
From our good friends at SDWEG:
Writing Clinic on children's literature sponsored by the San
Diego Writers & Editors Guild on Sept. 17th, 9 am to noon at the
Veteran's Museum. For additional information, call Gered Beeby at (760)
436-6312 or visit www.sdwritersguild.org.
Bookwarren Publishing announces the release of their new book, The
Priest, the Pastor and the Rabbi: An Intellectual Study of Irreverent,
Politically Incorrect, Downright Blasphemous Religious Humor. Edited by Sam Warren with a forward by Alan Mandelberg, Ph.d. For more information, go to www.bookwarren.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 here.
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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 www.pma-online.org and www.spannet.org to learn more.
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== Seeking stories of "self-publishing gone wrong" ==
Have you learned a valuable lesson in self-publishing the hard way? Is
there a costly mistake you made that you'd like to warn other
self-publishers about? Publishing consultant Andrew Chapman is writing
"The 101 Biggest Mistakes in Self-Publishing and How to Avoid Them",
based on his experience coaching authors and self-publishers all across
the U.S. In addition to his observations and knowledge (and his own
mistakes), Chapman would like to include specific anecdotes from
willing volunteers. If you'd like to contribute a learning experience
to the book, please send it along -- in 100 words or less -- to the
author at andrew@achapman.com.
Anecdotes included in the book will be credited to the contributor
(unless you prefer to remain anonymous!) and the contributor will also
receive a complimentary, autographed copy of the book.
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== Good resource ==
Although the following web page contains good recommendations for
authors, the listing of university presses at the bottom of the page is
especially useful for those who may be seeking that avenue:
http://www.latinocaucus.tcu.edu/publishing_tips.htm
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== This month's marketing tip ==
Next time you're getting your business cards printed, keep this design
trick in mind. If you print on the front some kind of highly recognized
shape (a star, a tree, a hand) and have it go off the edge of the card,
the recipient of your card will be far more likely to turn it over.
Studies have shown as many as 87% of those handed such a card turn it
over. It's based on the psychological design principle of closure
(which is of course a human desire in general). The key is to make the
shape significant in size, and thus usually as a background image, with
about a third of it "hiding" off the edge of the card. Why is this a
marketing tip? Because (aside from your business card being a basic
marketing tool) you will print on the back of the card some key
marketing message that the recipient will now more likely read.
If you are a PWSD member and would like us to publicize your upcoming event or news, please inform us by emailing andrew@achapman.com.
If you are on this newsletter list but are not a PWSD member, join
now!! PWSD accepts notice of non-member events, but will choose to
publicize them on a case-by-case basis.
PWSD (Publishers & Writers of San Diego) is a
not-for-profit unincorporated association of publishing professionals
in San Diego. Our goal is to offer resources, share information,
present relevant topics at our event meetings, and provide a networking
forum for our members. Membership is $67 per calendar year; memberships
commencing on or after July 1 of the year are prorated at $37 for the
balance of the year.
Copyright 2005 Publishers & Writers of San Diego
