From the HSW President Matt Bayan:
Our guests for the April 14 meeting will offer some really different perspectives on the publishing scene and how to get published. In some cases, in ways you’ve never even heard of. How to leapfrog over agents? How to adapt to the newest technologies? You’ll hear it all from two industry professionals who have known great levels of success.
If you’re starting on that first book, you need to understand the roadmap ahead. If you’re previously published, you need to find out how to adapt, how to revive old titles, and how many of your assumptions may no longer be valid.
Bring your writer friends. This may be the most informative and actionable material we present all year.
FIRST PAGES: We’ll also read First Pages, so bring in your material in hard copy. Please help me out by doing the following: Print in 14 point font; double space, use Times New Roman or Arial; put the book title on the top line with the book’s genre. Hand it to me at the beginning of the meeting.
HSW Meeting for April
Our next meeting will feature two terrific guest speakers who will give you plenty to think about in regards to the publishing world.
Randy Peyser helps people get book deals with literary agents and publishers. She edits and ghostwrites books and pitches manuscripts to literary agents and publishers. Her clients have been featured in Oprah Magazine, Time Magazine, on the Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestseller Lists, and on Hallmark TV and Daily Mail TV. Her authors’ books have been sold nationally to big box stores and airport bookstores, have been featured in other prominent media outlets, and a number of them have won prestigious awards. Randy also places books in 5-star luxury hotels and national magazines. Her company is www.AuthorOneStop.com.
For our meeting, Randy’s topic is GET A BOOK DEAL WITH A PUBLISHER
There’s the book you want to write and the book a publisher–and readers–will buy: Are they the same book?
Literary agents receive 1500+ manuscripts a month. Publishers receive 10,000+ manuscripts a year. If you want to get a publishing deal and more readers, you’ve got to know what publishers (and readers) buy and how to make your book stand out from the pack.
Publishing coach, Randy Peyser, pitches books to agents and publishers. Her company also edits and ghostwrites books. This past October, six of Randy’s clients were offered eleven contracts for a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Randy will tell you exactly what you need to know to get an agent or publisher to offer you a contract.
You will discover:
- What topics are hot and what’s not.
- The most essential sales tool you need in order to sell a manuscript to a publisher.
- The quickest way to get an agent or publisher to stop in their tracks.
- The one thing to absolutely not do if you are serious about getting a publishing contract.
- How to get cover endorsements when you don’t know anybody who’s famous.
- The biggest mistakes authors make.
- The things you absolutely must do to make your book stand out.
- Details about your writing that publishers always look for.
- The biggest questions publishers ask before they make a buying decision.
Our other speaker is Janice Hermsen, who is the co-founder and managing partner for LeRue Press, a publisher, printer and a professional business center and bookseller located in Reno, NV. She is also the editor of What’s the Story?™ Hermsen recently joined the board for the No Strings Attached E News (NSAEN) International Film Festival, and hosts two radio shows, Book Hound™ and What’s the Story?™ that air in northern Nevada and stream live via the internet and TuneIn Radio. With the help of the internet, she has followers from around the world.
For our meeting, Janice will be covering the topic of HOW PUBLISHING HAS CHANGED BUT AUTHORS HAVE NOT
The world of publishing has gone through many technological and business model changes in the last decade. Authors have had to change too…but have they? Janice Hermsen, publisher and business consultant, will explore the many publishing models and some of her experiences with authors and publishing over the last 10 years
NEXT HSW MEETING IS APRIL 14
10 A.M. at the South Valleys Library on Wedge Parkway.
HSW Book Page
The book page on the HSW website has been revised with some changes. I worked on making it easier to view and find books by genre and author. Only books from current HSW members are included. I am sure we have more published authors, but these are the ones that were on the previous version of the site and that I knew about.
In order to be listed on the site, you need to:
- Be a current HSW member. If you have not yet renewed for 2018, please do so. This is a benefit of being a member.
- Send your name and pen name(s), if you use any to me at:
ruamor@sbcglobal.net - Send your book cover images for your published books and your purchase links for each one. One link per book, please. If you have a launch page or book page on your website that you would prefer the link go to rather than a seller, then send that link.
Once I receive these, I will add your books to the page.
Please check out the page and take a look at the books your fellow authors have published and spread the word to others
http://highsierrawriters.org/hsw-authors/
Rene Averett
BARNES & NOBLE CRITIQUE GROUP
If you’re interested in a drop-in group (no homework) consider Wednesday nights from 7-9 p.m. at the café of Barnes & Noble. Any genre. Bring in that action scene that you’re not sure of. Check out some dialogue. Be prepared to read 3-5 pages aloud (or have someone else read it) and to get and give feedback.
If you want to attend, send me an email at mattbayan@aol.com no later than Noon on the Wednesday of the meeting. If we have a minimum of three writers, I’ll email a response by mid-afternoon confirming the meeting. If we don’t have enough writers for the meeting, we won’t have one. If you don’t hear back from me, it meansthere is no meeting. I will only send out a confirmation notice if the meeting is a go.
Remember, the fail-safe for no meeting is no response from me. This group is open to HSW members and non-members.
HSW Table at TMCC Writers’ Conference
Nicole Frens and Rene Averett will be setting up and keeping eyes on the HSW information table at the upcoming TMCC Writers Conference on April 21. While no items will be sold from the table, information will be available about our group and our activities.
If you would like to put bookmarks, business cards, or flyers for any of your books on the table for participants to take, then please bring them to Rene at the next HSW Meeting on April 14.
Upcoming Events:
April 14 – HSW Meeting with Guest Speakers (see above)
April 21 – TMCC Writers’ Conference at Truckee Meadows Community College
May 12 – HSW Meeting –Announcement of NEW Contest!
May 16 to 22—Romance Times Convention at the Peppermill Hotel.
New Contest Coming in May!
Donna Stegman will be at the May meeting with information about this year’s HSW writing contest. She will also be talking about what the publishers are looking for in 2018. Exciting things are happening in the publishing world!
Mark your calendars so you don’t miss all the information coming your way!
Remember to Renew Your Membership!
We’re about one-third through 2018 and we’re still looking for renewals for the year. If you have not yet sent in your $25 annual renewal, please do it in order to continue to get all the benefits of being an HSW member.
What are those, you might ask? Here’s a few:
- Monthly meetings with speakers covering everything about the writing business, from the actual craft of writing to marketing, promotion, and the financial aspects of being a writer. Most are free to members or are at a reduced cost if we need to pay the speaker.
- Book listings on the HSW web site, as was mentioned earlier.
- Critique groups provide feedback from your peers on your projects. If you have tried to get honest feedback and gotten nothing, you know this is a valuable benefit.
- Contests sponsored by the HSW.
- Credentials such as stating you are a member of HSW in your letters to agents and in your author biography that shows you are committed to your craft.
- Help with your writing, no matter what stage you are in, from beginner to expert.
Isn’t all that worth $25 a year? And there’s more in the connections you make as a member of the group. No matter the genre, HSW is here to help you grow and improve.