August 2003

DENTON WRITERS LEAGUE
FIRST EDITION
AUGUST 2003 VOL. 14 NUMBER 8

If you would like a copy of the newsletter e-mailed to you instead of through the US post, please contact George Avera or Joni Latham.

WHERE WE MEET AND WHEN

The second Saturday of every month, at the

Denton Library-North Branch
3020 N. Locust St (corner of Windsor St & N. Locust St)
Denton, TX

General Meeting 10:30 a.m.

Lunch at Noon (place to be determined).

NEXT MEETING -SATURDAY, AUGUST 9

Guest Speakers

August-Jim Pence
September-Workshop-Jim Pence
October-Diane Fanning
November-Julie Rogers & June Ford
December-Open Meeting

AUGUST'S SPEAKER

James H. Pence is the author of Blind Sight, a suspense/thriller novel released in May of 2003 by Tyndale House, publishers of the best-selling Left Behind series. Pence is also author of How to Do Everything with HTML and Cascading Style Sheets: A Beginner's Guide, both published in 2001 by Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Currently, James has just finished work on his latest project, a 2nd edition of his HTML book, now titled: How to Do Everything with HTML and XHTML, also for Osborne/Mc-Graw Hill. Visit his website at http://www.jamespence.com/ .

JULY MEETING RECAP

Patty Pfeiffer spoke on self-publishing - benefits, pitfalls, and marketing.

BENEFITS

Faster to market - generally takes a year or two with a publisher.
More Profit - publisher and agents get their percentage which cuts into your profits.
More Control - author has control over cover artwork, content, typeset, etc.

DRAWBACKS

Author does own editing, cover artwork, and typeset or hire someone to do it. When hiring someone, author must make sure that person is competent and reputable.
Must do all of the marketing.
Difficult to get self-published books into the book stores.
Author has to become a business person.

MARKETING

Book Festivals usually don't sell books

Know your target audience and market accordingly (Patty's book is on coping with a hysterectomy, she markets with hospitals and pharmacies)

Booksignings never go as planned.

She shared the following poem with us on learning from our mistakes.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS

by Portia Nelson

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost ... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place
but, it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... it's a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

MEMBER NEWS

Member - Rae Nell Causseaux's short story is included in the upcoming anthology, Haunted Encounters - Real-life stories of supernatural encounters. The book will be available in book stores in two months and on Amazon in two weeks. If any members would like to order a copy from Rae Nell for $14.95, she says that she should have them sooner. If you would like one, e-mail her at Rcauss@aol.com . Put Haunted Encounters in the subject line so that the spam detector will allow your e-mail through.

2003-2004 DWL MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

It's that time of the year. Time to renew your membership to the DWL. I've included two membership applications with the newsletter. Cut them apart and use one for yourself and give one to a friend. Several of you have joined the group within the past month, your membership is already set for the 2003-2004 period.

ANNUAL DENTON WRITERS LEAGUE WORKSHOP

FINISH THAT NOVEL!
Presenter-Jim Pence

The Annual DWL Workshop will be held at Antiqueland located in the Denton Outlet Mall from 9am to 4:30 pm. We will be responsible for our own lunch; therefore, the registration fee has been lowered to $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Good Eats (located in the Denton Outlet Mall parking lot) has offered to reserve a section of the restaurant for us.

A registration form for the workshop is included with this newsletter. Extras may be picked up at the July meeting.

Make Your Book Stand Out from The Crowd: Know Your Audience
By Judy Cullins
When I ask who is your market, where will you find them, how can you reach them, how many books do you want to sell them, and how much money do you want to make on your book this year, most authors say, "Everyone will want my book, and when I take it to Oprah, it will sell millions, and I'll make millions, too." Knowing your specific audience helps you give your book its unique selling point. Writing for your target audience focuses your writing and gives your book a great advantage because you know and can communicate your unique selling point. Now, your book will stand out from the crowd. Although not everyone will buy it, it will sell more copies because your buyers really want your message.
How do you know who your audience is? The biggest mistake most authors make is that they don't write for their one preferred audience. If an audience is "everyone," the book doesn't have an angle. Without an audience, your book has too much competition among other popular authors. The "Dummies" books have done well because they have one particular focus: beginners.
Know your audience inside and out through the "Audience Profile." Ask yourself these questions about the people who will read your book: What do they look like? How old are they? Male? Female? Age? Baby boomers? Seniors? Entrepreneurs? Corporate? What kind of work do they do? What is their income? What do they spend discretionary time and money on? Where do they live? What books and magazines do they read? What values and attitudes are reflected by those books? What are their interests, hobbies and values?
What challenges do they face for which they want answers? Are they business people, retired people, over 50? What radio shows do they listen to? What TV programs do they watch? What do they do with their free time? What events do they attend? What organizations do they belong to? What causes do they support? Are they Internet savvy? What kinds of sites do they visit and bookmark? How many of them are out there to sell to? What do they want? What do they need?
Go to your library or use the Internet to research just how many people belong to your audience. Ask for the reference books that have census and other information. All agents and publishers will look for this information in your book proposal.
Even if you publish this book yourself, do some market research. Research can help you with numbers: 45 million readers read new age books; 55 million baby boomers and 60 million seniors are out there. They buy online, too. Think of one segment of these groups your can write and market for: New Age newly divorced, age 50 and up; Senior women creating a new career at 60; Baby-boomer working mothers who want healthier food for their children.
By writing a focused book, you will attract your preferred audience because your whole book is devoted to answering its concerns.
Judy Cullins: author, publisher, book coach Excerpted from: Ten Non-techie Ways to Market Your Book Online and Write your eBook or Other Short Book-Fast! www.bookcoaching.com

Reprinted from BookZone Pro http://www.bookzonepro.com

Texas Conferences and Events
August 30, Georgetown Blue Grass Festival and Book Fair, (Georgetown). $25/booth. Benefits G'town Public Library's children's programs. Contact: Gerald Carson, jcarson@igg-tx.net .
Sept. 26-27, 3rd Annual West Texas Book & Author Festival (Abilene) Civic Center. Contact: Glenn Dromgoole, glenndromgoole@cox.net
October 4, 2nd Annual Book & Art Festival (Brenham). Contact: Charlene Keller phb@alpha1.net .
October 17-18, The Red Dirt Book Festival, (Shawnee, OK). Contact: Jan Anthony, Tecumseh Library, janthony@pls.lib.ok.us.
October 18, 3rd Annual Texas Writers Roundup (Wimberley). Contact: Linda Bingham Linda@texasauthors.org
October 18 and 19, Second Annual Latino Book and Family Festival (Houston). George R. Brown Convention Center, 10 am - 6 pm. Contact: Tony Diaz AztecMuse@aol.com .
November 8-9, Texas Book Festival (Austin). Watch for updates on website http://www.texasbookfestival.org . TCoA will begin organizing co-op booths in June.

From the Texas Author’s Coalition, Inc website. URL in listing below.

On-Line Writers resources

Author's Network-for writers about writing based in Europe, but interesting-http://www.author-network.com/
Copyright Forms- http://www.loc.gov/copyright/forms/
Dallas Sceen Writers- http://www.dallasscreenwriters.com/
New Writer's Market http://hge.members.atlantic.net/
Preditors and Editors-a resources to check out agents and publishers http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators http://www.scbwi.org/
Texas Coalition of Authors, Inc. http://www.texasauthors.org/
The Novelist's Workshop-essays and advice on how to publish your book-http://www.monash.com/writers.html
Writer's Exchange http://www.writers-exchange.com/epublishing/
Writer's Market http://www.writersmarket.com/index_ns.asp
Writers Net-source for information for writers, editors, agents, and publishers-http://www.writers.net
The Zuzu's Petals Literary Resource Homepage-for both writers and poets-http://www.zuzu.com/

There are multitudes of writing resources available on the Internet. Go to any search engine and ask for writer's resources, writer's markets, writer's contests, writer's conferences, etc

DWL OFFICERS:

President       Joni Latham (joni@verizon.net) - 940/243-5200
Vice President June Powell - 940/565-1013
Treasurer       Joseph Marino
Secretary       Rae Nell Causseaux - 940/321-2739
Newsletter      George Avera (gavera@chatter.com) - 940/382-8161