The St. Petersburg Writers Group is inactive, effective November 22, 2019.

We hope to become active and meet again sometime in 2020.

Thank you to everyone who has attended, supported, and presented at our meetings.

November 21 ~

Methods of Research for Fiction and Non-Fiction
Speaker: Sylvia Weiss Sinclair

Sylvia Weiss Sinclair is a first generation American on her father’s side, who came from Szatmar, Hungary.  Her mother was born of immigrant parents from Austria and Hungary.  She was born in Los Angeles, California after World War II, one of the first “Baby Boomers.”  She started journaling when she was thirteen years old and continued throughout her life. Her mother was a story-teller, recounting what life was like raised in Alabama on a farm and about her parents who came from Europe.  

Sparking interest in family history, she interviewed the oldest members of her family and researched their origins.  Putting it all together, she wrote family histories of her mother’s parents for all the relatives on her mother’s side of the family and her two brothers and two sons.  Fledermama’s Son is her first published novel bases on her travels to Romania.  She now lives in Bay Minette, Alabama, not far from her maternal grandparents’ farm and is a member of the BayMinette Writers' Group, the Alabama Writers' Forum and the Alabama Writers Conclave. 



sylsinclair@gmail.com

https://fledermama.wordpress.com/

October 17 ~

There will NOT be a meeting in October 2019, as the third Thursday in October is the first day of the FWA Conference.

We hope to see you there!

https://floridawriters.net/conferences/conference-2019/

September 19 ~

Cover Design:  Tips to Create a Cover on Your Own or to Prepare for Hiring a Designer

Speaker: Deb Von Cannon

This mini-course will cover the basic elements of cover design, how writers can develop their own basic cover and what should be prepared for and provided to a cover designer for-hire. The participants will have a hands-on experience of design elements, learn about some of the tools they can use to create their own covers and discuss a checklist of what to prepare should they decide to hire a cover designer.

Deb Von Cannon is an Army veteran and the small-business owner of Urban Artist Florida Studio LLC in St. Petersburg, Florida.  In 2019, two divisions were added: 1) Zoë-Milles Publishing, to assist those needing technical assistance and writing services for their self-published works and 2) Forward Flight Photography, photo services for custom photography, author bio photos and the artist's private collection of work. Deb has designed over 15 book covers since 2017 for local-area authors in addition to creating a food-truck wrap design, custom logos, business cards and multiple fine art pieces. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a minor in Studio Art, and an A.A. in Drafting Technologies with over 14 years of drafting and design experience. She is currently working on a degree in English in preparation for graduate level studies at USF St. Petersburg. She lives in the Historic Kenwood District with her husband, Martin, and dog, Luna. Deb has been a member of the Artist Enclave Historic Kenwood (AEHK) since 2016. Her studio website can be viewed at www.urbanartistflorida.com.  She can be reached at deb@urbanartistflorida.com.

August 15th ~ Thursday

The Basics of Marketing

Speaker: Elle Andrews Patt

The Basics of Marketing will cover why and how to set up an author page at Facebook, boosting posts, targeted ads, autoresponders and the role of landing pages in email list creation, and highlight ad basics on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have a laptop or iPad, please come prepared to work. 

Elle Andrews Patt's short fiction has been published in online and print magazines such as Saw Palm, Solarcide, and The Rag, as well as several anthologies. She has won several RPLA awards in both short fiction and novel categories, and an honorable mention from The Writers of the Future for "Prelude To A Murder Conviction", which was originally published by DarkFuse Magazine. Her book-length work is represented by the Donald Maass Literary Agency. She blogs for the FWA on "The Writing Life", and speaks on the writing life and marketing basics for authors. 

elleandrewspatt.com