February Meeting in St. Pete and Upcoming March Meeting

We had a great meeting on Feb 12th at the library. Open mic night gave several writers a chance to practice reading aloud to an audience. With the audience feedback, the writer was able to take away some good advice. We had several humorous pieces and a couple of stories that were on the more serious side. All were entertaining and nicely drafted.

March St. Pete FWA Meeting

For our upcoming meeting on March 12th, Heloise Jones will be speaking. As usual, we meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6 PM. Networking begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is always open to the public.

Topic: Traditional Publishing: Getting an Agent to Your Book on the Shelf

Author Heloise will offer tips as well as the basics of what you need to know about the landscape of traditional publishing, and the steps toward a published book.

BIO

Heloise Jones has walked many paths from corporate advertising account manager to clay artist to microbrewery owner, creating, connection, and a good deal of project management at the core of each. A Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize finalist and Pushcart Prize nominee, she's currently querying agents for representation of her first novel FLIGHT, and doing research while writing her second. For her, writing a novel is like living a good life: you settle into the world, get to know folks, ride with them through their ups and downs, share their angst and triumphs, and are touched in ways so something shifts inside you. For more about Heloise, check out www.heloisejones.com.

Upcoming FWA St. Pete Meeting Thurs, Feb 12th

The monthly FWA meeting will take place at the Main Branch St. Pete Library this Thurs, Feb. 12th at 6 PM. Networking begins at 5:30 PM.

This meeting is open to the public, so feel free to invite friends.

Unfortunately, the agenda for this meeting is still one of two possibilities as I've been unable to reach the speaker. If he shows up, he will be speaking on non-fiction.

If not, we will have open mic night. All are welcome to bring writing to read aloud. Active FWA members will have the opportunity to read first, but all attendees will be welcome to do readings. I anticipate an average of 10 minute readings per person with a few minutes for feedback from the audience.

In the future, there will be another open mic opportunity if the speaker shows up.

New FWA Website and The Florida Writer, Digital Edition

If you've visited the FWA website lately, you may have noticed that a major overhaul has taken place.

If you haven't checked out the site lately, visit www.floridawriters.net today and see all the wonderful updates and changes.

The many improvements to the redesigned website are thanks to Mary Ann de Stefano and Elaine Senecal.

With all the "changes," what remains the same?

All the wonderful FWA benefits remain unchanged. The new website simply helps members and those interested in finding out more about FWA get the information they need in an easy-to-use interface.

The Florida Writer Now Digital Only

In other news, The Florida Writer has gone digital! FWA members will receive a quarterly email with their copy of FWA's magazine in an easy-to-download PDF format.

Here's a picture of the cover from the latest issue, the first digital edition.

(Note: The Florida Writer subscription is a member benefit. To become an FWA member or to renew, visit https://floridawriters.net/membership/join-renew/)