What's the Secret to Becoming a Best Seller?

For our Thursday, Nov 9th Meeting, author & owner of Soul Attitude Press John Rehg will be speaking. We'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6:00 PM. Networking/mingling begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is open to the public.

Topic: The Untold, Amazing, Shocking! Secret Formula for Becoming a Bestselling Author Finally Revealed

Details: Scamming the Dream - how others promise you the moon as long as you pay them. Includes an open discussion about writing and publishing.

BIO:

JOHN REHG has been writing and rewriting since 2006, after taking 30 years off to pursue a career. He's still working, fitting in writing at odd times of day or night. After getting several short stories published in various anthologies, he started his own publishing business, Soul Attitude Press, to control the revenue on his stories as well as to help others realize their dream of holding their own book in their hands. He has published his own short fiction and non-fiction, and has helped others publish their stories. His novel is currently in its second revision, which he hopes to complete this year.

www.soulattitudepress.com

Live Critique at FWA St. Pete February Meeting

For our Thursday, February 9th Meeting, writers are welcome to join us for a Live Critique Session. We'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6:00 PM. Networking/mingling begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is open to the public.

Topic: One Page Critique
Moderator: Bria Burton

What to bring: A singe page of your novel, short story, or other writing (double-spaced, up to 250 words)
Who can participate: First-come first-serve, members and non-members

What will the critique look like:

• After the author reads their page, the critique will open up to the audience
• Audience will be encouraged to provide positive feedback and constructive criticism in combination
• Author will not be allowed to talk during the critique (a buzzer will be on hand--if the author talks, they will get buzzed)
• The critique will be timed for each author. At four minutes, the timer will announce that the critique is over and the next author will be allowed to read their First Page

Does everyone have to read?

• No. But the audience will be encouraged to provide feedback, even those who choose not to read their work to the group.

FWA St. Pete April Meeting

For our April 14th Meeting, Nancy Howe, the Publisher of Tampa Bay Newswire and CEO of KnowHowe, will be speaking. As usual, we'll meet at the Main Branch St. Pete Library at 6 PM. Networking/mingling begins at 5:30 PM. This meeting is open to the public.

April 14th~ Creative Ways For Freelancers to Expand Their Customer Base

BIO

NANCY HOWE has spent the vast majority of her life in Pinellas County and began her publishing career at the St. Petersburg Times while attending USF, majoring in archaeology.  She moved on to become the Managing Editor of Art & Design News (an international graphic arts magazine), and then to Maddux Business Report in 1990 – starting out as circulation director, moving to associate publisher and then publisher for the past 14 years. When the Maddux Business Report closed in 2010, Nancy continued on as publisher of the daily NewsWire, changed the name to Tampa Bay Newswire and founded KnowHowe, a full-service writing company that offers a varied menu from blogs, to press releases, editing, web copy, ebooks and everything in between. Current client industries include not-for-profits, legal and court reporting, commercial and residential real estate, manufacturing and service industries. KnowHowe is also the publisher of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce’s publications, ‘Burg Life and St. Petersburg’s Official Visitors Guide.

Her website: www.knowhowe.biz

A Q&A about the FWA St. Pete Critique Groups

After two very successful Critique Group Interest Meetings, one fiction critique group filled up and one non-fiction critique group filled up.

Q: What does this mean for those who are still interested in joining a critique group but couldn't make those meetings?

A: We need more groups!

Q: How do more groups form?

A: We need people willing to lead!

Q: What does leading a critique group involve?

A: More than anything, a willingness to facilitate, which involves making sure things stay on track at meetings and keeping the people in the group updated on group procedure. A critique group leader must be an FWA member. The first responsibilities are to arrange a meeting time, place, and duration. Other decisions must be made as well, such as how critiques will be done (electronically or printouts) and how much writing will be critiqued at a time (word count limits, page count limits, etc.).

Q: If I've never led a critique group before, how can I possibly be qualified?

A: If you're an FWA members who is willing to volunteer in this capacity, you are qualified.

Q: I feel inadequate to lead a critique group, but I want to be in one. What do I do?

A: There are other critique groups in the St. Pete area (Pinellas Writers, St. Pete Writers Club) so be sure to check those out. But also, think about volunteering to start a new group because maybe there are many people wanting a critique group who are too afraid to lead, but if you're willing to lead, they'll step up and join your group!

Q: I might be willing to lead a new critique group. Is it scary?

A: Not at all! Most writers who want to be in a critique group are serious about improving their writing skills just like you. The hardest part is just figuring out all those initial details (meeting time/place/etc) and once that's established, it's all about the writing and the critiquing.

Q: That's the part that scares me: the critiquing. What if people get upset about critiques that are sent, and I'm stuck in the middle as the leader?

A: I have a lot of experience leading a critique group, including problem-solving, so I'd be happy to share my insights with you. The first rule I recommend for every critique group is to make sure the group participants make positive comments, not just critical ones. Positive comments go a long way to making a person feel like the critique is not a personal attack. That said, it's not the purpose of a critique group to make people feel good about their writing. The purpose is to help writers improve their craft with feedback from fellow writers. Comments should always be constructive, not harsh or demeaning. When these rules for the group are stated up front, it's usually enough to prevent the scenario mentioned in the question.

Q: I have more questions. Who can I ask?

A: Contact me (Bria) by emailing fwastpete@gmail.com