November 2 Meeting

Shirley Damsgaard (center) visited our group. We were delighted to have her here with us to discuss many topics, the main one being her adventures with the publishing industry! She answered a lot of questions for us and put many of our preconceptions of "The Big Time publishers" in the light.
For instance, some of us thought that once you find a "real publisher" that all the marketing is up to them. We found out that just isn't so. It makes business sense for the big companies to publicize the "big guys" whose books they know are going to sell. Shirley has spent precious time and money of her own attending conferences and getting to know other authors. She says these conferences are an invaluable resource, especially for the newly published author. Oddly enough (or maybe not) the best place to meet the people who know a lot of stuff is in the hotel bar! Mark it down, people! You might need to remember that for a later date! One of the best pieces of advice that I gleaned from this evening was the importance of the Independent Book Seller! Niche stores are sometimes more accomodating to a certain genre. In Shirley's case, she told the story of Pat-the owner of "Once Upon a Crime" in the Twin Cities. Long story short, Pat loved Shirley's book and recommended her book to everyone that came through the door! Pat also gave Shirley's name to a crime magazine editor! Wow! Thanks again, Shirley. We look forward to you coming back to our group sometime. Best of Luck! Visit her anytime at: www.shirleydamsgaard.com
~Boring Stuff~
Don't forget-next month's meeting is December 7 at the Panora Library at 6pm as usual. We are going to have a potluck to celebrate the Holidays, so please bring a dish to share! See you then!

NOVEMBER MEETING NEWS FLASH!!!!!!

November meeting news flash!!!!!! Shirley Damsgaard, published author from Stuart, will be attending our November 2 meeting. She's going to give a brief talk on her experiences as a writer and then open up for discussion. She's also bringing *books* to sign for those interested in purchasing! Make sure you mark your calendar, you don't want to miss Shirley Damsgaard!
www.shirleydamsgaard.com

October Meeting

The Panora Area Writers met Wednesday, October 5, 2006 at the Panora Public Library. We are still in the old building for now! We briefly discussed "showing, not telling" and Chris Fitch was nice enough to bring us Josephine Nabisso's colorful book geared towards younger writers "Show don't tell". We welcomed a new member, Sharon Jessen, to our group. We discussed having Shirley Damsgaard, the author from Stuart, visiting our group and decided next time we are doing a writing "round robin". One person will start with a sentence and we will pass around the table until we have a complete story! Any one who likes to write is welcome to attend! You don't have to write fiction, it's open to non-fiction, memoirs, children's books. We have quite a group already but looking forward to meeting new writers of all genres. Please e-mail Kate with questions! Thanks and happy writing!


Don't forget to check out www.nanowrimo.org

Members Websites:

www.bethferree.com

www.katebrownfisher.blogspot.com

NEXT MEETING SEPTEMBER 7 at 6PM PANORA PUBLIC LIBRARY

JULY 6 2005 Meeting

Panora Area Writers!
Chris Fitch and Beth Ferree discuss a critique
Meeting Minutes
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We worked on our “petals”. In the center of the flower we put our name and the petals described what we are as “People”. Not moms, not wives, or anything else. We were once people before the little ones showed up! Sometimes its hard to remember that we had a life before them but we did our best and discovered more about ourselves and the others in our group. We also shared articles and findings on writing. Thanks, Chris for making those copies! If there are any suggestions, you may e-mail to :
katefish74@hotmail.com
Or please come to our next meeting that is scheduled for
August 3rd, 2005 at 6pm
Panora Public Library

<--Carolyn England takes a look at D. Rae's new book "Jan Ellen Johnson"
Our meetings are generally the first Wednesday of every month at the Panora Public Library. We begin at 6pm and go until they lock the doors on us!
To contact us:


Visit Kate’s blog:

http://www.gmyboss.blogspot.com/

Visit Beth's page:

http://www.bethferree.com/

Our first meeting was held June 8, 2005 at the Panora Public Library. Attending our premiere was Kate Brown Fisher, Betty Lippincott, Carolyn England, Danae Branson, Chris Fitch, and Beth Ferree. Thank you all for attending. A general discussion and "meet and greet" was conducted. We learned what every one likes to write and next time we will learn more about ourselves as we construct "flower power" graphs.

NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD WEDS JULY 6 at 6pm at the PANORA LIBRARY.

EVERY ONE IS WELCOME, PUBLISHED OR NOT! YOUNG OR OLD!

POET OR FAMILY HISTORIAN!MALE OR FEMALE!