May 2014 - District 5 Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the District 5 KAC meeting
Rockwell Public Library, Wichita, KS
5-10-14
President Roy Beckemeyer opened the meeting by announcing that pre-registration for the October conference is on the KAC website. Diane Wahto has volunteered to be Publicity Chair. She will send emails or postcards whenever the blog is updated with an event or announcement. Treasurer Ray Racobs summarized the state of the treasury as $6,763.50 in checking and $140 in petty cash, much better than many small countries. This is before the District portion of annual memberships is sent to
the District. Kathy announced the abridged version of the minutes. For full details, see the blog, where the full minutes are posted.
At the June meeting, a discussion will ensue on a recognition event for the youth writing contest entrants. Louise mentioned that none of the entries she has received so far for the contest have followed instructions, so she has returned each entry with a link to the contest rules.
Roy reminded members of several contests. The Coffin Book Award for Book of the Year is open to any book written in the last two years prior to June, 2014. The Nelson Poetry Book Award is still open, but entries close June 16, 2014.
Louise baited us for introductions and member news with candy. Seems we will expose our souls for chocolate. Many members had completed works or competed in contests. Roy won first prize in Beecher’s Magazine Poetry Contest, Diane’s mentee took first place in a poetry contest, Connie White received her first rejection letter, Janie O’Reilly just finished the first draft of her third book, and Annette Wood is working on a book about the most famous autistic in the world. Louise and Kathy both told about the recent Oklahoma Writers Federation conference, where both pitched books and received invitations to submit.
Guest speaker and District 3 member Gordon Kessler gave an energetic and entertaining presentation about the ever-changing world of independent, self- and e-publishing. Gordon first published in 1992 and still maintains connections in traditional publishing, but has gone completely independent now.
There are trade-offs to indie publishing. You have to do your own formatting and editing or pay to have it done, design your own cover (or pay a consultant), and provide your own marketing (or hire someone to do it for you). In return for your up-front expense or effort, you get a bigger share of the profits when you sell a book.
He explained the differences between online booksellers (biggest Amazon, followed by Barnes and Noble), ebook publishers (Kindle Direct, Nook Press, Apple iBooks), publishing aggregators (Smashwords, Draft 2 Digital), and print-on-demand (POD) printers (CreateSpace, BookBaby, Lightning Source). Many small presses also utilize similar services to provide ebook and print copies of titles.
When indie publishing, you have to consider that the cover design be appealing while being viewed as a thumbnail on a PC, tablet or cell phone. It must also convey the title and name of author. Gordon covered the various avenues to create such a cover. For POD books, the cover must fit within the provided template, with the title and author name on the spine. The back cover needs a synopsis and bar code, plus perhaps an author image and bio. The interior must meet the formatting criteria (different than for printing a manuscript), include the title page, copyright and ISBN, dedication, the story, author bio, and links (to blogs, websites, etc.). Here, too, the details are different for POD vs. ebooks. For POD, extra blank pages must be included to meet the number of pages for printing. Headers and page number must be properly formatted. Always, always, always purchase the proof copy and review carefully before making it available for sale.
Marketing needs to include the title, which can’t be changed under the same ISBN number, any subtitle, series, volume, edition, publisher, a description (tagline or grabber), pitch, and synopsis. Author, language, category or genre, key words and phrases so the public can find the book are also necessary.
Pricing is an important consideration. Royalties vary by price point. Books priced from 99 cents to $1.99 pay 35% of retail cost. From $2.99 to $9.99, the author gets 70%. Above that, it gets crazy. Be careful of overpricing. Books released under KindleSelect are periodically offered free for a limited number of days. This can be useful to boost numbers and readership. The most effective marketing is when one reader recommends the book to another.
Once your book is out there, always buy a copy of your own book to see how the process appears to the public. Increase visibility in every venue possible. Contact local media, tell all your friends and acquaintances, utilize social media but be careful not to violate policies. Offer to speak at clubs. Ask all readers to like, leave reviews and tag your book. You can’t get rid of bad reviews, so it’s best to ignore them and try to get more good ones than bad. Ask other authors what techniques have worked
for them and be open to learning constantly, as the publishing world is changing daily. What hasn’t changed, though, is the need for good writing and a great story. Thanks, Gordon.
Rockwell Public Library, Wichita, KS
5-10-14
President Roy Beckemeyer opened the meeting by announcing that pre-registration for the October conference is on the KAC website. Diane Wahto has volunteered to be Publicity Chair. She will send emails or postcards whenever the blog is updated with an event or announcement. Treasurer Ray Racobs summarized the state of the treasury as $6,763.50 in checking and $140 in petty cash, much better than many small countries. This is before the District portion of annual memberships is sent to
the District. Kathy announced the abridged version of the minutes. For full details, see the blog, where the full minutes are posted.
At the June meeting, a discussion will ensue on a recognition event for the youth writing contest entrants. Louise mentioned that none of the entries she has received so far for the contest have followed instructions, so she has returned each entry with a link to the contest rules.
Roy reminded members of several contests. The Coffin Book Award for Book of the Year is open to any book written in the last two years prior to June, 2014. The Nelson Poetry Book Award is still open, but entries close June 16, 2014.
Louise baited us for introductions and member news with candy. Seems we will expose our souls for chocolate. Many members had completed works or competed in contests. Roy won first prize in Beecher’s Magazine Poetry Contest, Diane’s mentee took first place in a poetry contest, Connie White received her first rejection letter, Janie O’Reilly just finished the first draft of her third book, and Annette Wood is working on a book about the most famous autistic in the world. Louise and Kathy both told about the recent Oklahoma Writers Federation conference, where both pitched books and received invitations to submit.
Guest speaker and District 3 member Gordon Kessler gave an energetic and entertaining presentation about the ever-changing world of independent, self- and e-publishing. Gordon first published in 1992 and still maintains connections in traditional publishing, but has gone completely independent now.
There are trade-offs to indie publishing. You have to do your own formatting and editing or pay to have it done, design your own cover (or pay a consultant), and provide your own marketing (or hire someone to do it for you). In return for your up-front expense or effort, you get a bigger share of the profits when you sell a book.
He explained the differences between online booksellers (biggest Amazon, followed by Barnes and Noble), ebook publishers (Kindle Direct, Nook Press, Apple iBooks), publishing aggregators (Smashwords, Draft 2 Digital), and print-on-demand (POD) printers (CreateSpace, BookBaby, Lightning Source). Many small presses also utilize similar services to provide ebook and print copies of titles.
When indie publishing, you have to consider that the cover design be appealing while being viewed as a thumbnail on a PC, tablet or cell phone. It must also convey the title and name of author. Gordon covered the various avenues to create such a cover. For POD books, the cover must fit within the provided template, with the title and author name on the spine. The back cover needs a synopsis and bar code, plus perhaps an author image and bio. The interior must meet the formatting criteria (different than for printing a manuscript), include the title page, copyright and ISBN, dedication, the story, author bio, and links (to blogs, websites, etc.). Here, too, the details are different for POD vs. ebooks. For POD, extra blank pages must be included to meet the number of pages for printing. Headers and page number must be properly formatted. Always, always, always purchase the proof copy and review carefully before making it available for sale.
Marketing needs to include the title, which can’t be changed under the same ISBN number, any subtitle, series, volume, edition, publisher, a description (tagline or grabber), pitch, and synopsis. Author, language, category or genre, key words and phrases so the public can find the book are also necessary.
Pricing is an important consideration. Royalties vary by price point. Books priced from 99 cents to $1.99 pay 35% of retail cost. From $2.99 to $9.99, the author gets 70%. Above that, it gets crazy. Be careful of overpricing. Books released under KindleSelect are periodically offered free for a limited number of days. This can be useful to boost numbers and readership. The most effective marketing is when one reader recommends the book to another.
Once your book is out there, always buy a copy of your own book to see how the process appears to the public. Increase visibility in every venue possible. Contact local media, tell all your friends and acquaintances, utilize social media but be careful not to violate policies. Offer to speak at clubs. Ask all readers to like, leave reviews and tag your book. You can’t get rid of bad reviews, so it’s best to ignore them and try to get more good ones than bad. Ask other authors what techniques have worked
for them and be open to learning constantly, as the publishing world is changing daily. What hasn’t changed, though, is the need for good writing and a great story. Thanks, Gordon.