Wannabe's

The Wannabe's Journal
for
March 2013

The Easter Bunny must be a Self Published Author......

What happened to springtime? I heard it's out of town for the holiday. We are getting close to the time when all the snowbirds start the pilgrimage North for the blooms of the spring flowers. Hopefully the snow will melt and we will be able to see them.

Our small group of six writers and artists this month celebrated the birth of a new novel. About a year ago we were blessed with a new member who heard about the reputation of our illustrious group and came to a meeting at UD's River Campus for one of our monthly Wannabe's meetings. She describe the contents of a project that she was working on that has now turned into a self-published novel. This will make six people who have self-published since that spark was lit back in 2008 when the Wannabe's had their first meeting to talk about stories and right brain activities. Thank you again to our inspiration and literary leader Nancy Pinard. I am sure that when she taught that Creative Writing Class back then that she had no idea that she would be the one to inspire some many people to create their dreams.

Nancy is one of the featured speakers at this years Mad Anthony's Writers Workshop which will be held Friday-Sunday, April 12 to 14th, 2013 at Miami University's Campus in Hamilton. Visit their website to review the agenda, register and get directions:
http://writelikemad.com/

Another one of our favorite literary spokespersons that we follow will also be participating in this event. Jane Friedman will participate both Saturday and Sunday.

Writers News:

Earlier this week there was an article that Kindle would start a program where they would give away the Kindle so that they would be able to market their device to Schools and University's. Looks like Barnes and Noble beat them to the punch.

Three out of the top 12 books are self publishing authors. The new trend is for authors who have in the past used agents and traditional publishing are now going the self-publishing route in order to make more money. Their group is called Hybrid Author's.

The price of ebooks keeps dropping this year. Average price is about 7.50 per book. Non fiction is priced a little higher.

New sites like Zola and Bookish are setting up to sell ebooks exclusively. They are trying to compete with sites like Goodreads which recommends books to readers based on personal reviews. These are not to be confused with sites which allow you to submit a portion of your manuscript in order to get feedback. Sites like Anthonomy, The Reading Room and Wattpad provide good feeback to someone needing support, encouragement and some suggestions on how to improve "on a good thing".

Wannabe news:

Don P: Busy as always. Writing a new story which we hope he will share with our group. Since he published his new collection of short stories last month he has been busy establishing a marketing plan to share his book with the friends and general public. His book both softcover and Kindle are available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/A-Peacock-Speaks-Short-Stories/dp/0988839903

Wanda: Working on a book of poems. She received a lot of feedback from us on the butterfly illustration and the poems that she was able to share with the group.

Cindy: Recommended a new book entitled: The Vatican Diaries by John Thavis. With the recent selection of a new Pope this is very interesting reading of the goings-on behind the scenes of power and political activities that take place in Rome. She also recommended: The Typewriter Girl by Alison Atlee. The romanic novel set in Victorian England of a young girl trying to survive and find true love.

The biggest news is that Cindy published her novel about the prison fire in Columbus entitled: "Key's to the Cages." This is a project of many years. It is scheduled to be released around the anniversary of the Ohio State Penitentiary fire on April 20, 1930. She writes under the pen name Mollie C.Cain.

Cindy also recommended Chronicling America: Historical American Newspapers. Their web site is http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/. I also noticed in an email earlier this week from Ancestry.com that they were selling a service for the same collection of newspaper for $ 49 dollars. So you could save some money by going to the Library of Congress site directly.

Don Hart: busy with his new business of editor, publisher and consultant for Four Cats Publishing. Here is his website: http://fourcatspublishing.com/

He has set May as the target date for the publishing of the anthology of stories from many of the Wannabe's members. The title of that book with be "Anthology of Tragedies and Triumphs"

Faye: She read a poem that she has recently composed:

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

Today I glanced into the mirror

As I passed by on my way to tea.

“Who is that lady there?”, I thought.

I'm not the person I used to be.

The hair upon my head is gray

And, mercy, so little there is to see.

I noticed the light shown through my locks.

I'm not the person I used to be.

It made me pause and study my face

To see if I could recognize me.

I saw deep lines in my forehead...(sigh)

No, I thought, I'm not the person I used to be.

My skin is not as taut as I remembered,

My neck is sagging; it hangs free.

What happened to my rosy cheeks?

Heavens, I'm not the person I used to be.

Instead, I saw as I studied my face,

Lines that have been etched from glee,

Between my eyes are furrows from thought;

So, this is the person I've come to be.

And as I looked into my eyes,

I saw my life's memories of what used to be.

I caught a glimpse of the girl I was

And wondered what next these eyes would see.

Yet, though my face is wrinkled

And there's a pain in my knee,

Though my thoughts sometimes get jumbled,

I know I'm still the person I used to be.

Faye Duncan, 201

Faye is also finalizing plans to self publish a family book entitled: "Seasons of Life"

Don Q. Has been busy with teaching. He is teaching four classes this term at UD, both undergrad and MBA classes in MIS. Accordingly... he put his unfinished manuscript that he began last fall on the shelf until this summer. He is keeping a arms length contact with his right brain by also teaching a Self Publishing class in the LLI program this spring. There are 30 students in that class. Just proves that there are a lot more people who have a interest in publishing their own novels. Most are not interested in trying to sell their work to the general public but rather are leaving a legacy for their friends and family. There is always an audience for your words. No greater joy than getting to see that book come in the mail and opening the package and seeing your name on the cover.

Rosie H. Sent this notice to our readers:

E X P R E S S I O N S I N A R T

Spring Newsletter 2013

ROSIE HUART

Upcoming Spring Events & Programs

Dear Artists, Patrons and Friends,

Spring is fast approaching and I'm sure you are all getting ready and anticipating another beautiful time of year. All the seasons are just so alive with miracles and wonders. I have to take time to see the beauty that surrounds me. I love seeing the stark black trees and their spindly branches against the gray skies. There are so many lines and shapes when you look. They remind me of calligraphy strokes and gestural marks. Take a peek for yourself.

I have some wonderful events that are coming and would like to share. Thank you for your support and encouragement in this artistic life I am so privileged to live and love.

An Evening of Poetic Art