April 2025 Meeting Minutes

Northern Virginia Writers Club

April 2025 Meeting Minutes

4/26/25       1:00 PM

1. 15-minute Meet & Greet
2. Call to order – 1:15 PM
3. Roll call
   1. In-person attendees: 21
   2. Zoom attendees: 5
   3. Newcomer introductions: 2
   4. Triumphs and failures
      1. Discussion about pitches – no need to memorize
      2. Discussion about self-publishing success and challenges
      3. Agent discussion: they should be a member of AAR, Idiots Guide to Getting Published
      4. Self-marketing: success with Facebook and in-person
      5. Recommendation to create an event around a book
      6. Reviews: fellow group members, Amazon vine reviewers are weighed heavier
4. Approval of minutes from last meeting
   1. Motion to approve by AJ, seconded by Suzanne Davenport
   2. Unanimously approved
5. Officer’s Reports
   1. President Carolyn McBride
      1. Upcoming meeting topics:
         1. August 16: club family picnic (MOVED FROM JULY)
            1. Fairfax Station Railroad Museum recommended
   2. Vice President Casie White
      1. Absent
   3. Treasurer AJ George
   4. Form 990 has been filed and accepted
      1. Net assets: $7,034.42
      2. Festival in Waterford 10/4-6
      3. Lansdowne Literary Festival 6/28, email: khughes868@aol.com
   5. Secretary Kevin Connor
      1. Nothing to report
   6. Membership Chair Isabelle Missud
      1. Absent
   7. Event Coordinators: Lois Wren, David Wessel, Jennifer Milder (absent)
      1. Event Guidelines clarifications in Decorum section
      2. Table is for members selling books
      3. Want to keep good relationship with B&N
      4. Keep it low-key
      5. Have books on hand for signings
      6. You can coordinate with B&N independently from the club, some won’t accommodate individual authors
      7. Any complaints: talk to Lois, not employees at venue
      8. Need to be personable – come prepared, bring sign
      9. Suggestion to post scheduled events on webpage
      10. Festivals – David Wessel davidkwesselauthor@gmail.com
          1. Upcoming: Viva Vienna 5/25, 5/26
          2. Occoquan River Fest: 6/7-8
          3. Arlington County Fair 8/15-17
          4. Art on the Avenue 10/4
          5. Fairfax Fall Festival 10/11
   8. Website Coordinators: Carolyn McBride, Toby Dorr (absent)
      1. Request for bios
         1. Send Carolyn bio and picture
      2. Status of website portal
         1. In development, plan to have Beta in May, launch in June
   9. Social Media Coordinator Allie Nelson
      1. Brainstorm & Brew informal club meetups
         1. May 14, 5-7 pm: Happy Hour at Godfrey’s Bakery & Cafe in Falls Church City – hosted by Allie, just show up!
         2. Aug. 2 (all day): Field Trip to VWC Symposium at Randolph Macon College – carpool with Carolyn
         3. Sept. 6 (all day): Field Trip to National Book Festival at Washington Convention Center – carpool or Metro with Carolyn
      2. Golden Nib Coordinator Suzanne Davenport
         1. Today’s speaker topic
6. Old Business
7. New Business
   1. Upcoming writing resources/contests
      1. NaNoWriMo has been dissolved, speaker scheduled for November
      2. VWC webinar on Golden Nib formatting: https://virginiawritersclub.org/event-6128143
8. Business from the floor
   1. None
9. Golden Nib 2025 prep and readings by 2024 NVWC award winners
   1. Highlights from Suzanne Davenport’s presentation
      1. July 15 submissions due
      2. Two tiers – local club and Virginia club
      3. Must be a member of VWC and submit through NVWC
      4. Submit entries to Suzanne Davenport for formatting review
      5. Two judges are experts outside of NVWC
      6. Submission may eliminate you from other competitions that require unpublished work
      7. Three categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry
      8. Can submit 1 in each category, must be unpublished
      9. No AI-composed writing
      10. Follow formatting requirements: https://northernvirginiawriters.org/golden-nib/
      11. VWC webinar on Golden Nib formatting: https://virginiawritersclub.org/event-6128143
      12. NIB readings from NVWC chapter 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winners
10. Adjournment
    1. Meeting adjourned at 3PM