October Minutes

Members, please review the October minutes for approval during the November meeting.

Northern Virginia Writers Club

October 2023 Meeting Minutes

10/21/2023 1:00 PM

1. 1. 1. Call to order – Club Pres. Michelle McBeth.
      2. Roll call (partial).
         1. Michelle McBeth (Science Fiction), Vice Pres. Jason Maddux (Sci-Fi/YA), Darius Jones (Horror, Poetry, Hist Fiction), AJ George (Mystery-Thriller, Horror), Traci Carter (Historical Romance), John Wren (Thrillers, Mystery, Sci-Fi) and partner Lois Wren, Paula Weiss (Dystopian Fiction), and others.
         2. Guest: Robin Sullivan on “Monetizing your Novel.”
      3. Approval of minutes from last meeting
         1. September meeting minutes link sent in newsletter/reminder.
         2. Minutes were approved by club members.
      4. Officer’s Reports
         1. President – McBeth
            1. Upcoming meetings
               1. November 18: Jason publishing short story collection at NaNoWriMo.
                  1. Join us then. Bring writing materials!
               2. December 16: Holiday Social (informal)
                  1. Location TBD.
               3. January 20: Annual meeting
                  1. Think about running for office! We need new participants
               4. Viriginia Writers’ Club Annual Meeting.
                  1. 4th at Maggiano’s in Richmond.
                  2. Registration deadline: Oct. 26.
                  3. Looking for at-large BoG members
                  4. At least one member of NVWC placed in Golden Nib. Congrats!
                  5. Special guest speaker: Margaret O. Daramola, Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
      5. Speaker – Robin Sullivan on “Monetizing Your Novel.”
         1. Michael Sullivan is her husband. He is a fantasy author who has written 34 books. Robin is his business manager (not his agent).
         2. Practice, practice, practice: Most first books aren’t good enough for publishing.
            1. Michael’s first “publishable” book was the 14^th he wrote!
         3. He got “nowhere” with traditional publishing…then turned to self-publishing.
         4. Now, gets 82% of his sales from audio.
            1. “It’s all audio now!”
            2. Know your audio rights and how they differ.
         5. Discusses options of: Audible (audio books), Patreon, Kickstarter.
            1. Kickstarter (a way to find fans and have them fund your projects).
            2. Patreon (a subscription service).
         6. Robin: Traditional and self-publishing are “equally valid pathways to success.”
            1. But you have to know which is best for YOU.
         7. QA: Contract rights, trad. vs. self-publishing, foreign markets, etc., etc.
         8. Want more?
            1. She recommends:
               1. The Podcast: “Publishing Rodeo.”
               2. American Copyediting Society – for finding a copyeditor.
      6. Adjournment