1

Fellow Authors Hey that doesnrsquot look like the Fruitville LibraryWhen Tuesday June 13th Noon (Note Regular meetings at Fruitville Library resume in October)Where Super Buffet - Sushi amp Grill 5471 Fruitville Rd Sarasota FL 34232No Guest SpeakerCome and join your fellow writers and friends of SAC for a casual luncheon Talk about your current activities and enjoy a variety of food (not limited to Asian cuisine) Please arrive a little before noon so that we can let the restaurant management know how many of us to expect

Newsletter - June 2017

Got Something to Include in the Next NewsletterPlease feel free to contact me for information yoursquod like included in a future newsletter My email address is barryzedgmailcom Shameless self-promotion is encouraged Would you like to see your name and associated work appearing in a directory in this newsletter We canrsquot do it without your okay If you like the idea please provide us with your name (or nom de plume) your latest work and a link to where you or your book can be foundIt is the Clubrsquos policy that we do not use our membership email list to send out individual or private announcements

wwwauthorswordpresscom

Are you an author (or soon to be one) If yoursquod like to join Sarasota Authors Connection and receive our monthly newsletter please email our editor Barry Zack at barryzedgmailcom Simply submit your name and email address There are no dues Our purpose is to enlighten authors about bookpromotion publishing and other related activities mdash authors helping authors Members are en-

couraged to submit their book information new releases signings publishing options awards as well as conferences events writing contests and articles Please send your information for the newsletter to Barry by the 24th of the previous month

Caveat emptorSAC is not responsible for the accuracy of vendor-claims appearing in our newsletter

SAC Whorsquos WhoPresident Susan Klaus furryklausaolcom Website Editor Dennis Blanchard k1yppyahoocom-Newsletter Output Barry Zack barryzedgmailcom Editing Meigs Glidewell Jane Blanchard

2

Works by Our Members (Click any cover for more information)

Author Brenda M Spalding has a new release Whispers in Time is book two in the Green Lady Inn series Broken Branches was a recent best seller on Amazon Set in present day Salem Massachusetts the books follow a young woman with a gift of seeing the future she is still trying to understand Trouble seems to find its way to her doorTogether with her husband and two quirky neigh-bors they always seem to be one step ahead of the police

The Counting Game (Kindle Edi-tion) by Cynthia Fabian is avail-able as free book on KindleUn-limited and $299 to buy Maxrsquos life is often a struggle with dyscalculia like dyslexia with math it makes his life much like walking through a peanut butter jar sticky and toughMaxrsquos friend Pecos is a double yellow headed Amazon parrot She is always zany and a loyal friend to Max when he goes through all his trials and tribulations

Author Jeff Widmer has four works available Peak Season Mr Magic and Tourist in Paradise are CW McCoy novels Mr Mayhem is a Brinker novel (available in Kindle paperback and Audible versions

Author Thomas C Mulvihill has published an archaeological thriller entitled Untold Riches (The Cole Hudson Series) (Volume 1)Summary During a visit to the Pushkin Mu-seum in Moscow Cole Hudson unwittingly becomes the target of an Eastern European Criminal organization known for major museum heists Cole canrsquot fathom why he is the object of their unwarranted attention Aggressively pursued through Athens and Istanbul it becomes entirely too clear they will do whatever it takes to get the informa-tion they so desperately desire About the Author Industrial Designer Engineer

Entrepreneur Marketer and inheritor of a 200 year old tapestry from his archaeologist ancestor a tapestry that has inspired long-repressed de-

sires to author an historical novel featur-ing his familyrsquos greatest heirloom ldquoThe historical Greek tapestry hanging on my wall reveals one of the greatest archaeological treasures of the 19th century hidden away until now Pursued through Russia Greece and Turkey by a notorious Eastern European criminal organization know for daring museum heists Cole Hudson is at a loss to under-

stand why they are after himrdquo

Author Chalres Berkoff has a positive word to say about a previous SAC meeting speakerldquoMy first novel PreMedicated Murder was re-cently published by First Person Publications Liz Coursen a prominent Speaker at the SAC was my incredible Editor and motivational force The book won awards in two categories Humor and Adult Fiction Mystery presented by the Florida Authors

and Publishers Association at their 2016 annual meeting Itrsquos now scheduled for an appear-ance at BookExpo America to be held in New York City May 31-June2 2017rdquoHersquos currently working on his next book The Lighter Side of the Bloody Blitz

3

Stuff for WritersSAC does not guarantee that itrsquos the right stuff

Ask the EditorEditor Betty Kelly Sargent an-swers writing questions submit-ted by readers In May she looked at how to handle criticism from beta readersDear EditorItrsquos an ongoing challenge to get people to read drafts of my work Itrsquos a big ask and puts consider-able pressure on generous readers Any thoughts on how early to engage readers for feedback on a work in progress

mdashElizabeth L KellyItrsquos always a good idea to show your work to a few trusted readers before sending it out into the world You want it to be the best that it can be But because as you point out asking for feedback is a big ask I suggest that authors wait until theyrsquove completed first drafts before showing their manu-scripts to anyone Here are three things to keep in mind when yoursquore ready to ask for advice

1 Choose people who know a lot about your subject matter if yoursquove written a sci-fi novel you probably donrsquot want to seek feed-

back from a gardening book author2 Ask the reader to be scrupulously honestmdashoth-erwise whatrsquos the point3 Accept the suggestions that ring true for you and discard the restmdashin other words always trust your instincts itrsquos your book your vision your name will be on the title page you are the creator and the artist As Neil Gaiman said in his essay ldquoEight Rules for Writingrdquo published in the Guardian in 2010 ldquoRe-member when people tell you somethingrsquos wrong or doesnrsquot work for them they are almost always right When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it they are almost always wrongrdquoIf you have a question for the editor email Betty Sargent at booklifeeditorbooklifecom

By Brian Jud (Bowker)Negotiating Trap 5 Trying to Speed Things UpThe process for selling large quantities of your books to corporate buyers sometimes takes on a life of its own moving ahead at a pace that is usually slower than you want Do not force the process to move faster Allow it to unfold with-out making unnecessary concessions ndash or trying to force unwanted terms on your prospects -- to move it ahead There are a variety of parts that must come to-gether in order for a deal to work Some people have different sometime hidden agendas that must be fulfilled for them to agree There could be corporate politics at play where people must be allowed to make their position known even if it hinders the outcome Budget money may need to be re-allocated to pay for your recommendation Buyers are spending company money and have to justify the expenses to their bosses They may not

want to be perceived as rushing into something particularly if the result is questionable Similarly it may be in your best interests to take a breather and think about what is going on If nothing else it will give you time to consider all the implications of the terms on the table It is easy to get caught up in the momentum of the process especially if the amount of the potential order is significant Give yourself time to carefully consider all the ramifications of saying yes Once you sign the letter of agreement you are obligated to fulfill its termsBrian Jud is a book-marketing consultant Execu-tive Director of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS ndash wwwbookapssorg) and author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books and Beyond the Bookstore Contact Brian at brian-judbookmarketingcom or wwwpremiumbook-companycom and twitter bookmarketing

Six Traps to Avoid When Negotiating Large-Quantity Book Sales (Part 5)

4

Local Groups (Author Writing Critique and Book Lovers)

Englewood Authors - (EnglewoodVenice)Contact Edwin Ellis at edellis20gmailcom or call 941-662-6867 Visit their blogspot atenglewoodauthorsblogspotcom

Florida Writers AssociationSarasota Branch ndash (Nokomis) Contact George Mindlingmyakkaembarqmailcom FWA blogspot wwwfwasarasotablogspotcomThe group meets on the first and third Wednes-days of each month at the Nokomis Fire Station Click here for directions

Florida Writers AssociationManatee Branch ndash (Bradenton) Contact Dona Lee at 748-6865 or email DGould497aolcom

Fiction Writers Meetup Meets every other Tuesday at the Alliance Church 7221 Bee Ridge Rd Sarasota FL 34241Meetings Jun 6th amp 20th Events begin at 630pm Click here for directions

(Venice) Contact Roger Sakowski Facilitator at rogeracuitygrouporg Their website

Suncoast Writers Guild (EnglewoodVenice) Contact Kari Burgess K45burgessgmailcom and visit their website at suncoastwriterscom

THE FLORIDA BIBLIOPHILE SOCIETY (FBS) For membership details click on the FBS Logo

SRQ Spec and Mystery WritersCalling all mystery horror science fiction and fan-tasy writers This critique workshop is for people who are serious about critiquing getting critiqued and being published Each meeting features the work of two writers These members e-mail their manuscripts to me at least a week in advance of the meeting I send them to the other members who put their comments on the manuscripts At-

tendees share their comments with the group and then give the manuscripts to the featured writersEach meeting includes information sharing on topics such as markets conferences and writing instruction Members are encouraged to suggest books theyrsquove enjoyed Irsquom also looking forward to giving lectures and having guest speakersContact Patricia La Barbera(editorpatricialabarberacom) Meet Up

the Sarasota Fiction Writers on June 6thShe is the author of several fantasy and science fiction adventures ldquoClifton Chase and the Arrow of Lightrdquo was awarded a BRAG Medallion in 2015 and was listed as a 2013 Top Ten Pick by Kid Lit Reviews Her sci-fi novella ldquoThe Dredgerdquo won the Writers of the Future Award in 2014Engle will present ldquoYour Book as a Businessrdquo Whether authors self-publish or go the traditional route there are limited funds to market a book How can authors succeed This session will ex-plore free and low-cost marketing ideas how to land school visits utilizing technology for promo-tion and name recognition and most important-ly business skills Authors must learn to brand themselves along with their product They must understand the competition inside them between the writer the agent and the publisher They must realize their book is a product not a work of artAttendees will learn how to value themselves as a business and their book as a product how to gain free publicity on a national level through media releases and local exposure and other ways to make an income through school visits library discussions and conferencesEngle lives in Melbourne Fla with her husband boys and dog She is always at work on her next bookSarasota Fiction Writers meetings are free and open to the public For more information please visit thequillguild1wixsitecomsfwriters For more information about Engle please visit thewriteenglecom

More Groups - pages 5 amp 6Sarasota Fiction Writers Meeting on the 1st Tues of each month at the Selby Library (6pm)Middle-grade author Jaimie Engle will speak to

5

Charlotte Writers Workshop 1st Monday of each month (1pm) at Charlotte Mid-County Li-brary (directions) Addresses all aspects of writ-ing one-on-one help available Q and A hands-on writing prompts for fun Bring ongoing projects and bounce ideas off others No ldquopublishersrdquo hawking their services although information on how to self publish get a literary agent in your field and publishing houses that are currently accepting workCome for fun and learning

Writers Club of Stoneybrook Meetings will be held bi-weekly For more information contact Cynthia Fabian (941-202-8818) This is a com-pact group and invites new writers For a map to the location please click here More Groups - See page 6

Online Book Clubs (click on any club for more information)

Reading and Writing

Next Meeting When Saturday June 3rd from 1-3pm

Where Gulf Gate Library Conference Room B Speaker Marilyn KellyldquoWhat every scene needsrdquoFor more information about the program visit httpflgcsinccomcalendar

June 12 Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Poetic Justic Creative Writing Group (Jacaranda Library) June 1st 600 - 745pm Jacaranda Book Club (Jacaranda Library) June 8th 1000 - 1130amWed Evening Discussion Group(Northport Library Conf Room) June 28th 600 - 700pm

Writersrsquo Circle (Selby Library) Each Tues in June 600 - 700pm Meet the Author ()(Selby Library - Geldbart Auditorium) 600 - 730pm Book Sale amp Signing to follow Sponsored by the Sarasota Fiction Writers

Audio BusinessClassic

FictionGood NewsMystery

NonFictionPre-PublicationRomance

Science FictionTeenThriller

Local Groups (continued from previous page)

Map to the Seby Library

Wordier Than Thou Storytelling amp Prose holds open mic sessions every 3rd Wednesday at the Sarasota Brewing Company 6607 Gateway Ave from 7 - 9 pm Next seesion is June 21st The fea-tured author (TBA) will be followed by 10-min-ute-long open mic slots for prose and storytelling only Writers of all levels are welcome to share their storiesMore info about the next open mic here facebookcomevents1709123556054001

1030 am to Noon (Mondays)Conference Room - 2nd Floor

6

National and International Book Fairs

Book Stores

Hong Kong Book Fair Hong Kong 719-25 This event showcases products like Childrenrsquos and Teenrsquos Books Religious Books e-Books amp e-Learn-ing Resources e-Book Readers and more

Beijing Book Fair China 823-27 This event showcases products like services and education that supports the buyers and sellers of books etc In the Printing amp Publishing Education amp Training Paper and Paper Products industries etc

Coming Right Up - and Thinking Ahead2017 Conferences amp Shows

American Library Assoc MeetingsAnnual Conference Chicago IL June 22-27 The American Library Association its 11 divisions 19 round tables and offices host many conferences meetings forums institutes and other events On their web page use the links to the left to explore the many available options and be sure to also check out the professional development offerings at Online Learning

Romance Writers of America Annual Conf Orlando FL July 26 -29 The RWA Conference is the place where career-focused romance writers gather to make lasting connections and grow their careersmdashand so much more When 2000 romance writers and industry professionals assemble in one place the sense of community is undeniableWriterrsquos Digest Annual Conference

New York City August 18 - 20 The conference offers everything you need to advance creatively and professionally as a writ-ermdashno matter what stage of your career And itrsquos all brought to you by the experts at nurturing and developing new writers for more than 90 years Click here for information

Writing for Change ConferenceSan Francisco Sept 9 Your ideas can change the world

2017 James River Writers Conference Richmond VA October 13-15

3rd Annual ShowMe Writers Master ClassOctober 28-29 Columbia MO

Next YearAmerican Library Assoc

2018 Mid-Winter Meeting New Orleans LA June 21-26

Parkerrsquos Books - 1488 Main St Sarasota the first and third Saturday of every month all year long Please remember do not block entrance to store Keep tables on one side ContactsCarole Stevens Bibisi (carolearthotmailcom )or Brendaspaldingabcbooks4childrencomBookstore 1ndash 1359 Main St SarasotaSandman Book Store ndash Punta Gorda will do book

signings and take books on consignment Please check this one out as they are really promoting local authorsCopperfish Books ndash 1205 Elizabeth St Punta Gorda FL 33950 941-205-2560Village Voices ndash 1010 10th Ave W Bradenton FL 34205 middot (941) 748-6865 can arrange book sign-ings on the first

ABC-Artisans of Books(for Children and Adults) is made up of professional and aspiring authors illustrators publishers and editors They meet at the Selby Library Sara-sota on the third Wednesday of each month from 1pm - 3pm They welcome all writers and illustrators to net-work and share information

contact - Brenda Spalding bpspald-ingmsncomTheir mission is to form a networking alliance of independently published self-marketing and aspiring artisans

in the fields of childrenrsquos and mainstream books to exchange knowledge share experiences assist in marketing and promote literacy wherever pos-sible (More by clicking on the logo)

Local Groups (continued from page 5)

7

How Real Books Have Trumped eBooksBy Alex Preeston May 14 2017 - Books have always had a fetishistic quality to them with their dusty secretiveness Now though it feels like wersquore living through a special moment in the history of book design and beautiful books are everywhereTake George Saundersrsquos Lincoln in the Bardo with its marmoreal endpapers or Peter Frankopanrsquos The Silk Roads with its cover inspired by mosaic from the Imam mosque at Isfahan Sarah Perryrsquos The Essex Serpent its sumptuous jacket inspired by the tiles of William Morris 4th Estatersquos gor-geous repackaging of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichiersquos Backlist based on vibrant African headwrap pat-terns the glimmering Penguin Hardcover Classics reissue of the works of F Scott Fitzgerald or its clothbound editions of Austen Bronteuml and Dick-ens Itrsquos hard to know whether to read these books or caress themBook covers looked very different a decade ago when the appearance of e-readers seemed to flummox a publishing industry reeling from the financial crisis and Amazonrsquos rampant colonisa-tion of the market Publishers responded to the threat of digitisation by making physical books that were as grey and forgettable as ebooks It was an era of flimsy paperbacks and Photoshop covers the publishersrsquo lack of confidence manifest in the shonkiness of the objects they were producingBut after reaching a peak in 2014 sales of e-read-ers and ebooks have slowed and hardback sales have surged The latest figures from the Publishing Association showed ebook sales falling 17 in 2016 with an 8 rise in their physical counter-parts At the same time publishersrsquo production values have soared and bookshops have begun to fill up with books with covers of jewel-like beauty often with gorgeously textured pages As the great American cover designer Peter Mendelsund put it to me books have ldquomore cloth more foil more embossing page staining sewn bindings deckled edgesrdquoI spoke to Christopher de Hamel the author of a very beautiful book Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts who compared the current state of publishing to the situation at the end of the 15th

century when the printing press arrived and changed the world of books forever ldquoThe manu-script makers suddenly felt threatened by print-ersrdquo he said ldquoThey started very deliberately doing things in their manuscripts that they knew the printers couldnrsquot do They did clever borders that looked as though real insects had landed on the page They started doing extraordinary trompe lrsquooeil illusions they really brought colour back into their manuscripts because they knew that printers couldnrsquot do that It was the world of technology and the handmade struggling against each other each striving to do things that the other couldnrsquot matchrdquo We know how this one ends (although de Hamel points out that therersquos still a thriving com-munity of 21st-century hand illuminators) But todayrsquos publishers and booksellers are optimistic that history will not repeat itselfJames Daunt chief executive of Waterstones contends that the resurgence of the physical book is real and sustainable Furthermore a focus on the book as object of desire has been central to his turnaround of Waterstones This has not only seen the firm return to profit but has made the shops once dim grey halls of cheap paperbacks ziggurats of three for twos and mountains of celebrity cook-books things of beauty in themselves as cleverly curated and carefully atmospheric as Dauntrsquos eponymous London bookshops ldquoA very large part of the way I sell books has been about how you present them how you bring the customer to them and exploit the tactile sense of a physical book Wersquove changed the furniture at Waterstones to make that happen For the rest of the Guardian article click here