What Day Is It?

When I was a child, sometime between the end of the Civil War and the Woodrow Wilson administration, I recall watching a program that always opened with these words: "Hey kids, what time is it?" And the answer was always—say it with me—"It's Howdy Doody time!"

Today, that refrain has changed to "What day is it?" Most of us are stuck inside working from home or staying safe at home, and it's easy to lose track of the days. And since I'm retired, every day seems like a weekend day. But I look forward to the time when we can gather together at libraries for our FWA writers group meetings. However, it looks like June won't be the month for those gatherings.

But I have good news. In June I'll host not one but two Zoom workshops with writing pros addressing valuable topics for writers. Here's what you have to look forward to in June:

• On Saturday, June 13 at 10:30 a.m. Charlene Edge will present the memoir writing workshop she would have given in person in May. "Open a Vein: Writing Your Memoir and Publishing It"  takes us through the steps Charlene took to write and publish her award-winning memoir, Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International.
• And on Saturday, June 27 at 10:30 a.m., tune in for Jane Wood's presentation detailing strategies for selling your books to schools. "Schools: A Niche Market for Authors" will show us how to contact schools, and what makes a book marketable to schools. Jane has sold thousands of books to schools, so you don't want to miss this.

I'll send out the Zoom meeting link and password the week before each session. There's a limit of 100 people for each of these webinars, so if you're interested you should sign up right away.

And in other news, Rik Feeney, who has done a great job keeping writers connected with Zoom meetings, has scheduled another one for Wednesday, June 3 at 7 p.m. This one is with Linda Hollander, who calls herself the Wealthy Bag Lady. Her topic is "Corporate Sponsorship for Books." She's the author of Corporate Sponsorship in 3 Easy Steps and the CEO of Sponsor Concierge. Here's the link to that Zoom meeting: www.SponsorZoomWithLinda.com

I had asked you to keep me informed of any news on the writing front, and two of you came forth to let me know their books are being published. Congratulations to Kaye Schmitz on the publication of her suspense novel, On Deadly Ground. Also to Melissa Kosciuszko on the publication of her Christian suspense novel, Within A Dream. And thanks to Jack Orth for sharing some of his fine writing with me.

I'll leave you with this quote and image I ran across some time ago and only recently uncovered as I was cleaning my file cabinet. They're both from artist Vincent Van Gogh, but if you replace the word painter with writer you'll see that Van Gogh is talking directly to us.

"If you hear a voice within you saying, 'You are not a painter,' then, by all means, paint, boy, and that voice will be silenced. One must undertake (work) with confidence, with a certain assurance that one is doing a reasonable thing, like the farmer who drives his plow, or like our friend in the scratch below, who is harrowing, and even drags the harrow himself. If one hasn't a horse, one is one's own horse."

Cheers,
Vic

Vic DiGenti
FWA Regional Director

Groundhog Day All Over Again

Today marks Day 50 of sheltering at home in the time of the coronavirus. As Dana Carvey's Church Lady might have remarked, "Well, isn't that special?" Of course, it's not that special since most of the country is facing the same Groundhog Day scenario, where the days blend together, separated only by the news we're watching, which also seems pretty much the same, and whatever Netflix series has us glued to the telly.

But there is light at the end of that tunnel. Am I right? Our beaches are open for most of the day now, and the restaurants are slowly allowing a few customers inside. And I hope we're all making progress on our writing projects.

There's little new to report on the FWA Writers Group meetings front, however. All libraries are still closed. All speakers are following the same social distancing guidelines as the rest of us and remaining home, and it might be some time before larger groups of people will feel comfortable gathering for meetings. But not to fret. If you utilize online tools like YouTube, you'll find a wealth of recorded information and workshops by experienced authors. Like this one by British children's and sports novel writer Tom Palmer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUScPnDwzPU. In this ten-minute video, he shows us how to edit a short paragraph, taking us through it step-by-step. You'll find much more on YouTube to educate and entertain you, plus you might make your own YouTube videos and I can report them next time. Just let me know.

Ted Talks and podcasts are two other excellent tools to stretch your brain. If you have a smartphone, there's a good chance it came with a Podcast icon, giving you access to hundreds of fascinating programs covering almost every subject imaginable.

What else is available? Rik Feeney is a popular speaker at writers groups here and around the state. He also leads his own group in Winter Park and arranged for the Penny Sansevieri Zoom workshop last month. BTW, if you missed Penny's workshop on how to sell a truckload of books on Amazon, here's the replay link: https://bit.ly/3aFCz7x

Well, Rik has done it again, and he has orchestrated another live Zoom webinar this Wednesday, May 6 at 7PM with

Rocky and Cheryl Detwiler, authors of the best-selling book, The Samson Effect. They are experts on the Positive Power of Words, have been highlighted on A&E, ABC, ESPN, FOX, and NBC. Reality TV stars and authors, Rocky & Cheryl Detwiler have learned to monetize their message and love helping authors deliver their message to the world by selling more books.
Go online early on Wednesday, May 6th via the link listed below to learn from Rocky & Cheryl, professional coaches, who teach authors how to get paid speaking engagements, create workshops and sell your books in bulk. This webinar is free and open to the public, but space may be limited. Here's the information you'll need to join the meeting:

Topic: Transforming Lives with the Power of Words
Time: May 6, 2020, 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
Click below to join the Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86482585218?pwd=SGlndTRaTjZybzRkcXRNT3NBQkhHZz09

Meeting ID: 864 8258 5218
Password: 212330

And here are a few more items of interest:

• April was National Poetry Month and Loretta Leto is collecting poems for the Mayo Clinic's Humanities in Medicine program. Although April has passed us by, this first week of May honors Florence Nightingale and all nurses, so that's a good theme to work on. The poems are given to health care workers to carry in their pockets. The poems should fit on one page, so no more than 30 lines. Send poems and questions to Loretta at lmleto58@gmail.com.
• While the RPLA submission period has closed, you may still submit to The Florida Writer and join the team of bloggers. Plus there are many webinars available for viewing. The links may be found on the home page.
• Here are a few other competitions still open for submissions: The Austin Film Festival has extended its screenplay competition deadline to June 1. Click here for details. 
• The Masters Review, which bills itself as the platform for emerging writers, has a May 31 deadline for its Flash Fiction Contest, paying a top prize of $3,000. Here's the page with the details.
• The 35th Annual Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival is seeking submissions of original Fiction, Short Fiction, Poetry, and One-Act plays for its 2020-2021 Writing Contest. Fiction and One-Act Play deadline is October 1, 2020. Poetry and Very Short Fiction deadline is October 15, 2020. For complete guidelines and submission details, please see the website. http://tennesseewilliams.net/contests/  
• Former NE Florida writer Lorraine Haataia is now a California resident and working to connect writers with her new site, Prolific Writers Life. It's a way to connect with writers and readers, schedule Zoom meetings, and more. Check it out.

I'll leave you with a favorite quote from Mr. Anonymous.

“Make no little plans. They have no magic with which to stir blood and soul, and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work. Remember that our children and grandchildren will do things that would stagger us. Remember that when you create a situation that captures the imagination, you capture life, reason, everything.”  

I'll see you on the other side,
Vic

Vic DiGenti
FWA Regional Director