Alan Spector - A Writer's Journey

St. Louis Publishers Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Lessons Learned: A Writer’s Journey from Baseball Fields to Battlefields  -- presented by Alan Spector

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”

In that regard, in 2006, when I was developing the manuscript of my first book, I was at a family gathering and asked a would-be-author cousin how her book was progressing. She excitedly reported she was working closely with her agent and editors at the publisher toward a final draft. In return, she asked me how I was doing on my early draft and what kind of feedback I had received. “Feedback?”
She was incredulous, “You mean you haven’t shared your work with others yet? When are you going to get out of your cave?”
I immediately knew what she meant, and added “get out of my cave” to my list of things I was learning about being an author. Sure, I had interviewed people for my book and done a lot of research away from the confines of my computer, but I was enjoying the actual writing process so much I hadn’t reached out to others to get any critical feedback.
My next steps were to 1) join a local writer critique group, 2) register for a couple of writers’ conferences, and 3) develop a list of willing beta readers — the first of which was my wife, who is now the more-than-willing first-reader on all of my manuscripts and is ecstatic when she gets to wield her red editing pen.
My list of lessons learned continues to grow, and First Lady Roosevelt was right. I’ve been learning from others’ mistakes — because I’m out of my cave. And I’ve been making plenty of my own. Here are but a few of the lessons that I’ll be glad to share with you in more detail at the SLPA meeting on February 8:

• Don’t quit your day job… unless you already have.
• Grow thick skin… rejection is inevitable.
• Everyone will have an idea for your next book… and some of them are good.
• Self-published? Tolerate Amazon… but market to direct sales.

I also look forward to hearing what you’ve learned from your mistakes and those of others — oh, and from successes as well. If you’re like me, you’ve had both. I hope to see you and learn from each other on February 8.
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Our regular Monthly Meeting location
(the second Wednesday of every month)

THE HEIGHTS: Richmond Heights Community Center
Argus Room
8001 Dale Ave.
Richmond Heights, MO 63117
Here's a link to Google Maps for location and directions.
Doors open at 6:30 PM for networking. Business meeting begins at 7:00 PM and continues till 8:30 PM or so with networking continuing afterward till about 9.

St. Louis Publishers Association (SLPA) Presents - FULLY FUNDED: A Panel Discussion with Successful Crowdfunding Authors

Crowdfunding helps entrepreneurs raise billions of dollars for their enterprises, sometimes before a single item is manufactured or any employees are hired. Authors can reap the same benefits of
advance fundraising for the sometimes expensive publication process, or even find the money to subsidize their writing, but it takes careful planning, strategic management, and trustworthy tactics.

On Wednesday, September 14, the St. Louis Publishers Association (SLPA) will host a panel discussion with three successful crowdfunding authors (Jamey Stegmaier, Susan Hacker Stang, and Bill Perry) to discuss their insights and observations about the unique challenges authors face in the crowdfunding arena and share advice from their own successes and failures.

Jamey Stegmaier is the CEO and co-founder of Stonemaier Games and has run eight Kickstarter campaigns, raising over $3 million. He is the author of A Crowdfunder's Strategy Guide: Build a Better Business by Building Community.

Susan Hacker Stang is an American photographer and was a professor of communications at Webster University for forty-one years. Her work has been collected by more than twenty-five major museums and libraries around the world and appears in numerous books and magazines. Her publications include Encountering Florence/Firenze un incontro; Kodachrome – End of the Run: Photographs from the Final Batches; Kodachrome Notes; and her recently published book, reAPPEARANCES, was funded by a Kickstarter campaign.

Bill Perry is an artist whose drawings, paintings, and sculptures can be seen at galleries, playgrounds, bike trails, and wildlife sanctuaries throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area. He teaches drawing and painting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School. His book, Road Trip: A Fold-Out Adventure, was successfully launched through a Kickstarter campaign

Join the SLPA on September 14 for a robust and lively conversation about crowdfunding, from the basics to insider knowledge, and bring your best questions for Q&A!

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Our regular Monthly Meeting location
(the second Wednesday of every month)

THE HEIGHTS: Richmond Heights Community Center
Argus Room
8001 Dale Ave.
Richmond Heights, MO 63117

Here's a link to Google Maps for location and directions.

Doors open at 6:30 PM for networking. Business meeting begins at 7:00 PM and continues till 8:30 PM or so with networking continuing afterward till about 9.

10 Media Relations Tips for Authors and Publishers

Take a few minutes to read Kim Wolterman Blog Post about our workshop this past Saturday and her top ten tips for Authors and publishers.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

10 Media Relations Tips for Authors and Publishers

The Publicity Hound

Writers and publishers in the St. Louis area are blessed to have the active and resourceful St. Louis Publishers Association right in their backyard. In addition to monthly meetings and an annual class on getting your book published, occasionally a national speaker is brought in. Such was the case last Saturday when Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, came to St. Louis for a jam-packed three hour workshop on tips for profitable self-promotion. Joan is a publicity expert, speaker and trainer who works with businesses, authors, marketers and many others who need assistance with their publicity endeavors.

Saturday's workshop covered working with the media, creating video and audio, blogging (and repurposing your own content), press releases and pitching to journalists. Here are my top ten takeaways from Joan's presentation:

10. Pinterest is one of the fastest growing forms of social media. This visual platform is predominantly used by females.

9. Join LinkedIn groups that contain influencers who can help you with your promotions, not just author and/or publisher groups.

8. The Freelance Directory of the Society of Professional Journalists can help you locate journalists who write about your topic.

7. Once you have identified the journalists who represent what you write about, then read their blogs. Research them before you pitch to them.

6. Authors need to blog. Ideally, a blog post should be around 700 words so Google can find it.

5. Repurpose your content. Turn blog posts into podcasts, create YouTube videos, put tips on Pinterest.

4. Review existing podcast topics. Small, niche topics do well here because not too many people are doing it.

3. Complete a Google profile, and make sure that you have linked all of your websites to it.

2. Creating videos and audio content is imperative if you want to be found on Google, and to be recognized as an expert in your field.

And the top tip learned from Joan...

1. Promote yourself as an expert, do not promote your book. If the media sees you as an expert, they will call upon you for stories. The publicity for your book will follow.

Joan's presentation was professional, entertaining and enlightening. The fifty some attendees were attentive and engaged. What a productive way to spend a Saturday morning.

If you are not currently following Joan, I would highly encourage you to do so. Her publicity tips are priceless, though many of them are offered for free. To receive her free DIY publicity tips, you can subscribe here.