Networking with the St. Louis Publishers Association

 Annual Vendor Showcase and Amy Collins Workshop

Over the past month the St. Louis Publishers Association (SLPA) had the opportunity to present two valuable events. Over 100 attended the August 8th event that featured editors, publishers, illustrators, printers, graphic designers, and coaches. Both the vendors and attendees had positive feedback and established new connections, exchanged ideas and concepts, and enjoyed an evening of positive interaction.   

 

2018 Participating Vendors:

Davis Creative Author Consultants / My Two Cents Editing / Mission Possible Press / Beeson Editing Services /HF Group Book Partners /Pen and Publish / Editwright / Art by Shelley /Graphic Connections Publishing /Nehmen & Kodner Design /Comma Queen Editing /Carolyn Vaughan Design / Record Printing & Publishing  / Michelle Aschenbrenner Editing  / No Waste Publishing 

Amy Collins Workshop
On July 21^st we had the honor to host Amy Collins, president of  New Shelves, who presented a workshop filled with information on the Ins & Outs of Amazon and How to Get Books into Bookstores. This workshop proved to be another valuable opportunity for networking and learning available tools for successful methods to market books.  

1)  Each position (buy) you take in an asset must be a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 10% of your total portfolio assets.

(2)  Cash must NOT exceed 20% of your portfolio at any time. You MUST be investing, not sitting on the sidelines.

By the end of Week One, your client (me) MUST have a 2-3 page double-spaced paper explaining your philosophy, process, and the initial positions and allocations you have chosen for your portfolio (portfolio statement), following the two rules above.

 Here are your portfolio options that I have set up for you:

Starting balance for players:

 $2,500,000.00

 Commission:

 $10.00

 Credit Interest Rate:

 3.00%

 Leverage Debt Interest Rate:

 6.00%

 Minimum Stock Price:

 $2.00

 Maximum Stock Price:

 $500,000.00

 Trading Volume Limit:

 1.00%

 Short Selling:

 Enabled

 Margin Trading:

 Enabled

  The final project will be due no later than midnight on the final day of class and is worth 200 points. Your paper and portfolio will be measured on the following three elements by your client (me, again):

 (1)  Absolute return – the total dollar amount that your portfolio increased over the trading period and

(2)  Risk-adjusted return – the return on the portfolio taking into account the level of risk you assumed as measured by the Sharpe Ratio.

 (3)  A 3-4 page, double-spaced paper about your experience with this game that addresses at least the following questions:

a)    Which positions exceeded your expectations and what conditions caused this?

b)   Which positions underperformed for you and what factors created the performance gap?

c)    What were the key things you learned from your Virtual Stock Exchange simulation and how will it influence your personal investing in the future?

Publishing and Marketing Panel Discussion

What do you need to consider when marketing and selling books to bookstores? What’s the difference between self-publishing and assisted self-publishing? What are the differences between marketing a traditionally published book versus a self-published book?

The St. Louis Publishers Association strives to present topics that help aspiring and published authors answer questions about the publishing process, author promotion, and marketing books, and to accomplish that goal, on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, we’ll host two experts, Jennifer Geist and Heather Tearney, for a panel discussion that will review the publishing process, provide marketing tips, and, most importantly, provide plenty of time for plenty of questions. Comments and questions for the panel can also be submitted in advance via email to SLPA President Warren Martin at president@stlouispublishers.org.
Jennifer Geist is the publisher at Pen & Publish, Inc., and its imprints: Brick Mantel Books, Open Books Press, and Transformation Media Books. With experience in editing, book compositing, photography, graphic and web design, marketing, writing, and more, she manages every book from acquisitions to publication and beyond. Geist received her bachelor’s degree in creative writing with a focus in small press publishing through Southeast Missouri State University. She has worked with numerous small presses and her stories and photos are published in a variety of literary magazines.
Heather Tearney has more than eight years of experience working with self-publishing authors around the country. She is the Director of the ShowMe Writers Masterclass conference, a partnership between Mizzou Publishing and the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers’ Guild, held each fall in Columbia, MO. Her journey with authors and printing books began with the installation of the Espresso Book Machine (EBM) in 2009 at The Mizzou Store. She has presented for Xerox and their Thought Leadership Workshops on the EBM and self-publishing, as well as having been a consultant for the company selling the EBM, On Demand Books. Since then, she has expanded the printing services offered to authors beyond the EBM and frequently works with authors on marketing not only their books, but also themselves.

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Monthly Meeting Admission

• Members – FREE
  
• Non-member Guests – $10 per person, cash or check at the door
  

(Guest fee will be applied to Membership if you decide to join at that meeting)Doors open at 6:30 PM for networking. Business meeting begins at 7:00 PM and continues till 8:30 PM.

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.