May Meeting Roundup + Good News
Our May meeting featured award-winning author, Jennifer Ashley (also known as Allyson James, or Ashley Gardner). With over 83 novels and novellas under her belt, she had a lot to share with us regarding her writing process, her path to success, and her tips for navigating the rapidly changing world of publishing.According to Jennifer, the business of publishing isn't simply about printing a book; it's about getting that book into the hands of as many readers as possible. Finding your audience, she said, is the most important piece of the sales puzzle, and it can be easy to see what people are reading by browsing some of the top bestseller lists, particularly that of Amazon. However, she stressed that even though it's important to keep an eye on the market, you shouldn't become obsessed. As an author, the best thing you can do for your career is to concentrate on writing your books.Aside from listening to our fantastic guest speaker, we mingled, enjoyed lunch, and handed out our monthly awards. May's Members of the Month were Cindy Kinnard-Diamond and Kristin Rockaway, for their recent efforts to help reinvigorate the chapter’s blog and Twitter account.
And here’s all the good news our chapter members had to share!
- Susan Burns' A Far Far Better Thing prequel novella for the Legends of Golden paranormal series ranked in the top 100 Amazon Kindle Best Seller List in Psychic Paranormal Romance and Sci Fi Romance.
- Laura Connors self-pubbed a short story, “No Higher Honor.”
- Kitty Bucholtz had a full request from an editor and a partial request from an agent at the California Dreamin’ conference in Brea.
- Christine Locksy entered the Orange Rose novella category with Giving Thanks.
- Pamela Moran released “Dreamwalkers: Touched” in the Sexy to Go Volume 4 Anthology.
- Margaret Taylor taught a Master Class in Law Enforcement Scenarios for Writer University.
- Regan Walker released To Tame the Wind, a prequel to the Agents of the Crown trilogy, and was also nominated for the RONE award for The Red Wolf’s Prize.
- Gloria Gay has a new release for Kindle, Enchanted Summer.
- Melissa Cutler’s Game Changer was released on May 19th.
- Demi Hungerford entered the Orange Rose contest with The Way She Moves.
- Georgie Lee entered the Maggie Awards, the Wisconsin Reader’s Choice Awards, and self-published Lady’s Wager.
Next month, we'll be hosting literary agent Sara Megibow, who'll be talking about the life of an agent -- and taking pitches for your completed projects! Sign up for a pitch today, and we'll see you in June!
