ASJA PNW plans to invite an expert on book publicity to speak to the group this summer, while tax issues for writers and small business owners will be on the speaker agenda for fall.
Also discussed at the virtual meeting, held March 16, were issues with the new ASJA website, including lack of content posted on the site and problems members have experienced finding their own author profiles. Carolyn Miller agreed to follow up with ASJA headquarters and Minda Zetlin will bring the issue up at the association’s annual conference in May.
In member news:
- Christina Leimer has relocated to Missouri, but will remain a member of the PNW chapter.
- Fred Gebhart is now documenting medical conferences and speakers online, versus travelling to events—and says he misses the city amenities, but not the travel and logistics.
- Rosemary Keevil, who is taking a course on writing a spiritual memoir, recommends Story Circle Network, which offers great support for women writers.
- Joanna Nesbit recently cracked AARP magazine’s This is 50 section (articles forthcoming). Meanwhile, she’s had a couple of new articles in Money Magazine, including 3 Ways Financial Aid Letters Confuse Families (https://money.com/confusing-college-financial-aid-letters-tips/) and This Student Loan Loophole Could Cut Parent PLUS Debt Payments in Half (https://money.com/parent-plus-loans-repayment-double-consolidation/).
- Carolyn Miller pitched and sold four blog posts to an association client.
Writers at the meeting also compared notes on how to negotiate a payment process with a difficult client.
ASJA members attending the March meeting: Maxine Cass, Fred Gebhart, Rosemary Keevil, Catherine Kolonko, Christina Leimer, Bruce Miller, M. Carolyn Miller, Joanna Nesbit, Sharon Thompson, Minda Zetlin.