ASJA PNW Meeting 2022-09


Plans for transitioning content to the chapter’s new website and priority topics for upcoming guest speakers were on the agenda at the September meeting of ASJA Pacific Northwest.

Sandra Beckwith, a book marketing expect, was unable to attend the meeting, but the chapter hopes to re-schedule her talk. Those interested in specific aspects of book marketing, or with questions for Sandra, can forward suggestions to michellerafter@comcast.net. In November, a guest speaker will join the meeting to discuss tax issues for writers.

Also discussed at the September Zoom meeting:

  • Situations under which writers can repost articles written for clients on their own websites
  • Importance of saving PDF versions of articles that exist only online

In member news:

Portland-based writers Carolyn Miller, Randy Stapilus, Catherine Kolonko and Sharon Thompson got together in-person this month in Portland, where the Pacific Northwest chapter originated.

Seattle writer Bruce Miller joined the Zoom meeting from Lincoln, Nebraska, where he attended a conference hosted by Inside Outside, producer of a podcast, newsletter, and events that foster innovation. IO2022 brought together innovators and entrepreneurs from across the U.S. and Canada, including keynote speaker Robert Tercek, founder and CEO of General Creativity, author of Vaporized, Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World, and co-host of The Futurists Podcast.

Christina Leimer’s story, Quitting the City to Restore a Forest, profiling the work of fellow ASJA Pacific Northwest members Fred Gebhart and Maxine Cass to preserve and restore a 20-acre forest in southern Oregon, appears in the September issue of Next Avenue, an online journalism publication produced by Twin Cities PBS. Christina, who recently moved back to her home town in rural southeast Missouri, also wrote about buying her first home at age 63 for the August issue of Next Avenue.

Michelle Rafter, based in Portland, will lead a workshop on negotiating for writers at the ASJA 2022 Virtual Fall Conference, October 11-13. Michelle’s presentation, on October 11 and part of the content marketing track, is an update to a talk she delivered at ASJA’s 2017 national conference.

ASJA members attending the September 21st meeting: Maxine Cass, Fred Gebhart, Christina Leimer, Bruce Miller, M. Carolyn Miller, Joanna Nesbit, Michelle V Rafter, Sharon Thompson, Darlene West.