Our First Conference Speaker was Maya Golden Bethany, an Associated Press winning and Emmy-nominated multimedia journalist, who gave us a presentation on book marketing called: STAND OUT IN THE STACKS: BOOK MARKETING ON A BUDGET. She told us that it is estimated that 4 million books are released annually. Almost a million are traditionally published…

The July10 meeting showcased the talents of our Guild writers as we each shared a 3 to 5 minutes story of any sort. It was very entertaining and enjoyed by all. Looking forward to Saturday conference so we just got together for a night of fun and sharing.

Micheal Hawron–June 12, 2023 He used different themes in his life to write about his own personal experiences. A memoir is writing what you know. You know yourself and all that happened to you in your life. He explained that he has written three autobiographies with the same subject: a framework to get across to…

Aaron Plan – ETWG Secondary Historian East Texas Writers Guild General Meeting Notes – May 8, 2023 Speaker: Carolyn L. Dean Common Mistakes Made by Authors Thinking you have to know everything Thrashing – Not pulling the trigger, constant research How to fix it: Write down what you really need to get your book done,…

Mike Clifton, an award-winning author, gave a presentation on what to look for in a publisher and some warning signs of unscrupulous companies. He showed that these fly-by-night operations and bilk authors out of thousands of dollars. He talked about publishing–traditional, indie and hybrid. For more information: visit Michael’s official website at www.michaelscottclifton.com or google…

Carolyn Dean writes cozy mysteries, romances and other fictional writings. She has over 1 million books in print and we were privileged to hear her speak at our regular Monday night meeting. She used an excellent outline full of good advice so I have listed below the order of the presentation through her Power Point…

On February 13th, 2023, Jayne Morrow challenged us with how she writes novels using a beat sheet. A fascinating demonstration of the do’s and don’ts of writing fiction of any kind which needs a ‘brick by ‘brick’ or scene by scene construction of the book until the novel is complete. Jayna’s books have spent time…

Mike presented a great discussion of world building. He discussed how language, culture, religion, morals, climate, weather and even architecture affects world building and how that sets up the scenes in a story and enriches and colors the entire backdrop.   Here is Mike receiving a Certificate of Appreciation for all he has done for…

Patty has returned and gave us good advice about setting magic, characters that come alive and good plotting. We also discussed our surveys and attempts to reach out to more people and age groups. Lisa Holcomb (the 3rd picture below) moderated our discussion. .

President Lisa Holcomb called the meeting to order after a short delay from our usual starting time of 6:30 PM. Birthdays were announced for October. They included Linda Pirtle, Gene La Viness, and Patricia La Vigne. There was no treasurer’s report, nor Old Business. Ilenya Marrin reminded the group about the suggestions submitted by Maya…