A Most Impartial Judge

First of all, a big, heart-felt thank you to all of you who've read the blog! I appreciate all the emails and calls I've gotten. I hope the blog has helped you understand the publishing business. I also hope it's made you laugh.

Earlier in the summer, I announced a contest for those of you who read faithfully. If you placed a sticker on your critique submission, I put your name in a hat, actually it was a shoebox, and my three-year-old son drew the winner. (See photo at top of post.) I tried to take a photo of the selection process, but it was just a blurry image of a boy, some dogs, and lots of tiny pieces of paper.

But, just to let you know I didn't forget, the winner was drawn on October 18, 2009 at approximately 7:00pm ET and it was completely random. (No dogs or children were injured, though my left eye is still hurting a bit as it was slightly damaged ---though not permanently --- in the excitement, or shall I say melee.)

I'll post the winner on Thursday night. Your prize will be at the registration desk with your name on it in case you miss the blog.

Thanks again and I look forward to meeting each and every one of you in a few days!

What's In It For Me?

Every so often, people ask me what membership in South Carolina Writers' Workshop will do for them. Having recently answered that question, I decided to devote this post to those benefits. Some of this information came from the Join Us link on our web site, http://www.myscww.org/. I've expanded on that information, so please don't check out on me here.

Benefits of membership include:

Local (or remote) SCWW Chapter meetings

I always find that I write better after meeting with my local chapter. Membership allows you to attend ANY chapter meeting within SCWW, so you can get that shot of energy even while on vacation or out of town on business. I did that last year while vacationing in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Practical advice from other writers

Sources for advice abound. You can locate them in the SCWW blog, from SCWW members, and through free workshops presented by our chapters. A member-only yahoo group is in the works, and it will connect all of our members.

If you read ANY serious writing magazine, you will read that membership in a writing group is extremely important to your success. I've learned so much about my writing style just by tapping into SCWW's available avenues of advice.

Interesting conversation (not necessarily restricted to writing).

Shoulders to cry on in celebration of your first (or hundredth) rejection letter.

Friends to invite to the champagne party celebrating your first (or fifth) bestseller.

Your chapter friends can help you decide where to submit your work and how to word your query, synopsis, etc.

Fun (and inexpensive) entertainment for a few hours a month.

Some of my closest friends are members of SCWW and not just in the Greenville area. We have over 500 members throughout the US and a few international members.

Discount rate for SCWW conference attendance

Members have the opportunity to sign up for the conference at a reduced rate, plus you can renew your membership at a discount if you do so while registering for the conference. My membership doesn't expire until late August, but I take advantage of the reduced rate rather than wait.

Our conference rates are incredible when you compare them to other conferences. Many conferences offer 1/3 the number of faculty or workshop offerings that we do, and often cost upwards of $600. We strive to keep our rates low so our members can enjoy this benefit.

Our Conference Committee negotiates a fantastic hotel sleeping room rate for our members. We've considered moving to other resorts, but we can't beat what we have at the Myrtle Beach Hilton. In fact, other groups using the same resort are paying much higher room rates.

Our conference has grown from attendance of 150 people to 500+. It offers multiple opportunities for conversations with agents and editors, and last year, Writer's Digest featured the conference in one of their issues. This exposure means that New York publishing is well aware of SCWW, and membership in our organization carries a positive reputation. Last year's faculty kept commenting on the high caliber of writers within our organization. And, if you've somehow missed this fact, agents and editors requested over 50 manuscripts during last year's conference. We know of at least one that has already been published.

Eligible to Compete in Anthology Contest

The Petigru Review gives our members an opportunity to be published. Some of last year's authors were nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Eligible to Compete in the Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Awards

This contest is named after one of our founding members, Carrie McCray. It comes with a $500 first place prize and $100 second place prize. Members must attend the conference to enter. One of last year's judges (an agent) requested the full manuscript from one of the First Chapter entries.

The Quill - SCWW's monthly newsletter

The Quill provides up-to-date information on occurrences within SCWW. Also, we have contests, giving members another way to build their publishing resume.

Now that I've covered the website's benefits list, let me add a few:

Website (myscww.org)

If you haven't visited the web site lately, you should. We have a great new look. Any member who has a website, blog, or published book can have a link, along with the picture of your book, on our site. The site also provides information on contests and other opportunities for writers.

Our Chapter page helps writers locate the local chapter meetings. Plus, you can create a chapter web site through the SCWW site. Our webmaster, can help you with this.

The SCWW Board is exploring the idea of a members only sign-in that provides access to information. One feature will be access to our membership, allowing you to look up CURRENT member listings at any time.

Thanks to several enthusiastic members, you can join our Facebook or LinkedIn groups.

Connections

You get out of SCWW what you are willing to put in. In 2007, I jumped in feet first and gained wonderful connections with several publishing professionals. It's the old adage of networking: What matters is who you know. This week, I sent a partial of my manuscript to an agent who performed my critique last October. Two other publishing professionals have expressed an interest in reading my manuscript. Several published authors, who I met through the conference, have given me valuable assistance and feedback in the past two years. I would never experience these milestones of success if it wasn't for SCWW.

Broader Visibility

Besides the publishing options, you have the opportunity to run for open positions on our Board of Directors or volunteer for a committee position. Volunteering will make you more visible to the publishing world. I co-chaired the conference last year, and the experience opened several doors for me.

Free Workshops

SCWW provides financial support and guidance to local chapters that want to provide a one-day seminar. The chapter provides a service to the community while increasing its contacts and visibility. We have members of the Board who know the ropes and are willing to help you with this process. Because of our grant from SC Arts Council, we must offer a few free workshops each year. The Greenville chapter has one scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 8 from 1 - 3 at the Greenville Main Library. Ray Blackston, author of Flabbergasted and 5 other books, is speaking on "The Twisted Road to Publishing".

Whew! That's a lot! All of this for a $50 membership fee. It's like that credit card commercial:

Membership in SCWW - $50
Contacts with other writers - Priceless
Visibility and Connection with Publishing Professionals - Priceless

Critique Slots are Filling Up FAST!

I sat down with the latest batch of registrations for the conference today and critique spots---especially extendeds---are filling up very fast. We already have several faculty members who are sold out. Don't miss your chance to get a critique from your first choice faculty member.

If you plan to purchase a critique or pitch session for the conference, don't wait to register! All critiques must be received by September 1, 2009 and we cannot offer critiques past that date. Although that seems like a long time, it's not. Less than six weeks left!

Here are the links:

If you plan to pay using your credit or debit card, use this link:
https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1005695

If you plan to pay by check, use this link:
https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1005691

We love it when you pay by check! Credit cards and debit cards charge SCWW a percentage every time we submit for payment. So, if you can pay by check, please do! It will mean that more of your money goes to support SCWW and the conference.

Weekly Contest #1 (June 29-July 4)

We're starting the contest off with a tough one. Get your pencils sharpened!

Post your entry on the comments and we'll announce the winner, along with the prize, on Sunday, July 5th. If we post your first name and last initial as the winner, please email us at conference@myscww.org with your contact information.

Here we go!

Take the following paragraph and transform it into the best opening paragraph you can manage. Entries must be no more than 250 words. Posts that go over 250 words will be deleted and not considered for the prize.

Sally Rogers, a tired forty-year old housewife, wiped the counter for the hundredth time. Her kids were so messy! She hated all these chores. She should have followed her dream. Being a showgirl on the Vegas strip was what she wanted from the time she was a little girl. Everyone laughed at her and her made fun of her dreams. If only her mom had paid for dance lessons. Maybe now she wouldn't be a hundred pounds overweight, married to a total slob and living in a rat-infested apartment in Daytona Beach. She had to get the heck out of here. But she needed some funds.

Feel free to add, subtract, alter any details you want as long as the opening keeps the same basic storyline.

Good luck!

Major Announcement: Weekly Blog Contest

We're starting our weekly contest! Each week, until the conference, we'll be having a blog contest. I'll post the weekly challenge each Monday. You'll have until the following Saturday at Noon Eastern to post your entry in the form of a comment to the original post.

On Saturday or Sunday of each week, I'll post the winner (first name and last initial) on the blog. You don't have to be a member of SCWW or be registered for the conference to enter. You can pick up your prize upon registration at the conference. If you're not attending the conference, we will mail your prize to you after the conclusion of the conference.

We have some really cool prizes: signed books, craft books, SCWW merchandise and lots of other unique things.

Here are the rules:
1. You must be at least 18 years of age.
2. If you are a winner, you are not eligible for the following week's contest. Please sit out one week to give others a chance to win.
3. Entries that include graphic sex, violence or profanity, or are not related to the topic will be deleted.
4. All contests will be judged by the Chair or a Co-Chair of the 2009 SCWW Conference Committee. All decisions are final.
5. Conference Chair and Co-Chairs are not eligible to enter the contest.

Be on the lookout for your first chance to win. I'll post the challenge on Monday.