NAIWE to Co-Host Conference

The National Association of Independent Writers and Editors will be co-hosting its first conference in 2019! NAIWE is honored to bring this exceptional educational experience to publishing professionals!

This year's theme will be Gateway to Success, and the sessions will include business basics, getting started, marketing and promotions, using tools such as Word and Acrobat (PDFs), websites, expanding a business, and much more.

NAIWE will partner with Communication Central to present this year's "Be a Better Freelancer"® conference on October 11-13, 2019, to be held at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, which is convenient to nearby attractions, shopping, and dining.

Registration and program details are being arranged and will be announced shortly.

Webinar: Write Your Novel in 6 Months

We wanted to get to know Greg Smith (NAIWE's Agile Writing Expert) better, so last month we sat down with him. Here are some things he shared about his craft of novel writing.

What is one thing that you learned about your craft the hard way, and what benefits have you received from it?

More than anything, EDITING MATTERS. My first book, Agile Writer: Method, was compiled from my seminar notes. I passed it out to friends and family and got a lot of good edits from them. But it wasn't as good as a professional editor. I begged my readers to put reviews on Amazon, and they were all really positive. But there were two or three reviews that said, "although the content is excellent, the book could use a good editor." Considering that my goal was to have a bound book to handout or sell at my seminars, and I was broke at the time, choosing not to hire an editor was the right choice. However, once someone puts your bad spelling and grammar in a review, there's little you can do to take it back. I am currently working with an editor to revise my book. A re-release is scheduled for March.

You can join in this conversation and learn how you can write the first draft of your novel in 6 months on February 25, at 7 pm ET, when NAIWE will host a one-hour overview of novel writing. The cost for NAIWE members is $10 and $30 for non-members.

To register for this webinar, please send an email along with your name and telephone number. An invoice will be sent to you for the amount owed.

March Webinar: The Value of Networking: How It Can Help You Build Your Business

In March, we will be chatting with Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, NAIWE's Networking Expert, on networking with colleagues.

We hear about networking all the time, but what is it and why is it valuable to independent writers and editors? Networking is simply interacting with colleagues to exchange information, resources, and support. Done right, it can create credibility, provide leads to new projects and clients, and bolster an independent business in many ways. Networking is a two-way process; it goes beyond joining a professional organization.

Ruth Thaler-Carter has been a full-time freelance writer, editor, proofreader, and desktop publisher for more than 30 years. She has been published locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally and does editing and proofreading for, publications, websites, service firms, and businesses. Renowned as a skilled networker, Ruth is a newsletter editor, publication author, speaker/presenter, blogger, program planner, and chapter leader. She has also been involved in other professional organizations in the past as a newsletter editor, speaker, and event planner. Ruth received a Philip M. Stern Award of Washington (DC) Independent Writers for service to freelancers; the Writers and Books Big Pencil Award for teaching adults and contributions to the literary community; EFfie awards for writing, editing, and newsletters; and an APEX award for feature writing; and was an IABC/DC Communicator of the Year, among other honors.

The cost for NAIWE members is $10 and $30 for non-members. To register for this webinar, which will be held on March 18 at 7 pm ET, please send an email along with your name and telephone number. An invoice will be sent to you for the amount owed.

January's New & Renewing NAIWE Members

Amy Beardsley (Fremont, MI); Kelley Bitter (Hudson, OH); Gary Corcoran (Charlestown, RI); Ken Cross (Frisco, TX); Jennifer Della'Zanna (Woodbine, MD); Terry Edlin (Chicago, IL); Glenda Gill (Mililani, HI); Jennifer Herrington (Cambridge, ON); Celia Iannelli (Jamesport, NY); Luke Louden (Bloomington, IL); Rhonda Morrison (Asheville, NC); Laura Porter (Worcester, MA); Molly Q. Cort (Rochester, NY); Diana DeSpain Schramer (Sun Prairie, WI); Alice Steinke (Phoenix, AZ); Jenny Watz (Hillsboro, MO); Iris Williams (Little Rock, AR).

NAIWE Member News

I am someone who finds “transitions” of almost any kind a natural challenge and source of resistance. If I’m up I don’t want to go to bed. If I’m in bed I don’t want to get up. If I’m home, I don’t want to leave. If I’m away, I don’t want to go home. If I’m into one activity I don’t want to move onto the next. You get the idea.

This resistance is magnified when I perceive the task at hand as boring, tiring, overwhelming, or just don’t want to do it, or know where to begin.

One especially mundane example is washing my (long, heavy) hair. It’s a tiring chore to me, and really breaks up my day. But once my hair is thoroughly wet and I’m committed, it isn’t that hard to get the rest of the job done. I’ve often found myself saying this ‘Poppinsesque’ phrase once I have begun.

When it comes to a more daunting task, such as beginning a new writing project or assignment, the same holds true, and is even more helpful. Just getting something down on the page helps, because then you’ve already started. You have something to add to, gradually shape, and improve, instead of the dreaded blank page.

In this case, as with other larger projects, you don’t have to do it all at once. In fact, if you’re at all dreading it or uncertain how to proceed, just making a start, however small, takes you that much closer to accomplishing the task, with as little pain as possible.

Many of you will be familiar with the “Pomodoro Method,” where you set a timer for 25 minutes (or in practice any time you want), work on the project at hand until the timer goes off, and then quit until next time. You can get a surprising amount done in short, concentrated spurts, which will make it easier to build on your progress in the next session.

This idea of just beginning, just taking a step forward, however small, can be applied to many aspects of life. Sometimes once you start you can finish a small job all at once and have it off your list. Other times just doing something helps make a large job you do over time much less daunting.

Either way, I encourage you to take that first step today.

Read more of this article on Diane Fanucchi's blog.