We're Making Progress

We had a planning meeting on May 1 to talk about some of the things we have in progress and some new ideas. Here's a recap:

A. Online write-ins / Jessica
Jessica wasn't present, so this is on hold. Someone suggested Second Life might be an option.

B. Ongoing search for someone to lead an in-person critique group / all 
Nyx has tried to get one started but participation is very low. She'll be trying again soon through Meetup.com to see if that generates more interest.

C. Writing buddies list / DeAnna
There's a "Writing Buddies" document in the "Files" section of the Facebook group site for anyone who seeks a one-on-one critique partner. 

D. OCWriters.org/OCWriters.net / DeAnna 
The website is up and running, with static pages about members, member books, writing resources, etc. already up. The group blog will be included here when it gets going. Feedback on what's there and what could or should be there is always welcome. Also, we hope more people will send in brief bios to be included on the Member page. 

E. Group blog / Jennifer 
Jennifer included a great update in the news feed on May 1, so I won't repeat it. Basically, she has a great plan to get this going and would love to get some volunteers to contribute original content for the blog. In addition to her post, there have been suggestions to include a weekly roundup of links to what O.C. Writers are publishing on their personal blogs, or elsewhere on the web. 

F. Group Anthology / Jennifer 
Again, Jennifer included a great update in the news feed on May 1, so I won't repeat it. She has a plan for a theme (Nanowrimo & O.C.) and wants to include fiction and non-fiction. She needs to know who is interested, and it seems there's already many who are.

G. Webinars and podcasts / Greta and Wendy. 
Wendy wants to develop an author reading podcast, where 3 authors would read excerpts of their work for 5 or 6 minutes each. There will be a link to this collection on the O.C. Writers website. And, perhaps it could tie in with the anthology. The webinars are on a back-burner for now.

H. O.C. Writers Bulletin Board / DeAnna
It's up in the "Files" section of the Facebook group, and anyone is free to post announcements about writing-related events or other information that you think might get lost in the regular news feed.

I. Book fair & festival presence / all
This is still a source of much interest and is likely something we will do. Currently, it seems the best way to make it work will be for authors who are interested to share the work and expense of making it happen. Costs for booth space run from $200 to $1,500, depending on the festival. There is a list of book fairs in SoCal in the "Writers Resources" document in the "Files" section and on the "Writers Resources" page on the OCWriters.org website. If you know of any that are missing, please send me the info and I'll add. (deanna at deannacameron dot com).

II.  NEW BUSINESS

* Wendy suggests we look into forming a micro-publishing venture to help our indie authors. Anyone know more about how to go about doing this, or is interested in leading this effort?

* Our one-year anniversary will take place during the last week of Nanowrimo. So, we'll probably plan some kind of special get-together in early December to celebrate.

Thanks!
~DeAnna