These Girls Know How to Throw a Party!

       For the second year I was invited by Alana Garrigues and Nutschell Anne Windsor to be a guest at the Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles (CBW-LA) book release party.   This year's book is Story Sprouts: Voice.  It's a compilation of the works of 25 different writers with an abundance of helpful information about the art of writing.  

       Once again the ladies at the CBW-LA showed that they are not only fine writers, but outstanding event planners.    I didn't do a head count, but by my estimation there were probably about sixty folks who attended this event and a good time was had by all.   

        There was a lovely buffet table of excellent food and a lot of prizes that were given away in a drawing near the end of the party.  There were gifts for all.   Each of the authors present gave a reading of a brief excerpt of one of their works selected from the volume.  Then the epic book signing where book after book was passed around the tables to be signed by the authors.   What a book signing that was!

        But let me dispense with words to show you some pictures of this grand book release bash:

I received a warm welcome from CBW-LA board members
at the registration desk

Long view of the room looking toward the authors seated
at the front.

Anyone want a book!  (r to l) Nutschell Anne Windsor, Lucy Ravitch,
and Alana Garrigues conduct the program prior to the signings.

Each book at the party was signed by all of the authors present on that day.  I
have my signed copy and have been thoroughly enjoying it.

The mood at the authors table was jubilant and under the
circumstances one would expect it to be!

Part of the assembled audience (myself included) enjoying
 the authors presentation.

CBW-LA Board Members pose prior to cutting the celebratory cake.

 Photos are courtesy of John Hong. 

STORY SPROUTS: VOICE
A Collection of Lessons and Exercises on Voice and the Resulting Creative Works of Poetry and Prose by the Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles.

         Show your support of this writer's group by purchasing a copy of this very well-done and highly useful book.    This would be a wonderful addition to any writing library as well as providing entertaining reading for those who would rather read than write.   Don't forget those writers on your Christmas list.  This is one book that they will use and treasure for years to come.

   

          Story Sprouts: Voice is available at Amazon in both paperback and kindle editions.   After you've bought your copy don't forget to leave a review.   Story Sprouts 2013 edition is also still available.  If you don't have the first edition yet you might want to consider buying both.

          

       Have you obtained a copy of either Story Sprouts book?   If so what did you think?    Are you part of a writer's organization that has published a book?   If so, tell us about it.

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The Benefits of Joining a Professional Writing Organization

     I'm pleased to host Nutschell Windsor, The Writing Nut, to talk about belonging to writing organizations and the collaborative effort published by her group.   Thank you, Nutschell!


 The Benefits of Joining a Professional Writing Organization

While some writers can pursue a career without being part of a professional writing organization, most will benefit from joining one.

I belong to two wonderful writing organizations: The Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (www.scbwi.org) and the Children’s Book Writers of Los Angeles (www.cbw-la.org), which I founded.

Here are some of the benefits I see from being a part of both:

1.       Networking

Networking is an important part of growing any business. And writing is a business. Gone are the days of hermit writers and hidden authors. Nowadays, with so many books vying for readers’ attentions, the name of the game is exposure. Networking with fellow authors will give you the chance to increase your book’s visibility. And if you aren’t published yet, networking will open various opportunities for you. You might find critique partners through networking, or find a freelance editor or literary agent who will help you improve your craft. You might meet a blogger who will enthusiastically review or books or even help you set up your own website.

2.       Career Opportunities

Joining a writing organization might also present you with opportunities to get published or expand your career options. You might impress a literary agent or editor during a workshop or conference and find yourself faced with an offer of representation or an offer of publication. Likewise, a writer you meet at a schmooze might invite you to be a speaker for their writing group, or might offer to write a stellar review of your book.

3.       Professional Development

Writing organizations often present workshops and conferences which feature industry professionals. This presents budding authors with an opportunity to learn from the best. Agents, editors and other authors have a storehouse of knowledge and personal experience in publishing and gaining access to both will help writers improve their own craft. These industry professionals will not share writing techniques, they’ll also provide you with helpful tips on how to market your books.

Aside from workshops and conferences, writing organizations will also have other resources like newsletters, magazines, handbooks, and websites full of helpful links and insiders’ information. You might also find online critique partners through your writing organization.

4.       Recognition

Writing organizations will also have a slew of contests, scholarships, and awards. Your talent will be recognized by professionals if you win any one of these; and having that recognition will certainly help open doors and push you further along on the road to publication. If you’re already a published author, winning an award might help boost sales or help improve your next contract.

Winning a contest might also provide you with an opportunity to attend a conference or workshop for free. The Los Angeles branch of the SCBWI, for example, offers the first place winners of their annual Writer’s Day contest a chance to attend one of the three local events they hold each year.

5.       Support

Writing can be a lonely task and the road to publication is never easy. Having the support of fellow writers who understand the journey you’re taking will help you overcome many of the obstacles you’ll encounter along the way. You’ll also get great support in terms of legal and professional situations.

For instance, if you were offered a contract by a publisher, but you have no literary agent to help you look it over, your writing organization might provide you with a handbook, a set of guidelines or some helpful information to help you figure it out. They might also provide you with a directory of entertainment lawyers, and you can hire one of them to help negotiate a better publishing deal for you,  or to help you out in case you get tangled in some legal situation.

Some writing organizations will also have member insurance policies or emergency funds which might help you in your time of need.

6.       Publication

While schmoozing with agents, authors and editors might get your foot in the door, they don’t necessarily lead to instant publication.

Some writing organizations, however, provide definite opportunities for you to get published in other ways. They might encourage submissions to their newsletters or magazines. Or they might even allow you an opportunity to get published in an anthology.

CBW-LA, for example, holds an annual Writing Day Anthology Workshop where participants are led through a series of writing exercises. At the end of the workshop, each participant produces two pieces which are published months later in the group’s STORY SPROUTS anthology.

Joining a writing group will cost money and also require time, since you’ll have to attend various events to make full use of your membership. While there might be detriments to being part of one, such as possible group infighting or power struggles, I have yet to see this in the writing organizations I belong to.

Whatever other cons there may be for joining a writing organization, I can say from experience that the benefits of belonging to one far outweigh them all.

*************************************************************************************

Super thanks for having me on your blog, Arlee!

STORY SPROUTS: CBW-LA WRITING DAY EXERCISES & ANTHOLOGY 2013

·                          Paperback: 240 pages

·                          Publisher: CBW-LA Publications (October 18, 2013)

·                          Edited by: Alana Garrigues, Nutschell Anne Windsor

·                          Language: English

·                          ISBN-10: 0989878791

·                          ISBN-13: 978-0989878791

·                          Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches

·                          Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

STORY SPROUTS 2013 ANTHOLOGY STATISTICS:

·        19 Authors

·        38 Combined Anthology Entries – 2 per Contributing Author

·        6-hour Workshop

·        10 Writing Exercises (included in Story Sprouts)

·        Dozens of Photo, Character and Conflict Prompts (included in Story Sprouts)

·        240 pages

BLURB:

What happens when linguistic lovers and tale tellers workshop together? Inspiration. Wonder. Discovery. Growth. Magic.

Brave and talented, the writers featured in this anthology took on the challenge of dedicating one day to the raw and creative process of writing.

A rare view into the building blocks of composition, Story Sprouts is made up of nearly 40 works of poetry and prose from 19 published and aspiring children's book authors.

This compilation includes all of the anthology writing exercises and prompts, along with tips, techniques and free online writing resources to help writers improve their craft.

KINDLE & PRINT COPIES AVAILABLE THROUGH AMAZON:

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Sprouts-CBW--Exercises-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00G2X3E52/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388179768&sr=8-1&keywords=story+sprouts

LINKS:

Learn more about Story Sprouts at http://www.storysproutsanthology.com/

Join the Children’s Book Writers of Los Angeles at www.cbw-la.org 

Find Nutschell at:

Blog: www.thewritingnut.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nutschell

Linked-In: www.linkedin.com/in/nawindsor

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/nutschell

Special Editon!!! Story Sprouts Launch!

           If you're looking for my IWSG post you can scroll down below this post, but I hope you'll take a look at this post first.   It's mostly pictures with some explanations about what we're looking at.

"Story Sprouts" Book Launch
Saturday November 2, 2013





           I'd say that the Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles is just about the best writers group anywhere.  For one thing, check out that logo.  What a piece of work!  And so professional.   The CBW-LA is a fine bunch of writerly folks under the leadership of a highly efficient, creative, and all around top notch team of board members.  But my effusive praise is just starting.  By the end of this post you're going to be wishing you lived in the Los Angeles area so you could be a part of this amazing group.





































        So what prompts todays post?  This past Saturday was the launch party for Story Sprouts, a collaborative effort of members who participated in a writing anthology day where those present spent a single day of writing based on prompts presented to them.  The contributors to the anthology are both aspiring and published writers.  The content of the finished book consists of poetry and prose--fiction and non-fiction--as well as the workshop exercises and tips that provided guidance for the authors.  The party was to celebrate the release and honor the writers who were involved.





         The success of the CBW-LA group is largely due to the current board members pictured above.  Some are bloggers that you probably know through their blogs.  From left to right we have Angie Flores, Lucy Ravitch (Kids Math Teacher), CBW-LA founder and president Nutschell Anne Windsor (The Writing Nut), Alana Garrigues (Writercize), and Tiffani Barth who came in from Utah to be at the party.   They are one of the hardest working and  most together teams I've ever seen.  Great job keeping this group so successful!   You can see more about the party if you visit the links to their blogs.





         Here all of the contributing writers from Story Sprouts pose with book cover promotional poster.  They represent a fraction of the members of CBW-LA.   This is a very friendly and supportive group.  They're kind of like the Insecure Writers Support Group live in person.




        What a spread of food they had out for the guests in attendance!




       Seems like I'm fixated on the sweets    They also had a great selection of cheeses, meats, breads, veggies, and fruits.   They even had a bar set up where we could mix our own mocktails based on famous author recipes.  No alcohol since we all had to drive home.  These ladies really know how to throw a swanky shindig.



      What about this cake decorated to look like the book!   And it was darn tasty too!



 

         Plenty of books were on hand for purchase and given as prizes.  And there's a lot more where these came from.   See the links at the bottom of the page if you'd like to order your own copy.  I highly recommend it.




          Balloons especially printed for the occasion!  I just had to show you these.  What did I tell you about the party planning skills of CBW-LA.   This is big time folks!

  Honorary launch guests past CBW-LA speakers (l to r) Carmen Rodrigues, Samantha Combs, and Arlee Bird

         I thank CBW-LA for inviting me as one of the honorary guests.   We each got a Certificate of Appreciation as past speakers at meetings in 2013.  Pictured from left to right are published authors Carmen Rodriguez and Samantha Combs and yours truly, Arlee Bird.   During the course of the day I had very nice chats with both authors pictured here as well as others.   I won a copy of Samantha Combs's book Spellbound which she autographed for me.  They had drawings for a number of great prizes.  Nobody went home empty handed.




           Here are a few of the writers signing book copies.  All of the honored guests received a gift copy of the book signed by all of the authors.  We were also among those who received mention in the book acknowledgements for our roles in 2013 at  CBW-LA workshops.  What unexpected surprises!





        CBW-LA president Nutschell Windsor raises a glass as we toast the newly published authors.  An exciting day for all of them I'm sure.




           The book authors pose with the cake.   What a happy looking bunch they are and I can't say I blame them.   Hopefully this will be the first of many books to come from the CBW-LA.

All photos courtesy of Nutschell Anne Windsor




Story Sprouts (2013)
Support your fellow bloggers and writers by buying a copy.  It would make a great Christmas gift for your writer friends.
For more information visit the Story Sprouts Website

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