FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:          Patricia L. Brooks

Title:                President, Founder

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Address:          7970 E. Camelback Rd., 710, Scottsdale, AZ  85251

Cell                  (480-250-5556) anytime

Email:              patricia@plbrooks.com and Web Site: www.plbrooks.com

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

Celebrates the Thanksgiving Holiday

 and welcomes  Kebba Buckley, MS, OM -  “The Life Tools Lady”

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona, November 17, 2008

The Thanksgiving Holiday will be enjoyed a week earlier at the Scottsdale Society of Women Writers dinner meeting n the 19^th with Kebba Buckley, MS, OM, The Life Tools Lady” and author of Discover the Secret Energized You.  She will be sharing her expertise in healing and wellness, as well as her enthusiasm about the ways we can utilize her ideas for more creativity in our writing. 

The meeting is from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Café Carumba restaurant, 7303 E. Indian School Rd., Old Scottsdale on Wednesday the 19^th of November.  Women writers are urged to attend and hear exciting ideas launched by this dynamic group!  Please RSVP if you plan to attend to Patricia at patricia@plbrooks.com or 480-250-5556 cell.

For less stress to write more, bring your stress and fatigue associated with your writing to the meeting and leave it there!  Kebba will also discuss how she uses her book with her business and the self-publishing process that launched her book last spring,  She is in the process of writing another book in her wellness series.  Learn more about Kebba and her book at these sites: www.kebba.com  or www.discoverthesecretenergizedyou.com

The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers hopes you will be there to celebrate all the things we are thankful for this time of the year, especially the opportunity to express freedom of speech in writing!  The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers was founded three years ago by Patricia L. Brooks, local Scottsdale author and business owner. 

The Scottsdale Society of Women Writers gives members access to events of interest, a format for exchanging ideas, an opportunity to network with other women authors, an alliance with businesses relating to writing and publishing and camaraderie and support found in no other group.   For more information, please contact Patricia at patricia@plbrooks.com or 480-250-5556 cell or see www.plbrooks.com  for the SSWW Goals and Purpose page and Ms. Brooks’ credentials as the leader of SSWW.  All guests are invited to attend two meetings before joining this impressive group of women.

Good Afternoon!

One of the most important aspects in self-publishing is to find a publisher/consultant who will not leave you on the dance floor!  It is imperative that a working relationship is built between all parties on the team that puts the book together AND that the publisher/consultant and author continue to improve their connection in marketing efforts for a “win-win” situation.

One of my favorite authors, Kebba Buckley, www.kebba.com author of Discover the Secret Energized You is my partner next month at the Arizona Book Publishers’ event with the Arizona Library Association.  We published her book last May and she has had a great year building speed with her product.

The event is being held the 8th, 9th and 10th of December in the city of Glendale, AZ.  We will have a table there to meet-and-greet the library population, as well have fliers dispersed to the library public through a mailout.  In addtion, we have information noted in the announcements section of their brochure. 

This is a wonderful opportunity for the publisher/consultant (me) www.brooksgoldmannpublishing.com to continue growing my relationship with one of my favorite authors (Kebba).  It is a great asset to the book industry and something that the Arizona Book Publishers Association has participated in before and deemed successful.  We are looking forward to our time there.  I will report back later on how things went for us.

Below is my view of the Top 12 Tips to Thrive in 2009 - Value Selling for Great Relationships.  I share them because they are the philosophy I live by in business today.  I share these with my authors, other clients and students.  They are here for you too.  These have evolved for me and made me a better partner.  Some I have learned the hard way, but I know they are the right way.  Today I believe it is not about the money, it is about the relationship.  See below.  Good luck!

“Buyers may prefer brands, but reserve loyalty for people”

TIP #1              Develop GREAT relationships through TRUST.

TIP #2              EMPOWER yourself with KNOWLEDGE to compete effectively.

TIP #3              Establish a VALUE SELLING philosophy of being PROACTIVE.

TIP #4              Promise much, pledge even MORE.

TIP #5              Exceed customer EXPECTATIONS every day.

TIP #6              Build VALUE upfront and make price less an issue.

TIP #7              Define the VALUE to equal a WIN/WIN scenario.

TIP #8              Believe selling is for value and VALUE is like BEAUTY. 

TIP #9              EMPATHIZE with the customer as their PROBLEM SOLVER.

TIP #10            Honor your INTEGRITY by courageous CUSTOMER CARE.

TIPI #11           Grow your business while making a DIFFERENCE.

TIP #12            Combine competence and attitude to WIN customer LOYALTY.

P. L. Brooks Seminars, LLC

Brooks Goldmann Publishing Co., LLC

Patricia L. Brooks, MAOM

Speaker, Author, Business Coach and Faculty Associate

www.plbrooks.com

 480-250-5556 - patricia@plbrooks.com  

Good Evening!  In my self-publishing circles, the word is getting the right people on your team and being sure you have a “buy-in” by all of the team for the schedule and timeline you set in place for your author’s book launch.  It is critical to the success of the team, and  paramount to the future of the book launch that everyone involved stay focused for the duration.

For my clients, I immediately set the timeline in place, working backwards from the author’s final “needed” date and then set-up the schedule with all the players.  The players at this stage have committed to the author and to me that they want to be a part of what we are doing.  They have submitted bids to us and have been tentatively approved pending anything unusual.  We are ready to go.

The team will usually involve a proofreader and/or editor, a book design person, a cover design person, possibly a photographer and/or illustrator - depending on the type of book we do.  Of course the printer is the final step.  As the consultant, and possibly the peer reviewer too, I put the umbrella over all of the activities and tie them together. 

Getting these people working and sharing their progress on the project in the order requested is part of my job.  If possible, we all meet in advance in several introduction meetings to make the author comfortable.  In the case of the printer, that is usually not done since I have used out-of-state printers, but when possible with the other vendors, I try to make that happen. 

Before you make a decision to self-publish you need to be sure you have the funds to pay for the editing $500-$2000 estimate, the designers $500-$1500 estimate each, the printer varies by book numbers in the order, the consultant $500-$1000 plus the items pertinent to your book for photographer and illustrator.

Take time to review the following questions before making the decision you are ready to self-publish.  Please email me or comment here about what you are doing and where you are at on your publishing journey to becoming a successful author.  Do your research on traditional publishers too, then make a decision and move forward.  Good luck!  Patricia

SELF-PUBLISHING QUESTIONS TO ASK at this time:

·        Do you want to be in charge of YOUR publishing process?

·        Are you able to see YOUR book as a business/investment in your future?

·        Do you want to make a fair amount of money with YOUR book?

·        Do you want to learn about the publishing elements best for YOU?

·        Do you want to go through the process of publishing YOUR book quickly?

·        Do you want to have control over YOUR intellectual property?

·        Do you want to handle the tasks involved in marketing YOUR book/product?

·        Are you willing to commit YOUR efforts to continuously promote it?

·        Are you willing to learn more about marketing YOUR book online?

·        Are you willing to take a national/international view of YOUR book?

Good Morning! 

One of the most important parts of writing is the revision before the editing. When you put in place your writing plan you must include a time to be critiqued by your peers and to give that time to them. We will discuss that critical area here.

My group, the Scottsdale Society of Women Writers, is active in doing critiques outside of our regular meetings. That session has to be a core group of 6-8 or 10 that commit to this challenge which then becomes an opportunity.

My group, the SSWW, meets for critique about every other month for two hours.  The format is different from our regular monthly speaker meetings because the entire focus is the critiques.  All those attending must participate in some capacity and for all to feel welcomed and supported.  We meet at the same place as our regular dinner meeting so there is very little change except the format.  Everyone who is reading brings copies of 2-3 pages for all attending. 

The rules of the game of critique for our group are noted below.  We pride ourselves on being fair and honest in our dealings, yet constructive and helpful.  We are handling the feedback in the Plus/Delta format with the Plus first and the Delta - the Greek sign for change - next.  We have had much success with this format and plan to continue with it.  The group varies each time we meet, but some of the same ones come to every meeting.

The purpose of critique is to help and support your peers, learn from them, listen to their voice, experience other writers, get ideas on writing, stay in the “loop” of writing by the networking and conversation that takes place and to be a part of a vital aspect of the writing community.  Enjoy the handout and best to you as you venture forth on your critique journey. 

The purpose of a critique is to offer constructive criticism to improve our writing.  Please comment on what is good and most effective about the piece (PLUS) and what will improve it (DELTA).  Be tactful and kind.  Do not discourage writing style or content.

RULES for a Critique Group:

v  The leader (Patricia) will enforce the rules and keep order

v  The names of speakers/readers WERE drawn ahead of time for their presentation

v  The one being critiqued reads her piece uninterrupted

v  All in attendance, including critique people, listen in respectful silence

v  Critiques are orderly, in turn from names drawn in advance

v  All others to critique wait in silence for their turn

v  All critiques are timed – two to three minutes maximum

v  No comments on the speaker and no discussion at this time

v  No comments from the speaker during any of the critiques

v  Leader asks for comments from speaker after all critiques are done

v  Leader asks for further comments from the attendees at the end

v  Amended copies are returned to the speaker at the end

v  Next speaker/reader is presented with the same format

ITEMS to be considered:

v  Do not critique the contents, only the writing

v  Are the characters made real?

v  Is the story believable?

v  Are the five senses utilized?

v  Do the characters and action move the story?

v  Is the dialogue realistic? 

v  Are the descriptions specific?

v  Are conjunctions or pronouns overused? (he, she, it, that, and, so, then, the)

v  Are there grammatical errors? 

v  Are words repeated too often?

v  Are there stacked adjectives? 

v  Are there clichés?

v  Does the title suit the piece?

v  Are there misspelled words?

v  Does the writer tell instead of show?

v  Is there a conflict, a protagonist?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!  PATRICIA, facilitator - 480-250-5556

Good morning! 

There comes a time in our lives when we are compelled to give back, in need of friendship beyond what we have for us.  That time when we have a thirst for knowledge and information we feel passionately about and know we can only find with those traveling on our journey. 

With all of that in mind, three years ago, September of 2005, I launched the Scottsdale Society of Women Writers.  If this is your dream, read on.  I will help you make that dream come true. 

We - SSWW - have a trade name, a checking account and and I do an agenda every month - set for six months out.  We are not too organized with by-laws and rules and regulations.  We will not forget to write or have time or energy to enjoy ourselves at our events and monthly speaker meetings.  We do have a professional and well run meeting, with top-notch speakers - keys to our success.  We are continuously energized by the speakers and the members and guests!

Yesterday was our event at the Pages New and Rare Bookstore in the Cave Creek/Carefree, AZ area.  We do several events several times each year to stay out in the community.  The sun was shining and the beauty of the desert was about our displays - outside of course, it was under 90 degrees and fall is in the air here in Arizona! 

Eight of us spent the day sharing our stories and expertise in 5-10 minute presentations, supporting each other, giving ideas to each other and enjoying the special moments.  We also conversed with customers about the writing path and the topics of our books, all genres and all types.  Books were sold and friendships deepened.

When eight women, who have a passion for writing and are professional and kind and loving, wonderful things happen.  That is why I value this group that has grown to a membership of 35 since I launched that first meeting three years ago.  It was meant to be, there was a tremendous need and the women have come, the speakers have shined and the ideas flow because the energy is so high at all the meetings and events.  Some blessings in life need to be recognized over and over again.

Here is the goals and purpose sheet below.  If you have any questions about how we assemble and why - some of that is noted here.  If you want to know more of what we do, how I put together a press release on the speakers and our events, what marketing ideas I use for the group, what an agenda format looks like for us, what I require of the speakers or how we do our introduction/30 minute commercials at all meetings, please email me at info@brooksgoldmannpublising.com or put a comment here.  I will share with you any and all of what I have learned about running a women’s writer’s group at top speed.  We also do a Critique Meeting four times a year, more on that in another blog.  Here is today’s information and good luck with your plans.  HAPPY WRITING!

WELCOME

to the

SCOTTSDALE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS

 Old Town Scottsdale

The last Wednesday of the month

5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Café Carumba, 7303 E. Indian School Road

Goals of the Group

• Value all the professional women writers seeking to share their expertise
• Honor all genres and all forms of professional writing
• Attend monthly meetings  to move the group and its members forward
• Learn and share in the experiences of monthly professional speakers
• Grow the group to a membership of active and contributing women
• Encourage participation by members as presenters, mentors, judges and volunteers
• Support and challenge each other to always be writing
• Help members to stretch as writers and reach lofty personal goals
• Have fun, meet trustworthy women writers, share dreams