APW Virtual Meeting 4/19/23 – How to do audiobooks
Connie Cockrell is inviting you to Rim Country Chapter’s Virtual Meeting on April 12. The topic will be “How to do audiobooks” with author Karen Randau. The Zoom link is posted below.
Topic: How to do Audiobooks with Karen Randau
Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Time: 1 pm Arizona Time
Zoom link: Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us j/82494669743?pwd=YWFpNU9BNTVRNFpraWQ4dWN0cFd3UT09
Meeting ID: 824 9466 9743
Passcode: 965559
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdBJdsj0a
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Karen Randau is a lifelong writer—for as long as she can remember, she’s processed all of her major life events by writing about them. She earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas, but one semester on the school newspaper convinced her she didn’t want to be a journalist. Instead, she worked in marketing communications, first in the high-tech industry and then for 27 years for an international non-profit that helps people in developing countries pull themselves from poverty.
She began writing novels after she confessed a particularly strange thought to a co-worker and asked if the co-worker thought Karen was going crazy. The co-worker said, “No, I think you have a novel in you that is screaming to get out.”
Her first five books were published by Short On Time Books in Karen’s Rim Country Mystery series. She decided to go indie for the next three series and now has 13 published books. The most recent is From Chaos, book 2 in the Peach Blossom Romantic Suspense series, which reached an overall rating on Amazon of just under 2,800 and was in the top 10 in several categories. She worked with a producer through ACX to develop an audiobook for book 1 in that series, Into the Fog. That book is a current finalist for a Selah award.
For audiobooks, she’s tried everything from letting her publisher handle the whole process, to trying to narrate and produce it herself, to working with a professional narrator. She learned a lot along the way about production, distribution, and marketing audiobooks, which she’ll share with us on April 19.
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- Karen Randau
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- Kayla Walsh Mystery Suspense Trilogy
APW August Virtual Meeting – 8/10/22 Dito Abbott
Connie Cockrell is inviting you to a meeting on Zoom.
Topic: APW Rim Country- Dito Abbott- When life Imitates Art
Date: Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Time: 1:00 PM Arizona
Zoom: Members have been sent the Zoom link. Nonmembers who would like to attend should contact Connie Cockrell at connie.cockrell @ gmail.com for the link.
DITO ABBOTT
“Adventure: When Art Imitates Life” is based on my experience in a wide range of creative disciplines, as well as incorporating my love for adventure.
In this presentation, I will talk about comfort zones and how they define our horizons, using examples from my artistic past, such as:
– Spending 3.5 years shooting a stop motion music video for my band, Too Many Drummers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T0ZCpfSaIA
– Drawing on my sailing experiences to write a novel
– The important role failure plays in creativity
Dito’s debut YA Fantasy novel, Debunked, draws on his love for adventure, googly-eyed slime beasts, and sarcastic swords of legend.
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- Dito Abbott – Debunked
Marketing opportunity – Payson
APW member, Chrisann Dawson, has a request to share a December marketing table in Payson. It’s a great opportunity.
Common Grounds Christmas Holiday Fair.
Vendor Fee is $60.
Chrisann would like to share a table with at least one other APW member. Vendors must provide our own table, canopy, and way to handle purchases. She has a 4 foot table but no canopy.
If you are interested contact Chrisann at dawsonchrisann@gmail.com,
October Business Expo
From Connie Cockrell, APW president and Rim Country Chairperson:
The Rim Country chapter of APW is a member of the Chamber and so we get notice of upcoming events. Feel free to sign up for the Chamber breakfast/lunch or other events. I am thinking of attending the Business Showcase on October 23. I’d like to have 2-3 other authors join me in sharing the booth. Drop me an email at connie.cockrell@gmail.com ASAP if you’re interested. You must be a member of APW to participate.
Here’s the description: In October we will be holding our 2nd Annual Flea Market Business Expo. Held at the Payson High School parking lot on Saturday, October 23rd from 10am to 2pm, this event is a great low-cost marketing and networking opportunity. There will be music provided by KRIM, food trucks and we encourage businesses to bring candy for any trick-or-treaters who stop by. Spaces are $100 for Chamber members and half of the proceeds will go to the DECA program at the high school. Please reserve your space by October 15th. And be sure to ask about our sponsorship opportunities for more bang for your marketing bucks!
August 11 – Share what you have been writing this summer
Connie Cockrell is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. The APW Rim Country meeting for August will be a time for sharing what you have been writing this summer.
Topic: APW Rim Country August Meeting
Date: Aug 11, 2021
Time: 01:00 PM Arizona
Maybe the Book Festival inspired you! Maybe your travels! Let us know what you’ve been working on. APW members have been sent the Zoom link. Nonmembers are welcome to attend and participate as well. If you misplace the link or did not receive it, you can find it in the Members-only section of the website. Or, email Connie.
June 9: Humor and the Author’s Platform
Connie Cockrell of Rim Country Chapter is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Rim Country Meeting – Guest Brad Graber: Humor and the Author’s Platform
Date: June 9, 2021
Time: 01:00 PM Arizona
Humor and the Author’s Platform
Everyone loves to laugh. So how can an author leverage a great sense of humor to sell books? Join us on June 9th at 1:00 pm to hear Brad Graber discuss the use of humor in building and maintaining relationships with readers.
Brad Graber is an award-winning author who writes novels because he grew up in a family where no one ever listened to him – so he made up stories about them. Brad’s latest release is What’s That Growing in My Sour Cream? – a collection of over seventy essays from Brad’s monthly humor blog: There, I Said It! Brad is also the author of two novels of contemporary fiction: After the Fall and The Intersect. Brad’s third novel Boca by Moonlight is scheduled for release January 2022. Brad currently lives in Phoenix with his husband, Jeff.
Contact: connie.cockrell@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
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- What’s That Growing in My Sour Cream? Brad Graber
APW Rim Country Meeting Wed. May 12, 1:00PM
April 14 – Find you inner poet!
April is National Poetry Month
APW Rim Country Chapter Virtual Meeting
Topic: Let poetry release your imagination-Open discussion
Date: Apr 14, 2021
Time: 1:00 PM Arizona
Zoom link: The meeting is open to all. Members have been sent the zoom link. Nonmembers should email Connie Cockrell, Rim Country Chairperson for the link.
Play with your inner poet! Connie will be leading the discussion as we write poetry based on the forms created by Stephanie Peterson Abney. It should be fun!
March 17 – Get more book reviews!
APW Rim Country invites you to their March 10 virtual meeting with Marylee MacDonald, “Get More Reviews for Your Books.”
Topic: Get More Reviews For Your Books with Marylee MacDonald
Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Time: 01:00 PM Arizona
Zoom: The Zoom link has been sent to all members. All are welcome. If you did not receive the link, contact conniecockrell@gmail.com
Get More Reviews for Your Books
How can new authors get more reviews? In this presentation, Marylee MacDonald will share data from five recent book launches. She’ll talk about BookishFirst, BookShout, BookFunnel, Goodreads giveaways, Choosy Bookworm, Story Origin, newsletter swaps, and other marketing methods.
Marylee MacDonald is the author of Surrender, Body Language, Bonds of Love & Blood, The Rug Bazaar, The Big Book of Small Presses and Independent Publishers, and MontpelierTomorrow. She has 90,000 Twitter followers and 21,000 newsletter subscribers, and her website, MaryleeMacDonaldAuthor.com, helps authors write, edit, and market their books.
Websites: maryleemacdonaldauthor.com and www.maryleemacdonald.com
Surrender – Marylee MacDonald
https://www.amazon.com/Surrender-Memoir-Nature-Nurture-Love/dp/1951479297/
Rim Country February 10 meeting with Marylee MacDonald
Rim Country Chapter February 10 Virtual Meeting with Marylee MacDonald
Marketing expert and coach, Marylee MacDonald, will be the speaker at our next Rim Country Virtual Meeting.
APW member Marylee MacDonald has lots of knowledge about sales and how to go about selling your books. She will give you facts about how to enhance your book’s Amazon page through “money quotes.”
A “money quote” is a pithy sentence written by a professional reviewer, and it belongs in the Editorial Reviews’ section of the Amazon book page. Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly are the two biggest sources for editorial reviews. However, there are many less expensive options. Learn about them, and a tool that will help you format your “money quotes” correctly.
Topic: APW Rim Country Chapter Guest: Marylee MacDonald- Amazon Ads-Money Quotes
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Time: 10:00 A.M. AZ (MST)
Zoom: The link has been sent to members. Guests are welcome. If you need the link, contact Marie Fasano for the link.
Marylee MacDonald is the author of Surrender, Body Language, Bonds of Love & Blood, The Rug Bazaar, The Big Book of Small Presses and Independent Publishers, and MontpelierTomorrow. She has 90,000 Twitter followers and 21,000 newsletter subscribers, and her website, MaryleeMacDonaldAuthor.com, helps authors write, edit, and market their books. Marylee MacDonald is the winner of the Jeanne M. Leiby Chapbook Award, the Barry Hannah Prize, the Ron Rash Award, the American Literary Fiction Prize, and many others.
Websites: maryleemacdonaldauthor.com and maryleemacdonald.com
Arizona Professional Writers 