APW Typerider Newsletter – April 2025
I’ve heard the word “authentic” bandied about the past decade, and in being authentic advice on the amount to share on social media.
Practical advice: If selling a book or class, the 80/20 rule applies. That is 20 percent sales, 40 percent behind the scenes of the book or class, and 40 percent fan and potential fan engagement.
For me, March was filled with the anticipation of a first grandbaby and the loss of a family member.
I was deep in the mists (pun intended) of writing a novel that began with a death and a life, but reality struck hard. My heart grew heavier than the novel I wanted to share with my readers, about a crone that lives in a forest in a house built on the legbones of a dragon and the pair of children that adopt her. Eyes tired from tears, I stepped back from my to-do list. I sought solace in time with my daughter, placed my hands on her belly, and told her son, “I can’t wait to meet you!” I called and had a wonderful conversation with a friend who I wished lived so much nearer than Michigan. I found mirth binge-watching “Nobody Wants This” on Netflix. I’ve kneaded bread dough, walked in the woods, and moved the island table in my office back about three inches – ah, breathing room … joy rediscovered in my one wild and precious life.
Those last four words belong to a quote by poet Mary Oliver (1935-2019)
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
This month, I will hold a grandson in my arms, write grants, finish designing the pages of a cookbook, swim, write the crone and those foundlings into the next scene, and the next, and the next.
In May I will stare at the Grand Canyon, laugh and soak in the sun from the deck of a pontoon, and celebrate being a wordsmith with professional writers.
How about you? Care to celebrate your gift?
Wishing you health and joy,
Read the rest of the newsletter to find out what is happening in each chapter. And it’s not too late to sign up for our State Conference to be held May 17.
APW Central Chapter Zoom Meeting 3/8 – Virginia Mohler
Susan Anderson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: “To Retire or Retread, That is the Question.”
Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81633563990?pwd=rGSwTTbQi414NCHk4nHbPzgs59rf25.1
Meeting ID: 816 3356 3990
Passcode: 415018 – You will need the passcode at sign in.
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcFBAgQFqq
To Retire or Retread, That is the Question
Author Virginia Mohler retired from teaching in June of 2020 after over 50 years in the classroom. She presently writes children’s books that inspire and encourage young minds, as well as history and humor for adults. Virginia writes a weekly blog on her website to inform and entertain. These funny stories and little-known historical facts are meant to encourage and uplift those of any age.
Takeaways from Betsy Love’s talk
Betsy Love spoke on Zoom to the Central Chapter of APW on Saturday 2/8/25. Betsy is a prolific writer. She has 33 published titles with two more that are close to completing. Her website is https://betsylove.com. Besides writing, she provides editing services and speaks at writers conferences. She agreed to share some of the resources she mentioned.
What do you do to jump start your writing if stalled? One inspiration for Betsy is the book The Elephant and the Ant: Leadership for the Self by Vincent Poscente. Poscente likens the dynamic between the conscious and subconscious minds to an ant and an elephant: “Our minds are separated into two distinct functions: the conscious and subconscious elements. Our ant is the intentional part of the brain, but our elephant is the instinctual, impulsive part of the brain that houses emotions and memories and even guides the body to perform vital functions. While we tend to know our conscious minds—our ants —rather well, we often overlook the power of our elephantine subconscious minds. When we do, unfortunately, we squander a wellspring of human potential.” Recognizing this makes a world of difference.
Betsy also shared the 5-count method for switching gears. If you are procrastinating, for instance, on working on a piece, then switch to that tab or program and count backwards aloud from 5 to 1 and start. The counting acts like a switch in your brain and helps you get out of that feeling of procrastination. Mel Robbins, author of The Let Them and other works, explains how it works on this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRzWRZahOVU Betsy also finds this podcast on the 5 things you do before you go to bed here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFFsYZhn8Rg
Setting goals is also important. The Kanban Board developed by Sarra Cannon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3TN_CsT7Dc&t=585s – helps layout your quarterly goals which more workable than monthly or yearly goals. You get a bigger picture but not as overwhelming as looking at a whole year. With it you visually track your progress, current tasks and successes. Betsy posts it on her bedroom door so she passes it many times a day.
One example she gave from her writing life was deciding to write 12 books last year. She listed four on the first quarter that she was working on. She broke down her tasks. Most satisfying is when she could move a task to the completed section. She wrote 11! She admitted she’d never have written that many without having set a lofty goal.
If you get the opportunity to hear Betsy speak, take it. And go to her website for inspiration.
Central Chapter meeting 2/8/25 with Betsy Love
Susan Anderson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: “Remaining Positive and Creating Achievable Goals” with Betsy Love
Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84304161514?pwd=kb5ux0A4VsDkC5QaJJ3JYH0UIEs2hD.1
Meeting ID: 843 0416 1514
Passcode: 402179 You will need this to join the meeting
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcSDkvwBkS
Betsy’s Bio:
Betsy Love has loved to write from the moment she could hold a pen and has been creating stories since she was in elementary school. In high school, her creative writing teacher told her one day she would be published.
After raising her family, she graduated Suma Cum Laude from Ottawa University with a bachelor’s in English and Secondary education. Besides, her family, she loved teaching high school theater and English.
When not sitting at her computer pouring her heart and soul into her novels, she loves spending time with her family. She is the mother of eight children and at last count, has 21 grandchildren.
If she had a horse, she’d ride it. If she had a pool, she’d swim in it. But since she doesn’t have either, she writes. And her amazing husband has accepted that pajamas are an acceptable attire for her profession.
Time to renew your membership!
If you have renewed, Thank you. If not yet …
Now is the time to renew your membership for Arizona Professional Writers. If you join or renew now, your membership is good through December 2025!
The Board is grateful for your continued support.
The application is at the Join tab with directions on by check or by Zelle at ArizonaProfessionalwriters.
Please let me or any member of the APW board know if there is anything we can do to improve your experience with our organization. You can reach me at mafasano1@gmail.com.
Membership in APW shows you are making an investment in yourself and your career, and we are committed to providing you with valuable professional development through the following benefits:
APW Central meets via zoom every other month on the second Saturday at 10:00AM; APW Rim Country meets every month now via zoom and in person on the third Wednesday at 1:00 PM; the APW White Mountain meets once a month the fourth Tuesday at 6:PM on zoom; the APW Book Group meets on zoom the last Saturday of every month at 10:00AM.
You have many opportunities to enhance your writing and publishing knowledge.
More APW Benefits:
1. Meet and exchange ideas with local authors.
2. One or two virtual meetings a month with a local speaker on a writing or publishing topic.
3. Present your book to members and get exposure and reviews with the APW Book Group.
4. Ability to use APW Zoom for your book presentations or other writing-related meetings.
5. Enter the At-large contest for the National Federation of Press Women. First place winners go on to the national level. Many categories for these prestigious awards.
6. Post on our Facebook page more than once about your book. Share your new publications, wins and writing events.
7. Post your events on the APW website.
8. Keep up on local book writing events and contests in Arizona
9. Yearly APW conference
10. Payson Book Festival and Show Low Book Festival
Hope to see you at the meetings.
Sincerely,
Marie
Marie A Fasano, APW Membership Chair
APW Typerider Newsletter – December, 2024
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To see the newsletter and the coming events, click here.
NOTE: If you join NFPW you also pay an extra $15 for your APW membership. If you join APW as a state-only, the dues are $30/year.
APW Typerider Newsletter – November, 2024
Arizona Professional Writers November, 2024 Typerider
Central has a speaker for their November 9 meeting you are invited!
The Holiday Bazaar is happening on the APW website from Black Friday through Christmas. Shout out to Jaimie Bruzenak for putting this online event together.
I am headed to the Author Nation Conference in Las Vegas this month. I was in a pre-event networking group and we played a game via Zoom called Bring Your Own Book. There are prompts and each person in the group has a minute or so to look up a line in a book (could be a book you wrote or not) to match the prompt. Whoever has the “best” answer wins the round. If you are interested and want to download the game cards, it’s available on Amazon.
Author Cory Doctorow has a blog I manage to read about once a month. A recent article caught my attention, Penguin Random House, AI, and writers’ rights. His language can be colorful, although not so much in this article, so be warned.
To read the rest of this issue with information on what’s happening, click here.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Carol
APW Central Chapter 11/9 meeting – Pelletier
Susan Anderson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Central Chapter Meeting 11/9 with John Jay Pelletier
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024
Time:10:00 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81257561499?pwd=BPoEc6bXhQW9NKIas718C8UiT0a2cM.1
Meeting ID: 812 5756 1499
Passcode: 206055
John Jay Pelletier has had a life full of adventure, starting out in Boy Scouts where his Troop raised enough money selling fireworks to travel down the Grand Canyon on a river trip. He became an Explorer, worked at Disneyland as a Matterhorn climber, and joined the Army where he became a Green Beret. He attended survival schools and eventually became an Instructor at the Air Force Academy teaching survival skills. Now retired, he teaches desert safety and survival at the Superstition Mountain Museum and has written the Desert Safety and Survival Guide. John will speak about desert safety and survival in Arizona.
President’s message October 2024
Typerider Newsletter – APW – October 2024
One of our members, Bobbie Bennett writes the award-winning Beaver Valley Newsletter. The October issue highlights Beaver Valley Days.
I have a fond memory of going to a Beaver Valley Day Pancake Breakfast. Bing Brown (he and
Carol are sorely missed as APW members and human beings on the planet) was happily filling plates with pancakes and link sausages.
I don’t like my food to touch. Yeah, I am one of those people. Bing must have seen my face as the syrup he’d just ladled on my pancakes ran into my sausage and I quickly nudged my scrambled eggs to the side. He encouraged me to taste the sausage. “You’ll like it!”
You can guess how I almost always eat sausage now. (My eggs sit on a plate alone.)
I hope you make lots of fond memories this month!
If you have any writing-related announcements you would like included in an upcoming newsletter, please email them to me.
Carol Baxter, APW President
Read the rest of the newsletter including the date for the State Conference and chapter news by clicking this link
APW Central Chapter 4/13 with Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer
Susan Anderson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: APW Central Chapter Zoom Meeting with Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer
Date: Apr 13, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85203032894
Meeting ID: 852 0303 2894
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,85203032894# US (San Jose)
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kTzo12GVQ
Topic: Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer will speak a little about who she is, how she got started, how she chose historical fiction for her first books, and her process at that time.
Bio: From Phoenix, Arizona, Elizabeth Ajamie-Boyer graduated from East High School, South Mountain Community College, and Arizona State University. She writes her own books, and co-writes with her husband, TJ Boyer, primary author of The Mirror Gate Chronicles series. As a Christian, Elizabeth is called to write cozy literature. She and TJ recently co-wrote a cozy murder/mystery, also. You can find her on Amazon and on their website: mirrorgatechronicles.com/elizabeths-books-2-2/
Elizabeth and TJ have two children and three grandchildren.
Arizona Professional Writers 