WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 1

WLOV NEWSLETTER November 1, 2017

Just 3 months until EXPO ’18! What: WLOV’s Central Florida Book & Author Expo When: January 27, 2018, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Eisenhower Recreation Center

In this edition of the Newsletter…

Mainly of interest to writers in The Villages Page

Message From Your President 2

Upcoming Writing-Related Events 2

Message from Your Expo ’18 Chairman 4

Bookmarks for Expo ’18 4

Club Ambassadors for Expo ’18 5

Credit Card Reader for Expo ‘18 Authors 6

Florida Sales Tax Info for Expo ’18 Authors 6

Annual Book Cover Contest 6

Oct 4 Panel Discussion on Book Genres 8

WLOV Want Ads 8

Club Member Appointed Chairman of FWAY 9

Congrats to WLOV’s RPLA Winners 9

Valentines’ Day Love Story Readings – 1st Announcement 9

Items of general interest to all writers

How to Write a Children’s Book 10

Club Members Recommend Web Sites 10

Cartoons 11

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 2

Message From Your President

WLOV has three events in a row that require registration and prepayment. Most

importantly, the 2018 Central Florida Author & Book Expo is less than 3 months away. (Note.

We’ve had a terrific response by local authors, and all tables may be fully reserved by the time

you read this. If you send in a reservation you may end up on a waiting list.) More info about

Expo ’18 is provided on pages 4-6.

In conjunction with Expo ‘18, WLOV is again sponsoring a book cover contest. The rules

are slightly changed this year. You may enter up to 3 covers, one each per category of fiction,

non-fiction and children’s. The cost is $5 per cover entered. More details are on page 6.

The third event requiring registration and

prepayment is our annual Breakfast Meeting and

Holiday Entertainment, Wednesday, December 6, 8:30

a.m., at Laurel Manor Rec Center. All guests of WLOV

members are welcome to attend. The cost is $13 per

person for a deluxe breakfast buffet, prepared by

LaHacienda Catering. You can pre-pay at the monthly

meeting November 1st, or mail in your check (WLOV;

P.O. Box 1067; Lady Lake, FL 32158). The deadline

for receipt of payment is November 25, 2017.

One more reminder: Dues are due! $15/year for 2018. You can pay at the monthly meeting

November or December, or mail in your check to the address above. And if you’re reading this

and not a current member, please consider joining. For writers it’s a tremendous bargain in The

Villages.

Following the Events Calendar you will find much more information pertaining to our members

and to writing in general.

Larry Martin

President, WLOV

drlarry437@gmail.com

WLOV Calendar of Upcoming Writing-related Events DATE EVENT Wed, Nov 1 Laurel Manor Rec Center, 8:30 – 10:30 am

Speaker: DV Havlin, Prize-winning author

http://www.dlhavlin.com/

Tips for the Author: Novice or Old Hand – “I’ve met the enemy and he is

me.”

Nov 1-30 National Novel Writing Month: “NaNoWriMo” – For details, see

https://nanowrimo.org and

http://zendogbarks.com/nano/.

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 3

UPCOMING EVENTS (CONTINUED) DATE EVENT Thurs, Nov 2 Pinellas branch of Sumter County Library, 2 p.m.; presentation by Bill Pullen of

his new book It Started at The Savoy

https://www.amazon.com/Started-Savoy-celebrities-highlights-

management/dp/1542992060/

Wed, Dec 6 Laurel Manor Rec Center, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.

Annual Holiday Breakfast open to all WLOV members and guests; see

President’s message, above

Wed, Jan 3 Laurel Manor Rec Center, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.

Florida writer, book coach and publishing consultant Rik Feeney will present

Marketing for Book Events. This talk will be of special interest to anyone

signed up to sell books at Expo 18 (January 27) or similar events. There will be

Q&A afterwards. For more information on Mr. Feeney see

http://www.rickfeeney.com/about-rik-feeney.html.

Wed, Jan 3 Laurel Manor Rec Center, noon to 3:30 p.m.

Mr. Feeney will present seminar on Marketing Your Kindle Book.

Registration form will soon be posted on www.wlov.org.

Jan 17-21 Annual Book Cover Contest. Open to all WLOV members and anyone who

has reserved a table at Expo ’18 to sell books. Registration form on

www.wlov.org. Covers entered in the WLOV Book Cover contest will be

displayed at Savannah Center Jan 17-21, 2018. Winners will be announced at

the Central Florida Book & Author Expo, January 27

Sat, Jan 27 WLOV’s Central Florida Book & Author Expo

Eisenhower Recreation Center (for more info see next page).

Table reservation form on www.wlov.org.

Bradley ballroom - one of the two large spaces that will be hosting Expo ’18 at the Eisenhower Rec Center on Saturday, Jan 27, 2018.

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 4

Message from your Expo ’18 Chairman Mark Newhouse, Expo ’18 Chairman

Now is the time to start spreading the news! Invite your friends and neighbors. We have a full house

of authors who deserve our support. Please consider adding your name to our Ambassadors Club, so you

can distribute our flyers and/or bookmarks to clubs and organizations you already attend. And please

volunteer to visit a local school or library to form a relationship and support that is mutually beneficial.

Ambassadors can ask the school or library to include information about Expo ’18 in their events calendars.

Contact me for any help, or with your ideas. mark@newhouse.net or 352-753-3290. Remember, you are the

best PR. So start spreading the word and let’s rock Eisenhower again! Thank you.

Bookmarks for Expo ‘18 Jack Hayes has again done a masterful job in designing our Expo bookmarks. These bookmarks are being distributed by our ambassadors to various TV clubs. Below are the front and back of the bookmark. If you

have not signed on to be an ambassador, and would like to distribute bookmarks to one or more of your clubs, please notify Mark Newhouse (mark@newhouse.net or 352-753-3290). These bookmarks will also be available at our Nov 1 and Dec 6 meetings at Laurel Manor.

A blog post on using bookmarks for marketing your books is at: http://selfpublishingadvice.org/bookmarks-for-self-published-books/

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 5

Club Ambassadors for Expo ’18

Below is the list of ambassadors signed up to promote the Expo and distribute bookmarks to their clubs. Anyone is welcomed to sign up and receive bookmarks for distribution.

Name Club(s)

Donna Beard LaZamora Club

Rita Boehm Colorado Club Don Canaan CPPG-colored pencil, Chabad & Temple Shalom Lindsay Collier Mini Cooper Club Marian Davenport Rohan Rec Center Diane Dean Bookworm Book Club, Unity Spiritual Center Anne Doblcin Unity of The Villages Jenny Ferns Allendale Book Club, Seabreeze Rec Center,

Reading Between the Wines Joan Gilligan The Wisconsin Club Donna Goldie The Giving Doll Barry Greenawald Parrots Are Us Lorraine M. Harris African American Club, Guys/Dolls, Golf Group Ann Heathman SSRA author’s club, Homosassa Odell Rec John Mallon Florida Writers Association, Oxford Critique Group

Central Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, Writers in Time

CC Martin Villages Honor Flight Larry Martin Wannabe Writers, Writers of Villages, Creative Writers

Anna Massengill Mystery Lovers Book Club, Newport Villas Bookies

Jim Meyer DAV, Xhula Vista Social Club

Mark Newhouse Writers 4 Kids, It Takes a Village Club, Bookworm Club

Sandi Newmark Villages Photo Club

Sigrid Shiotani Paddock Asian American Club, Summerhill Social Club Kay Plizka UMC Choir Carolyn Rebholz Colony and Odell Rec Centers

Wes Rocki Unity of The Villages

Bill Russell Geneology Club

Mary Ann Weakley KTH Club, Gilchrist Book Club

Jan Zahorian Various bridge and whist clubs

School and Library Ambassadors for Expo ‘18 Villages Elementary (Rolling Acres Road) - Available

Villages Early Learning - Available

Villages Charter High School - Jack Hayes

Mark Twain Library - Maggie Wacker

Villages Charter Middle School - Available

Pinellas Library - Rita Boehm

Villages Charter Elementary - Donna Beard

Belvedere Library - Barbara Phillips

Wildwood Elementary - Available

Wildwood Middle - Available

Lady Lake Library - Larry Martin

Leesburg Library - Bill Russell

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 6

Credit Card Reader for Expo Authors This is the simplest way to accept credit cards for book sales. A card reader plugs into your phone,

as shown below, and then the credit card is swiped through that reader. You can sign up at https://squareup.com for a free card reader, or purchase one inexpensively at CVS or Walgreens.

Each book sale generates a small fee: 2.75% per swipe (when you can simply slide the card through the reader)

3.5% + 15¢ if you must type in the card number because the magnetic stripe doesn't register. To get your own free Square card reader, follow these simple steps: 1. Go to the App store on your smartphone or tablet and search for Square 2. Click on Square - read the details 3. Click install and watch for your Register icon to appear on your phone 4. Fill out your order form. 5. When your Square reader arrives in the mail, follow the instructions to practice accepting credit cards.

Many of our authors have used this system, and it comes without any obligation. The system allows you to accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Payment is posted

to your bank or Paypal account in one day!

Florida Sales Tax Info for Authors Selling books at Expo If Florida Department of Revenue personnel attend the EXPO (they have in the past), they may request

to see your Florida Sales Tax Resellers Certificate. If you do not have a FL Sales Tax ID, or your permanent residence is not in Florida, we will have One-time-Event Sales Tax report forms available for your use. This means that we have registered this event with the Florida Dept. of Revenue, so you must report if you make sales, and send in a check for the sales tax on each book/item you sell. The sales tax percentage for this event is 7% (the event is in Sumter County).

Annual Book Cover Contest

The Annual Book Cover Contest is a great way for WLOV members to promote their books and for WLOV to promote the annual Book Expo, which comes a week later. This year’s Book Cover Contest will be held at the Savannah Center, Jan 17-21, 2018. WLOV members Jan Zahorian and Donna Beard are organizing the contest.

Below is a list of last year’s winners, with the winning covers in each category.

Fiction: (1st) Rick Greenberg for Silent Heroes; (2nd) Rita Boehm for Second Chances; (3rd) Larry

Martin for Sherman's Mistress in Savannah

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 7

Children’s: (1st) Jan Zahorian for The Day the Sun and the Moon Got Stuck; (2nd) Mary Lois

Sanders for The Vision Seekers; (3rd) Peggy Kime for Hoof Prints on Her Heart

Non-Fiction: (1st) Katherine Edwins Schumm for Fearless; (2nd) Jack Hayes for Baseball’s

Archives; (3rd) Doris Hoover for Quiet Moments in The Villages

For the 2018 contest, book covers can be entered through January 3, 2018. A link to

the entry form is on the home page of www.wlov.org. The entry forms will also be

available at the November 1st and December 6th general meetings.

Authors may enter one cover in up to three categories: fiction, non-fiction,

children’s. The fee is $5 per cover. If your book cover won last year, that specific cover

is NOT eligible to be re-entered. However, you may enter a cover that was also entered

last year if it did not win 1st, 2nd or 3rd prize. The cover can be an actual cover from one

of your paperbacks, or the cover image printed on cardboard stock. It should be the same

size as your actual book cover. For e-books, the cover should be no larger than standard

typing paper size. The event is free and open to the public. Anyone attending may vote for their

favorite cover. Book cover winners will be announced at Expo ’18, January 27, 2018 at the Eisenhower Rec Center.

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 8

Panel Discussion on Book Genres held Oct 4 Our Panel Discussion on book genres Oct 4 was well attended and well received. As

shown on the introductory slide below, five WLOV authors presented the basics of five different genres, then took questions from the audience. The bottom left photo shows our five panelists (left to right: Mark Pryor, Jack Hayes, Mark Newhouse, Ann Heathman, Larry Martin). More photos from this event are on WLOV’s Facebook page. For the Powerpoint presentations or handout used in this event, please visit www.wlov.org (under Past Presentations).

WLOV Want Ads

Need to borrow two 6-foot folding tables for a garage sale this coming weekend. If you have them, please call Jim Meyer at 753-5030 no later than Friday, November 3rd for pickup.

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 9

Club Member Appointed Chairperson of FWAY

WLOV founder Mark H. Newhouse has been appointed by the Florida Writers Association as the new

Chairperson for the Florida Writers Association Youth Program (FWAY). This program is designed to help

youth writers throughout the state. On-line resources and local critique groups (meeting at libraries or

schools) help young writers hone their craft and enter the youth categories of the Royal Palm Literary

Awards and FWA Collections. This is an exciting opportunity to help young people learn about writing.

Please contact Mark (mark@newhouse.net, 352-753-3290) if you would like to learn more about helping

young writers in our area.

Congratulations to RPLA winners WLOV had two winners in this year’s Florida Writers

Association Royal Palm Literary Awards competition.

The awards were announced at the annual FWA Banquet

October 21, held in Altamonte Springs. Jack Hayes (right)

won in three categories, two of them for his book

Baseball’s Greatest.

1st Place, General Catch-All for Baseball’s Greatest

1st Runner-Up for Published Book of the Year, for

Baseball’s Greatest.

2nd Place, Published Educational OR Informational, for

Embezzlement: The Ultimate Betrayal

Mark Newhouse (left) won 2nd place in the category Published Middle-Grade Fiction, for

The Case of the Disastrous Dragon.

WLOV finalists in RPLA this year included John Mallon, Rita Boehm and Larry Martin.

Valentine’s Day Love Story Readings – First Announcement By Millard Johnson

I am happy to announce WLOV’s Valentine’s Day Love Story

Reading. It will be a social event held Feb 14, 2018, 6:00-8:00

p.m. at Fenney Rec center in the Village of Fenney. Villagers

whose love stories are selected will have their stories read by

members of The Villages Old Time Radio Club, under the

direction of Ed Williams. WLOV member Phil Walker, a retired

professional radio announcer, will emcee the event and it will be

audio recorded.

We will soon announce details about how to enter your story,

and how they will be judged.

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 10

How to Write a Children’s Book

Previous editions of this newsletter have discussed Classic Books on Writing such as Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style and Stephen King’s On Writing. This edition focuses on a book for children’s authors, How to Write a Children’s Book,

https://www.amazon.com/How-Write-Childrens-Book-award-winning-

ebook/dp/B018UGBB2G/ There are so many different kinds of children’s books, from picture books to chapter books,

middle grade novels, and young adult. The question is often asked: Should you decide you're

going to write for a particular age group and then come up with an idea that fits them? Or

should you decide to write a story or article about a particular idea, then choose the age

group that's right for it? Whatever you write for kids, fiction or non-fiction, has to be aimed

at the right age group or grade level. How to Write a Children’s Book has a chapter: “How

Old Is Your Reader?”

Experienced children’s authors Mark Newhouse and Mary Lois Sanders both recommend

this book. From the book’s blurb:

How to Write a Children’s Book Will Start You on Your Way to Being an Author. Whether you want to have a

full-blown career writing children's books, be traditionally publish, self-publish, or simply want one book to

hand down to your own children and grandkids, How to Write a Children’s Book will help you. Here's What

You'll Learn from How to Write a Children's Book:

Where Do You Get Your Ideas? Bestselling children's authors like Judy Blume, R.L. Stine, Jane Yolen

and more share their answers. You'll find out how to know when an idea is worth following, and

how to write a smart book.

How to figure out which readership is right for you.

How to target and hit the mark with your reader and make sure you're writing to the right age.

How to get going, using writing prompts provided

How to get to know your main character

How to plot a great story

What editors wish writers knew

Five good tools that can get you into bad trouble

Club members recommend writing-related web sites Millard Johnson recommends:

On punctuating internal dialogue.

http://theeditorsblog.net/2012/02/28/inner-dialogue-writing-character-thoughts/

John Prince recommends:

A comprehensive list of resources for authors.

http://www.writersandeditors.com/self_publishing_and_print_on_demand__pod__57417.

htm#bookmark14

Industry Standards Checklist for a Professionally Published Book:

http://www.ibpa-online.org/news/337570/IBPA-Publishes-an-Industry-Standards-

Checklist-for-Professionally-Published-Books.htm

WLOV NEWSLETTER, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 -- PAGE 11

Cartoons

From The New Yorker

From Writer’s Digest