Showing posts with label writers conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writers conference. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Enter an Anthology with Proceeds for Pet Charities

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today, I'm here to talk with you about an amazing opportunity you may want to take advantage of. If you're ready, let's get rolling!


So, if you didn't already hear about it on my radio show, Ozarks Indie Book Fest is happening in Springfield, MO, October 19-22, 2017. They're donating any and all proceeds from the conference to two charities:

Companions for Heroes

and
Loving Paws Rescue

But the organizers wanted to do even MORE for these two charities. They put their heads together and came up with the idea of producing an anthology with ALL proceeds going to the charities above.

Pretty amazing, huh?

Want to know how you can get involved? Well, here you go:




Fill it out now, later, or whenever! If you write a compelling beginning, there's a great chance of being chosen. No one will know who you are until the stories are chosen. Classy, eh?

Winners will also be announced on the Facebook event page. You can join in the fun here.

You have a few months before your full story will be due. Why not?

Will you be entering?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Friday, July 29, 2016

Author Rachael Brownell on the Air TONIGHT to Discuss GLBB 2017

EEEEEK! Happy Friday, everyone! Tonight, I have the very great pleasure of interviewing author Rachael Brownell on A Daily Cup of Jo. Please join us, LIVE, at 5:30EST. Would you like a link? Here ya go!


Here's a breakdown of the show:

Your hostess with the mostest, Jo Michaels, of the Jo Michaels blog, interviews author Rachael Brownell about her book convention, Great Lakes Book Bash, happening in Kalamazoo, MI, October 27-28, 2017.
We'll be discussing why she holds GLBB, what inspired her to do the first one in 2015, and what plans she has for the fun in 2017! Conventions are popping up all over the United States, but so many authors have been duped out of their money. Know where to go and who to trust. Only the most trusted conventions and signings are talked about on A Daily Cup of Jo.

Follow Rachael on Facebook and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/RachaelBrownellAuthor  and  https://twitter.com/HoldingOn2013

Check out the conference website: https://greatlakesbookbash.com/

Hope you find the time today!

If you were there, what did you think? Any questions for Rachael or me?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Your Author Banner - One Time Investment, or Break the Bank Recurring Charge?

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm talking about author banners. You know, those things you put up behind your table at conferences. I get a lot of questions about mine when I put it up because of the way I created it. Because it's come to my attention that several authors might like to do something like this, I figured I'd share here. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

So, my author banner is 2.5' x 6' Vertical and looks like this:


I got it at VistaPrint for $100 with a stand. If you wait on a sale, you can get them cheaper (from what I hear), but I needed one in a hurry for RAI this past April.

I know what you're thinking: That's so plain! There are no book covers or anything on there!

You're right. There aren't. But keep reading!

So, $100 is a significant investment, right? I thought: How can I do this just one time, and NEVER have to do it again (unless my clumsy self damages the actual vinyl)?

I went to this site: MPIX and ordered all my covers (8 of them) at 8X12 on single weight matboard and E-surface paper for a little over $60 with shipping. They were around $7 each.

If you're keeping up, that's a $160 investment so far.

Well, I needed a way to make those images interchangeable on the banner (and a way to make them stick). I headed to Amazon and snagged a roll of 75 5/8" white Velcro dots for about $10.

Now comes the fun part!

I designed my layout on the banner with nothing sticky (this step is very important). Then, I flipped the prints over and put the dots on the four corners (the soft side, not the hook side), and then I stuck the hooked side to the soft and removed the covering from the adhesive.

Keep up, this is the MOST important part.

Very carefully, I flipped the first print over and stuck it to the banner where I wanted it.

Then, I detached the dots from one another and removed the image.

I then attached new hook dots to the soft dots ON THAT IMAGE and repeated the process twice, putting it where I had the other two laid out.

Now, my banner has dots that will hold that image in three places, but I want to be able to stick any of the images anywhere.

I then attached soft dots to ONE of the patterns on the banner and removed the adhesive cover. After lining up a new image and gently pressing it down, I had a second image that would fit ALL THREE places on my banner. I repeated this action until all my images had soft dots on the corners.

I used the soft dots on the images so I can stack them and not worry about them scratching one another.

*****IMPORTANT: I know it's time consuming to do it this way, but if you just stick dots on willy-nilly, there's a chance they won't line up with the ones on the banner. Take the time to do it right.

My banner can now display ANY of my covers, and I don't have to spend another $50 (banner with no stand) each time I want to update it, just $7. Here's a picture:


Total investment: $170

If I ever change my branding (colors or WriteJoMichaels), I'm screwed, but I like it enough that I plan to stick with it forever.

You can leave space at the top, bottom, or wherever! It's your design. Do with it what you will.

I'll get into those nifty little stands that are holding my books next week. They're my favorite EVER!

What do you think? Will you try it?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Unofficial UtopYA Con 2015 Author Interviews to Start Soon

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm just taking a moment today to let you all know about the upcoming author interviews that'll take place here on the blog. Like last time, I'll have authors who intend to be at the next UtopYA Con on the blog, so you can take a moment and get to know a little about them. Get your tickets and find out more about the con here. Next year's theme is time travel, and promises to be a cool experience. You can see from the poster, the con has been extended to four full days of awesomesauce, too! While I've made a page here on the blog for the dates of the interviews leading up to the con, I'm gonna give them to you now:

Susan Burdorf - August 25
Kelly Martin - September 8
Liz Long - September 22
BJ Sheldon - October 6
Christina Mercer - October 20
Sharon Rose Mayes - November 3
Kelly Risser - November 17
Devyn Dawson - December 1

Break! Merry Christmas! This will be my 12 Days of Christmas event on the blog. Very fun!

Casey L. Bond - December 29
Casey Peeler - January 12
Rachael Brownell - January 26
Kristina Circelli - February 9
Megan Curd - February 23
K.C. Neal - March 9
Inger Iversen - March 23
Natasha Hanova - April 6
Mindy Ruiz - April 20
Christal Mosley / C. Marie Mosley - May 4
Erin Hayes - May 18
Toni Lesatz - June 1

How exciting is that list? Those folks in bold are the ones who were with us last year. Yeah, I'll have the inside info on a couple of them (because now I've met them and watched from afar). No, they didn't know I was watching. *evil grin*

You'll also see a bunch of new names up there. I'm so excited to get to know some of these ladies better. As I progress through the ranks, I'll update the page with links and photographs. How exciting is that?

Do you see the break up there for Christmas fun? I'll be doing things a bit differently this year, and giving away books from the authors from last year I gave four or five stars to over the course of 2014. Yes, I'll still include my own books; but I'm all about paying it forward and changing things up to keep them fresh for you all. More details on that as we get closer.

I'll announce the winners of my birthday Rafflecopter giveaway tomorrow. Come on back for that!

Are there any authors on the list you're looking forward to hearing from/learning about?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo