An Annual General Meeting, Elections, and A Self-Publishing Success Story!

By: Loni Cameron

March’s meeting had three parts: 2018’s Annual General Meeting, our Elections, and an insightful speaker. Board Chair, MJ Moores started the meeting with a welcome and brief look at the WCYR’s 7-year history. We, the members of the WCYR, are creating a community we can rely on to be a resource to each other. Our treasurer, Lauren, gave a brief overview of the WCYR’s finances, Doug, our Special Events Coordinator, detailed published author opportunities, and Kim, our seminar program coordinator discussed some amazing meetings coming our way next season. We were encouraged to apply for the WCYR’s grants – please do so by the end of the month. The Bookshelf is growing, and we look forward to seeing everyone on July 7^th. Our Farmer’s Market presence will also grow this season.

The Elections process began seamlessly from the overview. As I’ve mentioned before, it takes many people to keep the WCYR running. As your Elections Officer, I provided a bit of information about each candidate for the Board. With only one person nominated for each position, no ballots were necessary. The members present confirmed the selection of candidates, and the Board was approved! Take a look at our Board Members for the next two years, with the transition taking place in June.

We always need extra help for events, so please contact us if you’d like to volunteer. Our Special Events coordinator is Douglas Owen.

The current Board has created a Constitution and By-Laws draft. Please have a look. It will be up as a draft for approximately one month. The Board will consider any suggestions or changes from the WCYR community. It will become official at the end of April.

With the business of the AGM out of the way, we took a break and welcomed Indie Author Barbara Trendos and her Self-Publishing Success Story.

Barbara’s story was a labour of love as an author and a daughter. It is the story of her father and his survival as a POW (Prisoner of War) in World War II. Barbara discussed her process as the story came together. The book’s title, Survival, came organically. “Survival” was a word that kept coming up as the story was told, researched and written. Survival is the story in one word. The information she gathered about her father’s experiences took on a life of its own. The story reminds us to remember to persevere, even if you don’t know where you are going.

Barbara chose to go the self-publishing route, after speaking with other authors, as the best way to tell her father’s story. I think that’s the way it should be: go where you feel your story belongs. Barbara went through the details of what happens when you are a self-published author, the positives and negatives. She used her time wisely, trying not to fall down any rabbit-holes. I think we all have experience with that, and she made some suggestions as to how to avoid all the pitfalls.

Upcoming Events

Sunday, April 15^th – Opening scenes with Kelley Armstrong. The Newmarket Community Centre, 1pm to 4pm. Bring 2-3 pages of your work for a chance to have Kelley critique it. Be prepared to read it in front of the group if you want to participate.

Thursday, April 26^th – Wattpad Workshop with Maaja Wentz. The NewMakeIt from 7pm to 9pm. This is a free members-only workshop.

Tuesday, May 15^th – Craft Tips to Fix the Sagging Middle with Mary Sullivan and Wanda Ottewell. The Newmarket Public Library from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Learn to tighten the middle of your story, so it is just as amazing as the beginning and end.

Sunday, June 10^th – Pens n’ Friends: Luncheon & Peer Critiques. There are deadlines for this meeting, and you MUST register. Please see the upcoming events for more details.

Be sure to check out the workshop/meeting list for the 2018-2019 season. It is already up and there are some exciting topics and presentations!