From the President,
As a chapter of RWA, STAR has a couple challenges. One is, we’re a small group. I’ve chosen to see the silver lining in this, as it allows up to do things like treat our members to an all-expenses-paid writing retreat. Okay, so it’s just a day at a local bed-and-breakfast, but still: no kids, no phones, no dog…and no excuses!
But our other challenge is the sheer geography of our catchment area. Where urban chapters can have a few million people within 50 miles of their meetings, we’re stretched over several counties in two states. Most of our members drive more than 30 miles to get to the meetings.
The realities of life mean that it’s hard for everyone to get to our regular Monday evening meetings. To address that, STAR is instituting two “online meetings” this year. Starting in March, we’ll be meeting electronically over several days. As people post to the group, members will get an email for each comment, link, or contribution. If you’ve ever taken an online course (and STAR hosts several excellent online classes…), the set-up is the same. Only instead of one person lecturing us, we’re all teachers and students combined.
The March meeting will be on all the options for publishing that face writers today. Most of grew up with dreams of seeing our name on the cover of a mass-market paperback in a bookstore. But perhaps digital-only makes more sense…and if that’s the case, why not self-publish?
There’s no “right” answer, but there are a lot of pros and cons to every option. So we’re going to share our experiences online and see if by asking questions of each other we can’t come up with some answers for ourselves.
Spring is always a good time to try something new!
Magdalen Braden
President, STAR