2010/9 — Richard Georgian

September 2010

Dear Members:

If only we wrote in Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese or Korean before the modern age, we would not have to deal with punctuation. But, here we are in the twenty-first century, stuck with English, and all the strange punctuation and grammar rules that English society has devised to date. Let us all embrace texting, a form of writing without grammar, punctuation, or spelling required. Now that is Nirvana. Oh yes, did I mention that September 24 is National Punctuation Day.

Felice Gerwitz, President of Media Angels, was an impressive August speaker. She regaled us with more information than I think many of us could comprehend. She addressed the importance of blogging and joining the social networking sites so one can maintain an internet presence. You need to stress what you have to offer to the reader, and the concept of branding yourself, or how to stand out from the crowd. She said you need to understand your reach and how to outreach to your community of readers. It is important to own your internet domain name and to maintain a contact list. She reminded us that book covers do sell books and that one needs to consider hosting public speaking events, podcasts, webinars, and writing articles.

We are making a radical change in direction for our September speaker. I’ve had enough of the Internet, blogging, texting, and all the modern stuff, how about something different. Mark Bradshaw Busbee, PhD., FGCU, Assistant English Professor, is presenting the topic “The Beginning of English Poetry.” He will add information on some of the early English punctuation that has creep into our lexicon. This should expand our understanding of where our language came from.

I want to remind everyone that one of our mission goals is to help each other in our writing and marketing. I ask you to think about our monthly activities to help you express yourself and help each other. We have a monthly reading, (500 words or two pages double spaces) so please sign up. We have a few minutes for you to tell members “It worked for me,” those techniques that have worked for you in your writing. I announced last month that we are going to try something else new, “How’s my pitch.” Members can sign up to present a “one minute” pitch for their project. We will time it, and members can give you feedback during the break. You can drop me an email (rgeorgian@embarqmail.com) and I will put you on the agenda.

Hope to see you all Saturday, September 18, for our next meeting, and keep on writing.

Sincerely,
Richard Georgian
President