June Speaker — Susan Grunin

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June 2022

Speaker: Susan Grunin
Topic: Hybrid Publishing
June 18, 2022, 10 a.m. to Noon

Susan Grunin

The presentation will look at Using a Hybrid Publisher including:

  1. Defining a Hybrid Publishing Company
  2. The Three Models of Hybrid Publishers
  3. Key to Understanding the Differences between a Hybrid Publisher and a Vanity Press
  4. Ways to Tell is a Hybrid Publisher is Legit
  5. 8 Signs Your Publisher is a Scam
  6. The Guidelines for Recognizing a Legit Hybrid Publisher from the Independent Book Publishers Association (2018)
  7. What type of Author is Most Likely to Benefit from a Hybrid Publisher
  8. Deciding Whether to Use a Hybrid Publisher – It Isn’t for Everyone!

Susan’s sample Author Page. Make your own Author Page and bring to the next meeting.

Susan’s PowerPoint presentation

Dr. Susan K. Grunin is a retired college professor, who taught for over 2 decades for the University of Virginia (UVA) and a number of other colleges and universities. Dr. Grunin also authored a text book for the University of Virginia Graduate School. She is a retired Executive who has been an Executive Coach, a CEO, a Human Capital Consultant and who also worked for the Federal Government, where she served in various positions for the Federal Courts, including over 20 years as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer.

Susan is currently a member of the Gulf Coast Writers Association of SW Florida and is writing a series of children’s books, Life Lessons and Tales of Little MisFit.

More about Susan

Paul McFarlane

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Paul McFarlane

Mr. McFarlane finished a 34-year federal career in 2015. He resides in Millville, DE with his wife, Karen; their two adult sons live in Maryland. He writes memoir, fictional mysteries and enjoys family history research. He facilitates weekly FreeWrites for two other writing groups and plans to offer these to GCWA members.

May Speaker — DJ Kristoff

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May 2022

Speaker: DJ Kristoff
Topic: Writing with a message for young people
May 21, 2022, 10 a.m. to Noon
DJ Kristoff

Fiction in a Nonfiction World – The Evolution of An Author
How dinosaurs, Harry Potter, and Jack Canfield changed this writer’s course of history. It’s a major feat to write a book; it’s a whole other adventure to market it.D.J. Kristoff presents her journey from an award-winning science teacher digging dinosaurs in Montana to being inspired by the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios to writing her first book and having Jack Canfield, coauthor of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, show her how to market it.

Kristoff offers her insights on how to write for middle-grade kids based on her world travels and real-life experiences that she brought back into the classroom. “Writing my book was an adventure in itself as I followed the threads of the storyline and researched my new discoveries.”

Other topics include writing with a message, marketing, and making your story relevant in a nonfiction world to sell more than books.

Currently living in Fort Myers, Florida, DJ Kristoff began her education career teaching eighth-grade science in Tempe, Arizona. There she founded and directed the Students for Environmental Awareness Club. Kristoff guided as many as 50 adventurous eighth graders hiking and backpacking into the deserts and wildernesses of Arizona and Utah, teaching geology, biology, anthropology, paleontology, and ethnobotany. Now, as a children’s author, she inspires middle-grade students to love nature and science with her magical books.