Our standard Roundtable meeting agenda includes an item called, “Announcements, rejections, publications.”
For years, its major emphasis focused on submitting to literary agents, and as any writer knows, members reported far more rejections than anything else. When we congratulated each other, it was for receiving requests for full or partial manuscripts from agents, and in a few rare cases, offers of representation.
But on April 10, 2011, the opening item for our meetings called the “Icebreaker” foreshadowed a shift in emphasis with something to the effect of, “Tell us whether or not you would consider self-publishing your novel and explain why.”
From that moment on, the topic of indie publishing rose to the forefront of our collective efforts and we began to hear announcements about novels that had crawled out of our members’ computers so that readers could actually purchase them in both eBook and print formats.
This page serves as an extension of that agenda item and will include more than publication announcements. As the name implies, you can find the HOT STUFF here.
UPDATE MARCH 26, 2018:
RECENTLY PUBLISHED:
August 19, 2017: Compromise with Sin by Leanna Englert
November 23, 2017: A Promise of Water by Sharon Scarborough
Bagels & Salsa by Lara Reznik
OUR NEWEST PUBLISHED DEBUT AUTHOR:
January 6, 2018: Geronimo’s Bones by Darrell Bryant
OTHER HAPPENINGS: We may need to add another table to accommodate the increase in attendance at Roundtable. On April 10, 2016 we had 15 people. That’s still short of the highest I’ve seen it over the years, when we were averaging over 20. But less than a year ago, we were lucky to have more than 8 members show up. It’s an encouraging trend, and it would be nice to see it last.
UPDATE TO OTHER HAPPENINGS: Since the first of the year, attendance has stabilized at about thirteen members. Depending on the number of those who are actively submitting at any given time, this level of participation typically allows members to submit for Roundtable somewhat more frequently.