Las Cruces Writers

LCW Meeting, June 9th 2022

Posted on June 5, 2022June 6, 2022 by Mark Davis

Agenda for the 9 June 2022 Las Cruces Writers membership meeting

1:30 to 3:30 pm at the Creative Arts Room at Good Sam at 3011 Buena Vida Circle.

Call to order by Bob Worthington, Acting Chair

Treasurer report: Judy Cicero

Membership report: Mark Davis

Web site/media report: Mark Davis

Education report: Bob Worthington

Need volunteer for Vice President position Elections during July meeting

July book signing at the Mall: Charmayne Samuelson

Executive Board report: Bob Worthington

Revised brochure/membership application

Farmer’s Market report

Membership in Dona Ana Arts Council

Writing seminars for the public

Future of LCW

Writers’ critique breakout session (for July meeting)

Other new business

Breakout session LCW brainstorming

In July the current LCW administration will end. On 1 August a new management team will take over. This brainstorming session will attempt to elicit from the members what you want from LCW and what you want it to do for you.

Currently we have the executive board meet, once a month, a week before the membership meeting. The membership meets once a month to hold a business meeting and to hold two breakout sessions (writing and marketing) and once a month we have a two-hour writing seminar. We also host two book signings at the Mall. Some of our writers have agreed to read any member’s work and provide feedback. So we have a system for writers helping writers.

The brainstorming will try to assess what the members like and what they do not like. Basically the board members want to …

LitFest Las Cruces

Posted on May 26, 2022May 26, 2022 by Mark Davis

Check out LitFest on the Las Cruces Downtown Mall on June 4th. The centerpiece of the mini-festival will be the Generations Community Writing Project. It looks like it will be well-served by local bars and restaurants with literary-themed cocktails and more!…

Seminar: Online Marketing and Digital Platforms

Posted on May 24, 2022June 5, 2022 by Mark Davis

I (Mark Davis) will host a seminar on Saturday, May 28th from 2-4 PM at Good Samaritan Village, Building E, 3045 Buena Vida Circle. I will also stream the seminar via Zoom (invitation will go out to members email list a day before).

Reaching audiences and selling books online is very 21st century, but don’t expect that if you build it they will come! In this seminar, I will give an overview of online marketing approaches and the idea of a “digital platform” that is designed to assemble an audience using a variety of tools.

This class is designed for writers of all skill levels who have an interest in marketing and promoting their books online. The goal will be to survey the available channels for reaching your audience and do a few deep dives on the technical aspects of those online systems. While some of the details may be technical, the presentation will provide both a primer for those hoping to do-it-yourself and options for those looking for assistance.

This seminar dovetails with George Pintar’s planned July seminar, Branding Your Business.

Topics to be covered:

The idea of a “digital platform”
- Examples of platforms
- Hybrid models: marketing online and in person
- Goals of platforms
- A zoo of possibilities: Twitter, websites, Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook, oh my!
- Models:
  - No-cost
  - Low-cost
  - High-cost
- Measuring stuff: conversions
Hiring a Service vs. Do-It-Yourself
- Trade-offs: Costs vs. Learning Curve
Deep dives:
- WordPress website creation
  - Registrars and URLs
  - Services
  - Creation and editing
- The Facebook/Instagram ecosystem
- Twitter

…

LCW May 12th Meeting

Posted on May 8, 2022May 8, 2022 by Mark Davis

Thursday 12 May 2022 at Good Sam 1:30 to 3:30

Call to order by acting chair Bob Worthington

Nominating committee report by David Osterhout

Treasurer report by Judy Cicero

Education report by Bob Worthington

Membership/social media/next writing seminar report by Mark Davis

Membership awards by Bob Worthington

New Business???

Breakout sessions:

Marketing: George Pintar

Your branding voice and matching your brand to your content. Developing a brand voice for your book.

Writing: Bob Worthington and Efrem Carrasco

Those pesky little details that can ruin a book. First a writing exercise then an open discussion by Bob and Efrem on how to avoid incorrect details in your book. Details that can turn a reader off because he or she knows they are wrong. As the writer you must come across as an expert.

Meeting adjourned…

Award-winning Author via Zoom

Posted on May 6, 2022May 6, 2022 by Mark Davis

Our friends at Mesilla Valley Readers of Southern New Mexico will host a Zoom presentation by award-winning author Reyna Grande next Thursday. It will be close to the end of our monthly meeting but should be an engaging opportunity to learn more from an author. Check out more at Las Cruces Bulletin.

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2022 Writers’ Education Seminars

Posted on May 5, 2022May 5, 2022 by Mark Davis

Here is the complete list of 2022 seminars. Seminars are open to all members of LCW and take place on the fourth Saturday of the month. We look forward to seeing you there!

Date	Presenter	Topic
Jan	Bob Worthington	Writing as a business
Feb	Susan Bontly	Using computers for research
Mar	Bob Worthington	How to craft a story
Apr	Efrem Carrasco	Self-editing
May	Mark Davis	Online marketing and digital platforms
Jun	Mark Davis	How to self-publish
Jul	George Pintar	How to market your book
Aug	Karen Ray	How to write a memoir
Sep	Efrem Carrasco	How to develop characters
Oct	Efrem Carrasco	Tips for authors
Nov	No seminar (Thanksgiving)
Dev	No seminar (Christmas and book signing)

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Chile Charlie Rides Again with Navajo Tainted Beliefs

Posted on April 26, 2022April 26, 2022 by Mark Davis

Navajo Tainted Beliefs by George Pintar is culmination of a yearlong project to learn the similarities and differences between the Bible and Navajo stories regarding the creation of the earth and mankind. Pintar’s fictional characters Chile Charlie and Dolly Sweet Thompson interview both Navajo Shamans and clergymen to obtain the facts about the written and oral stories. These are enticing and creative side-by-side comparisons. They are well-written and easy to understand. Here is a description of a shaman: “Blue Rope wore an authentic Kachina outfit. His face was covered with a mask, and his eyes hid behind the darkness of the mask. Under his right feather-winged hand, he carried a small gourd bucket.” Another is “Next, he created man from dust and woman from man’s rib. God did not think man should live alone. But in Navajo stories, the sun had the sole power to communicate, which was a big difference in the creation stories. One of the most striking is that a woman is made with a man in the Navajo version. They were made under the same buckskin simultaneously.

You may laugh, you may cry, and you may wonder why as you read Navajo Tainted Beliefs. Now available on Amazon Books.…

Pre-Order Bob Worthington’s Newest: The Making of an Army Psychologist

Posted on April 25, 2022April 25, 2022 by Mark Davis

LCW’s Bob Worthington’s newest book, The Making of an Army Psychologist, is now available for pre-order from McFarland Press. Here’s a synopsis:

In the early 1970s the U.S. Army was undergoing seismic changes. The Vietnam War had ended, almost 600 American POWs were released by North Vietnam, the draft was terminated and the Army itself was in dismal shape. A decorated former infantryman turned behavioral scientist, Bob Worthington returned to active duty as a clinician and served as a senior psychology consultant, helping the Army remain an effective fighting force. His insightful memoir describes his pioneering research in PTSD, the managing of a clinical service and mental health center, his work focusing on pilots and aviators, and a stint as a sports psychologist for the U.S. Olympics.…