Category Archives: publishing

Self-Publishing Success: What Worked, What Didn’t, & What I Would Do Differently, with Erick Mertz

Self-publishing used to be somewhat frowned on and considered less legitimate than “really” getting published, but that is changing, as Erick showed us in his presentation.

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Writers’ Mill Minutes, June 18, 2023

Cedar Mill Library, Beaverton and online Zoom

Six participants attended online, and seven were present in the library meeting room, for a total of thirteen. Zita Podany led the meeting in Sheila Deeth’s absence. Christine Wong  managed the technology from the library, with assistance from Matthew McAyeal who coordinated the Zoom chat with library attendees. Jean Harkin took Minutes. We welcomed a new member, Ren.

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You too can write a novel, graphic novel, comic, memoir, mini-book, … talk with Joshua Williamson

Joshua Williamson is the author of 150 graphic novels! He works for DC Comics and Marvel, and is paid to write monthly short books (like magazines) which, when the story’s done, get compiled together into complete graphic novels. Mostly these are YA, but he’s written other non-DC books (e.g. Nailbiter) which might be aimed at a somewhat older audience.

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Publish or Perish, or just Put your words out there?

Publish or Perish is a common phrase in British academia. If you don’t publish papers you’ll never advance your career. Guessing that we’re more interested in just putting our words out there, even if we never achieve that great writing career, Sheila offered a few ways we might use to let others see our words. You can find her presentation online at https://www.portlandwritersmill.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/20230319-publishing-presentation.pdf (pdf file) or https://www.portlandwritersmill.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/20230319-publishing-presentation.pptx (powerpoint presentation file).

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Writers’ Mill Minutes 2023 03 19

Writers’ Mill March Minutes, March 19th 2023

March’s meeting was well-attended, with some new in person members, and lots of members online. Sheila had intended to be present in person, but COVID intervened, so her “Publish or Perish, or just Put your words out there” presentation was given via zoom instead. Afterward, members were invited to introduce themselves, both online and in person, and there was lots of lively discussion, leading to various unresolved questions. Please contact admin with your thoughts on:

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Writers’ Mill Minutes 20221120

Around 20 members joined us, online and in person, to watch the release of our 2022 anthology and learn a little more about self-publishing. We think we’re getting the hang of this “hybrid meeting” thing, but please send your suggestions and comments—what worked, what was better, what still doesn’t work—and we’ll do our best to continue to improve.

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How to Grow Your Book – Presentation by Sheila Deeth, 20221120

Go to https://www.portlandwritersmill.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GROW-YOUR-OWN-BOOK.pptx for Sheila’s Powerpoint presentation on self-publishing with amazon kdp, or read on for notes from her talk.

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Writing Advice from Steven Campbell, author of Hard Luck Hank, May 2022

Steven’s conversation touched on many writing topics, so I’ve tried to collect things under headings for you. Please let me know if I’ve missed any favorite nuggets from what he had to say.

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