We're getting the band back together -- and you're invited! We are going to hold an in-person meeting on Wednesday, June 14 from 7:00pm until 8:30pm at the Panera Bread, 25 Rice Lake Square in Wheaton. Put it on your calendar now!
Several members have expressed an interest in meeting face-to-face like we have in the past. At one time we met monthly, then took a hiatus, then tried meeting again every other month until we called it quits. Some of the reasons attendance at meetings dropped were:
- The meeting day was inconvenient
- The meeting location changed
- The cost was prohibitive
- Some members don't drive at night
- The location was inconvenient
- No new information was being shared
- No one was available to invite speakers
- Members moved
- No one wanted to lead the group
- Interest waned
All of these reasons are certainly valid and compromise probably can't be reached that will satisfy everyone, but Don Strauss started talking with Jerilyn Willen about the possibility of re-starting the in-person meetings. They added Don and Kate Gingold (who are managing the website) to the discussion, and the decision was made to go ahead and schedule a live meeting.
The Panera Bread at 25 Rice Lake Square in Wheaton is a location where we have met in the past and very near the Illinois Institute of Technology campus where we met for several months in 2013. There is a small separate meeting room in the very back of the restaurant that has been reserved for our group. Attendees are not required to make a purchase to attend (although Panera of course would love you to!). Thank you to Don Strauss for funding the room rental for this first meeting!
While details are still being finalized, the general agenda will be:
7:00pm Meeting begins/Introductions/Book success updates
7:30pm Presentation/Speaker
8:00pm Discussion
8:30pm Meeting ends
Panera asks us to leave the meeting room at 8:30, but the restaurant will still be open, so we could continue talking and socializing in the main area if we wish.
Author!Author! was founded by Juli Schatz in 2009. In her words:
"Author! Author! is a Chicagoland network of authors -- both self-published and those associated with traditional presses and publishing companies -- dedicated to helping authors market themselves and their books through promotions, public relations, publicity, advertising and other marketing tools."
That seems to still be our focus. We certainly discuss writing and publishing with one another as well, so the possibility exists to include those topics perhaps in sub-groups on different nights or after 8:30pm in the main Panera dining room.
So please put this event on your calendar and invite your author friends to come as well. Since marketing a book starts BEFORE the book is published, even writers in the manuscript phase are welcome to attend. More details will be coming soon!