My Newsletter FAPA Florida Authors and Publishers Association |
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FAPA February 2025 Newsletter |
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President's Message. Ginger Marks. |
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“Think before you speak is criticism’s motto; speak before you think, creation’s.” — E. M. Forster Dear Friends, Members, and Colleagues, Change is inevitable. This is a truth we can all agree on. For FAPA’s board of directors, this means that we welcome Fred Gray to the FAPA board. Renee Garrison will support him in his duties as the incoming treasurer. I am confident you will want to welcome him to our board alongside us. If you have skill and time and would like to become a member of the FAPA Board of Directors, there’s no better time than now to volunteer to get a feel for what being in a governing role to prepare you for the 2025 BOD ballot this August. Find out where your skills are best suited by talking to a board member. On another note, the end of the FAPA President’s Book Awards is fast approaching. Nevertheless, you still have time to enter. While we are getting ready for the August Awards Banquet in Orlando, our judges are reviewing your submissions. FAPA seeks publishing professionals and librarians to serve as judges for its book awards. As the saying goes, “Many hands make quick work.” Until next month, stay safe and warm, |
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Call for entries 2025 FAPA President's Book Awards |
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2025 FAPA President’s Book Awards Did you publish a book in 2023, 2024, or 2025? If so, and you did not enter that book in 2023 or 2024, you are eligible to enter the 2025 FAPA President’s Book Awards! This program officially recognizes book publishing excellence and creativity in design, content, and production for authors, publishers, and illustrators. A book displaying the FAPA President’s Book Award indicates the work of a highly accomplished author, publisher, or illustrator. Each book entered is evaluated by a team of three dedicated professionals, most of whom are librarians from throughout the United States. Winners are officially honored at the FAPA President’s Book Awards Celebration, the culminating event of FAPA’s annual conference. Awardees receive a gold, silver, or bronze medal for the category in their genre and may display the FAPA President’s Book Awards Seal on their winning books. Early Bird Pricing ends February 28! Additional information, including pricing, entry instructions, categories, and scoring rubrics, are available on the FAPA website. |
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Writing and Publishing Tips from Our Members FAPA members are encouraged to submit article links for publication in a future FAPA newsletter. Selected articles will contain practical advice on writing and publishing, be non-promotional, and be no longer than 1,000 words. Submit your articles for consideration by completing this form. You will need your FAPA member number to confirm eligibility. One article per month will be selected. |
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Edit or Regret It by Valerie Allen Wee ken knot bee two care full wren wee right!!!! Sew, righters, plees reed. The work of successful authors educates and/or entertains–better to do both. No matter how well written, the reader is apt to close your book and move on due to lack of clarity. Content that is poorly written is distracting. It makes it difficult for the reader to concentrate, understand, enjoy, or learn from your work. Here is a checklist of the most significant errors to consider. Avoid overuse of that (use find feature/reread sentence/eliminate when not needed) They all hoped that you would come to the class. (incorrect) They all hoped you would come to the class. Keep noun – verb sequence, especially with he said/she said speech tags “This is wonderful,” said Valerie. (incorrect) “This is wonderful,” Valerie said. Do not use FANBOYS to begin a sentence: F=for; A=as/and; N= neither/nor; B = but; O= or; Y = yet; S= so So we all went to the store to buy more pens for our writing project. (incorrect) We all went to the store to buy more pens for our writing project. Use a comma before the word but in a sentence (most of the time :) I enjoy writing but it is hard work. (incorrect) I enjoy writing, but it is hard work. Use quotes at the beginning and at the end of dialogue; keep punctuation inside the quotations: I love to teach, Valerie said. (incorrect) “I love to teach,” Valerie said. Use italics for internal thoughts; do not add “he/she thought” after internal dialogue Valerie looked at her new book. I know this will be a best seller, she thought. (incorrect) Valerie looked at her new book. I know this will be a best seller. Use the correct tag line with a statement and a question. “What is the price of this book?” Valerie said. (incorrect) “What is the price of this book?” Valerie asked. Use hyphens for compound nouns and multiple adjectives. Valerie Allen, an award winning author, can be contacted at VAllenWriter@gmail.com. She is the Director of Authors for Authors (AuthorsForAuthors.com) and hosts author and book events. The 16th Annual Writers' Conference: Write, Publish, Sell! April 06, 2025 Hilton Melbourne, FL |
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MyFAPA Call for judges 2025 President's Book Awards. |
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Call For Judges! Are you or someone you know a literary expert who has a passion for reading, time to volunteer, and the ability to identify excellence in a variety of genres? FAPA is seeking librarians, educators, publishers, and other industry professionals to judge one of the largest book awards in the state of Florida—The Florida Authors and Publishers Association Annual President’s Book Awards. Each entry is evaluated on content, theme, layout, editing, and appropriateness and relevancy in the category entered. Submittable is the online submission and grading platform. Once a potential judge has completed the application, deemed qualified, and is accepted, they will receive an email invitation to enroll in Submittable as a reviewer. Enrolled reviewers will judge at least five books according to the rubric and scoring criteria. Applications are now being accepted. Qualified FAPA members and non-members may apply. We encourage you to share the FAPA Judge Application Link with your local librarian and anyone else you feel is qualified. If you have any questions, would like further details about judging, or know someone you think would appreciate a personal invitation to become a judge, contact anne.jacob@myfapa.org. We sincerely hope that you will consider judging or identify a judge for the FAPA President’s Book Awards this year. |
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Showcase Your Business at the FAPA 2025 Conference. We offer many levels to suit your unique business! Pulitzer, Trilogy, Epic, Classic, Novel, A La Carte. Click here or read more below for detailed information. |
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If you're interested in becoming a FAPA sponsor, we invite you to explore the exciting opportunities available. Sponsorship not only enhances your visibility within the literary community but also supports our mission to provide valuable resources and professional development for authors and publishers. Click on the button below to learn more about how you can get involved! |
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Member Spotlight. Fellow FAPA members, we want to share your successes! Send a photo of a recent book signing or event with a short caption to Anne.Jacob@myfapa.org. We look forward to hearing from you. |
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Please share your recent achievements, milestones, or exciting news. Click the button below to fill out the form, and you could be featured in the next FAPA newsletter's Member Spotlight! |
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BookExpo 2025. Presented by Writers League of The Villages. |
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Thank you to Writers League of The Villages for inviting FAPA board members to present information about FAPA at the Book Expo on January 26. FAPA was well-represented at the event. Mary Flynn, Fred Gray, Steven Leshay, David Maurer, Marsha Shearer, and Barbara Rein were among the many award-winning authors proudly displaying their FAPA awards! |
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Literary Titan Book Award. Finding Sarah: A Phoenix to Behold. www.ninapurtee.com |
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Nina Purtee’s book, Finding Sarah: A Phoenix to Behold, was awarded the five-star Gold Award by Literary Titan and her other book, Moroccan Sunset: Dawn of a New Beginning, was featured on Reedsy Discovery with their five-star Gold Cup Award and featured book of the week. |
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On January 16, 2025, Rob Rogers held a book signing and was the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of the Central Florida chapter of the Florida Trail Association, where he presented his new book, Finding My Way Home: Fighting Depression Backpacking in Central Florida. |
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🖐️ Participate in an event! 🎉 If you know of any future events of interest to authors or publishers, please share the information with a FAPA board member or reply to this email. |
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✨ Become a Regional Partner! FAPA is seeking Regional Partners to provide events for students and writers to further their education in writing, publishing, or related fields. Past Workshop Partners include: Florida State University Campus (Partner: Tallahassee Writer's Association) Writer's Workshop (Sponsor: Amelia Island Book Festival) Florida State College at Jacksonville, South Campus (sponsor: Online Binding)
For more information, contact Renee Garrison, FAPA Scholarship Chair, at Renee.Garrison@myfapa.org. |
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myFAPA is looking to partner with YOUR organization! |
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✨ Support FAPA's Partner Members! 🙌 Learn about their products, services, and exclusive member deals on the FAPA website. For more information about partner membership, contact Tashena Anderson-Place, FAPA's partner member chair, at Tashena.Place@myfapa.org. |
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Support our FAPACon Sponsors! |
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President's Book Award Winners. Purchase your award stickers to showcase your well-deserved President's Book Award! |
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✨ Celebrate your award-winning book! Let it shine with FAPA award stickers. Order more today! 🏅 |
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Please allow 1-3 weeks for delivery. |
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Attention Amazon Shoppers! Support FAPA when you shop. Step 1: start your shopping experience at the FAPA store. Step 2: Complete your purchase thought Amazon. Disclaimer: A portion of your purchase will go to support FAPA. |
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Update your FAPA profile today! Networking is one of the main benefits of FAPA membership. Partner, Standard, and Student members are encouraged to complete their profiles and utilize the FAPA directory to find and connect with authors, publishers, and other industry professionals. We would like to have as many profiles as possible updated before the start of FAPACon 2024. Each Conference or Awards Ceremony attendee who updates their FAPA profile before the conference will receive one free raffle ticket at the registration desk. Just log in to the FAPA website, click on your name, and then click on membership subscription and complete any missing account and profile information. Remember to add your profile photo and your about info. |
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Get your Book Listed! Add your book to the FAPA online bookstore today! For FAPA members in good standing, you can add your books to FAPA's online bookstore for free. Fill out the form on the myFAPA website. Please include your book title, Amazon link, and any FAPA awards your book has received. The book description and cover photo are uploaded directly from Amazon. |
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Copyright © Florida Authors & Publishers Association. All rights reserved. FAPA's Board of Directors is entirely composed of volunteers. |
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