Meet Christy Dyer!

Today on my blog, I welcome the new intern at Oak Tree Press, Christy Dyer.

First, welcome to the family of one of my favorite publishers. You'll like it here!

Thanks! I think I will like it here!

Exactly what will you do as intern? What will be your responsibilities?

I’m working as an acquisitions editor. So I will be looking over people’s queries and manuscripts to decide if they can be published. I am also doing some editing work, but not through OTP. Just something on the side.

What is your background?

I am a recent college graduate from Western Illinois University. So now I am in the “real” world, trying to find a job that fits my major, English.

I can relate. I was also an English major. I'm an editor (independent plus for several publishers) as well as an author. I even have the t-shirt:

You can get one, too, here: http://tinyurl.com/l7qdlbt

How did you become interested in a career in publishing?

As cliché as it is, I am a huge reader. I will read anything and everything. So I wanted to work in a place with books and authors and help them get their ideas into print. I've also entertained the idea of writing!

How did you find out about Oak Tree Press?

The power of Google search! I was looking for publishing houses in Illinois so I didn’t have to move right away, and OTP came up. So I took a chance, and here I am!

What appealed to you about the intern position?

I was really glad Billie decided to give me a chance. Most places didn’t bother to answer me or told me I didn’t have enough experience. Plus, Billie is really kind and answers all of my billion-questions-a-day emails as they come. So I’m glad for the chance to show what I can do.

What contribution(s) do you hope to make?

Maybe possibly add to the fantasy section of OTP? I am a huge fan of fantasy and it might attract even more authors to OTP since we publish those works. It would also add more readers since it is a popular genre. But for now, I’m happy reading all the queries and helping in any way I can!

[Lorna: My book, Ghost Writer, was the first published by OTP under the new fantasy imprint, Mystic Oaks.]

What do you see as the future of publishing?

With all the ways people can self-publish, it is difficult to predict where it might go. On one hand, it could continue to grow as people get their ideas out to the world in pursuit of the next bestseller. On the other hand, books in print could disappear as the new e-readers continue to become more popular. But I believe books will never die.

Anything else you think my readers would be interested in?

As I mentioned before, I am doing some side editing. Yes I will charge for my services (I am a poor college student after all!), but I’m not doing it through Oak Tree Press. I am willing to edit everything and anything. So if anyone is interested, I’m here!

Glad to know of another editor! Writers really need our services, and there are far too few of us to go around. All the best of luck at Oak Tree. Please don't nag me to get going on my next book for Mystic Oaks, to be called Sophia's Garden. Like Ghost Writer, it also has a ghost. I've promised it to Oak Tree when it's finished. Hope you'll enjoy being with us. We have a great group of authors.

Connecting the Dots

For the past couple of weeks I haven't posted a new blog. This is for several reasons, but a major one has occupied most of my time.

I am working on a committee planning my 50^th high school reunion, coming up next year. I've made it my personal goal to account for everyone in the class of over 600. (Okay, I know it's never been done, but who's to say it can't be?)

We were at the vanguard of the Baby Boom. We had the largest class to graduate from Alhambra High School in Alhambra, California up to that date. As of last Wednesday, we had verified 248 of the 606 names on the list. In addition, we've identified 72 of our classmates who have died.

We have addresses for all but 17 of the others, and phone numbers for most of those.

I started putting together a spreadsheet to track all the data on April 5. We began with nothing.

The lady at the high school who had kept all the records apparently died a couple of years ago, and no one there knows where the information might be. I had the reunion books from the ten-year (1974) and twenty-year (1984) reunions, which I attended, as well as the thirty-year one (1994) which I did not. In addition, in 1995, the high school put out a master list of all graduates from all classes. (Not everyone was included.) That helped with the last names of some of the women.

So I started with the most recent of these records and worked backwards. Unfortunately, my brother had borrowed all my annuals a few years ago for a project he was working on. Inside my senior one was the graduation program with everyone's full name. About a month after I began the spreadsheet, I visited him and retrieved those. The middle names were a huge help.

Another offer of assistance came from one of our classmates. She'd been part of the committee which had planned a three-class (1963, 1964, 1965) reunion held in 2005. (I also did not attend that one). She'd retained the contact information they used for that event, so about the same time as I recovered my annuals, we received those records in the mail. Unfortunately, quite a large percentage of the information on this list was incorrect.

Larry says I collect people the way others collect stamps. This is true, and I do not let them go easily. I have maintained friendships with many of the 'kids' I grew up with, high school friends, people from every job I've ever held, neighbors from places we've lived, my daughter's friends… You get the picture.

I also have many contacts on Facebook, including quite a few who were in my high school class.

As you may have gathered, I haven't attended many of the reunions of my class, for various reasons. However, a couple of years ago, a high school friend invited me to attend a luncheon at the home of another friend. I went, and had a great time renewing friendships with about eight other gals, several of whom I hadn't seen since graduation.

We had such a good time we decided to hold another mini-reunion last year at our house. This time, several from the first group attended as well as a couple of others. And we all vowed we'd go to the 50^th reunion.

Once we started the process, several volunteers came forward to help. A couple of gals have been nothing short of amazing at locating people. They have discovered children, siblings and other relatives who have ultimately led to the person we sought.

Another group has taken the contact information we've recorded and made phone calls personally inviting each class member to attend. They report back what they've learned, and we add that information to the spreadsheet.

Our ace-in-the-hole, however, is a class member who is a private detective. He has found a couple of people who defeated the rest of us. We save our hardest cases for him! And another former Secret Service agent will join us in August to tackle the most difficult cases.

One of the best parts for me personally is getting to know a gal who wasn’t' a friend in school. She was extremely shy and tried to fade into the background. In my case, she succeeded. However when she was contacted, she mentioned she had a lot of database experience. We have shared a major geekathon! She built an Access database from the data on my spreadsheet. She can now run reports so our work is very focused. What a HUGE gift! She will also become our webmaster as soon as we get our website up and operational. But most important to me is the terrific friendship we've formed. I can't wait to see her in person next year!

We also recruited a terrific treasurer and an assistant. They opened an account for the event, and reservations we've received so far have allowed us to secure a wonderful venue at this year's rates! (Since they are currently remodeling, we were informed the prices will be considerably higher next year—but not for us!)

We also have volunteers to make the nametags, prepare the biographical information, and coordinate the memorabilia.

I must admit, I've most enjoyed making phone calls and reconnecting with people I haven't spoken to in years. I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone next year, and the time away from my blog has been more than worth it!

New Voices Young Writers

Once again, Larry and I will help judge the New Voices Young Writer's Competition™ this year. Here is some information about the contest.

EPIC, The Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition, established the New Voices Young Writer's Competition™ in 2006 to encourage reading and writing in public, private, and home-based schools. EPIC is a leader in electronic publishing with a global membership consisting of published authors, publishers, editors, cover artists, and other industry professionals. Literacy is extremely close to the hearts of EPIC members.

Young writers, ages 11 through 18, are invited to enter their essays, poems, and short stories. The response has grown each year. New Voices is truly an international competition, with entries coming from Bulgaria, Canada, China, India, Japan, South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom...just to name a few!

New Voices inspires young writers and poets to spread their wings, to allow their dreams to become reality. Our no-cost global writing competition is open to students attending private, public, or home schools. Our intention is to encourage young authors by offering the opportunity to showcase their work and receive positive encouragement from industry and educational professionals, and to enlighten and educate students, as well as their parents/guardians and the education system, about ebooks and the e-publishing industry.

Each entrant receives feedback from professionals from both the electronic and print publishing industry, including teachers and librarians. The judges offer constructive criticism and encouragement. The very best entries are included in the annual New Voices Anthology.

All entries and correspondence are handled through email and an online entry form. We use secure storage for entries and scanned signature authorizations as a safeguard. Only the most basic information is shared with judges.

The New Voices Young Writer's Competition™ has earned the highest respect from the entrants and the educational community. Free downloads of past years' anthologies may be found on the New Voices anthology page.

EPIC is proud of every student who has entered our competition and we look forward to many more years of new and innovative work from our global artists!

Our children are not only the readers and writers of the future;

they are the VOICES of the future.

EPIC has given that voice a place and time.

Here is that place.

Now is their time.

For more information about New Voices young Writers, see the website at: http://newvoicesyoungwriters.com/

The EPIC eBook Awards are Coming!

This week I'm interviewing EPIC's fearless eBook Award Competition Chair, Debi Sullivan.

Disclaimer: Several of our books have finaled in this contest, and one, Directions of Love, won. I have had the privilege of presenting the award at several EPICon conferences.

Debi, you have been managing this contest for quite a few years (akin to herding cats). How long have you taken on this challenge?

I initially volunteered to work behind the scenes and started out as a judge, moved to category judge coordinator, then inherited *grin* the Competitions Chair position in 2007. At the time, I was already the New Voices Young Writers Chair, which made for a VERY chaotic and wacky first year as EPIC’s overall Competitions Chair.

What are the biggest challenges you face?

Entrants following the rules; doesn’t matter if they are young or old, folks just don’t pay attention to the details. *sigh* Best suggestion I can give any entrant: Read the RULES! *grin*

How does a book qualify for entry?

Any English-language ebook published and available for sale to the public between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013 is eligible for this year’s contest.

How many entries do you usually receive, and how many awards are presented?

We usually average 700 entries within a four-week period. The numbers of awards we present vary as we constantly update the current categories to reflect genres within the electronic industry and past entries. This year we are offering 24 categories for the eBook Competition and 11 categories for the Ariana eBook Cover Art Competition.

How do you recruit judges? Who is eligible?

I am blessed to have a loyal group of volunteers who step up every year, for both the eBook and New Voices Young Writers competitions. But we can always use more. For eBook, we seek published authors, publishers, and/or editors; for New Voices, we add teachers and librarians to that mix.

What makes this award different from other writing competitions out there?

EPIC's eBook Competition has garnered a reputation for excellence from both entrants and judges, a reputation that continues to shine as we move into the future. I am extremely proud to know that I play an integral part in the progressive changes to our competitions.

What do the winners receive? How about the finalists?

Our eBook and Ariana competition finalists receive gorgeous certificates and are prominently posted on our website. The category winners receive stunning trophies and are honored at our annual EPICon (http://www.epicorg.com/epicon.html) awards banquet before being announced on our website.

What is EPICon, for those who don’t already know?

EPICon is EPIC’s annual convention. It is three days chock full of marvelous and informative workshops reflecting the current needs of the industry, both electronic and print. You never know who will be there—whether it is a well-known author or the latest marketing/promo guru and/or agent. It is the perfect venue to mingle with publishing peers. And there is so much going on that there is sure to be something for everyone.

Can only members attend EPICon?

Any industry member, aspiring writer, or reader is welcome. I would definitely suggest checking http://www.epicorg.com/epicon.html to learn about the fabulous events scheduled for March 2014. And it is taking place in one of my favorite cities—San Antonio, Texas! What’s not to love about cowboys, ghosts (the Menger Hotel is chockfull!), the Alamo, the Riverwalk, great food, the Reader eFiesta, door prizes, and incredible workshops?

When does the contest begin this year?

Both the eBook and Ariana eBook Cover Art Competitions open for entries on June 1, 2013.

Where can authors get more information?

There are links to all our competitions at http://www.epicorg.com/competitions.html.

Thank you so much for all the good information, Debi! Next week, we’ll hear about the exciting New Voices/Young Writers program.