Light and Shade by Tacluda (RGBStock.com)
Light and Shade by Tacluda (RGBStock.com)

 

“October had tremendous possibility. The summer’s oppressive heat was a distant memory, and the golden leaves promised a world full of beautiful adventures. They made me believe in miracles.”
Sarah Guillory, Reclaimed

 

And so October has possibility for all of us in the Catholic Writers Guild. Possibility for advancing in our writing skills, our marketing and networking, social media and spiritual growth. Here are a few avenues to explore through the CWG committees:

CBN (Catholic Book News): Dawn Witzke – The CBN this month featured A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of St. Camillus de Lellis by Susan Peek and 10 Steps to Girlfriend Status by Cynthia Toney

CWCO: Karina Fabian and Laura Lowder – Karina and Laura are well into preparation and training for the Catholic Writers Online Conference. This week, they plan to meet with volunteers. This is a fun conference to help with as the networking and service are intense.

Facebook/Publicity/Social Media/Newsletter: Karina Fabian

  • We are moving the Guild group from Closed to Secret. Members can still be invited in, and we’ll post the secret link in the monthly newsletter. Making it secret will stop non-members from asking. This can take hours each month from moderators’ time just to check people against the roster. There should be no problems, but if we start to find issues, we’ll move it back to Closed.
  • Dennis Fraley reports that Colleen Rooney’s Celebrating Advent and Christmas with Children was selected for the CWG Book Blast on September 17.
  • Publicity: We are finally starting to get some publicity workings going on a regular basis. I’d like to discuss starting a full-on Publicity committee. I volunteer to lead it if I can get a committed First Officer and people who, like Cesar Chacon and Stuart Sexton, will take full responsibility for their own sections.
  • Social Media: I intend to train Stuart Sexton to handle the entire Guild social media postings, from creation to posting so that he can fully take over before the new year.
  • Newsletter: the first newsletter went out fine, but there are still some folks not getting it — not sure why. Ironically, Cesar Chacon, the editor, is one of them. Let’s make sure we double check our email addresses and send in corrections. Too often, people use a “spamdump” email for signing up for things. The next newsletter is set to run Oct 10, and we’ll try to keep it going the tenth of every month.

Membership: Maureen Smith – We have a new system in for membership that will hopefully make it easier for members as well as us! Active members now total 433

All these varied committees hold possibility and promise for volunteers, as well as those following. Contact the committee chairs through their email links:

Blog: Kathryn Cunningham and Dennis McGeehan

CALA (Catholic Arts and Letters Award): Carol Ann Chybowski

CWCL: Ann Lewis and Ellen Hrkach

Retreat: Ann Lewis and Margaret Rose Realy

SOA (Seal of Approval): Ellen Gable Hrkach

Zenit : Dennis McGeehan

In additon to our wonderful committess, we have two CWG Critique Groups:

CWG Fiction Critique Group: Contact Don Mulcare

CWG Non-Fiction Critique Group: Contact Nancy Ward

For other concerns and suggestions about our fabulous committees, contact Nancy Ward, Coordinator of Committees.

by Nancy Ward, Coordinator of Committees

Nancy Ward, convert, journalist, author, and speaker, writes from Texas about Catholicism, conversion and Christian community at NancyHCWard.com, JOYAlive.net, and other websites and magazines. Through her Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story workshops, retreats and DVD, she shares her conversion story in Catholic parishes and at conferences, equipping others to share their stories. She contributed to the award-winning The Catholic Mom's Prayer Companion, facilitates two Catholic Writers Guild critique groups, serves on the Guild’s Board, and speaks at national writers conferences.