AGT monthly meeting for January 2021 on Zoom

The Authors Guild of Tennessee held an online video meeting on January 6, 2021.  The session began at 10:00 with a welcome by President Cheryl Peyton.

The following members were online: Linda Fitzpatrick, Mary Gaines, Kaye George, Bobbi Chapman, Leoma Gilley, Jim Hartsell, Carol McClain, Laura Derr, Art Stewart, Randy Carpenter, Jerry Morton, Sam Bledsoe, Sue Kite, Cyn Taylor, and Cheryl Peyton

The following guest was online: Brooke Cox

December minutes. Minutes of the Zoom meeting have been approved online.

Treasurer’s report:  Mary reported a balance of $2,291.76 with $173.54 in outstanding checks, to leave $2,118.22 in total available funds. Mary then reported  she had found a little over $100 in year-old deposits for sold books that had not been sent to authors which she has now rectified.

Announcements: Cheryl advised that the AGT Board has authorized $150 for a one-year subscription to Zoom. She will act as host starting next month. Cheryl also reported that we need the following volunteers: someone to produce the eZine and members and a chair person for Publicity. As of today, Sam will head the Marketing committee for the present time.

Program: Kaye George, Sue Kite, and Carol McClain shared their experiences in winning literary awards.

Kaye spoke about awards and contests for mystery writers. She related attending writers’ conventions where attendees nominate themselves and one another to arrive at the winners. You don’t pay for these awards, but attending the conventions is quite costly. As for contests, you must take the initiative to enter and there may be a fee. She has found that there is a benefit even in losing, as a writer often receives good advice from judges who are excellent writers. She mentioned that the Mystery Writers of America run a contest for unpublished works when the winning entry gets published by St. Martin’s.

Sue Kite next spoke about her experience of entering and winning contests. She won the Royal Palm Literary Award in Florida several times, but now lives in Oklahoma. She has entered several other contests and won some. She summarized the value of entering contests as follows:

1. They give your career a boost
2. They help you deal with deadlines
3. They help you deal with rejections

Carol McClain talked about her winning a first place Dragonfly award. She said she entered her most recent novel, A New York Yankee on Stinking Creek, on a lark with no expectations. When she received notice of having one first place, it took a second reading to realize it. She feels the main benefit of winning an award is the “bragging rights” one has.

All speakers will forward helpful links to Cheryl that contain more information about awards and contests, both legitimate and opportunistic.

 Meeting adjourned at: 12:00 p.m. followed by socializing by several who could stay on. The next Zoom meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl Peyton