Tuesday, August 12, 2008
IWOCFest — IWOC's Annual Summer Party
A glorious rooftop view of the Chicago skyline at sunset, terrific food, entertaining conversation, fun and frolic, friends with whom to swap stories, plus free dinner wine. We're talking IWOCFest, folks! Once again this year's Fest will be held on the rooftop of Pegasus Restaurant, 130 S. Halsted in Greektown. Festivities start at 6 p.m. The price is $30 with advance registration, $35 at the door. It's a great party, and you won't want to miss it. Bring your friends, your family, and your clients if you like. Pig-out people rejoice! Food is served family style, and the delicacies just keep coming — plenty of choices for vegetarians too. You won't go home hungry. There'll be a cash bar and the aforementioned free dinner wine, and there's valet parking. To download a flyer with the reservation form to accompany your check mailed to the office, click HERE. To pay by PayPal, click the button below.
It's our big summertime kick-back-and-relax bash, but it won't be the same if you're not there. See you on the rooftop! (In case of rain, the party will be inside the restaurant.)
July Meeting Reprise
 In July, we had another packed house to hear Blagica Bottigliero's wonderful presentation on blogging and the online community and what they can do for us as business people. Wow, did we learn a lot! We all scribbled madly to get down every nugget Bottigliero passed on, and she didn't waste a minute. Besides giving us some insight into how we could turn blogging into a paying proposition with a little enterprise and some creative thinking, Bottigliero shared some of her favorite sites that we can use to accomplish our new-found goals. Most of us came away from the meeting with the realization that we aren't doing half of what we could to capitalize on the opportunities offered by the online world.
June Meeting Reprise
In June, a capacity crowd of IWOCers and many guests gathered to hear Ruth L. Ratny, a pioneer in Chicago film and online zines. In a lively interview conducted by IWOC's own vice president, Catherine Rategan, Ratny entertained and informed us with anecdotes and a history of how the film industry came to Chicago, a move for which she was largely responsible. Ratny’s reminiscences on Chicago’s film industry were fascinating, but Rategan made sure to ask plenty of practical questions of interest to the IWOC audience. “What are today’s growth industries where freelancers will find opportunities?” Rategan asked. Ratny responded that trade publications are a thriving outlet that will not disappear. Other tips: today everyone should have a website and be persistent when soliciting editors.
"Start with a good presentation and good writing samples, then make as many phone calls as it takes to get that interview,” she said. "Everything is a story if you have the right angle."
May Meeting Reprise
  There was barely an empty seat at the May meeting on association publishing, and speakers Jean Roberts and Jay Strother didn't disappoint. Roberts, who is director of production and manufacturing at the American Medical Association, told us that she frequently uses freelance editors and proofreaders and an occasional writer as well. Strother, who is group publisher at Smith-Bucklin, has direct responsibility for more than 30 client publications, but the firm serves more than 200 groups overall, and they produce many online and print publications, so there are writing opportunities in a wide variety of areas. Both speakers gave specifics on pay rates, ways to approach their organizations, and more.
April Meeting Reprise
Left to right: Jim Kepler, Catherine Rategan, Jeff Steele, and Jennifer Lyng
New members and seasoned veterans alike gathered to hear a panel of IWOCers — Jim Kepler, Catherine Rategan, Jeff Steele, and Jennifer Lyng — tell us what many old-timers already knew: membership in IWOC gives us a great return on the bottom line. Still, as the panelists’ stories unfolded, many of us were startled to realize just how much we actually do get back for our relatively modest outlay for dues. Several panelists said that the work they had received through their IWOC connections would pay for their memberships for literally hundreds of years. Panelists received work in a variety of ways: from tips from other members, member referrals, the online and print directories, Writers’ Line, links from the IWOC website to their websites, and from speakers’ leads or networking with them at monthly meetings. The speakers all stressed that they got the most from IWOC when they got involved by coming to meetings, joining committees, and generally giving back to IWOC. Panelists praised IWOCers for their generosity in helping other members with tips, support, and how-to help as well. All said they had also made lasting friendships among the membership. As we left the meeting, we all felt pretty smug that we had made a wise choice in electing IWOC membership.
March Meeting Reprise
 Chris Benevich gave IWOCers a whirlwind tour of the dizzying world of professional networking internet-style at the March meeting.
Professional networking on the net is like professional networking anywhere. You listen to people, talk about what you do, help others with contacts or information or advice when the opportunity arises, and let your expertise be known in mostly low-key ways. Thus you create a situation in which you can ask for an introduction or a favor, and in which others will readily refer work to you. Benevich talked about how you can showcase yourself with websites, blogs, and profiles and also how you can link up with others via sites like LinkedIn. She recommended that — in the networking arena—you always give more than you receive, i.e., always be ready to offer help and advice to others whether or not you get anything in return. It will pay off in the long run, she assured us.
February Meeting Reprise
 An afternoon snowstorm didn't prevent IWOC stalwarts and guests from coming out to brush up on their financial planning, tax, and insurance info. Speakers Madhuri Thaker and Sid Blum, both CPAs, took a tag-team approach: Blum gave financial planning advice, and Thaker followed each suggestion with the tax implications. Kevin Paulsen, CFA, was along to handle additional questions. We learned a lot about what to do with our money and how various options would affect us come April 15. (Our apologies for not getting a picture of Thaker before she left.)
January Meeting Reprise
Braving the January freeze, a full house of IWOC members and guests heard Joe Weber, Business Week’s national Chief of Correspondents, discuss current trends in business journalism while describing a new monthly print magazine, BW Chicago, launched last November. Weber and BW Chicago Editor, Michael Arndt, are aiming to provide Chicago-area Business Week subscribers with more depth and perspective than a business weekly, while still being timely and offering superior images and graphics to web publications. Unlike the staff-written parent, Business Week, the new magazine uses many freelancers and wants crisp, timely articles aimed at executives moving upwards, always with a Chicago focus.
Weber said stories in all categories are getting shorter to appeal to time-pressured readers. Content is moving rapidly to the web, and publishers are increasingly providing it free, because advertisers pay more to capture “eyeballs.” Today’s tech-savvy generation demands interactive multimedia, streaming video, and podcasts and likes the simplicity of free online subscription services like RSS (Really Simple Syndication) that deliver information and entertainment to their laptops, cell phones, and iPods.
Holiday Party Reprise
Café Iberico was jumping as IWOCers and guests gathered to break bread and toast the holidays. The food was scrumptious — ooh, that cake — and the sangria flowed. Santa was good to us, and we all got to choose a book that another IWOCer had read and enjoyed. Everyone pronounced it a splendid evening, but hey, a picture is worth a thousand words:
 
Big smiles from our happy revelers. Cliff and Pat Terry (left photo); Harry Karabel and Noreen Kelly (right photo).
 
Roger Rueff awaits his gift from Santa aka Mary Ann Porucznik. Catherine Rategan and Cathy Dusberger looking fabulous.
More pictures.
IWOC
Workshops/Seminars
IWOC
periodically offers workshops and seminars to help writers advance
their skills and/or to introduce them to new fields of writing.
These professional development events are open to the public as well
as to IWOC members. Nonmembers can get a reduced member rate if they
join IWOC on or before the date of the workshop. Watch this space
for upcoming offerings.
IWOC
welcomes nonmembers at these
informal gatherings. Come and
network with fellow writers in
your community. It's best to get
in touch with the contact person
first, though, in case of a time
or venue change.
First
Thursday of every month: IWORP
Monthly Breakfast (Independent
Writers of Rogers Park). The
Rogers Park and North Side IWOCers
meet at 9:00 a.m. at the A&T
Grill, 7036N. Clark St., Chicago. For more information,
call Esther Manewith at 773/274-6215.
Fourth Thursday
of every month: IWOOP
Monthly Lunch (Independent Writers of Oak Park).
Join near western suburbanites at noon at Poor Phil's, 139
Marion Street, Oak Park. For more information, call Barbara
Dillard at 312/642-3065 or e-mail her at bdbusiness@sbcglobal.net
The
Far North Group and the Streeterville Group are currently
inactive. If you're interested in reviving them — or starting another group — check
out your directory and find others who live in your area.
It's easy to do via e-mail, and the get-togethers are a great
way to get to know other IWOCers better. If you get a group
going, notify webmaster@iwoc.org so we can
post notices of your meetings.
Notices
of Events of Other Organizations
Illinois
Women's Press Association (IWPA)
No current information about upcoming events.
Chicago Women in Publishing (CWIP)
Locations
and Times: National-Louis University
Board Meetings
Dates TBA; Time
6:00 p.m.
Next program TBA.
Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC)
Next program TBA.
Cost: Nonmembers $45 if paid by preceding Friday, $55 after
that, and $60 at the door. For reservations, go to publicity.org or
call 773-463-5560.
Midwest
Writers Association
Next event TBA.
American
Medical Writers Association
No
current information on scheduled events.
Midwest
Society of Professional Consultants (MSPC)
Next program TBA.
Marcello's Restaurant
645 W. North Avenue
Chicago, IL
Free parking at the restaurant
Meetings are the first Wednesday of the month
Programs before and after dinner begin with registration
at 5:00 p.m. Nonmember price is $55, but by calling any
member or the president, nonmembers can attend at the
$45 member price. Call
312-201-0596 for a reservation or call president Joe Cavolick
or any board member directly.
Joe
Cavolick
MSPC President 2006
http://www.mspc.org
847-753-9898
|
