Tuesday, March 9
Professional Skills that Make Writer’s Block Go Away
The writer’s block demon lurks in every scrivener’s keyboard. You know the guy: he’s the fiend who paralyzes your fingers and injects Halcion into your brain just as you start what you had hoped would be a glorious piece of writing. But fear not, you aren’t doomed to life in a mental black hole every time you begin a new project. Our March speaker, Robert Knight, promises to banish the demon once and for all. Knight, who is a freelance writer, journalist, and writing guru, will provide proven tools to jump-start our projects and keep our words flowing. Knight says that deadline dread often obscures the benefits of writing it right from the get-go, so we waste time by banging out a draft that will need major revision. His tips will help us work more efficiently and get better initial results.

In his earlier career Knight was an editor at the late, lamented City New Bureau of Chicago. He has freelanced for more than 40 publications and news services, and he has been a frequent contributor to The Chicago Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, and The Washington Post. Add to that stints at teaching journalism, first at Northwestern and later at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. His book, The Journalistic Writer: Building the Skill, Honing the Craft is due in May from Marion Street Press.

Before he decamped to Pennsylvania, Knight was a longstanding member of IWOC, so he knows where we’re coming from. Beat the winter blahs and come on down on March 9 to get your writing revved up and welcome back an old friend — or meet a new one — in the bargain.

The meeting will be held in Room 5008 at National-Louis University, 122 S. Michigan Avenue (across from the Art Institute) in Chicago. Networking with snacks and beverages begins at 5 p.m., followed by the business meeting and the program at 6 p.m. The meeting is free for all IWOC members. Nonmembers pay $15. Plan to stay for a buy-your-own dinner at a nearby restaurant afterwards, where we'll continue our networking over dinner.

Tuesday, April 13
Want your Writing Business to Stand Out? Put a Brand on It!
What’s your brand? No, not the clothes that you wear or the beer that you drink, perish the thought. What’s your writing business brand? Haven’t thought about that? Well, you should. In today’s crowded freelance marketplace, branding is key to setting yourself apart from other writers. Developing your own brand is a terrific start, but the next step is crucial too: Get it out there for everyone to see. Here’s where IWOC’s April program comes in. Jay Rodriguez, an IWOC member who specializes in using social media as marketing tools, will demonstrate how to develop a Facebook fan page that will trumpet your brand to potential clients. The demonstration will include how to use Facebook as a top-of-the-mind awareness tool that will turn your Facebook presence into leads and revenue. Rodriguez will also touch on the Facebook page that he is developing for IWOC itself.

The meeting will be held in Room 5008 at National-Louis University, 122 S. Michigan Avenue (across from the Art Institute) in Chicago. Networking with snacks and beverages begins at 5 p.m., followed by the program at 6 p.m. The meeting is free for all IWOC members. Nonmembers pay $15. Plan to stay for a buy-your-own dinner at a nearby restaurant afterwards, where we'll continue our networking over dinner.

January Meeting Reprise
IWOCers and guests kicked off the new year with an amusing and entertaining January program. At the meeting, University of Chicago whiz kids Alexander Asiman (left) and Emmett Rensin (right) launched the U.S. book tour for their contemporary take on classic literature — and a few not-so-classic ringers — whittled down to 20-tweet size. We refer, of course, to Twitterature: The World’ s Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Fewer, a book that has already caused alternate horror and delight in England, a range that probably roughly equates to the British national sense of humor. Now Penguin has released Twitterature in this country and we were the first to experience Homer’s Odyssey at warp speed. Reading alternate tweets, Asiman and Rensin dispatched Odysseus’ ten-year journey in two pages and less than five minutes. Sample: “Circe a nut job. Time to go, but the boat is broken. Can’t afford a AAA tow. I’ll push it. Circe turned my men into pigs. PIGS. Had a laugh.” And so it went. Not even Helen Keller escapes parody in Twit, though we aren’t going to risk stoning by quoting any of the tweets. Between readings, the authors told how they wrote the book, got an agent, and then secured a publisher. So we learned a bit about how the book was launched as well as having a good time. LOL.

Holiday Party Reprise
IWocers and guests braved swirling snow and icy winds to reach Café Iberica for our annual winter holiday soiree. The festivities — and the food — were well worth a mite of frostbite. Not one, but two, Santas showered revelers with useful gifts. The repast was more than ample (and delicious); the wine flowed; and stories abounded. Plus, everyone got a new-used book to savor. But the pictures tell it all.

November Meeting Reprise
Members and guests filled the seats at the November meeting as they eagerly awaited SEO expert Jim Grosspietsch’s presentation on Search Engine Optimization. And he more than lived up to expectations. In a lively, humorous, and fast-paced discourse, Grosspietsch covered all the bases, starting with one’s company name. Yes, that matters. Google will boost Fiona Flyingfingers Freelance Writer above The Hotshot Company because the latter doesn't mention the nature of the business in the name. But if you’ve already named your company for your pet cat, there are plenty of other opportunities for SEO on your website, and Grosspietsch touched on them all. Briefly, you can — and should — work keywords related to your work into almost everything on your website. One of the most helpful features of the presentation was the large-screen site depiction, which Grosspietsch used to show us where everything should be placed. As the audience filed out, we heard comments like, “This is the first time I’ve really understood SEO” and “This was one of the best meetings ever.” We all left vowing to use what we learned to climb ever higher on the Google ladder.

October Meeting Reprise
Dr. Edward Gordon, an internationally recognized speaker on U.S. and global workforce trends, told a packed house at the October meeting that while print journalism is on the decline, future jobs will be there for those who are technologically savvy. Gordon suggested that companies—both U.S. and foreign—will shift from outsourcing to in-country workers, depending on where the talent pool lies. He expressed concern that poor schools and lack of concern in the U.S. will leave future generations of American workers at a distinct disadvantage, and he urged the audience to become involved in community groups to work toward solving the literacy problems in their areas. Although we had expected to learn about how writers could find jobs in the global marketplace, Gordon made a compelling case for the urgency of improving our school systems, and the audience responded to his message.

September Meeting Reprise
These days the buzz is all about social networking, and IWOCers and guests were eager to hear what speaker Barbara Rozgonyi had to say about how to use twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and the like to build our brands and strengthen client relationships. Rozgonyi has parlayed writing, consultancy skills, and expertise in social networking into a very successful career, and she had plenty of advice for fellow IWOCers and guests. She covered an amazing amount of territory in her rapid-fire presentation. Pencils flew as people noted helpful website addresses and pithy tips. Several premises stood out: getting involved on the web — joining groups, blogging, and putting comments on others’ blogs — gets you noticed, and if you do it right, it can drive traffic to your website. Another key point that Rozgonyi emphasized was that you need to decide on the persona you want to project on social media if you're going to use them for business purposes. Don't just join these sites, develop a coordinated plan.

IWOCFest Reprise
It was a glorious evening and a glorious party. A large crowd of IWOCers and guests gathered on the rooftop of Pegasus restaurant for our annual summer celebration. Everyone was at his or her convivial best as we munched on Greek delicacies and sipped wine that IWOC generously provided. President Roger Rueff took some marvelous pictures, and we’ll let them tell the rest of the story. Here are just a few of our photogenic party goers. Click here to see the entire photo gallery.

July Meeting Reprise
There wasn't an empty seat in the room as past president Jim Kepler told a rapt audience how we could take material we might have already written, put it together in book form, publish it, and then use the book to promote ourselves for other jobs. He had a solution for those who don’t have enough related clips too. It started with "Take a box..." (or a virtual box, i.e., a computer folder). From there he gave us step-by-step instructions on how to compile materials on our topic of interest, how to define our chapters and our focus, and so on. Kepler also had a myriad of tips for shameless promotion using our newly minted book. Hint: if you’ve never written a press release, now would be a good time to start. He advised starting small by sending press releases to local civic and social organizations and offering to be a speaker. From there, you can parlay the little fish into bigger fish. To find out more about this excellent presentation, you can download or read the detailed handout on the members-only landing page.

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 Greet-Meet-Eat Local Get-Togethers

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)
Next event TBA.
email iwpa@comcast.net.

International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
Next event TBA.

Chicago Women in Publishing (CWIP)
Next event TBA.

Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC)
Next event TBA.

Online Payments: PCC accepts credit card payments online via PayPal. When you click the link above, you will be taken to a registration page. Select the type of ticket and quantity, then click "Check out with PayPal." You do NOT need to be a PayPal account holder to use this system.

Midwest Writers Association
Next event TBA.

American Medical Writers Association
No current information on scheduled events.

Midwest Society of Professional Consultants (MSPC)

Phone:312-654-2550 (for directions only)