Year-at-a-Glance 2010

February 18—Building Your Business Through Savvy Marketing

Andrea Glass, SD/PEN member, will share information and guidelines on how to successfully market and build your editing business. She will present valuable tips on branding services, expressing what you do, growing and working your referral network, building rapport and loyalty with current customers, identifying resources to find your ideal clients, and discovering additional ways to expand your business.

March 18—Virtual Storytelling: Using Social Media to Grow Your Business

Social media isn’t just about what you had for breakfast. It’s also a unique way to share your story, showcase your brand, and attract potential customers, clients, and partners. Which social media tools are right for you? How do you get started? What do you say? Web content strategist Shelly Bowen will show you how to make the most of the free social media tools available—including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn—to grow your business.

May 20—Editing for Different Genres: Fiction and Non-Fiction

Four SD/PEN members—Kathi George, Georganna Hancock, Jed Lewis, and Sandra Chew Phillips—will discuss the similarities, differences, and challenges in editing fiction, poetry, drama, non-fiction books (including textbooks), Web content, and software documentation. They will also explore the ways in which authors, editors, and companies can work effectively together in the editing process. A question/answer period will follow the panel discussion.

July 15—Getting Your Story Written, Edited, and Published

Stacey O’Brien, author of Wesley the Owl (New York Times and Los Angeles Times Bestseller), will share her remarkable love story of an owl and his girl. She had to locate a team of people (editors, an agent, a publisher, and a Web site designer) to help her publish her story, filled with loving memories of her barn owl Wesley. Stacey will tell us how she found the people she needed to make it all happen.

September 16—Creating a Web Presence for Your Business

The importance of having your own Web site has never been greater. On this panel, Web content strategist Shelly Bowen and PR expert Chris Zook will discuss the pros and cons of DIY services like GoDaddy, TypePad, and WordPress, and Jenny Lemmons, co-owner of Good Like Kung Fu, will introduce other full-service options. Ways to leverage your Web site to build your online presence through SEO and social marketing will also be considered.

November 18—How to Get the Job: Creating a Realistic Estimate

Attendees will break into three small groups to meet with SD/PEN members Shirley Clukey, Larry Edwards, or Barbara Hendrickson to create a realistic estimate for a specific editing project. Discover how to establish the level of editing required, project hours for a job, explain the editing process to the client, create the timeline and deadlines, determine costs, and write a contract. Meeting will conclude with summary discussion of small group brainstorming.