Events

7 February 2021 | Registration Deadline for the 2021 Annual Dan McGuire Blog Challenge

January 5, 2021 By Natalia Corres

by Srey Khoy

What: Our annual Blog Challenge for our writing community honoring our dear friend, and prolific blogger, Dan McGuire.

Who: Anyone can participate (membership in Writers of Kern not required)

When: Start posting Monday, Feb. 8. Final posts by Sunday, May 9.

Why: To develop a habit of regular writing and sharing it with a like-minded community of writers.

Where: Your personal blog online

The Fine Print: (Requirements to finish and be recognized at WOK Honors, our annual awards and recognition dinner. To be held this year on May 15th):

To participate, please email: events@writersofkern.com with your name and blog web address by Feb 7, 2021.
Write 26 posts in 13 weeks
- Subject/theme is up to you
- We suggest two posts per week, but there is no minimum or maximum, just so all 26 posts are completed by the end date.
Leave 2 comments/week on other participants’ blogs
- Each participant will be given a list of the other participants’ blogs for easy access
Though not required, we prefer you share a link to your blog posts on the Writers of Kern Facebook Group page (link below). It makes it easier to everyone to read and leave comments.
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/95572300558/
After publishing all 26 posts, please email events@writersofkern.com to confirm you’ve completed the challenge.
- Note: Pace yourself. While it seems simple, many will start, while not everyone will finish and that’s okay. We celebrate everyone who starts!

If you do not have a blog, now is the time to start one! This video will help: https://youtu.be/5n-ZpBo7cHI

16 January 2021 | Featured Speakers: Bill and Mia Belew | “How to Find and Engage With Readers For Your Books”

January 2, 2021 By Natalia Corres

by Susan Baker

Just as readers are hungry for the next great read, authors are always seeking an audience for their stories. Writer and content marketing specialist, Bill Belew and his 12-year-old daughter Mia understand this well. They were frustrated by what they found to be “a lack of books for preteens that challenge the young reader with new vocabulary and ideas worth thinking (about) but without diving into mature content.”

So, they decided to team up to create their own books. Together, they have coauthored three titles, The Giant Forest, The Heliuna Academy and The LoGlas Theater. which together make up the Growing up Aimi trilogy. Described as chapter books featuring realistic and thought-provoking situations that will appeal to middle school readers, these stories can also be enjoyed by their parents and grandparents.

Next, father and daughter had to find the best way to get their stories into the hands of their intended audience. With little if any expense, but with some work and determination, they built an online platform to successfully launch their book series. Through the creation of an author newsletter which they shared with only 20 friends and family members back in March 2020, the Belews started promoting their work. Since then, their newsletter subscriber base has grown to more than 3,500 subscribers and is expanding daily! The duo even reached the #1 ranking on Amazon in 3 separate categories, including Children’s Historical Action and Adventure. Their fourth title in the series, the Floating City, will soon be published.

Bill and Mia are eager to share what they know about matching your writing with eager readers. They will be the featured guests at the next Writers of Kern Monthly Meeting to be held virtually on Saturday, January 16, 2021. Their presentation titled, How to find & engage readers for your books will focus on the benefits of creating an author newsletter, and then building and growing the newsletter subscriber base

Attendees will learn:

How to get “eyeballs on your books”
How to choose an email client to help manage your mail
How to build a subscriber base
How to create an engaging newsletter all about you, your brand, and your books
How to effectively promote and sell your books

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT ON EVENTBRITE

As a sought-after expert at content marketing for multinational companies as well as aspiring authors, Bill offers a wealth of experience. Additionally, his three professional blogs, RisingSunOfNihon, PanAsianBiz, and TheBIZOfKnowledge, all found on KNOWMORE Media, has drawn millions of views!

Mia, is a busy 7^th grader at a leading edge, project-based, self-paced public charter school located in Silicon Valley. Like her father, she is also a blogger.

14 January 2021 | Writers of Kern Book Club – Virtual Meeting

January 1, 2021 By Natalia Corres

As we announced last month, Writers of Kern is starting a Book Club for members only! The first meeting is on Thursday, January 14, 2021, from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. Books will be selected from the NPR Book List and the genres we are looking at are Creative Non-Fiction, Memoir, and Fiction.

We announced originally it would be held each month, but after discussion, it’s been changed to every other month. So, it will begin on the second Thursday in January, then March, April and so on.

If you are interested, please contact Janet Skibinski atjjskibinski@att.net or at secretary@writersofkern.com. You will be sent the Zoom link and any other pertinent information before the meeting. Hope to see you on January 14^th!

19 December 2020 | WOK Annual Winter Meeting | Members Only – BYOB (Bring Your Own Brunch)

December 2, 2020 By Natalia Corres

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the WOK Year!

by Sandy Moffett ~ Membership Chair

December 19^th is our members only event. While we cannot have a hand to hand or toe to toe meeting, we can have a face to face meeting on Zoom. We will start at our regular time (9:15 am) and we will have a BYOB; bring your own brunch; whatever that might be to enjoy during our time together. Registration to this event will fill up fast, so be on the look-out for the Eventbrite link coming to your email soon. Remember, this is a FREE meeting for our members.

We will have a fun writing contest with a monetary prize donated by one of our members. We will also announce the winners of the Fall Writing Contest, and the 1^st place winner’s story will be read to us by our own Dennis Vanderwerff. Remember how delightful Nelson Varon’s piece was last year?

The event will be recorded, but it won’t be near as fun without your smiling face present.

One last reminder. If you know of someone who didn’t renew their membership for some reason, starting January 1^st, they can get a half year membership for $42.50, which includes $22.50 for the half year and $20 to reinstate the insurance coverage with the CWC. That membership will be good until June 30^th, and then renewals will be the normal price of $45.00 for a full fiscal year.

Blessings to you all.
Sandy

21 November 2020 | Featured Speaker Jack Peters | “The Goldfish That Barked: Seven Actions to Distinguish Yourself for Success”

October 17, 2020 By Natalia Corres

You may already know Jack Peters as the Explosives Specialist from the Discovery Channels’ Treasure Quest. You might even say that Jack’s dynamite personality really makes him stand out from the rest of the crowd! He will be the featured guest speaker at The Writers of Kern “virtual” monthly meeting on the 21^st of November. And just in case incendiary devices make you nervous, don’t worry because Jack has plenty of other ideas to help you to distinguish yourself from the pack.

Writers can use some daily encouragement as they struggle to remain focused on their craft day after day. To help writers to stay on track and to expedite their careers, Peters will illustrate his hard-fought successes drawing from real-world examples. His presentation titled, The Goldfish that Barked, seven actions to distinguish yourself for success, is practical, entertaining. vital and will help to empower other authors to make a living with their writing. This will be an interactive presentation held online via Zoom. A handout will be provided to help participants apply these principles in their own careers.

During the presentation, Peters will share his simple and effective actions designed to help writers to stand out and get discovered. These include:

Building your brand
How not to fall into traps
Educating yourself
Learning to communicate
Discovering your superpower
Giving thanks
Finding your mission

Participants will also learn what Jack has learned as both an author and media professional including:

How to get motivated
How to take action
How to focus on profitable projects
How to market your work

Click here to register for this meeting and presentation on Eventbrite

In addition to his involvement in television and movie production since 2004, Jack W. Peters has been a professional speaker for sixteen years. He presents on topics including leadership, teamwork, innovation and faith. The highlight of his career was becoming a Discovery Channel tv personality as an explosives and GPS specialist. This presentation will be based on his most recently published book, The Goldfish that Barked.

To learn more about Jack W. Peters, check him out at: