As approved at the January meeting, the March meeting will be a Poetry Night. The business meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the poetry reading will begin at 6:30 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to bring finger foods for refreshments.

This location is only for the March meeting.

If you only write prose, consider this: Marge Piercy’s essay “Life of Prose and Poetry: An Inspiring Combination” in Writers [on Writing] Collected Essays From the New York Times, lists an impressive number (particularly women) who cross genre lines. She states that if she lacks ideas for one genre, she usually has them simmering for the other.

To quote Patricia O’Connor in Words Fail Me, “Language has rhythm…We know that poetry has rhythm. So does prose, though its rhythms may not be as obvious. Great prose writers have always used rhythm to give their words another dimension.” Try a poem. @

It’s conference time again! If you have published books to sell at the April Spring Conference you will need to register the book(s) with Joy Chitsey. She will prepare a sales slip for you to place inside your book(s) to be used at the time of purchase.

Please e-mail the following information to

jchitsey@mt-vernon.com by Sunday, April 18^th:

· Title of the book(s)

· Name of author

· Price

Keep in mind that in order to sell books you must be a member of NETWO. Due to limited space, each author is allowed five copies of each title at the table. Each author is responsible for replenishing books as needed. All authors are asked to respect the space and be willing to share the table with five to six other authors.

To keep sales records straight, Joy Chitsey and Gay Ingram will be in charge of collecting money for all book sales. If you would like to join the Book Sales Committee and work behind the table, please contact Joy at the e-mail address above. Your help will be greatly appreciated. @

NETWO February 2010 Meeting

Thirteen members and one guest, Yvonne Bouchard, met at the Pizza Inn in Pittsburg Texas on February 18, 2010. This was a make-up meeting for the regular second Thursday of the month which had been cancelled due to a winter storm watch.

· A discussion was immediately launched to decide where to have the regular monthly meetings due to the closing of the Western Sizzlin in Mount Pleasant, Texas. Several possibilities were proposed. Ted Rankin, the president of NETWO appointed Galand Nuchols and Skip Hughes to find a new location and report back during the March meeting.

· The treasurer Bryan Freeman announced that the club had a balance of $9,713.12 in the bank.

· One of our most dedicated members, Georgia Henson is recuperating in the Pittsburg Nursing Center on Pecan Street in Pittsburg, Texas. She will celebrate her 90^th Birthday at the Emmanuel Baptist Church also in Pittsburg, Texas from 2 to 4, Sunday, February, 21^st.

· Jim Callan presented the tote bags which will be used for the information packets during the conference. There will be a selection of colors—red, blue or lime green.

· Brochures and posters were distributed among the members to help promote the conference around the surrounding cities.

· Jim announced that a writer’s group in Biloxi, Mississippi is looking for prospective speakers for a conference in November.

· Ted Rankin stressed the need for a phone tree to help with calling members for an emergency such as last week’s winter storm warning and the cancellation of the regular meeting.

· Members will not have to bring finger foods for refreshments on Friday night at the conference. Saturday breakfast is included in the fee if you are spending the night. Remember Camp Shiloh has new improved mattresses on the beds to help make your stay more comfortable.

· Dusty Richards will conduct an auction to take place during lunch on Saturday. If you have any items of interest bring them to the April meeting. A volunteer is needed to take the responsibility of the auction during the next meeting in March.

· Jean Pamplin suggested making a book out of the short stories which are submitted for the Short Story Contest to help advertise the club.

· Janice Glass wanted to know about the publishing rights for those who had stories in the anthology. Jean said all rights were retained by each writer.

· Suggestions are wanted for the fun awards to be given at the conference such as the following—Early Bird Registration, Spirit Award, Pen in Hand, Unsung Hero, Making the Mile for Writing. etc.

· Ted Rankin presented plaques for the winners of last month’s team writing contest.

· Gay Ingram was proud to announce her new article in the March issue of the Writer’s Journal magazine.

· Jean Pamplin and Joy Chitsey volunteered to be in charge of the Friday night entertainment at the conference.

· Next month’s meeting will be held at Jean Pamplin’s building in Winfield, Texas. This will be an open mike opportunity for poetry reading. Bring a covered dish finger food to help with refreshments. The business meeting will begin at 5:30 and the poetry reading will start at 6:30.

· Business meeting adjourned.

· Skip Hughes and Jackie Brown read from their newest writings. @

DUES

Dues were payable in January, and you are urged to pay them right away if you have not yet done so. Gay Ingram is attempting to have a new membership directory completed by conference time, so if you want to be included, please send dues right away to

NETWO

P, O. Box 411

Winfield, TX 75493

For the $20 annual dues (or $25 for couples),

you get many benefits. There is a $10 discount on Spring Conference registration and often on other workshops during the year. The newsletter will keep coming also.

SPRING CONFERENCE REMINDER

EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS APRIL 2.

BE SURE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF

THE SAVINGS BY SENDING IN YOUR

REGISTRATION BEFORE THAT DATE!

BITS AND PIECES

Georgia Henson is recuperating from her hospital stay, and even made it to the Pizza

Inn for the Saturday Lunch Bunch. She was honored with a 90^th birthday party by her Sunday School class on February 21^st. The

February issue of East Texas Journal features an article including a great picture of her being taken for a motorcycle ride by retired Chief of Police McClung. Way to go, Georgia!

Galand Nuchols was interviewed in the February 27^th Mt. Pleasant Daily Tribune about her book, The Second Chance.

Deepest sympathy is extended to Holly White on the recent loss of her father.

Gay Ingram has been busy. The Mar/Apr issue of Writers’ Journal includes her article, “Staying Afloat as a Freelancer.” Her latest herb article is now posted at http://www.homestead.org/GayIngram/Dill/dill/htm.

HOW TO “PITCH” A BOOK

With spring conference time fast approaching, you may like to read some ideas about pitching your book to an agent. The following have been gleaned from an article by Kerrie Flanagan, Director of the Northern Colorado Writers Conference, “How 2 Pitch to an Agent at a Writers’ Conference”.

Some of the tips she provides are:

Give’em a One-Liner

“Every writer should be prepared to explain his/her story in one sentence. No one wants to hear a 20-minute monologue detailing every twist and turn in your plot.

“At a children’s writing workshop, Children’s Book Insider editor Laura Backes shared a technique for creating a story line that I think works perfectly for condensing the essence of your book into one sentence.

Fill in the blanks:

My story is about ___(character)___who wants more than anything to ___(goal)____but can’t because ____(conflict)______.

Here is an example using the Wizard of Oz:

This story is about a teen-age girl from Kansas named Dorothy who wants more than anything to go home, but can’t because she is stuck in a strange land.

Notice there is no mention of a tornado, munchkins, witches or a cowardly lion. That information can come later, but this is the basic premise of the novel in just one sentence.”

Practice

“The trick to a good pitch is to practice it so you are familiar with the content, but to present it in a way that is more conversational.”

The Pitch

When you are called to go in for your pitch session, all you need is confidence and maybe one note card with a few key points on it.

After you introduce yourself, there is no need to jump in with your pitch the second you sit down. You can make a little small talk before you begin, to help calm your nerves. Then start pitching. The intent is to entice the agent to ask you questions about different elements of your book and begin a conversation.”

Read the full article at http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com.

CONTESTS

The School of Humanities at East Texas Baptist University is sponsoring the 2010 East Texas Christian Writers Conference on April 9 and 10. A writing contest is part of the conference with a Grand Prize, First, Second and Third Place prizes available in three categories: Essay, short story and poetry. An entrance fee of $10 for each submission is required and entries must be received by March 19, 2010. More information can be found at http://etbu.edu.

Warren Adler, Short Story Contest, Stonehouse Press, 300 East 56^th Street, New York, NY 10022.

(212)350-9357. Evan Nisenson, Assistant

Deadline: April 11, 2010

Entry Fee: $15

Web site: warrenadler.com/writing-contest.shtml

A prize of $1,000 and publication on the Warren Adler web site is given annually for a short story. Warren Adler will judge. Visit the Web site for complete guidelines.

Crab Orchard Review, Literary Prizes, English Department, Faner Hall, 2380, Mail code 4503, Southern Illinois University, 1000 Faner Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901. Jon Tribble, Managing Editor.

Deadline: April 30, 2010

Entry Fee: $10

Web site: www.siu.edu/-crbonchd/dyer.html

Three prizes of $1,500 each and publication in Crab Orchard Review are given annually for a group of poems, a work of fiction, and a work of creative nonfiction. Submit three poems of up to 100 lines each for the Richard Peterson Poetry Prize, a fiction manuscript of up to 6,000 words for the Jack Dyer Fiction Prize, or a creative nonfiction manuscript of up to 6,500 words for the John Guyon Literary Nonfiction Prize. The $10 entry fee includes a copy of the prize issue. The deadline is April 30. Send an SASE or visit the Web site for complete guidelines.

Glimmer Train Press, 1211 NW Glisan Street, suite 207, Portland, OR 97209. (503)221-0836. Susan Burmeister-Brown and Linda Swanson-Davies, coeditors.

Deadline: April 30, 2010

Entry Fee: $15

Web site: www.glimmertrain.org

A prize of $1,200 and publication in Glimmer Train Stories is given biannually for a short story about family. Submit a story of up to 12,000 words with a $15 entry fee by April 30. Visit the Web site for complete guidelines.

The Journal, Short Story Contest, English Department, 164 West 17^th Avenue, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210. (614)292-4076. Michelle Herman, Prose Editor.

Deadline: May 1, 2010

Entry Fee: 410

Web site: www.english.osu.edu/research/journals/thejournal/shortstorycontest.

A prize of $1,000 and publication in the Journal is given annually for a short story. Kee K. Abbott will judge. Submit a short story of up to 7,500 words. Send an SASE or visit the Web site for complete guidelines.