- 1/02/2025 2024 DFW Writer’s Workshop Meeting Minutes
- 01/08/2025 2024 DFW Writer’s Workshop Officer/ General Meeting Minutes
- 01/15/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop
- 1/22/25 DFWWW Meeting Minutes
- 01/29/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop General Meeting Minutes
- 2/5/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop General Meeting Minutes
- 2/12/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop General Meeting Minutes
1/02/2025 2024 DFW Writer’s Workshop Meeting Minutes
01/02/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop
General Meeting Minutes
Officer’s meeting start:
Vice President of Membership: Lauren Danhof
President: Sally Hamilton
Vice President of Events and Programs: Rebecca Seifert
Vice President of Digital Media: Lauren Lanza Osias
Vice President of Community Outreach: Jenny Martin
Attendance: 39
Officer’s absent:
Secretary: Karoline Chapman
Treasurer: BJ Sloan
2024 Conference Chair: Brian Tracey
Meeting start: 7:03 PM
Visitors:
Anne - Suspense. Found out online.
Carl - Career Art Director. Work with Logan. Children’s picture books.
New members:
Chad - Joined right before Thanksgiving. Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Also writes business.
Book Reviews:
N/A
Rejections:
John Bartell - rejected for submissions.
Submissions:
Ron Soule - submitted Magic Go Kart book to agents.
Acceptances:
N/A
Announcements:
Rebecca Seifert - Local Author Fest at Grapevine Public Library Saturday, 2/1 in the afternoon.
Allen - Zoom meet up for writing accountability online.
Eric Dixon - Monitor timer online should be fixed to include sounds.
Michelle O’Neal - January 25th at 2 interviewed at the eastside library.
John Bartell - link on the website where you can submit info for the monthly newsletter for writer events.
Madelyn - Podcast launching on Monday called the book room about writing
Sally - Next week will be the business meeting and reviewed the rules surrounding read room etiquette/monitoring
Meeting adjourned: 7:22 PM
01/08/2025 2024 DFW Writer’s Workshop Officer/ General Meeting Minutes
01/08/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop
Officer Meeting Minutes
Officer’s meeting start: 6:11 pm
Vice President of Membership: Lauren Danhof
President: Sally Hamilton
Vice President of Events and Programs: Rebecca Seifert
Vice President of Digital Media: Lauren Lanza Osias
Vice President of Community Outreach: Jenny Martin
Secretary: Karoline Chapman
Board members present: John Bartell, A. Lee Martinez
Discussion Points:
Sally Hamilton (President):
- NationBuilder Admin Changes: Brooke is receiving emails and phone calls for every sign-up. Admin updates needed.
- Presentation on January 29th: Sally will give a presentation on how "Read and Critique" is conducted. Shared contents with officers for review.
-
Room Rentals:
- Suggests switching to quarterly contract with Grapevine Convention Center.
- Cost for an additional room in Q1: $6,500 for two extra rooms, varying by availability.
- Negotiation attempts for cost reductions in the case of unused rooms were declined.
- Investment account can cover the added expense.
- Trial of extra rooms planned for Q1; evaluation based on membership needs.
- March 26 meeting will be held in the library.
Rebecca Seifert (VP of Events and Programs):
-
Local Author Book Event:
- Discussed budget and itinerary.
- Proposed ordering branded cookies ($50/dozen) and bakery cookies from Costco to supplement.
- Stamps for $60.
- Plans to coordinate with Library Director for book displays.
- Costco cookies to be scouted by Karoline.
- Reviewing press release drafts, Harry Hall shared contacts for distribution.
- Author headshots and bios will be displayed during the event.
Lauren Danhof (VP of Membership):
- Membership Update: 187 members, up by 5 from last month.
- Room Setup: Smaller groups in additional rooms tonight.
- Volunteer Monitors: Encouraged earlier sign-ups.
- Late Sign-Up Policy: No sign-ups after 7:05 PM.
Lauren Lanza Osias (VP of Digital Media):
- Social Media: Increased views and followers.
- Upcoming Events: Will create events for new dates on the website.
- Website Revamp: Discussion on improvements.
BJ Sloan (Treasurer):
-
Financial Report:
- Workshop Account: Over $33,000
- Conference Account: Over $45,000
- CD Account: Over $66,000
Officer Meeting Adjourned: 6:58 PM
Business Meeting Start: 7:18 PM
Treasurer’s Report:
- Total funds: Over $144,000
Announcements:
- Rebecca Seifert: Next Writer’s Block on February 1 at the library. Event will include readings and treats.
- Lauren Lanza Osias: Social media performance is strong. Members can share events via their account sidebar.
- Sally Hamilton: Presentation on rules planned for January 29. Temporary trial of extra room rentals this quarter. Encouraged more monitors and critique participants.
Elections:
- President and Treasurer ran uncontested.
- BJ Sloan was reinstated as Treasurer.
- Matthew Rollins for VP of Events, John Brown for Secretary, and Sally Hamilton for President were elected unanimously.
Membership Report (Lauren Danhof):
- Membership count: 187
- Late sign-up cut-off: 7:05 PM (except business meeting nights).
Community Outreach (Jenny Martin):
- Nothing new to report.
Regular Meeting Start: 7:27 PM
Visitors:
- Jim Koch: Writes fiction; met Sally at a writer’s event.
New Members:
- Brent: Writes fiction; attended last week.
Rejections:
- Ron Soule: Rejected by agent Michaela Whatnall.
- Mark Dye: Rejected by two agents.
- Claire: Rejected by Michaela Whatnall.
Submissions:
- John Bartell: Submitted two poems to journals; submitted "The Elevator Book" to an agent.
- Travis Hightower: Resubmitted his book.
- Ron Soule: Submitted a middle-grade manuscript to another agent.
Acceptances:
- John Bartell: Poem accepted for publication in March issue of a journal.
- David Jones: Won 1st place in the science fiction category of a Writer’s Digest contest (May/June issue).
Book Reviews:
- David Jones: Reviewed The Burning Tree by Helen Dent.
- Christopher Schleiker: Reviewed The Burning Tree and The Forgotten Son.
Additional Announcements:
- Jenny Martin: Hosting voice-writing workshops at Fort Worth Library.
- BJ Sloan: Taking payments for nametags.
- Harry Hall: Guesting on Road Dog Trucking Show this week.
Sally Hamilton:
- Meetings will be held weekly this month, except January 29 (library).
- Reminder to ensure accurate page counts.
Meeting Adjourned: 7:39 PM
01/15/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop
Vice President of Membership: Lauren Danhof
President: Sally Hamilton
Vice President of Events and Programs: Matthew Rollins
Vice President of Digital Media: Lauren Lanza Osias
Vice President of Community Outreach: Jenny Martin
Secretary: John A. Brown
Board members present: John Bartell, A. Lee Martinez
Regular Meeting Start: 7:04 PM
Number of members in attendance: ~55
Visitors:
- ???. Writing a screenplay about being the military, found us through Alan.
- Nikil, exploring writing as a passion, owns a substack newsletter, found us through Google.
- Lauren, English major at Cornell, found us through Google.
- Matt Turiello, work in business, wrote a first draft of a novel, is already a member, found us through Lauren Lanza Osias.
- Madison, heard of us from a friend, is writing every chance she gets.
New Members:
- Jim Barrow, old member, does fiction and poetry.
Rejections:
- Ron Sole, got rejected on his MG manuscript.
- John Bartell, poems rejected.
Submissions:
- John Bartell submitted (was rejected).
- Ron Sole submitted to more agents.
- John Brown submitted to Cameron McClure and Matt Bialer.
- Travis submitted to Kurst Dragonship publishing.
Acceptances:
- No one spoke up.
Book Reviews:
- Steve Manning reviewed Tick Hill 1348 by Pam Taylor.
- John Bartell reviewed Leave No Trace by ???.
- Candace Watson reviewed The Favorites by ???.
Additional Announcements:
- Rebecca Cipher announced that on February 1st, the local author event at the Grapevine Public Library will be held at 1 PM.
- Kait Zimmerman announced that Joe Zimmerman finished his first novel at 81k words.
- Helen Dent brought up The Burning Tree to be stamped. Congrats Helen!
- Steve announced that his collection of BNSF calendars was now available.
- Matt Rollins announced that on February 12th,there will be the Sweetheart reads event. There will also be a potluck.
- Brian Tracey announced that on Tuesday January 28th, from 6 PM - 7 PM, he will be playing a musical gig at Chicago Avenue Hot Dogs. His performance will be on the front end of open mic night.
- Krista Carroll has a book signing event in Pantego Books, and it will be at noon.
Sally Hamilton:
- Sally explained how the Private Collection for DFWWW works.
- Eric would like us all to know that under the writer resources tab on the DFWWW website, there is a read timer app for Android only currently.
- There are 36 readers tonight. There are enough rooms.
- We can currently accommodate up to 42 readers due to new rooms being rented, but the extra rooms cost more, so it’s not entirely certain we will keep the new rooms.
- For the board, every year one person steps on, one steps off. They decide things like finances for new rooms. Collin Holmes is stepping down. Rosemary Clemens has been nominated to step onto the board.
- Lauren Prime announced the room rosters.
Meeting Adjourned: 7:26
1/22/25 DFWWW Meeting Minutes
Vice President of Membership: Lauren Danhof
President: Sally Hamilton
Vice President of Events and Programs: Matthew Rollins
Vice President of Digital Media: Lauren Lanza Osias
Vice President of Community Outreach: Jenny Martin
Secretary: John A. Brown
Board members present: John Bartell, A. Lee Martinez
Regular Meeting Start: 7:02 PM
Number of members in attendance: ~50
Visitors:
- Gae Kaiser who writes cozy mysteries
- Bobbie who writes fiction and agricultural innovation and business
- ??? old advertising writer and is writing a crime novel
- Danielle, is looking to write romance
New Members:
- Ann Wilson, is working on a suspense novel
Rejections:
- John Brown had Hunting Sirocco rejected by Ron Eckel
Submissions:
- John bartell, submitted elevator book to an agent, and a poem to a journal
- Ron Sole submitted his middle grade book to an agent
Acceptances:
- Lauren Danhoff, her agent gave her a thumbs up on her cryptid book
Book Reviews:
- Lauren Lanza Osias, read and reviewed A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez
- Michelle O’ Neal, read and reviewed Beyond the Abyss by Brendan O’ Quinn
- Catherine Olsen, reviewed A Royal Decoy
- Brian Tracey reviewed The Professor
Additional Announcements:
- Rebecca is two weeks from the local author fest where the DFWWW written books are going to be submitted to the Grapevine Public Library on February 1st and 1 PM. There will be snacks and stuff.
- Michelle O’ Neal will be interviewed at the east side Fort Worth Public Library at 1 PM.
- Brian Tracey, next tuesday from 6 - 7 PM he will be playing a gig for an hour at Chicago Avenue Hot Dogs.
- Lauren Danhoff found her badge. Also less important announcement is that if anyone wants one, they’re 12 dollars from BJ Sloan.
- Matt Rollins says that February 12th will be our Sweetheart reads and potluck and will have a special room for romance related stories.
- Also, he says that if anyone has any ideas for other events, to come talk to him and set things up.
- We need 5 monitors
Sally Hamilton:
- Announced that Ballas and Williamson rooms were named that because of our founding members names
Meeting Adjourned: 7:21
01/29/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop General Meeting Minutes
Vice President of Membership: Lauren Danhof
President: Sally Hamilton
Vice President of Events and Programs: Matthew Rollins
Vice President of Digital Media: Lauren Lanza Osias
Vice President of Community Outreach: Jenny Martin
Secretary: John A. Brown
Board members present: John Bartell, A. Lee Martinez
Regular Meeting Start: 7:01
Number of members in attendance: ~45
Visitors:
- Kevin Underhill, writes horror/supernatural/sci-fi, and was recommended this place by Collin College
- Nishan Landry, very new to the writing game and is getting ready to publish. Heard of us through a friend of hers whose husband (Christopher) is one of our members.
- AJ, writes sci-fi and literary fiction.
New Members:
- Gay Kaiser, is putting her 11th book on Amazon on Valentine’s day. She showed her book cover. Is self-publishing it.
- Jim Koh, writes fiction and short stories with elements of horror and weirdness to it.
Rejections:
- Ron Sole, three rejections for his Middle Grade novel.
- Drew got a rejection, but the agent said if he has any other manuscripts to send it to them
- Jim Koh got rejected by a journal
- Melvina’s script she submitted to the Dallas Film Festival got rejected.
- Stanislav’s short story got rejected by the Colorado Review.
Submissions:
- A. Lee Martinez’s agent Ron liked his story and submitted it to his editor
- Ron Sole submitted his Middle Grade to two more agents.
Acceptances:
- A. Lee Martinez, wrote a short story that got accepted by his agent.
Book Reviews:
- ??? did a book for BJ’s Forgotten Sun
- Caroline Olson did a book review on Helen Dent’s book The Burning Tree
Additional Announcements:
- Rebecca announces that this weekend will be the local bookfest where some of our books will be submitted to the library. There will be snacks, readings, and a speech maybe.
- BJ announces has info for the Yall Write contest. She has flyers up at the front for anyone who’s interested in entering.
- Blair has 29 packages of pop rocks for some reason. Can I have one?
- BJ announces that if you want a name badge, they’re great for writer’s conferences and they're available for 12 dollars.
Sally Hamilton:
- Has a presentation on Read & Critique Etiquette. It’s just a quick review on the ins and outs since she’s noticed the etiquette slipping a little.
- Please sign up for an accurate amount of time and with an accurate page count, otherwise it throws the timing off for break time.
- You will still get a full 15 minutes even if you didn’t sign up for a full-length 15-minute read.
- The computer will put the longest reads first. If you sign up for 10 pages and 15 full minutes, you will more likely than not be reading first and thus end up hearing the same readers. So try to mix it up every now and then to avoid that if possible.
- 250 words is approximately one page for reference.
- Make sure to stop at a satisfying place to get best results. The 15-minute timer is not a challenge.
- Don’t try to read faster to compensate for a long reading. Remember, we are not just here to hear you read. You need to leave time for critique as well.
- Also make sure to speak loudly and with a clear voice so that the critique circle can actually hear your reading.
- For critique, please wait to be called on by the monitor.
- You are not required to critique if you have nothing to add. At the same time, you’re not required to take the full minute to give your critique. Get in, get out, be succinct, and leave others time to give their own critique.
- Readers are not allowed to speak during their critiques EXCEPT for when others in the room ask clarifying questions.
- Read time starts the moment the reader starts talking. This includes preamble/context giving for the chapter before the actual chapter is read.
- Monitors are responsible for making sure read rooms get to break time and get out on time.
- The brochure for this presentation is on the DFWWW official website under “member resources.”
- We need 5 monitors.
Meeting Adjourned: 7:25
2/5/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop General Meeting Minutes
Vice President of Membership: Lauren Danhof
President: Sally Hamilton
Vice President of Events and Programs: Matthew Rollins
Vice President of Digital Media: Lauren Lanza Osias
Vice President of Community Outreach: Jenny Martin
Secretary: John A. Brown
Board members present: John Bartell
Business Meeting Called to Order: 6:15 PM
Officers Absent: Matthew Rollins, Lauren Lanza-Osias
BJ Sloan gave the treasurer's report:
- Workshop Account: $25,582.32
- DFWCon Account: $45,003.12
- Money Market Interest: $576.31
- Money Marketing Account: $64,610.51
- Total: $135,195.95 as of January 2025
Jenny Martin: We’ve had two inquires.
- Inquiry One: Mark wanted to offer free editing services. Offer ignored.
- Inquiry Two: Austin Film Festival. They have a script competition for unknowns and wanted to offer us a special discount for submissions from DFWWW members.
Lauren Danhof: We have 187 members. Same number as last month.
John Bartell: Because we have so many new members, there’s a bit of concern over reads being recorded.
Matthew Rollins: Couldn’t make it to the meeting, but asked for ideas for events, especially around the Spring Writer’s Block. Ideas were thrown around for writers that could be invited to the event. Ideas include:
- April Fools Reads: Cold reading pages from other people’s works without prep time.
- Sprint Saturday: Find a regular time at the library once a month to organize long sprints for a few hours at a time. Basically the write-together event we have online now, but in-person.
- Local Author Crawl: Book signing event for authors for a venue that can handle 20-30 (traditionally published) authors. Flagship half-price books in Dallas was named as a candidate location.
- Local Author Read & Sign-a-thon: a local author read-a-thon/open mic night for flash-fiction and poetry (must be a short read for timing’s sake). Klyde Warren park is suggested as a location. Some sort of pub or coffee shop is also suggested.
- Festival of Vendor Tables: booking a table at a large fan event such as Comicon. Vendor tables would need to be purchased ahead of time, however. Hotel rental and round-the-clock table manning would also be required. A-Con and Texas Library Association were mentioned.
Sally Hamilton Candace suggested that for the month of February, the rooms are temporarily renamed to black authors. For March, women’s history month where we would do the same thing but with famous women authors.
Business meeting adjourned: 6:51 PM
Regular Meeting Start: 7:07 PM
Number of members in attendance: ~45
Visitors:
- Orange shirt (Mark Hendricks) has always been a writer since Jimmy Carter was in office. Doesn’t want to write articles anymore. Wants to hangout with some writers.
- David, just started writing last year because his neighbor Jayce brought him here. Writes a short story that turned into a novel project.
- Anthony, is writing a project in Russian Lit. Is also a lawyer.
- Kaitlyn, Anthony’s partner, is a doctor not a writer and showed up as Anthony’s support person.
New Members:
- ??? Is doing speculative fiction.
- Tom, was here a couple weeks ago checking it out. Decided to join.
Rejections:
- Kathleen, was rejected for Awakened by Kiki at Donald Maass
- Jayce was also rejected by Kiki at Donald Maass
- Pam’s Secession novel was rejected by a historic novel organization
Submissions:
- Mark Dye, submitted his children’s book to Jackie Kruzie
- John Bartell submitted his elevator book to an agent. Doesn’t remember which one
- Kate Cornell, wrote a pilot episode for a comedy and submitted it to a comedian
- Ron Sole submitted to an agent for his MG
- Collin Holmes, submitted Aftermath to Terri Wolf
- Kristopher submitted short stories to the Harvard Review because he “doesn’t want to get rejected by just anyone”
- Kurt Holmgren submitted chapters to several agent
- Kristi Carroll submitted her office romance book to an agent
Acceptances:
- Larry Enman’s publisher advised that his two books' audio rights could be sold later this year.
Book Reviews:
- ??? read Helen Dent’s The Burning Tree
Additional Announcements:
- BJ had a book signing at the Talking Animal books on March 8th, 2-4 PM for her book Forgotten Sun.
- Also, for any new members, she is still offering name badges for $12 each.
- Kristi Carroll is releasing her book Magic Bound at the end of the month. Also February 15th at Pantego Books in Arlington she will be having a signing event for Magic Bound
- Brian Tracey, thanks for those who showed up to the Chicago Avenue Hot Dogs gig. Also, anyone who is on preorder for his book Picking Up The Pieces, now is the time because of a Barnes & Noble event, it’s currently 25% off.
- Lauren Danhof is selling girl scout cookies.
Sally Hamilton:
- Recapped the notes from the business meeting to the general member gathering
- Also had Lauren Danhof hand out name tags for members who purchased them.
Meeting Adjourned: 7:26
2/12/2025 DFW Writer’s Workshop General Meeting Minutes
Vice President of Membership: Lauren Danhof
President: Sally Hamilton (On Vacation)
Vice President of Events and Programs: Matthew Rollins
Vice President of Digital Media: Lauren Lanza Osias
Vice President of Community Outreach: Jenny Martin
Secretary: John A. Brown
Board members present: John Bartell, A. Lee Martinez
Regular Meeting Start: 7:03
Number of members in attendance: ~50
Visitors:
- Elaine Antony, found out about us from the web, is writing a women's fiction book
- Tom, doesn't really write and is just here to listen
- David, not a writer, heard about us from a friend.
- Jen, heard about us from Reddit, writes short stories
New Members:
- Renae, is a returning member
Rejections:
- George, got a rejection from Jackie Kurscie
- John Bartell got a rejection from Ron Eckel for his elevator book
- Ron Sole got 3 rejections
- Kristofer, got a rejection from a flash fiction magazine for a short story
Submissions:
- John Bartell submitted to another agent
- Ron Sole submitted to 2 more agents
- Jessie Hikeman, submitted a poem to a contest
Acceptances:
- Kristofer got a rejection from beyond words magazine, but they asked him if he had anything else, especially something centering around the theme of regret. Kristofer submitted a new piece, and it was accepted for the magazine’s regret themed anthology.
Book Reviews:
- Travis Hightower did a book review for The Forgotten Sun by BJ Sloan
- Earl McGuiness did a book review for The Forgotten Sun as well
- Catherine Olson did a book review for The Princess Academy, as well as Midnight Hour, both of which are middle grade books.
Additional Announcements:
- Lauren announces that if you want a name badge, they’re great for writer’s conferences and they're available for 14 dollars now. Inflation hitting hard :(
- Caroline says the Hulton City Library is having a romance authors (though all genres welcome) event on April 26th, from 11AM - 4PM.
- She also wants to know who’s a good tax person for a writer
- Katie Burnett has an update on DFWCON. Registration is going live on Friday. Membership early bird pricing is available on the DFWWW official website.
- Kristi Carol has a book signing in Pantego Books for Magic Bound at 12 PM.
- BJ Sloan has a book signing March 8th at Talking Animal Books from 2 - 4 on a Saturday
- LeAnn Robinson has her birthday today. Happy birthday LeAnn!
- Matt Rollins has 2 copies of Steelwing for review
- Madness Games and Comics in Plano is open for any DFWWW writer events. A fantasy/sci-fi table could work for that.
- If anyone has suggestions for future events, talk to Matt
- Lauren Danhof says that we will be meeting at the Convention Center next week, but the library the week after that
- She also reminds people to clean up after themselves.
Meeting Adjourned: 7:25