2010:
Not only is this the start of the second decade in the twenty-first century, it's the start of the second decade of Helen's free e-newsletter for writers, Doing It Write. 2010 is the eleventh year of publication.
On February 5th and 6th, Helen appeared at the 2010 National Story Circle Network Conference: Stories from the Heart V. Friday, the 5th, she did heart-to-heart coaching on three subjects: Blogging and Tweeting, Targeting Your Interview Questions, and Conducting In-Person Interviews. Saturday, the 6th, she moderated the Getting Published panel. If was great fun and packed with information.
On February 14th, Helen participated in the panel, "Love Them To Death: Mysteries with Romance" at the Heart of Texas Sisters in Crime Valentine meeting.
In May, she was the Mentor/Mentee Co-Facilitator, along with author Sylvia Dickey Smith, for May Texas Mystery month.
Mark your calendars! The Texas Book Festival will be October 16 - 17 this year. Helen will once again chair the presentations at the Austin Museum of Art. Come by for talks and book signings by writers, photographers, artists, illustrators, and bookish contributors to books. (Things are really gearing up for the festival, which hosts over 200 authors each year.)
Her third book in the TechCareers book series for TSTC Publishing is due out in 2010. The working title is Gaming. You can find out more about it on the Books page.
2009:
For Helen and Doing It Write, 2009 is a mile-marker -- ten years that her free e-newsletter has been going out to writers around the globe -- Doing It Write has subscribers on every continent except Antarctica.
In May, Helen had the honor of being a Mentor to an Aspiring Writer. As part of the Heart of Texas chapter of Sisters in Crime's annual Barbara Burnett Smith Aspiring Writers Event, she paired up with an aspiring writer and met with other Mentors and Aspiring Writers on May 17 to discuss the author's work and answer questions during a one-on-one consult. This event is held each year to honor the memory of Barbara Burnett Smith, a past-president of national Sisters in Crime, an amazing author of the Purple Sage mystery series, and a wonderful mentor to numerous authors.
TSTC Publishing released Helen's books TechCareers: Automotive Technicians in July and TechCareers: Avionics in October. Still to come in the TechCareers series: Gaming.
In August, Austin Writing Examiner columnist Sylvia Dickey Smith wrote a piece about Helen for Examiner.com. She titled the article, Helen Ginger Goes from Mermaid to Wonder Woman. (Now that's a cute title!)
September brought news that Helen will moderate the Nuts & Bolts panel on Getting Published at the February 2010 Story Circle Network Conference: Stories from the Heart V. She'll also be Mentor/Mentee Co-Facilitator, along with author Sylvia Dickey Smith, for May Texas Mystery month.
Helen, as a Chair for the Texas Book Festival, once again coordinated and oversaw the events at the Austin Museum of Art on October 31 and November 1. The Texas Book Festival is a spectacular event and, if you have time next year, volunteer to work at the Austin Museum of Art.
On November 13th, Helen wrote "The End is Really the Beginning," a three-point essay on editing your manuscript for Karen Walker's blog, Karen...Following the Whispers.
A freelance book consultant since 1996, Helen continues to consult with authors on their manuscripts, synopses, query letters and other work.
2008:
In May, Helen helped out at the refreshment area for the Writers' League of Texas' "Celebrating Texas Writing Month." Then in June she volunteered to be a driver for the League's 2008 Agents & Editors Conference. (Agents and editors are the most trusting people -- don't believe anything you hear otherwise. They actually got voluntarily in a car driven by an author with control of the door locks!)
In September, Helen was interviewed by Brooke on Bluestocking Guide about her work as a book editor. That podcast is available online. Also in September, Biomedical Equipment Technicians was published by TSTC Publishing. Helen was a contributor to this book, interviewing technician employers in College Station, Texas, Dallas, Texas, and Boston, Massachusetts.
Helen signed a contract with TSTC Publishing in October to write the next book in the TechCareers series -- Automotive Technicians. With a due date of January 1, 2009, she immediately went to work, interviewing Automotive Techs (AUTs), AUT Students, AUT Employers or Supervisors, and AUT Instructors. The manuscript was turned in December 22nd -- ahead of schedule. Woo-woo!
This year's Texas Book Festival was the best ever -- which is saying a lot about this fabulous event. Helen once again chaired the events at the Austin Museum of Art. Thank you to all those who volunteered for a shift at the museum.
December marked another year that Helen volunteered as a gift wrapper for the Bess Whitehead Scott Scholarship Fund. What fun to hang with fellow wrapper, Terri Schexnayder, all the folks at the Barnes & Noble in Sunset Valley, and the shoppers who tipped so generously to help the fund.
2007:
Helen finished out 2007 by being a volunteer wrapper (that's with a "w" since she would be no good at rapping) for the Bess Whitehead Scott Scholarship Fund. The BWS Fund awards two scholarships annually -- one to an undergraduate communications major at a Texas university, and the other to a student who must be at least 40 years old and studying writing or a related field.
November 2nd and 3rd, Helen chaired "The Book as Art" at the Austin Museum of Art for the Texas Book Festival. Two exhausting but exhilarating days of working with fabulous authors in a beautiful setting with tons of really enthusiastic readers and book lovers. If you're envious, you can join her next year by volunteering to work a shift.
On May 24th and 25th, Helen spoke at the Brazos Writers' This Business of Writing Conference in College Station, Texas. She lead the workshop, The Synopsis: Four Steps to the Ultimate SALEs Tool. By the end of this workshop, attendees know the steps to constructing a synopsis and then using that document to craft the blurb for their query, a one-on-one pitch and their elevator spiel.
In 2007, Helen once again worked with Texas Mystery Month in May, particularly with the Barbara Burnett Smith Aspiring Writers Events. Unpublished writers who sign up get to have a published author as a mentor, including a thirty minute one-on-one with them. But slots are limited -- only six aspiring writers can be accepted!
On March 24th, Helen led The Synopsis: Four Steps to the Ultimate SALES Tool at the North Texas Professional Writers conference. To find out about having Helen lead a workshop for your group or organization, visit her Workshops Page that will tell you about just a couple of the workshops she facilitates.
2006:
As Chair of The Book as Art at the Austin Museum of Art for the 2006 Texas Book Festival, Helen worked with artists, writers, photographers, and volunteers. Seven fabulous panels over two days, October 28 & 29.
Helen worked with the Sisters in Crime, Heart of Texas chapter, on the 2006 Texas Mystery Week. "Week" is really a misnomer since the committee coordinated events throughout the month of May, culminating in the Barbara Burnett Smith Aspiring Writers Event where aspiring writers are paired with published authors for mentoring. Helen's responsiblity, not counting monthly meetings leading up to TMW, was "Aspiring Writers ," those fabulous unpublished mystery authors.
On February 4, 2006, at the Story Circle Network national conference, Helen taught a workshop called "Marketing Your Book: Charting the Promotional Universe."
In 2005, Helen received a Fellowship from the Brown Foundation and the Vermont Studio Center. She spent the month of October writing, hiking, and meeting artists and writers from around the world.
An Owner-Partner in Legends In Our Own Minds ® since 1997, Helen handles women’s marketing as well as the company’s website – www.legendsinourownminds.com
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1997 - 2010