Category Archives: Monthly Meetings

Selling Out: How Presales Can Make Your Book a Hit

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To whom it may someday concern, in a minor way

Dear Author Arbitrageur

Who: The Shebeen Club presents author, speaker, and sales trainer Shane Gibson

What: Selling Out: How Presales Can Make Your Book a Hit

When: 7-9pm Monday, October 25th (one week later than our usual date)

Where: A private dining room upstairs at Revel Room, 238 Abbott Street just off Gastown, near the Woodward’s Building

Why: Because Shane’s latest book sold out its entire first printing before it was officially available for sale. We want to know how, and so do you!

How (much): $20 early-bird tickets/$25 at the door includes dinner and a glass of wine or beer

I worked as Shane’s editorial assistant on his latest book, Guerrilla Social Media Marketing (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson, the Guerrilla Marketing Guru) and while I was typing it up, I kept thinking what a great book it was. This is by way of disclosure, not puffery. Seems thousands of others feel the same way: the book officially sold out its first printing on September 30th; it wasn’t actually in stores until October 3rd.

That is what you call a successful book launch.

Shane is here to tell us how he and Jay did that, and teach us techniques that we can use on our own book launches, whether we’re publishers, editors, or authors. I only know one tip: 85% of life is showing up, so show up on October 25th and prepare to learn powerful tools for marketing your book from an author who’s not afraid of success! At this point, it just might be scared of him!

Shane Gibson

Shane Gibson

Shane Gibson is an international speaker and author who has addressed over 100,000 people over the past sixteen years on stages in North America, Southern Africa and South America.

Shane’s books include Sociable! How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside Down, Closing Bigger: the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals, and his new book published by Entrepreneur Press (McGraw Hill) called Guerrilla Social Media Marketing, co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson.

Blogging since 2002, and podcasting since 2004 Shane drives the majority of his business from social media, and social networks. He has been published in numerous publications as an authority on the topics of leadership, marketing, social media, and sales performance. Some of these publications include CMA Magazine, the Financial Post, the Globe and Mail and Profit Magazine.

7-7:30 Meet & Mingle

7:30-8 Listen and Learn

8-9 Grinning maniacally while counting on your fingers and phoning your accountant

Going Pro at Rogue! Roundup

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Sylvia Taylor

Sylvia Taylor

Just a few (long overdue) notes from our last event, Going Pro featuring Sylvia Taylor.

  • We introduced our new online registration system, which worked well. Remember: preregister and save $5.
  • We moved from our old location of the Shebeen to the new one of the Everything Cafe, but at the last minute had to move from there again, because of a licensing issue. Rogue Wetbar stepped up and donated a private room (which normally costs $600) and made us a terrific custom menu. I had the halibut tacos, and they were fantastic.
  • We lost two people who’d preregistered, because they went to the Everything. I have issued them refunds.
  • We had one of our largest groups since the Social Media for Nonprofits night this past Spring, with 17 members showing up, including some new faces.
  • It was a very engaged and enthusiastic audience, thanks to Sylvia. Her presentation on professionalism and an entrepreneurial approach to a literary career was a big hit with the attendees, several of whom whipped out their business cards to see if they passed the Sylvia test!

So, if you missed it don’t fret too much: you can always reach Sylvia, thanks to her website and contact details. And god knows, we’re sure to have her back soon!

GOING PRO: Getting Real in the Writing World: our September meeting

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Shakespeare got to get paid, son

You think them sonnets write themselves?

Who: The Shebeen Club presents author, editor, Federation of BC Writers Executive Director Sylvia Taylor

What: GOING PRO: GETTING REAL IN THE WRITING WORLD

When: 7-9pm Monday, September 27th (one week later than our usual date)

Where: A private dining room in Rogue Wetbar in Waterfront Station

Why: Because in this economy, you either go pro or you go out of business

How (much): $20 early-bird tickets/$25 at the door includes dinner and a glass of wine

Come Out of the Cave and Into the Village!

Getting published and making a living isn’t just about writing anymore – it’s about building a solid foundation, a platform, of credibility and expertise. For experienced and emerging writers alike, we need to build our presence from the ground up, with good planning, good tools, good materials and creative flair. Treat yourself as an entrepreneur and you add to your chances of business success, particularly in a hostile economic climate like this one.

About Sylvia Taylor: Sylvia Taylor is an award-winning writer, editor, consultant, journalist, and educator with a passionate commitment to communication. As an entrepreneur and Executive Director of the Federation of BC Writers she brings what needs to be said into the world through the sublime balance of the Art & Engineering of Creativity.

New! Improved! Tonight, for the first time we’ll be at a new downtown location: a private dining room in the beautiful Rogue Wetbar in Waterfront Station. Register in advance and save $5!

The Shebeen Club August Meeting: Heather Haley’s Three Blocks West of Wonderland

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Heather Haley says SIGN UP NOW! or something much more poetical-like

Heather Haley says SIGN UP NOW, BITCHES! or actually something much more poetical-like

Who: Us and the Siren of Howe Sound, Heather Haley

What: A night of multimedia delights celebrating the recent publication of Three Blocks West of Wonderland.

When: Monday, August 16, from 7pm-9pm

Where: The Shebeen, behind the Irish Heather, 212 Carrall Street

As always, $20 buys you dinner and a drink and some of the finest literary company this city has to offer. No RSVP is required, but it’s appreciated so we have a rough idea of whether we need to reserve the snug or to lay in crowd control! Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

Join us as we celebrate the release of Heather Haley’s latest book of poetry, Three Blocks West of Wonderland. Heather is both the digital AND actual troubadour of the West Coast, from Bowen Island to Venice Beach, and for the first time she’ll be bringing her multimedia performance experience to the Shebeen Club. There will be poetry. There will be prose. There will be beauty. There may be song. And there WILL be videopoems, a dynamic new genre that seems to have sprung fully formed from the forehead of the Siren of Howe Sound herself.

We’re very proud to help celebrate a pivotal local literatus’s latest launch! And that’s my allotment of “L’s” for the week right there.

Poet, author, musician and media artist Heather Haley pushes boundaries by creatively integrating disciplines, genres and media. Published in numerous journals and anthologies including Geist and The Verse Map of Vancouver, her poetry collections Sideways (Anvil Press) and Three Blocks West of Wonderland (Ekstasis Editions) have been described as “supple and unusual,” “brawny and uncompromising.”

—
Heather Haley  POET  AUTHOR  MUSICIAN   MEDIA ARTIST

* ONLINE: http://www.heatherhaley.com
* Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HeatherSusanHaley
* Twitter: http://twitter.com/HeatherHaley
* ON PAPER: Sideways,Three Blocks West of Wonderland http://www.ekstasiseditions.com
* ON DISC: Surfing Season and Princess Nut  by AURAL Heather on RPW Records @ CD Baby, iTunes
* ON SCREEN: videopoems Dying for the Pleasure, Purple Lipstick, How To Remain
* ON STAGE: “Unique, sublime fusion of song and spoken word.”-ZULA Presents

Three Blocks West of Wonderland; what does it LOOK like?

Three Blocks West of Wonderland; what does it LOOK like?

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Getting the Most from a Writer’s Retreat: our July meeting

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Yaddo, yo!

Yaddo, yo! Did I ever tell you about the time I got drunk with John Cheever's ghost?

Who: a panel of experts: Kathrin Lake, Sean Cranbury, and Tami Reilly

What: Getting the Most from a Writer’s Retreat

When: 7-9pm Monday, July 19th, 2010

Where: The Shebeen, behind the Irish Heather, 212 Carrall Street in Gastown

Why: to learn what to expect, how to prepare, and how to wring every precious drop of experience out of attending a writer’s retreat or conference. And also to enjoy some of the best literary company in Vangroover!

Details:  $20 includes dinner and a drink

Come out and join us and our panel of forward-thinking retreat specialists (not as much of a contradiction as you’d think) as they teach you their tips and tricks for getting the most out of a retreat with your fellow literati. This would be the place for me to mention that registration opens soon for our own Shebeen Club retreat for the 3-Day Novel Contest over the Labour Day long weekend, so I will indeed mention it. There: done!

Our panelists are:

Kathrin Lake: Kathrin is an award-wining playwright and teacher of writing. Her first non-fiction book is From Survival to Thrival, which has become the basis for a network of support groups for people dedicated to positive change. She is currently working on another non-fiction account about her experiences in Mexico and the town that she owns property and lives in with her partner for part of every Canadian winter. Kathrin is also a Certified Human Resources Professional in which training, speaking, and coaching are key components of her work, and has a history of collaborating with up and coming entrepreneurs to help them create a thriving organization that loves to work together. She is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and has been a Toastmaster for over 10 years in various leadership roles.

Sean Cranbury: Sean Cranbury is a Vancouver writer, editor, broadcaster and social media consultant.  His radio show/blog, Books on the Radio, is broadcast on CJSF 90.1 FM.  He also writes for the Vancouver Biennale and the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative. Sean is co-creator of the ridiculously successful viral, community-based book recommendation site, the Advent Book Blog, and is also working on the real-time collaborative fiction experiment called Eyes of Vancouver.

Tami Reilly:  Tami is the president of the Association of Women Business owners, and has long experience in organizing retreats. Tami is also the founder of GO Get Organized, an award-winning office organization company. She started Get Organized because she believes that with effective office management and up-to-date cash management, entrepreneurs have a much higher level of success. Tami has spent the last seven years developing products and services that organize an entrepreneur´s office to work more effectively yet more simply.

7-7:30: mix and mingle
7:30-8: listen and learn
8-9: discuss and digest

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