 From the President's Perspective . . .
December 2003
Betty K. raised several questions in a recent post on list and called for a report from the board on “where EPIC IS, and where we’re GOING. I have posted a regular monthly update speaking to these exact questions in this column and on our lists, but for those who have missed it, I will try to answer Betty’s questions again.
In my original “campaign speech” I shared my vision for EPIC and set out several goals I would attempt should I be elected. Take a minute and review excerpts from that “speech”:
My Campaign Speech
“BUT WHY DO I WANT TO BE YOUR PRESIDENT? . . .
Because I believe EPIC is the RIGHT organization, with the RIGHT message, to come along at precisely the RIGHT time in order to have a major impact on the advancement of the e-publishing industry.
Let me share just a few of the programs I will work to implement should I be elected your next President.
I. To get the EPIC website redesigned, updated, and dependable. Much of our promotion and public relations efforts (and money) this past year were wasted because of our embarrassingly inadequate and in-operable website. Jeff appointed a committee to expedite this redesign and updating project, and I commend him for doing so, but I doubt it will be completed before the new President and Board of Directors take over April 15. There is absolutely no reason why EPIC should not have a website we can all be proud to invite others to visit.
II. As EPIC President, I will work to form a "coalition" of E-Publishers, preferably under the EPIC umbrella. This would be a GIANT STEP FORWARD for the entire e-publishing industry and for EPIC in particular. All sorts of benefits could be the result:
(a) This would give us much more "clout" in negotiating with the "Ingram types" for greater distribution of our member's work. Right now, I see DISTRIBUTION as our greatest shortcoming in the e-publishing industry. We have lots of great publishers, it's one thing to get a book published, it's quite another to get it into the hands of those masses of readers looking for good books. We need to find a solution to this problem. The "coalition" could be that answer.
(b) A "coalition" could negotiate more and better advertising and publicity for the industry and EPIC.
(c) With the kind of strength such a group would have, we could negotiate all kinds of deals (like on e-readers for example) for our members and even for our readers.
III. As EPIC President I would completely restructure the EPIC PROMOTIONS and PUBLIC RELATIONS function. I would like to see INDIVIDUAL CHAIRPERSONS in each state and country. I saw so many "missed opportunities" this past year to spread the word about EPIC, simply because our committee just couldn't touch all the bases we needed to. I believe by helping fund worthwhile projects from the national level, but letting our members on the "grass roots" level do the legwork, I believe we could get MORE and BETTER "bang for our bucks."
IV. I believe we need to have a MAJOR MEMBERSHIP DRIVE. EPIC is the only professional organization of e-published authors of it's kind, to my knowledge. There are literally hundreds—if not thousands—of qualified potential members out there who have never heard of EPIC. We need to get the word out about EPIC and the benefits of membership. Just consider how much more we could do by way of advertising and promotion if we doubled or tripled our membership! Why would we choose to remain a small, obscure organization that few have even heard of when we have a unique opportunity to truly become the strong "VOICE OF E-PUBLISHING."
Okay . . . this is my vision . . . these would be my goals as your president. If you share these goals, if you agree that EPIC can and should be more that it is, then I ask for your vote.
The Reality
GOAL #I - The simple fact that you are reading this column on our fantastic new web site should be ample proof that GOAL #I has been successfully achieved, but not without an untold number of hours of hard work and sacrifice by Dan. EPIC owes Dan a debt no amount of money could repay.
GOAL #II - FORMING A COALITION OF E-PUBLISHERS
Bob Sanders serves as the Chairman of our Coalition project and has done a fantastic job at an unbelievably difficult and challenging project. To be brutally honest, though some progress has been made, such as the securing of pricing discounts through BookSurge for coalition members, this project has been slower developing than hoped. Do I still believe the coalition holds great promise for the e-publishing industry and EPIC? Absolutley! Am I disappointed at the progress we have made? Yes, I am.
Why haven’t we made more progress in this area?
In my opinion, two reasons;
- The committee selected to serve in the organizational efforts just never caught the vision of the project. Attendance at committee meetings was sparse to say the least. There was far too much “infighting” and “squabbling” about committee member’s goals rather than the goals of the overall project.
- I’m afraid EPIC member e-publishers are so focused on protecting their own turf they were unable to see the long-range goals of the project and the ultimate benefits, not only to them, but the entire e-publishing industry as a whole.
Are we admitting defeat? Not on your life! We will simply back up and attack the challenge in a different way.
GOAL #III - RE-STRUCTURING PROMOTIONS and PUBLIC RELATIONS EFFORTS
The old adage “Rome wasn’t built in a day” (I hope I quoted that correctly, if not I’m sure some will correct me) applies here.
We now have TWENTY-FOUR EPIC CHAPTERS scattered in twenty-one states and three foreign countries. Many of those have successfully organized themselves into functioning statewide units and are effectively promoting both EPIC and e-publishing. Some are still struggling with the organizational part. Several have adopted local projects and either have or are in the process of carrying them out.
A few examples:
- The Missouri EPIC chapter took on the project of setting up a table at the recent RT convention in Kansas City.
- The Florida chapter, under the leadership of Courtney Mroch, had a table at the Florida Writers Association meeting in Orlando.
- The Texas EPIC chapter had a booth at the Texas Book Festival in Austin, Texas and passed out EPIC literature.
- The Ohio EPIC chapter has set up a store to sell EPIC logo'd mugs and shirts for promotion.
- Several state chapters have accumulated a list of public libraries and have set up speaking engagements to promote e-publishing and EPIC.
All of these, and other projects, have been co-sponsored by EPIC, providing matching funds to make them more doable by local chapters.
These State EPIC COORDINATORS are to be commended and applauded for giving of their time, talent, and energy in order to further the goals of EPIC and e-publishing.
GOAL # IV - MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
Frankly, to a great degree we have failed in our efforts to make this goal happen. Our current membership stands at 392. We've opened up our associate membership to additional industry-related professionals, such as agents, editors, and artists. Yes, EPIC has grown under this board’s leadership, but nothing like I envisioned.
I still believe EPIC could and should be an organization of well over a thousand. But one or two people simply can’t do all the work required to make these things happen. Many of you reading this have been asked privately to get involved in various projects but have not seen fit to step forward.
The membership is to be commended for voting for our ambitious budget put forth by this board early in our administration. In reality, only a small percentage of that money has actually been spent.
I believe EPIC has made progress this year, certainly not to the extent we had hoped. I know for a fact that this board has given EPIC our full efforts this past year. I question whether anyone could ever give enough of themselves to satisfy everyone.
I will not be running for President during the coming election. I have given EPIC one full year of my life; I don’t have that many left to give. At the end of my term in March I will devote my time and energy to writing and promoting Dusty Rhodes books.
Hugs and Happy Trails!
Dusty Rhodes
EPIC President
Dusty Rhodes is a best selling author of Western novels, and currently serves as the President of EPIC—The Electronically Published Internet Connection "the Voice of Electronic Publishing" and sponsor of the EPIC Awards. You can visit Dusty's homepage at www.eclectics.com/dustyrhodes
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