 The President's Report . . .
May 23, 2007
Wow! Where does time go? It just seems like yesterday that we were at EPICon, discussing EPIC and its future. The conference was a great time for all as we reacquainted ourselves with each other and talked about the latest news. We had a wonderful luncheon where we honored the attending New Voices winners and I've never been more excited in my life to see our future writers autographing their disks. Lots of wonderful things happened in Portland from Jeff Strand's wonderful humor to our keynote speaker, Michael Powell and I for one am glad I was there.
And what an exciting world it has become! Since EPICon I have started work on one of the most important tasks I'll ever have...being your president. This is duty that I don't take lightly as many of you who know me understand.
Let's take one thing at a time.
There has been much discussion on the Internet, taking EPIC to task about their role with, and for, our members. Many of us have been disheartened with the blogs and groups criticizing who we are, what we stand for, and what we have planned for the future of our organization. Some of the points struck close to home, echoing questions I have read on both the Biz and Social groups. One point in particular caught my eye. They basically asked "Where is EPIC on the 'Net?'" with the discussion concluding that if EPIC is truly 'The Voice of Electronic Publishing', we should use our voice more often and stand up for what we believe in. These comments caused me to evaluate who we are, and what we really do for our members.
I have come to the conclusion that EPIC is an author AND industry group, although we're mainly composed of authors. Our overall goal is to educate the masses in regards to the world of electronic publishing, and to expand on the ease of e-books, their accessibility, and a versatility of their genres. Our organization has over 700 members. If each of us would play their part, we COULD expand our presence, make our voice heard.
Our authors are the mainstay of our group and without them there would be no EPIC. EPIC's goals for our authors should be simple: provide up-to-date publisher information when available, provide a confidential outlet where they can speak freely about their goals and aspirations—as well as lodge complaints or suggest caution. We need to provide information to the new e-published author; regarding artwork, research, promotional advice, or any other type of non-legal advice we can offer as one professional to another.
We have an EPIC e-Workshop for newer e-book authors; a yahoo list where authors can learn more about the world of e publishing. It will provide the most up-to-date information possible and help guide newbies through the ever-changing e-publishing terrain. There will be articles posted in the files area of the group, as well as lively discussions for anyone who wants to join. The more, the merrier.
That being said there are still things that might need tweaking here and there, changed to benefit all members. It is the intention of the current board to add to our website, or within the EPICBiz yahoo group, a database of sorts for authors to leave feedback regarding publishers. Due to liability issues, it will be generalized feedback. This should give authors a good idea if a particular publisher would be a good fit or not. In the same vein, EPIC's current publishers' listings NEED to be constantly updated. The e-publishing industry changes constantly and its imperative we stay current.
Our loops, EPICSocial and EPICBiz, are two places where authors and industry members can ask or talk about anything...and do. There have been many heated discussions over the years and we want to encourage those as long as they are productive. Only when they turn to bickering and backbiting do these discussions cease to be constructive. Here is where our List Cops step in as EPIC's Sergeant-of-Arms. They are fair, and attentive to all the conversations on our loops. If there are issues between 'verbal combatants' they should be handled off the lists. Be kind to your fellow group members.
The EPIC Awards and EPICon go hand-in-hand as far as I'm concerned. You can't have one without the other. However there are some issues that will be considered regarding both the EPIC Awards and EPICon.
The EPIC Awards will be getting a major overhaul in a few areas, due to a variety of reasons. One in particular, and it keeps coming up over and over again, is the problem of acquiring judges. Let's face it, everyone, this contest can't run without people being willing to judge. The EPIC Awards' entries increase 10-15% every year, with the projected total being approximately 700 or more entries for 2009 contest. That means there will be a whooping 2100 reads minimum in totality, since every entry will now be read three times, eliminating the need for variance judging. Without enough volunteers, however, this contest will be forced to overtax the people who DO volunteer—losing credibility when the judging becomes shoddy and half-hearted. The only other alternative would be to limit the total number of entries within a category. This is something which won't be done lightly but the very fact we're even thinking about it makes me shutter.
Another area where the EPIC Awards will be changed is the handling of anthologies. Yes, that pesky beast has reared its ugly head again and major changes will be made. We had an unprecedented number of anthologies final in the EPIC Awards for 2008 and, while that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it isn't necessarily a good thing either. It drove our finalist grouping from 83, in 2007, to almost 200 in 2008. Our original intent has been to never have the anthologies eclipse our single book entries. But, in just one year of the new rules, they almost did. There were a large number of complaints, ranging from too many finalists to only one item within the anthology even fitting within the chosen category, hence the need for a total overhaul on how anthologies are handled. Expect the discussion regarding the anthology rulings to start sometime in June on the loops.
We need to promote our New Voices competition, a competition for Middle School and High School aged writers. This competition is light years away from the EPIC Awards, but has become just as important to EPIC and its members. These new voices are the new generation of writers—poets and storytellers—and we should encourage their talent and interest in e publishing. But, again, finding judges has been an issue. We can't continue this competition without judges and would hate to shut down a contest that has only been in existence for a few years due to the fact we don't have judges for these entries. EPIC received entries from around the globe and some of the placers—and winners—were interviewed and even got our name and website address right. They broadcasted information about EPIC all over the television, making this one of EPIC's proudest moments during 2008.
EPICon has provided our members with a yearly event where they have been entertained and educated. The workshops have shown us better ways to write, publish, market, and network. We have been very lucky to maintain our extremely reasonable conference fees and to have an EPIC member chair our events but, unfortunately, it seems this might be the last year where our conference fees will stay under $200 per person.
I have researched other conferences and here is what I found to be their average fees: RT - $465, RWA - $425, MWA doesn't offer any workshops and just has the Edgar Awards Banquet dinner at $175 per person, SFWA doesn't hold any type of regular conference while various other conferences start at $75 and go up to $650. This was from a recent online search of general quotes. Looking at those numbers, EPICon remains a bargain. I have managed to keep our costs reasonably low for this year and will have more information about EPICon 2009 posted very, very soon. This is simply a heads-up for what we might be facing in 2010.
Lastly is non-legal advice.
We constantly advise each other as both writers and friends. Many of us preface our conversations with 'If I were you, this is what I would do…' and continue on with the subject at hand. One of my goals is to place a lawyer on retainer so that EPIC has legal counsel in case there are ever any legal problems. I feel that EPIC has grown large enough, with over 700 members, that it would be a wise step for our organization. I don't know just how this will work out, but rest assured that by the end of my term EPIC will have a business lawyer in place.
I'm not leaving out non-author industry members but don't really know what you want or need. I've some ideas but, since I'm not a publisher or editor any more, I tend to be more removed from any day-to-day issues that other industry members might have. I will be randomly emailing non-author members in the next coming weeks to see where you think EPIC improve. Or you can email me if you have something in particular you want brought up. I can't help with changes if I haven't discussed them. I will be doing a column on what EPIC should, and can, do for industry members later in the year.
Here is a detailed list of what I have planned for the coming year as EPIC's new President:
- Complete an updated Policy & Procedure Manual for all committees and offices
- Revamp EPIC's Bylaws
- Organize a Pirate-Awareness Team
- Reorganize our membership process (as Secretary I have first-hand knowledge of changes required)
- EPIC New Writers Loop - Started April 2008
- Hire a e-business, literary type lawyer
- Hire an e-business accountant
- Have an independent audit performed to assure all areas are correct
- Generate wider areas of PR, promoting the positive aspects of EPIC as a whole
- Publishers ratings list
- Obtain Group Liability Insurance
- Decision on permanent resident office. Possibility of Oregon?
This list will be discussed, and probably changed, over the next few months. I will let you know where we are as each item is addressed. These are issues that have been mentioned by more than one person since I was elected EPIC's President and I thought they should be aired to all our members for comment. There are a couple I put there, mainly numbers 1, 6 and 7. We have become a good-sized organization and need to start handling things accordingly. There are a host of things that need to be dealt with, many of which are outside of any volunteer's area of expertise. This doesn't mean EPIC's members aren't knowledgeable, because we are. It simply means that we are at that stage where we need to protect ourselves as an organization, a growing organization with a healthy bank account.
We need to respect all our industry members for the knowledge and expertise they bring to our organization. Whether publishers, editors, artists, authors, or other e-book industry experts: we are all part of EPIC's organization. We need to continue to demand, and expect, excellence from our EPIC Award entries, assigning awards to the best in e-book excellence. We need to share the vision of our New Voices entrants and promote their dreams, dreams we share. We need to spread the word about what we do and what we will do as members of EPIC. We are members who should support one another.
It's my intention for EPIC to grow and flourish, to be around for a long, long time. And it will. It's my job to make sure that happens. That hasn't changed since I was EPIC Award Chair.
I always said that I would do whatever it took to protect this organization. And I will. It's what I'm supposed to do.
Until next month...
Carol MacLeod, EPIC President
Previous "From The President" Articles by Brenna Lyons, EPIC President 2006-2007.
Previous "From The President" Articles by Jane Bierce, EPIC President 2004-2006.
Previous "From The President" Articles by Dusty Rhodes, EPIC President 2003-2004.
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