President's Corner
by Ken Schept
Welcome to CFF's quarterly online newsletter, which supplements our periodic email blasts with more extensive CFF news and features, inviting members to visit the CFF website for more details.
This communication trifecta — occasional email blasts, a quarterly newsletter, and the website — strengthens our CFF community and helps fulfill our mission: to help each other become stronger writers, even published writers.
Driven by this mission, we’re now looking ahead. We’ll continue our twice-monthly workshops and add new programs. We anticipate another webinar with literary agents, as part of the Meet the Gatekeepers series launched last April. We’re also planning a webinar with experienced editors talking about how they shape manuscripts to be ready for literary agents and publishers.
These programs provide the knowledge and potential contacts that can improve our writing and prospects for publication. They also raise awareness of Columbia Fiction Foundry, which can help differentiate us among the overwhelming volume of queries agents regularly receive.
Our expanding communications, programs, and other initiatives help us fulfill our mission by advancing specific goals:
- Building community
- Building awareness of CFF in the publishing industry
- Improving the quality of writing in the workshops
- Expanding the diversity of voices in the workshops
Which brings me to another important point. We’re a volunteer community. Our success depends on member involvement. If you have an idea or would like to become involved, please contact me at: [email protected]. Put the word Volunteer in the subject line.
Finally, appreciation to the two volunteers who devoted much time and thought to creating this newsletter: Linda Raymond Ellison, CFF vice president and newsletter editor, who developed the idea; and Mauricio Matiz, CFF communications director, for his strategic vision and technical expertise. Thanks also to Michael Hirsh for contributing helpful editorial support.
And thanks everyone for your involvement in the CFF community and for taking time to read this column. Now, let’s go write!