Bulletin for April 29th, 2015
Posted
on Apr 29, 2015
MEETING NOTES FOR SIDNEY ROTARY MEETING OF 2015 APR 29
Greeter: Jack Gallop Door and Sarge: Jack MacAulay
Meeting to Order: Acting President Cosmo Pessoa
National Anthem: Recording provided by Cosmo Pessoa
Introduction of Guests:
Noel Pike
Robert Clark
Ben Coles (Guest Speaker)
Announcements:
Ian Morley: The Car Raffle Tickets have been printed. Ian distributed the books of tickets to club members for sale.
The Saanich Rotary Club is holding a Garage Sale at Central Middle School on May 02. Donations are welcome.
District Governor Mike Proctor is in the process of assembling funds to send Shelter Boxes for the Nepal Earthquake Relief. Disaster Relief Canada is also raising funds for this mission.
A note of thanks was received from the HCOFS Board of Directors for the donation of the vegetable cooler.
Programme:
Maria Furmek introduced the Guest Speaker – Ben Coles. Mr. Coles is an author who spent fifteen years in the Navy. He also holds a MBA from the University of Victoria. He is the winner of the CBR Cygnus Award for Science Fiction writing. His speech dealt with his experience, as an author, in dealing with the publishing industry.
Mr. Coles began by discussing his start as an author by writing two books of Science Fiction. He had drawn on his experience in the military by writing of both war and of the issue of PTSD encountered by service personnel when they return home from a combat zone.
Mr. Coles spoke on how the Internet had reduced the profit margin of traditional publishers. In his opinion, these publishers operate a business model which is now out of date. In spite of this, ebooks still only account for 18% of published works. These publishers are very reluctant to accept new authors. The publishers assume all risks and costs. In turn, the author loses all rights to his work and, typically, receives only 6-8 % of profits generated.
An alternative process is self-publishing. The author pays a fee to a company, which then publishes the book. There is no quality control. The author then pays all costs that are involved in publicizing and in distributing the book.
Mr. Coles has had a more positive experience as a new author. An established writer, Steven Erikson, who had read his work, introduced him to his Agent in New York City. This individual is now also Mr. Coles’ Agent.
Mr. Coles has now established his own publishing company: Promontory Press. His objective is to encourage new authors. Although these writers assume all risk, Mr. Coles has tried to produce a business model that is between that of traditional publishing and self-publishing.
Sarge:
Jack MacAulay fined Cosmo for starting early.
Happy Dollars:
Leta Kenny for the fellowship of Rotary.
Herman Biedermann who will be in the US for the next three weeks.
Carolyn Morley who will be vacationing in Hawaii.
Maria Furmek for the speech of her friend Ben Coles.
Sad Dollars:
Barry Hawkeswood contributed a dollar for the poor quality of the recording of O Canada.
50/50 Draw
Carolyn Morley. No blue marble this week.
Duty Roster for Next Week:
Greeter: Herman Biedermann Door: Jack Gallop Sarge: John Leng
NEXT WEEK’S MEETING – MAY 13TH – DISTRICT GOVERNOR is coming. Bring your spouse for a HOT meal. We will be meeting in the Curling Club lounge as the main room is otherwise booked.