2018 Annual Meeting
Membership & Recruitment We ve reached 10,000 members! (Our highest membership number ever)
Membership & Recruitment Year New Members Added 2012 629 2013 660 2014 681 2015 713 2016 1,100 2017 1,370
New Membership Campaigns Direct outreach to newly published authors Membership & Recruitment Emerging Writers campaign at the AWP Conference in D.C. Refer-a-Friend campaigns Tweet-up get-togethers for Minneapolis literary community Increased visibility at major book festivals around country Promo Campaigns around the Authors Guide to E-Publishing and Sitebuilder software upgrades
Online and Technical Updates Built and launched an automatic renewal system Improved timing and process of renewal letters Improved process to Join and Renew online Improved SEO and social media presence Mobile friendly Sitebuilder updates Membership & Recruitment
Membership & Recruitment Membership Categories Emerging Writers Membership Student Membership Members-At-Large: Professionals, Agents, Lawyers, Estates Friends of Literature @$60 and up
Membership & Recruitment The Ambassador Initiative Foster Authors Guild community Expand in-person educational programs to many cities Support information-sharing and mentoring Drive recruitment
Membership & Recruitment Ambassador Inaugural Cities Los Angeles, CA San Francisco/Oakland, CA Washington, D.C. St. Petersberg/Tampa/Orlando, FL Chicago, IL Boston, MA Detroit, MI Raleigh-Durham, NC Las Vegas, NV New York City Philadelphia, PA Seattle, WA
Membership & Recruitment The Ambassador Initiative More cities/towns coming in 2019 Applications received for over 100 locations Guidelines, seed funds will be provided Local Branches overseen by 2 (or 3) Ambassadors Minimum of 2-4 events per year: ranging from simple social gatherings, to educational panels and workshops, and to author reader events. Online discussion groups
Events We held over 45 events! Educational Events at Conferences Business and Legal Webinars Series Collaborations
Events 2017: Conference Events American Literary Translators Conference Association of Writers and Writing Conference (AWP) BookExpo Digital Book World Killer Nashville Romance Writers of America conference Brooklyn Book Festival
2017 AWP Ta-Nehisi Coates & Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie headline discussion with an audience of over 3,500.
Events 2017: Collaborative Events Electric Literature/Center for Fiction business-skills panels Copyright Clearance Center 10-part webinar series Jane Friedman 6-part webinar Digital Age Author: Best Practices in Marketing, Promotion, and Reader Engagement Indies Introduce series with the American Booksellers Association
Events 2018: Upcoming Events More of the Indies Introduce series Author business webinars Host of AWP s Featured Conversation with Carmen Maria Machado and Lesley Nneka Arimah, moderated by Richard Russo Educational panels at BookExpo and BookCon (NYC) Online marketing & publicity course The Age of the Storyteller Launch of Bootcamps around the country
Events 2018: The Age of the Storyteller online course Your Book is a Startup Being a Literary Citizen Building a Digital Brand: Who are you online? Choosing the Right Publishing Path PR Story and PR Campaign Social Media Audit and Designing a Campaign Beyond the Launch: Reader Engagement in the Long Term
Website Content 75% of members have online accounts Do you?
Website Content Content Access for Online Accounts Video and audio recordings of seminars, webinars and panels Exclusive member discounts to travel websites, literary magazines, trade journals, and more. Digital access to the Bulletin, Model Trade Contract and others The Writers Resource Library The Authors Guild Guide to E-Publishing
Newsletter Member Newsletter Industry news Writing Life articles Advocacy efforts Member news Member discounts and more
Social Media Social Media Followers Twitter: 20,000 Facebook: 2,000
Growth in Social Media Reach Social Media Facebook Followers: 34% increase Engagement: 259% increase Impressions: 588% increase Link clicks: 875% Twitter Followers: 25% increase Engagement: 75% increase Impressions: 85% increase
Social Media Follow us! Forward our emails Link to our posts on Twitter, Facebook & other social media Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorsguild Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorsguild Instagram: www.instagram.com/authorsguild
2017 Advocacy 1. CASE Act for a Small Claims Copyright Court 2. Internet Archive/Open Library 3. Amazon/Buy-Box 4. Net Neutrality 5. Free Speech/Freedom of the Press 6. NAFTA 7. Proposed Elimination of NEA Funding 8. ALI Restatement Advocacy 9. Collaborative Free Speech Efforts 10. NY State Right of Publicity Bill 11. Translators Income Survey 12. Agency Representation Agreements Guide 13. Model Contract - in progress
2017 Legal Services Updates Legal Services Between October 2017 and September 2017, we Handled 1,164 Legal Matters 15% increase over 2016 (when we handled 1,012)
Legal Services 2017 Legal Services Updates 271 Book Contract Reviews 60 Agency Contract reviews 47 Reversion of rights queries 130 plus inquiries on copyright law: infringement, registration, duration, fair use 35 permissions and privacy release queries 6 electronic rights and DMCA queries
2017 Legal Service Examples Legal Services Louis Sachar settlement with MacMillan Amazon buy-box issues resolution Metropolis Galaktika infringement settlement Consultation for the Terry Southern Estate and the Estate of Walter and Jean Kerr MacMillan negotiations to restore author s advance Takedown of entire books posted on Hunter College class website and agreement to enforce faculty copyright policy
2018 Legal Initiatives Model Trade Book Contract Model Translator agreement Templates for various agreements Legal FAQs Legal Initiatives Fair Contract Initiative: Royalty statements and deep discounts Joined IFJ: AG Members who are journalists may obtain Press Card and enjoy IFJ benefits Official AG Principles
Author Websites Hosting Website Hosting We host over 2,000 member websites $9/month includes software and web support Low-cost site-building service Domain name registration
Website Hosting Sitebuilder Upgrades New and updated themes 100% mobile-friendly Social-media links with built-in icons Increased customization ability Larger image display Integrated blog and newsletter pages Easy editing tools No need to hire expensive web designers
Sitebuilder Themes Website Hosting
Sitebuilder Themes Website Hosting
Sitebuilder Themes Website Hosting
Online Member Community Connect instantly with other members Daily Digests Coming Soon! Respond to discussions via email or on the site Mentor Match features
National Author Income Survey Coming Soon! Definitive book author income study for U.S authors Studying all sources of writing income Trade, education, academic and others Goal of 10,000 authors sample Purpose: Gain nuanced understanding of various author income sources / how changing and improve advocacy
Coming Soon! Back in Print Program New partnership with IPG Distribution to all major online retailers and large network of smaller ones Ebook and print-on-demand available 80% of net royalties, less printing costs for POD Low and affordable pricing
Fundraising Key Fundraising Efforts Foundation Benefit Gala 2018 Honorees: Mary Higgins Clark, Bob & Charlotte Baron of Fulcrum Publishing, and VIDA: Women In Literary Arts, May 16, 2018 2017 Honorees: Toni Morrison, James Patterson, IngramSpark Target: $468,000 (2017: raised $433,000) Annual Appeal Goal for 2017-18 fiscal year: $180,000 Raised from Holiday Appeal: $105,000
Fundraising Sponsored Trips Three successful trips to Cuba Trip to Cuba in May 2018 Additional trips to Iceland (this summer) and Jordan (late fall)
Membership & Recruitment Auto Renew Your Membership! Login to your member account or email us at staff@authorsguild.org
Thank You!