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SPAWN Members:
10 Steps to starting a SPAWN Chapter.

Remember, join SPAWN first, then start your Chapter. Now for the 10 steps...

1. Contact friends, acquaintances, neighbors, coworkers, associates and others who are interested in writing and let them know that you plan to start a SPAWN Chapter. Ask them what sort of group they would most like to join and what they would hope to get out of Chapter meetings. Not only will this process guide you in designing your Chapter, it will help you to establish a support team.
   
2. Find a free place to meet. This might be in a bookstore, at a local college, in a library or in someone’s home. Chapter leaders in CA, TX and MD have held successful Chapter meetings in all of the above. Chapter meetings might also be held in an office building, at the local recreation center, in the community center at a mobile home park and so forth. Think about places where you have attended meetings in the past. Let us know if you need a copy of SPAWN’s 501 (c) 3 status in order to secure a meeting place.
   
3. Plan your first meeting. This might be a brainstorming meeting where all interested parties discuss the type of Chapter to develop. Or invite a popular guest speaker—a local author who just got some media publicity, an agent, a publisher, an editor from a local magazine, a POD printer or someone who can talk about book promotion, for example. It helps to know the needs of potential members when planning your meetings.
   
4. Set a date and time for your meeting. If you have had a lot of input from other writers, you will, of course, try to choose a time that is convenient for the majority. If not, just pick a date and time. Feedback will guide you in setting subsequent meeting dates.
   
5. Make simple flyers announcing the first meeting and post them in bookstores, libraries, local colleges, senior centers and on community bulletin boards. Include a phone number of email address where people can request more information. And be sure to include the SPAWN Web site: http://www.spawn.org
   
6. Send flyers to everyone you know who might be interested in meeting with other writers and/or who might be a good candidate to speak at a Chapter meeting.
   
7. Send announcements to local newspapers at least 10 days prior to the meeting. Check with each newspaper to learn their submission requirements. Community announcements are usually free.
   
8. Send your meeting announcement to Wendy at SPAWNews. SPAWNews comes out on or around the 1^st of each month. Copy must be in by the 20^th. Wendy@spawn.org.
   
9. Visit writers’ groups and senior centers, etc. and announce your Chapter meeting. Be sure to take SPAWN material with you to hand out. (See #10)
   
10. Before the meeting print out the SPAWN brochure and the member application from the SPAWN Web site and the member application. Print out enough copies to go around—at least a dozen. Be prepared to talk about SPAWN and list the benefits of being a member. Spend some time on the Web site and become familiar with everything we offer. Look at the Site Index and visit some of the pages. You might also print out a few copies of the Market Update to show people the scope of that benefit.
    

Expect to benefit exceedingly more from being a Chapter leader than you can possibly imagine. You will meet and get to know others who are interested in and involved in the publishing process. You will have the opportunity to learn more about your writing craft/business for FREE than you ever thought possible. During the 5 years or so that I attended 3 Chapter meetings each month, I never left one of those meetings without learning something of value to my profession.