H. W. "Buzz" Bernard

H. W. “Buzz” Bernard is a bestselling, award-winning novelist.

His debut novel, EYEWALL, published in 2011, became a number-one bestseller in Amazon’s Kindle Store.

Three of his next four novels won Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition (EPIC) eBook awards in the suspense/thriller category.

In 2020, with the publication of WHEN HEROES FLEW, Buzz switched from writing suspense/thriller novels to WWII historical fiction and began a new series. The first three novels in the series were awarded Gold Medals by the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA). Buzz himself was honored with the MWSA’s highest accolade in 2023, the Founder’s Award.

WHEN HEROES FLEW: THE ROOF OF THE WORLD, the third book in the series, in addition to garnering an MWSA Gold Medal, won the 2023 Nancy Pearl Book Award for genre fiction. The award is sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.

Buzz is currently working on his fifth WWII historical fiction book.

Before becoming a novelist, Buzz worked at The Weather Channel as a senior meteorologist for thirteen years. Prior to that, he served as a weather officer in the U.S. Air Force for over three decades. He attained the rank of colonel and received, among other awards, the Legion of Merit.

Buzz is a past president of the Southeastern Writers Association as well as a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, the Willamette Writers, the Military Writers Society of America, International Thriller Writers, and the Atlanta Writers Club.

Although a native Oregonian, Buzz lived for 35 years in Atlanta, and now resides in Kennewick, Washington, with his wife Barbara and their fuzzy Shih Tzu, Stormy . . . who doesn’t live up to his name.

Buzz’s website can be found at www.buzzbernard.com.

Jeannette Vaughn

Jeanette Vaughan is an award winning writer and story teller. Not only is she published in the periodicals and professional journals of nursing, but also in the genre of fiction. Out on her sheep farm, she has written several novels and scripts. Her screenplay Angel of Mercy won the outstanding nursing research award from Texas Tech University Health Science Center. In addition, she was named Distinguished Alumni for the school of nursing in 2001 for her written work and volunteerism for the Sydney Olympic Games. Jeanette has practiced nursing in the fields of critical care and trauma. She is the mother of four children, including two Navy pilots. Her primary motivation to write is her youngest son, Harrison who triumphantly and bravely survives living with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy. All of the profits she makes from sales of her books go to support his care. In addition, they support the critical research necessary provide a cure for this disease. Jeanette avidly backs The Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy. She lives in a Victorian farmhouse out in the pastures of northeast Texas with her sheep, chickens, donkeys and sheep dogs.

AgeView Press

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AgeView, Inc. was founded in 1991, with its successful launch of video education. Expansion has included publishing and producing independent authors one success after another. We are a quirky little publishing company specializing in new authors with a voice. Our product line includes literary as well as film works. Our welcome mat is always on the porch. Enjoy searching for your next great read.

Ledger Publishing, Inc.

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I provide line-by-line editing services and proofreading of your manuscript as well as advice with story structure and character development.

Professional Background: I am an editor and writer with 45 years of experience in the newspaper industry. I have been an editor, reporter, columnist, and publisher. I have published two novels and have worked with multiple authors to bring their books to market.

Sue Rushford Editorial Services

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Finished your book? You're almost there! Whether you're pulling your hair out in frustration, or you just want to make sure you've caught every last grammatical faux pas, I can help by copyediting or proofreading your book.

While serving in the U.S. Army, I attened the Defense Information School for Broadcast Journalism, and I hold a BA in PR. Through the eyes of a veteran I can iron out your words, in your style, in your voice as you write your military story.

Let's talk about your book.

The Cuddy Family Foundation for Veterans

MISSION STATEMENT

We are a 501(c)(3) with the primary goals of being self-sufficient through the establishment of businesses that employ veterans, serving the essential survival needs of homeless veterans and others in peril, and offering long-term sustainability training and transitional support elements to help secure stable living arrangements for our clients. Our efforts are specifically aimed at reducing the alarming suicide rate for veterans.

Writers Education Zoom: Get Your Book Right Before the World Judges You: What Agents, Publishers, and Reviewers Are Looking For by Dawn Brotherton (Parts 1-4)

New and unknown authors have discovered that the book publishing industry can be hard to break into. If an author chooses to self-publish, it can be difficult to know where to start with the editing, layout, and design, whether doing it for themselves or hiring someone else to do it. This presentation gives authors additional information on what is expected in the visual and technical areas of award-winning books. The next presentation in the series will delve into content and style. Industry standards change over time, so even if you think you know what is acceptable, this workshop is for you!

Dawn Brotherton is an award-winning author and featured speaker at writing and publishing seminars. She teaches for the College of William and Mary Osher Lifelong Learning and writes for Williamsburg Next Door Neighbor magazine. A retired Air Force colonel and softball coach, Dawn writes mystery, romance, middle grade fiction, children's picture books, and nonfiction books.

She completed her first novel in 2010. When she realized how hard it was to attract the attention of publishing houses and how much money they received from her hard work, she decided to go it on her own. She set up Blue Dragon Publishing, LLC, and took on other authors. The focus of Blue Dragon Publishing is to help a writer’s dream become a reality. Dawn’s focus is mentoring people through the process and helping them reach their goals.

Dawn’s presentation will be broken down into four separate Zoom sessions covering the four main evaluation areas in MWSA’s review program:

  1. Visual (April 25, 2021)

  2. Technical (May 23)

  3. Content (June 13)

  4. Style (July 11)

Part 1 -- Visual

Slide Presentation

Part 2 -- Technical

Slide Presentation


 

Part 3 -- Content

 

Part 4 -- Style

Writers Education Zoom: Writing Nonfiction by Ruth Crocker

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Ruth W. Crocker is the author of more than sixty publications. Her articles, stories, and personal essays have been featured in The Gettysburg Review, Grace Magazine, O-Dark-Thirty, T.A.P.S. Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Redux, The Bennington Review, Story Circle and several anthologies and trade magazines. Among her writing honors are a notable essay in Best American Essays, a Pushcart Prize nomination, first prize in the Saturday Evening Post’s “Tribute to the Troops” essay contest, and the Lloyd D. Matterson Award for Excellence in Research. Her memoir, Those Who Remain: Remembrance and Reunion After War, received the Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association, and the Silver Medal from the MWSA. Her nonfiction book, People of Yellowstone, received Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award in 2017. She holds a PhD from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Education from Tufts University, and a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Bennington College. Presently, she is editor of the National Newsletter of the Gold Star Wives of America, as well as a frequent speaker on the subject of memoir and the craft of writing. She lives and writes in Mystic, CT. Visit her at www.ruthwcrocker.com.

The Zoom session in the video below was recorded on May 15, 2021.

MWSA Visual Checklist

EXTERIOR CONSIDERATIONS

______ Cover art is attractive and draws the eye

______ Cover art relates to the genre and storyline

______ Size and placement of title and author name make them easy to read

______ Back cover blurb, endorsements, and/or bio are legible and interesting

______ Spine information is complete and is the same theme as the cover

INTERIOR CONSIDERATIONS

______ Outside margins allow space to hold the book without covering up words with your thumbs

______ Inside margins allow you to read words in the gutter without prying the book further open

______ Font is serif and large enough to read with ease

______ Space between lines is sufficient that the book lines don’t appear crowded

______ Page numbers appear in the middle or on the outside margin of each page.

______ Odd numbered pages are always on the right side

______ Blank pages do not have page numbers on them

______ Chapter numbers/titles are placed consistently, and there are no headers on that page

______ First paragraph in each chapter is flush left (not indented)

______ Subsequent paragraphs are indented with no space between paragraphs for fiction books.

______ Nonfiction can be formatted like fiction OR no indents, and with a space between paragraphs

______ Length of chapters are approximately the same or intentionally otherwise.

______ Current trend in fiction is toward shorter chapters.

______ Table of Contents must be included for nonfiction but is not mandatory for fiction

______ Paragraphs are blocked (not ragged on the right side) AND without large gaps between words

Writers Education Zoom: Website FUN-damentals by Wendy Meyeroff

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Wendy was the presenter for an MWSA Writers Education Zoom session covering website FUNdamentals.

Learn more about Wendy (from her website’s About Me page)

I started working as a reporter and was the managing editor of health care magazines 20+ years ago. I segued into business-to-business advertising and then to public relations.

Early on, I found I could write not only clinical materials but also for the lay public. Indeed, I found I had a definite knack for "consumer-speak," a skill that is lacking among most medical writers.

​And thanks to my work in editorial, I’ve also honed my skill in strategy and market analysis. After all, how can you keep a magazine successful if you can’t analyze the changes your audience is facing—and adapt your content accordingly? I brought this “What’s the Story?” (always truthful) mindset into advertising and PR and it was that which led to my consistently creating successful marketing campaigns and rescuing failing ones.

​Find out more now. (For a fun marketing story when you call, ask about the Gestational Diabetes pitch restructure. It meant the difference between luring only two reporters at a luncheon and bringing in nearly 30.)

Have a look at Wendy’s slide presentation below, or visit her website:

https://www.wmmedcomm.com/

Fletcher & Co. Publishers

Service(s) offered: Editing

Description of service provided: Exclusively for MWSA members, our team of professional journalists, authors and editors at Fletcher & Co. Publishers can edit your manuscript or draft.

We offer flat rates for editing and charge sales tax.

— Light Copyediting (Punctuation, Grammar, etc.) $2 a page

— Heavy Copyediting (Style & Grammar) $3 a page

Parties will sign a contract agreement if we accept your work for editing. You can break the contract with a $15 cancellation fee.

Half of the total payment will be due on signing, and the other half upon completion of the work.

There are no additional fees.

We do not accept checks; all payments will be made by direct deposit.

Fletcher & Co. Publishers reserves the right to decline editing services for any written work. All written work we agree to edit will strictly follow the MWSA Ethics Policy (http://www.mwsadispatches.com/structure-documents#other) and MWSA guidelines for book listing & review submissions.

CONTACT

editing@fletcherpublishers.com

http://www.fletcherpublishers.com/

On Writing Well, The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet.

Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sold, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers.

Recommended by Brad Graft

Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting

Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience. In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.

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