ACP Membership Meeting

Do you have a vocation? Of course you do. The question is does and how does your work as a book designer fit help you fulfill your vocation.

• Vocation appears at the intersection of Talent Street and Opportunity Avenue. It is part of Jesus’ big idea for our role in making the world more like the way God would have it.
• Your vocation is at the service of the vocation of others. Who are they? How does your design help them with their vocations?
• What are the daily disciplines or practices of the spirituality of your work?

 Bring to the session one book that you have designed or admire greatly and be prepared to say why. The facilitator will bring samples as well. The session will be followed immediately by a session on Non-Fiction Development Editing by the same presenter.

Speaker: Greg Pierce

Greg Pierce, author of Spirituality @ Work and The World as It Should Be. He is a former president of the National Center for the Laity and long-time member of ACP. Has been involved in the design of over 300 titles published by ACTA Publications over the past 40 years, working with several great book designers including Patricia Lynch and Andrea Reider.

Here are three questions to address when dealing with an author (whether first-time or long-term):

• Whom is the proposed book for? How to get the author (and editors, designers, and marketing directors) to be as specific as possible in identifying its intended audience early on.
• Who will actually buy the book to give it to the ultimate reader? Is it a gift book? A programmatic book? A parish (or other institution) handout book? A book intended to be purchased directly by the intended reader?
• What is the author trying to persuade the reader to do or believe? Is it persuasive? Why? How?

Three recent ACTA non-fiction books will be used as examples. Samples of these books will be supplied for the session or can be purchased at www.actapublications.com:

• Such Dizzy Natural Happiness: A Long Loving Look at the Lord’s Prayer by Patrick Hannon
• Less Helping Them/More Healing You: The Transcendent Gift of an Ancient Spiritual Practice by Jean P. Kelly
• The Mole at Vatican Council II: The True Story of “Xavier Rynne” by Richard Zmuda

Speaker
Greg Pierce
Greg Pierce is currently the owner, CEO, editor, and publisher of ACTA Publications in Chicago. He has edited and published over 300 books and written 10 books of his own, including The World as It Should Be, The Mass Is Never Ended, and Reveille for a New Generation. He also spent 50 years as a community organizer, volunteer leader, and consultant with the Industrial Areas Foundation.

Because of his experience with my his own children and their friends, one of his passions is working with young adults between 20-40, mentoring them as they choose and pursue their careers and helping them learn to write persuasively and get their writing published.

 

This session should help identify practices for recruiting talent and skills to look for. This session may appeal to editors, editorial leaders, and authors.

Speakers
Ericka McIntyre, freelance editor
Ericka McIntyre is a freelance editor and writer who has run her editorial business, Ericka McIntyre Editing and Writing, since 2011. She has more than twenty years of experience in media and publishing, including roles as Editor-in-Chief and then Editor-at Large of Writer's Digest, and as Editor-in-Chief at Indiana University Press. She started in Catholic publishing in 2000 at Franciscan Media, and has worked with a variety of Catholic media and publishing organizations since, as an in-house editor and a freelancer. She served as Content Director for Jason’s Connection, an organization dedicated to advocacy for people with disabilities. In her current work, she focuses on editing and consulting for clients in both the indie and traditional and Catholic and secular publishing spaces. She lives on a homestead in southern Indiana with her husband, four cats, and two (very loud) geese. You can learn more about her at www.ErickaMcIntyre.com.

Shannon Wimp Schmidt, author

Shannon Wimp Schmidt is the Content Director for TENx10 Youth Ministry Collaboration, co-host of the Plaid Skirts and Basic Black podcast, and award-winning co-author of Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s: A Black Catholic Celebration of Faith, Tradition, and Diversity (Ave Maria Press, 2022). A veteran pastoral minister, Shannon holds a bachelor’s degree in Theology from the University of Notre Dame and a Masters Degree in Pastoral Ministry from Catholic Theological Union. She also serves on the Board of Catholics United for Black Lives, a not-for-profit working for racial justice. Shannon lives in Chicagoland with her long-suffering husband, Eric, and their four beautiful children.

This session should appeal to editors and marketers. This session should address how can you parse what is a good use of AI in writing, when AI is helpful and not helpful, how to use AI well for translations, and talk about the practical implications of basic intellectual property concerns.

Speaker

Karina Fabian, Catholic Writers Guild
Karina Fabian is a versatile author who seamlessly weaves her faith into her science fiction and fantasy stories. From nuns in space to dragon detectives protecting the world from evil magic, her imaginative narratives draw readers into captivating worlds while maintaining a strong Catholic ethos. Adept in both noir and humor, she moves from one to the other as the stories take her. One of the founders of the Catholic Writers’ Guild, Karina currently serves as its president to take the organization to the next level. Karina also writes for Fit Small Business, sharing insights and knowledge on small business software and business development. As such, she’s familiar with AI in both writing and business. Karina is a graduate of the Orlando Improv Comedy course and occasionally takes the stage.