Welcome Home...   by Ian Shires

Its safe to say, the Self Publisher Association (SPA) has had its ups and downs over time. And we've seen a lot of people come and go as times have changed, technology has developed and what we do or need to do, has shifted or had the rug pulled out. So here we are in the summer of 2011, with a handful of active members, a boatload of people who are simply busy with summer things cause this is traditionally the slow period for the SPA, and, I - myself - have only really just begun to feel better and confident I can get anything done after an extended period of being shall we say, mis-handled by doctors who think more drugs are the answer to everything.

Anyway, we need to look forward, to keep the SPA relevant and able to do what it has always done: "Create better tools for all to use in the pursuit of fans, profitability, and creative expression". This includes something we have really not done well in the past couple years, specifically, finding and bringing in new creators who do not have a clue how to publish, and teach them. We've seen repeatedly, when we focus more on new amateurs, the rest of the industry starts to watch what we're doing more. When we take our eyes off of that, people basically get hired away from us, and, the core "small pressers" here - people who don't worry about working for pay cause self publishing is their lifelong hobby, stick around to see what we do next.

Well, this summer we're going to spend some time getting ready for a fall recruiting season that we can all be proud of and be happy to be a part of. We have our RE-THEME DIMESTORE project kicking into high gear, so we can improve navigation and the overall look of the 6 websites we call Dimestore. We have the new Facebook hookup, allowing Dimestore for the first time, to allow people to log in to the website without having to register a separate account with us, they can use something they are already using. My personal goals are to get the Self Publisher! Magazine site back in action, and the Hall of Fame system really rolling. If we can get these bits and pieces together, I think we're going to see a Fall and 2012 return to greatness for the SPA. And we'll be seeing lots of old friends come back to say hi, and to them we can say, Welcome Home.

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Dimestore Productions is at: P.O. Box 214, Madison, OH 44057

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