ACP Membership Meeting
ACP's annual gathering of members
2024 ACP Membership Meeting
Thursday-Friday, May 30-31, 2024
Register for the upcoming 2024 ACP Membership Meeting!
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Breakout Sessions
The following tracks and sessions are currently planned for the upcoming meeting. Check out this space for updates as the meeting dates approach.
DESIGN TRACK
Art is a sacred calling, as we imitate our Creator in our creative endeavors, and by doing it well, we invite others into our creativity—people who could be drawn closer to the Lord through that creativity. A good book design should deliver in a glance the message an author unveils through their pages and chapters. In this session, Roseanna White will be discussing how book design is far more than a job—it’s a service to both authors and audience.
Roseanna M. White
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy-award winning author of nearly 40 books. When not working on her own projects, she’s designing book covers and interiors for the WhiteFire Publishing Group and her freelance clients, working with some of the biggest names in Christian fiction when they have an indie project. With her experience as an author, editor, designer, and creative director of a publishing group, Roseanna brings a whole-industry approach to each task. You can learn more about her writing at www.RoseannaMWhite.com, her design work at www.RoseannaWhiteDesigns.com and the WhiteFire Publishing Group at www.WhiteFire-Publishing.com/READ.
Roseanna M. White
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy-award winning author of nearly 40 books. When not working on her own projects, she’s designing book covers and interiors for the WhiteFire Publishing Group and her freelance clients, working with some of the biggest names in Christian fiction when they have an indie project. With her experience as an author, editor, designer, and creative director of a publishing group, Roseanna brings a whole-industry approach to each task. You can learn more about her writing at www.RoseannaMWhite.com, her design work at www.RoseannaWhiteDesigns.com and the WhiteFire Publishing Group at www.WhiteFire-Publishing.com/READ.
EDITORIAL SESSIONS
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.
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.
David White, Chrism Press
David J. White, the visionary behind WhiteFire Publishing Group since 2005, has cultivated a vibrant community of storytellers, including a dedicated staff and authors who share a commitment to exploring the complexities of faith and humanity. Together, they seek out narratives that resonate deeply, highlighting the power of redemption and truth.
David's ambition to blend the art of storytelling with cutting-edge AI technologies drives the development of innovative tools at Classesforwriters.com and whitefireai.com. His dedication to advancing how stories are told and experienced not only reflects a quest for meaningful connections but also a desire to enrich readers' lives, inviting them to Anoint their Imagination with each page turned. Under his guidance, WhiteFire strives to illuminate the many ways in which faith, technology, and storytelling intersect, continually evolving to meet the reader's quest for authenticity and depth.
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.
EXECUTIVE/MANAGEMENT SESSIONS
This session should help attendees better understand what the questions we need to be asking and the answers to the questions we currently have, and address legal/ethical issues of intellectual property issues.
Speaker: Craig Gipson, Flagler Law Group
This session should address how organizational culture has changed since the pandemic including the impact of remote/hybrid work environments. The session should include insights on managing different generations of workers and generational expectations. This session will be in 2 parts.
Speaker: TBD
MARKETING SESSIONS
This session should include insights into best practices for using social media and influencer marketing well.
Speaker: TBD
This session should address best practices on how to choose and use key words and metadata well.
Speaker: Bethany Olsen, I V Press
This session should address the changes in channels and the evolving social media environment with best practices for how to target audiences well.
Speaker: Mike Pacer, 5 Stones
Awards and Honors
On Thursday evening, we will honor the new inductees to the ACP Hall of Fame and the newest recipient of the ACP Outstanding Service Award.
Help with Catholic Writers Guild's Pitch Sessions
If you are an editor or interesting in attending the Catholic Writers Guild meeting, especially as part of their Thursday pitch sessions, registration will be in addition to your ACP Membership Meeting registration.
Hotel Reservations
Room rates are $119.00. Mention that you are with the "Association Catholic Publishers" to get this special rate. The cut-off date for this rate is May 8, 2024.
- Call the Holiday Inn O'Hare. Call 1-888-465-4329. Please mention the group name ACP at the time of reservation to obtain the discounted rate.
- Go online to receive the group rate (group: ACP).
- Individual reservations can be canceled and/or modified up to 48 hours prior to date of arrival by 3:00 PM local time without penalty. Any cancellations/modifications after this date/time or reservations that result in a NO SHOW will be charged one night’s room and tax.
- Check in time is 3pm and check out time is 11am. Early check in is determined on day of arrival and is not guaranteed.