August 2026 President’s Newsletter
When There Is No Plan B
You can plan, and you should plan.
You can even plan your backups.
And then sometimes there is no backup.
I want to tell you about the end of July, because I think there is something in it for every one of you — and not just the ones who put on events.
We had the White Mountains Writers Conference on July 31 and the Festival of Books on August 1. Months of planning went into both. The conference did not sell out, but it landed at a number that was just right for the room — the kind of number where everybody can see everybody and nobody must shout. We felt good about it.
Behind the scenes was a different story.
Start with the swag bags.
We ordered them plain, with no logo, because we were going to stamp the logo on ourselves and save a little money. Smart, right?
We had the stamp designed. We bought the ink. The ink was supposed to come with a pad. It did not. We were sure a friend had a spare pad. She did not.
Then she picked up one of the bags, turned it over in her hands, and gave me the look. You know the look.
“Sorry. It would not have worked anyway. The bag must be one hundred percent cotton.”
So, the bags we handed out were plain. That was the first thing.
Then we lost the venue.
A message came through that our venue for the Festival had been cancelled. Cancelled. After months of work and with the date staring us in the face.
We called. And called. And called. What we finally learned was that they had been trying to reach us to reconfirm — and every time they called, their number came across as spam on our end. Nobody ignored anybody. A phone made a decision for us.
When we finally connected, the person in charge wanted to know more about our event. So, we met with him. We apologized. We explained who we are and what we were bringing to his building. And he told us, honestly, that he could not make the decision on his own. He would let us know in an hour.
Two and a half hours later, we had our venue back.
With conditions. We could not get in at 6:30 to set up. Seven o’clock, not a minute sooner. And the vendors would start arriving at 7:30.
Do that math with me. Thirty minutes to set up an entire festival.
Then there was the midnight phone call.
One of our speakers was checking into her room and the card we had on file to cover it would not accept the charge. So, at midnight — the night before all of this — my phone rang, and I paid for the room.
There were other little things. There always are. It began to feel like something was standing at every door we tried, shaking its head.
And then the morning came.
Our people were standing outside at 6:50. Not one of them late. Not one of them complaining.
We got in at 7:00 on the dot and we moved. Tables, chairs, signage, the last of the setup — sweat pouring, everybody going as fast as a body can go. The woman who unlocked the door for us grabbed the vacuum and swept the floor while we worked around her. And right on schedule, in walked the first vendor.
And then we lost two of our three food vendors. Two out of three, on the day, with a building filling up with people who were going to get hungry right around noon. The one who did show up had enough food, enough snacks, and enough cold drinks to carry the whole room until about 1:30. I do not know how. I have decided not to ask.
We made it across the line.
Here is what came back to us afterward: it was one of the best events they had ever attended. This was wonderful. I will be here next year.
Not one person in that room knew about the ink pad, the phone calls, the cotton, or the midnight charge. They only saw what we built.
So why am I telling you all of this?
Because this is not really a story about an event. It is a story about the work.
You plan how your writing is going to go. You know your outline. You know your ending. And then your character gets a mind of her own — a character you created, mind you — and suddenly the plan does not fit anymore. You do not get to argue with her. You adjust. You change the plan. That is the job.
It can feel like everything is lined up against the very thing your heart is telling you to do. Like your effort is going nowhere. Like the doors keep closing one at a time and somebody is doing it on purpose.
It is not in vain. I promise you that.
What that whole mess did was make us wiser and smarter — and those two things are not always the same. Wise is knowing to confirm the venue in writing and buy your own ink pad. Smart is the person who looks at the bag and says the fabric is wrong before we waste an afternoon on it. We came out of it with both, and we will carry them into next year.
And the reward — standing there listening to people tell us what it meant to them to be in that room — was worth every single bit of it.
So do not give up on your dream of writing.
Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, songwriting, news, the piece you have been circling for two years and cannot quite land. That dream was given to you for a reason. It was given to you so that you would create it.
Nobody else was handed your version of it.
Plan. Build your backups where you can. And when there is no backup, look around at the people standing outside the door at 6:50 in the morning, and go do it anyway.
❧
— KathleenAA
JOIN ME IN CONGRATULATING THE WINNERS OF THE
2nd Annual White Mountains APW Writing Contest Winners
This is the part of the conference I had been looking forward to all year — the moment the winners of our second annual writing contest were announced and handed their awards.
Congratulations to all three. Entering a contest means handing your work to strangers and letting them judge it, and that takes a particular kind of courage. To everyone who entered and did not place this time — you put your words out there, which is more than most people ever do. Do it again next year.
Meet the Executive Board Members of APW
A new series — each issue, one of the people helping steer this organization will be sharin…
We are starting something I have wanted to do since the day I took this job. Every issue, one member of your Executive Board is going to write to you directly — in their own voice, about whatever matters to them. You should know the people making decisions on your behalf. Better yet, you should get to read them.
First up is our Treasurer, Deborah Barber.
❧
Where Do the Words Come From?
by Deborah Barber, Treasurer, Arizona Professional Writers
From the thousands of thoughts running through our minds on a daily basis (most of which we never notice) one thought rises, turns around for another look, spins again, and then settles. Words begin to form around it. A sentence takes shape, and then another. A paragraph emerges, maybe two. A pause? Maybe a long one. But with continued attention the words begin to flow.
Not created from nothing, as were the stars and sand. But words pulled together from the billions already written and now rearranged into something different and unique.
From our individual interests and experiences and personalities, something new is created. Not new words, usually, although they could be if you were Dr. Seuss. But a thought expands into an idea and then into a piece of writing that has never seen the light of day. Something of value can be called into being merely by the decision to create it. Nearly always rough in the beginning, it must be shaped and polished to become a thing of beauty and value. Much as a potter begins with a thought and a lump of clay and forms it into its new and unique shape.
Every word ever written has started from a blank place.
A cave wall, clay tablet, papyrus scroll, parchment, the writing surface eventually became paper and moved on to the computer screen. The surface has changed. But it has always been blank before the first word was written.
And yet, amazingly, in spite of the universal intimidation of the blank page, one brave historian estimates writers through the ages have written somewhere around 40 quadrillion words. The number would be written as 40 plus 15 more zeroes. That seems like an astronomical number of words. All of them strung together one at a time by individuals down through the ages. (This does not consider computer generated pieces, or AI, which require no original thought but are rather a gathering of words previously written by a human.)
The number of words already written by man seems huge until you start comparing it to other big numbers. For example, astronomers estimate there could be 200 billion trillion stars in the universe. That would be 200 plus 21 more zeroes, also called 200 sextillion.
estimate of the number of grains of sand on all of the beaches and deserts and coastlines in the world is more than 7 quintillion (7 followed by 18 zeroes). If you apply the math, it works out to well over 25,000 stars for every grain of sand on earth. And 5 million stars for every word ever written by man.
Okay, I’ll admit it. I got distracted by all these big beautiful numbers. (I’m a numbers person — a retired accountant.) But what does all of this have to do with writing?
It has to do with perspective.
We could think about all those words and decide there is nothing new to be written. The important things have all been said before. But no. Nobody in all the world has ever written the important things you have within you to write in exactly the way you will write them.
On a clear night, away from city lights, you might stand and gaze in awe at the Milky Way, inspired by the beauty of its 100 billion stars, amazed at the grandeur of the collection. Or you might pick out just one star, the North Star say, and be inspired by its brilliance shining steadily on us from 2,630 trillion miles away.
Words are the same. The volume of literature written on any one subject seems endless, and we can enjoy the mass of it as we research and discover new information. Or we can be inspired by the words of one individual, written in this decade or centuries ago. It doesn’t matter. Words are timeless. Words from a heart that caught a thought, let it spin, and recorded it can be life-changing for the reader.
Like this famous and inspiring quote: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” —Anne Frank
Or this one: “Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.” —Richard Bach
Words have power.
YOUR words have power. I hope you use them to inspire, encourage, challenge, teach, or even entertain.
Capture that thought. Let it spin. See the words it gathers around itself. And write it down.
40 quadrillion words.
7 quintillion grains of sand.
200 sextillion stars.
We’re not even close. We have some catching up to do. Keep writing, my friends.
Deborah Barber has been in love with words and books since her earliest childhood. She started writing poems and stories in elementary school, moved on to business writing and journaling, and then to blog and devotional writing. Drawing on personal experiences, observation, and hard-won life lessons, Deborah writes faith-filled Christian fiction, inspirational material and poetry. Her debut novel, A Different Kind of Legacy, was published in 2023. Mother of three and grandmother (Nana) of nine, Deborah lives with her husband in the mountains of Arizona. Following a career in financial services, she now enjoys spending time with family and friends, as well as reading, writing and travel.
NFPW Communications Contest Winners Are Posted
The 2026 national winners list is now online in the Members Only section of the NFPW website. If you entered this year, go look — and check for your colleagues while you are there.
Winners will be celebrated at an awards banquet on the final evening of the NFPW Communications Conference, September 24–26 in Ellicott City, Maryland. Register by August 24 to get the early-bird rate.
Two things NFPW asks of our winners. First, you are welcome to share the good news that you placed — but please hold off on social media posts, news releases, and public announcements about how your entries placed until after the banquet on September 26. Second, if you spot an error or an omission in the list, email professionalcontest@nfpw.org or your affiliate contest director right away, because certificates are printed in early August.
Co-entrants have until August 7 to join NFPW and be added to the winners list — join, let the office know, and your name goes on the list with a certificate to match.
The judges commented on how strong this year’s field was and how hard the top places were to call. If your name is on that list, you earned it. Congratulations.
Full details at nfpw.org.
APW WEBINAR
October 3rd, 2026
Registration Opens – August 15, 2026
NEW ARIZONA PROFESSIONAL WRITERS
NEW WEBSITE
Carol Baxter is working on our new website and hopes to have it live mid-August. She is grateful for the help of Jaimie Bruzenak, Cheryl Cohout, Kathleen Osborne, and Deborah Barber!
In addition to a member-only portal, and a way to process membership and event payments, we want to have an "Our Communicators" section that promotes member books and businesses. You may optionally opt-in to this by emailing her your information.
A headshot or book cover or your business logo.
ONE link you want to direct potential clients/buyers to. I want the actual link, such as https://www.gardenbugbooks.com/.
A short bio or marketing pitch. Seriously, short;100 words or less!
Check out the Arizona Professional Writers
Upcoming Calender for Scheduled Events
Central
Every 2nd Wednesday 7pm
(starting in September 6pm)
Monthly Guest Speakers
August - Dan Baldwin, Paranormal Investigator
He will talk to us about his encounters with the paranormal, here in Arizona!
Contact Fawzia Tung for Zoom link and information.
White Mountains Chapter
Share Your Word – Open Mic
2nd Friday, 5-7 pm, at the Arts Alliance
251 Penrod, Show Low
$10 donation appreciated for venue and food.
