National Association of Independent Writers & Editors
Member Benefit #38
Since 2010, the Nonfiction Authors Association and Writers Conference has transformed thousands of writers into successful authors. Whether you are thinking about writing a book or already have several titles to your credit, membership in the Nonfiction Authors Association can accelerate your success.
NAIWE members receive 30% off membership and conference registration!
Visit the NAIWE website to see all of the member benefits.
Author: Nikki Minty
Monroe Morgan has been waiting to turn eighteen and move out of his mother’s rundown shack. However, shortly before his move away from his drug-addicted and abusive, he meets Indi, a battered neighbor who is confined by the teachings of The Church of Salvation. As Monroe and Indi’s new friendship develop, Monroe’s life takes a turn for the worse, if that is even possible, when a confrontation with Indi’s father leads to Monroe’s arrest and confinement in a hospital for drug-induced psychosis.
Nikki Minty is a skilled writer, writing in the first person without the feeling of a lot of telling. However, what makes her skill stand out even more is the fact that she writes in the first person of multiple characters. Each chapter is so well developed, along with the narrator, that the reader can easily follow along and not forget who is leading the story.
To keep the writer engaged in the story, Nikki goes back and forth between two narrators for over 80 pages before introducing another first-person narrator. Each of these characters are very different, allowing the reader to easily distinguish them and keep up with the plot line.
Congratulations, Nikki Minty’s Psychosis Diagnosis for being a NAIWE 2025 Book Award winner!
Writing Challenge Day 5
Words may contribute to our personal and business success. What meaning for a word would you use or create that would bring about a good outcome? Why?
Prepare for the Writing Challenge
During Words Matter Week, NAIWE hosts a writing challenge. Each day we will post a question on our blog and various social media outlets.
Respond to the question on your blog or social media page (be sure to include #WMW2026 in your response), and then link back to it in the comments of the corresponding article on the NAIWE blog. For each challenge question you respond to, you will receive one entry into a drawing (and a bonus entry for each response written on your NAIWE blog).
At the end of the week, a drawing will be held, and one person will win a fabulous prize, along with a mention and link in the next NAIWE newsletter.
Writing Challenge Day 4
Effort and achievement go hand in hand. Both produce results whether it be a step in the right direction or the final product. Share one of your most valued accomplishments and the route you took to get there.
Prepare for the Writing Challenge
During Words Matter Week, NAIWE hosts a writing challenge. Each day we will post a question on our blog and various social media outlets.
Respond to the question on your blog or social media page (be sure to include #WMW2026 in your response), and then link back to it in the comments of the corresponding article on the NAIWE blog. For each challenge question you respond to, you will receive one entry into a drawing (and a bonus entry for each response written on your NAIWE blog).
At the end of the week, a drawing will be held, and one person will win a fabulous prize, along with a mention and link in the next NAIWE newsletter.
Writing Challenge Day 3
Improvement rests on the individual, and the degree of improvement varies with the individual. How do you discover your niche and accelerate within it?
Prepare for the Writing Challenge
During Words Matter Week, NAIWE hosts a writing challenge. Each day we will post a question on our blog and various social media outlets.
Respond to the question on your blog or social media page (be sure to include #WMW2026 in your response), and then link back to it in the comments of the corresponding article on the NAIWE blog. For each challenge question you respond to, you will receive one entry into a drawing (and a bonus entry for each response written on your NAIWE blog).
At the end of the week, a drawing will be held, and one person will win a fabulous prize, along with a mention and link in the next NAIWE newsletter.
Writing Challenge Day 2
Many times with progress comes the feeling of relief. Write about a project where you personally experienced the alignment of progress and relief.
Prepare for the Writing Challenge
During Words Matter Week, NAIWE hosts a writing challenge. Each day we will post a question on our blog and various social media outlets.
Respond to the question on your blog or social media page (be sure to include #WMW2026 in your response), and then link back to it in the comments of the corresponding article on the NAIWE blog. For each challenge question you respond to, you will receive one entry into a drawing (and a bonus entry for each response written on your NAIWE blog).
At the end of the week, a drawing will be held, and one person will win a fabulous prize, along with a mention and link in the next NAIWE newsletter.
Writing Challenge Day 1
What does continual growth represent for you with regards to the building of business revenues?
Prepare for the Writing Challenge
During Words Matter Week, NAIWE hosts a writing challenge. Each day we will post a question on our blog and various social media outlets.
Respond to the question on your blog or social media page (be sure to include #WMW2026 in your response), and then link back to it in the comments of the corresponding article on the NAIWE blog. For each challenge question you respond to, you will receive one entry into a drawing (and a bonus entry for each response written on your NAIWE blog).
At the end of the week, a drawing will be held, and one person will win a fabulous prize, along with a mention and link in the next NAIWE newsletter.
Words Matter Week, which is in its 18th year, is a holiday that is celebrated annually the first full week in March, and the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) delights in honoring its essence.
Words are the basis for communication, no matter the language spoken. Babies make sounds, which eventually are formed into words.
Here at NAIWE, we know the importance of words. We want to celebrate it with you all week long, and we believe in the importance of words all year long!
Spread the Word
Join us in promoting Words Matter Week! You have NAIWE’s permission to reproduce the poster on your website, with a link back to this page, and you may also print and display the poster. Please invite your friends to participate in this year’s event and show your support for Words Matter Week by placing the poster in your newsletter, on your blog, or in your social media. Words really do matter, so let’s spread the reminders!
Prepare for the Writing Challenge
During Words Matter Week, we host a writing challenge. Each day we will post a question on our blog and various social media outlets.
Respond to the question on your blog or social media page (be sure to include #WMW2026, #WMW, or #NAIWE in your response), and then link back to it in the comments of the corresponding article on the NAIWE blog. For each challenge question you respond to, you will receive one entry into a drawing (and a bonus entry for each response written on your NAIWE blog).
At the end of the week, a drawing will be held, and one person will win a fabulous prize, along with a mention and link in the next newsletter.
March: Small Press Month. Shine the light on many of the great authors, and publishing houses, around the world.
March 1-7: Words Matter Week. Words are the basis for communication, no matter the language spoken. Even babies make sounds, which eventually are formed into words. Here at NAIWE, we know the importance of words, and we want to celebrate it! Participate in daily writing prompts to win a fabulous prize!
March 1-7: Read an E-book Week. This is an opportunity for book lovers and writers alike to share their passion in digital form.
March 2: National Read Across America Day (Dr. Seuss Day). This day is a motivational and awareness day, calling all children and youth in every community across the United States to celebrate reading.
March 4: National Grammar Day. Some people might suggest that grammar is a set of rules for language, but it is a system for understanding language.
March 7: National Play Outside Day. Spend a few minutes outside today enjoying the beauty and the fresh air.
March 8: National Proofreading Day. This day was created to bring awareness to the importance of proofreading.
March 14: National Write Down Your Story Day. This day challenges you to tell your story in written form.
March 30: National Pencil Day. Hymen Lipman received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil on this day in 1858.
“Use your words.” Have you ever heard someone say this to you or to others? I know that I am regularly saying this to one of my children.
At NAIWE, we encourage you to use your words. We seek to encourage young writers to expand their vocabulary and our peers to express their inner thoughts for the plot of a manuscript in progress.
We encourage you to explain the value of your newest service, to congratulate your peers for their efforts to market when they are busy, to lead a webinar about a topic that you excel in, and to write responses to the Words Matter Week challenges. Words Matter Week, coming to you March 1-7, is all about the value of words!
April Michelle Davis has been the executive director of the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) since 2018. Prior to that, she was NAIWE’s Social Media Marketing Expert. NAIWE is an association that focuses on career building for writers, editors, and other professionals in the publishing industry by developing multiple streams of income; it helps its members market their products and services through social media, newsletters, and more.
She is also the coordinator for the Virginia chapter of the Editorial Freelancers Association, a lifetime member of the American Copy Editors Society, and a freelance editor, indexer, proofreader, and author. April Michelle has taught courses through her own company, Editorial Inspirations, as well as for associations and colleges on topics such as editing, indexing, grammar, writing, and creating macros.
Her credentials include a master’s degree in publishing from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Messiah College, as well as certificates in editing (University of Virginia), book publishing (University of Virginia), and professional editing (EEI Communications).
April Michelle has shared her insights about her career development by contributing quotes and vignettes to several books. She has presented sessions on various editorial topics to many groups, including the Virginia Writers Club, the Communication Central conference, Randolph-Macon College, the Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network, the EFA, Copyediting newsletter, RavenCon, and the Hanover Book Festival. In addition, April Michelle has published four books.