7:00 a.m. Check-In table opens
Pick up registration materials at the check-in table
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Seminar Syllabus for Saturday, March 25
| 7:30 – 8:40 | Continental Breakfast (Ballroom) |
| 8:50 – 9:40 a.m.
Concurrent agent/editor appointments and marketing consults during this time.
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Kathryn Craft In fiction, writers seek the truth in imagined story; in creative nonfiction, writers seek the story in true events. In this session we take a fresh look at story elements that can make your nonfiction read like a novel, and how popular works of creative nonfiction hook the reader with the same kind of entertaining, importantseeming, and heartwarming material that makes all stories linger in the mind long after the book is closed. **********
********** Phil Giunta In their submission requirements, publishers often impose a word limit for short stories. As such, writers must make every word count. In this session, Phil will present actual (and anonymous) excerpts from three or four short stories in order to illustrate common pitfalls with opening scenes, story structure, dialogue, POV characters, and more. For each example, the audience will be engaged to provide suggestions for improving the story.
The Fine Line: How to Turn Your Writing into a You’ll come away with specific actions that you can take to launch or invigorate your freelance career. GOAL: Get into the mindset that you can make money as a freelancer. OBJECTIVES: 1. Find out the number one way that you can easily promote your services, enable others to envision how you can help them, and melt away your competition (lesson 1); 2. Learn how to think like a business person (lessons 2-7); and 3. Make plans now to stake your claim in three easy steps (lessons 8-10). |
| 9:50 – 10:40 a.m.
Concurrent agent/editor appointments and marketing consults during this time. |
Colleen Warmingham You’re in business… do you know where your receipts are? Learn to manage your back office like the self-employed pro you are. We’ll cover organizing your income and expense receipts, locating your marketing plans and materials, and some basic business planning. You’ll learn the tools to understand your business’s financial position and save time and money at tax time.
Spicing it up: Romance as a Genre Fiction Tool Romance is by far the most popular genre in fiction, but what is it that makes it so attractive to the readers? And, can other genres effectively use romance elements to develop the characters and plot? And, how much romance can be used without overwhelming the rest of the story? I this workshop, we will talk about romance as a tool in genre fiction and its effective use for character development, as well as introducing the extra dimensions into the setting and story. Writing From the Inside Out Using poems as a springboard for discussion, this workshop shares what happens within us when we write. We will discuss and practice ways to ignite the potent language of the interior self so that writing becomes a felt experience.
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| 10:40 – 11:00 |
Break |
| 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
Concurrent agent/editor appointments and marketing consults during this time.
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Pattie Giordani A feature article can be a short list, such as 10 Things to Do Before You Buy a House, or it can be a long piece on the latest type of architecture complete with research and multiple interviews with experts and those living and working in such structures. We will discuss how to develop ideas, find markets and pitch your ideas, article types and formats, how to conduct research and interview experts and others and how to put it all together in an interesting way. Amy Deardon Congratulations on finishing your book! But as you start out, navigating the publishing field can be overwhelming. Should you get an agent? Should you publish yourself? Learn the pros and cons of different publishing methods and common pitfalls waiting for the uninformed so you can make the choices that will keep you a happy (published!) author.
Deborah Riley-Magnus Today’s authors, no matter how they’re published, are bombarded with baffling responsibilities for their own success. Everything from understanding social media to building powerful platforms and creating effective marketing strategies is now on their shoulders. It only takes 10 little tools to help you focus, stand apart from the noisy crowd of shouting authors, and become successful. This session helps structure your marketing activities so that you will be effective…AND have time to write, too.
Victoria Selvaggio As an Associate Agent, receiving hundreds of queries a week, not to mention the many authors and potential authors she encounters, Victoria A.Selvaggio has learned that the mention of writing a query letter is something that brings forth many different reactions. Some love it…some dread it…some don’t understand it or its purpose. While mastering the art of writing that well-polished manuscript takes time and skill, so does composing the query letter. Join Victoria as she covers the essentials of a query, in which she’ll include a few do’s and don’ts.. |
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| 12:00 – 12:45 |
Banquet (included in Saturday or full conference) |
| 12:50 – 1:30 |
Dessert – Keynote Speaker – Michael Hauge “BECOMING THE HERO OF YOUR OWN STORY” Stories that touch us deeply aren’t just entertainment – they reveal the ways we can face our own fears, accomplish our goals and find our destinies. By revealing the ways movie heroes consistently find the courage to pursue whatever they long for, Michael will give you a new way to approach your personal and professional goals. Not just for writers and filmmakers, this fun and enlightening seminar will use examples from Hollywood’s most popular films to help you, or your clients, achieve success and fulfillment in any area of life. |
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1:40 – 2:30 p.m.
Concurrent agent/editor appointments and marketing consults during this time.
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Pattie Giordani Do you have something to say you feel will resonate with other people? But how will you write it, and who will publish it? Learn the basics of writing personal essays, including what differentiates an essay from an article. We will discuss markets, how to refine your ideas, your written voice, format and length, topics, markets, and how to ensure your essay is reader-friendly.
Care and Feeding of Your Marketing Muse We listen faithfully to our writing muse, but often ignore our marketing muse because most authors are unaware that marketing is a creative process. Just as your muse leads you through ideas and concepts for your writing, she whispers fantastic directions for your marketing. Learn new and exciting paths for your marketing efforts. Take your marketing to new venues with flare, and to those tired overused venues with a brand new punch. Learn the tricks for creating and keeping your marketing momentum alive. Trusting your marketing muse is the first step to finding true book sales success!
Kathryn Craft Backstory can be an important ally to a storyteller—or an obstacle that tries a reader’s patience. We’ll talk about
Anna Kashina Speculative fiction is “special” when it comes to worldbuilding: it deals with a world readers are not familiar with. But how do we create a whole new world, complete with history geography, culture, ethnicity, and all the details that come with it – and then effectively convey this to the readers? |
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2:40 – 3:30 p.m.
Concurrent agent/editor appointments and marketing consults during this time. |
Organize Your Writing Content Ideas, proposals, research, drafts… how do you keep track of it all? This session will focus on organizing the materials that support the product you sell, your writing. Learn techniques to prevent saying the dreaded “I know I have it here somewhere” while on the phone with your editor, and face the IRS with confidence.
Does My Book Have What it Takes? We’ll talk about the three ingredients that determine whether your book will even be picked up and read. This will be a hand-on workshop—bring your title, logline (15-25 word description) and back cover copy (100-150 word summary) for critiquing and group opinion. You’ll learn first-hand what people pay attention to and how you can persuade potential readers that your book is exactly what they’ve been looking for.
Writing on the Dark Side: When writing on the Dark Side, having the ability to question and cross boundaries of acceptable behavior, while balancing/containing inappropriate con-tent, is just as important as crafting all those elements of a plot. As an agent, I look for originality, characterization, reality, mystery, and so much more. An Edgy, Dark Novel should be just that—Edgy…Dark…compelling the reader to reflect further, long after the reading is done.
The Artful Poem In this poetry workshop, participants will explore elements of artful poems. They will practice ways to enhance imagery. They will learnthe difference between the daily eye and the writer’s eye and from that perspective call attention to life’s details turning the ordinary into something extraordinaire. |
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Be sure to stick around after the seminars end. Authors and Presenters will offer books for sale at the Book Fair. We’ll also be giving out door prizes and announcing contest winners from the Flash Fiction Contest.
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That’s our show for 2017 The Greater Lehigh Valley Writer’s Group
“Write Stuff”™ Conference
On behalf of the Conference Chairman, Charles Kiernan, and the GLVWG Board of Directors, we hope everyone had a great time. We hope to see you next year.
Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group 