Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Breakout Seminars A – 11:30 AM
- Susan Salley
- “Writing with Intent”
- Can you describe your message and audience in 60 seconds? Publishers want clarity and a razor sharp focus on your message – who is the primary audience, why will they read your book, and what will change in their lives. I fyou are intentional and focused, the benefit you bring the reader can be in the spotlight in the finished content but also from the title to the packaging to the layout and marketing.
- “Writing with Intent”
- Webster Younce
- “Think Like a Publisher”
- The publishing business can seem intimidating and unknowable. In this session, we’ll demystify the publishing process, exploring the ins and outs of the industry by answering the following questions: What does a publishing house do? Do I even need one? What are the differences between big publishers and small publishers? What are the differences between Christian publishers and general market publishers? Do I need a literary agent? What does an agent do anyway? What makes a publisher want to publish a book? How are acquisitions decisions made? What is a “platform?” How do I build one? What does an editor do? How do publicity and marketing at a publisher work? What makes a bestseller? Does the Nobel committee call or email? By the end of this session, you’ll be able to think like a publisher and understand your place in the publishing industry.
- “Think Like a Publisher”
- Sophfronia Scott
- “The Art of Memoir”
- The decision to write memoir can be both exhilarating and paralyzing. You know your story has value but all you can see are the obstacles ahead. This workshop will gently guide you through a process to help you grasp the story you want to tell and shape it into a page-turner readers will want to read. You’ll learn how to develop scenes, communicate voice, and put fully formed personality into your work. You’ll also learn how to be a researcher of your own life to help you round out the facts or find vital missing pieces.
- “The Art of Memoir”
- Robbie Pinter
- “Spiritual Practice—Let Your Words Live”
- The act of writing has long been considered sacred—it is able to set a moment apart, to inspire reflection, to engender meaning. More, writing can point us and others to the ineffable, a world we cannot see but know is there. Our spiritual practices can breathe life into our writing, making even the dry bones of our words dance. For our work together in this session, we will engage with a spiritual writing process: holy listening, keeping silence, and expressive writing as we bring our whole selves to the page, letting our words become fully alive.
- “Spiritual Practice—Let Your Words Live”
Breakout Seminars B – 2:00 PM
- Tony Jones
- “Two Things Your Book NEEDS (And a Few More Things It Should Have)”
- Every non-fiction book needs two things. How does Tony Jones know that? Because he’s both an author and an acquisitions editor. He’s written books that have sold well, and others that haven’t. And he’s acquired and edited books that have sold well, and others that haven’t. This session will be a no-BS talk about how to write and sell books in today’s challenging publishing environment.
- “Two Things Your Book NEEDS (And a Few More Things It Should Have)”
- Robbie Pinter
- “Spiritual Practice—Let Your Words Live”
- The act of writing has long been considered sacred—it is able to set a moment apart, to inspire reflection, to engender meaning. More, writing can point us and others to the ineffable, a world we cannot see but know is there. Our spiritual practices can breathe life into our writing, making even the dry bones of our words dance. For our work together in this session, we will engage with a spiritual writing process: holy listening, keeping silence, and expressive writing as we bring our whole selves to the page, letting our words become fully alive.
- “Spiritual Practice—Let Your Words Live”
- Erin Healy
- “Your Novel in a Nutshell: How to Write Story Summaries”
- It’s no small feat to draft an effective summary that is less than 1 percent of your novel’s length–but whether you sell your story depends in large part on how well you master this fundamental task. In this session you’ll learn how to write five types of fiction summaries, which can be adapted to suit agents’, publishers’, and even readers’ requirements: the tagline, the elevator pitch, the blurb, the synopsis, and the chapter summary.
- “Your Novel in a Nutshell: How to Write Story Summaries”
- Margot Starbuck
- “Make Publishers Happy by Crafting a Nonfiction Book Proposal That Shines”
- Want to discover what delights the hearts of agents and publishers when they’re reading a book proposal? Come find out! Learn the most effective ways to communicate that you will deliver: a project that’s unique, sentences that are beautifully written, a book that clearly meets readers’ felt needs, and a strategy to promote this masterpiece from your burgeoning platform. We’ll cover the nuts and bolts of what every proposal needs as well creative ways to make yours shine. Plenty of time for Q&R.
- “Make Publishers Happy by Crafting a Nonfiction Book Proposal That Shines”
Breakout Seminars C – 3:30 PM
- Greg Daniel
- “How to Land a Literary Agent”
- Greg Daniel will give you an insider’s perspective on how to negotiate the waters of researching and determining which literary agent might be best for your book. Additionally, you’ll learn how to pique an agent’s interest with a query letter that stands out from the pack, avoiding the common blunders that most writers commit. Finally, you’ll learn how to follow up with a professional looking proposal that ultimately lands agent representation.
- “How to Land a Literary Agent”
- Tony Jones
- “Two Things Your Book NEEDS (And a Few More Things It Should Have)”
- Every non-fiction book needs two things. How does Tony Jones know that? Because he’s both an author and an acquisitions editor. He’s written books that have sold well, and others that haven’t. And he’s acquired and edited books that have sold well, and others that haven’t. This session will be a no-BS talk about how to write and sell books in today’s challenging publishing environment.
- “Two Things Your Book NEEDS (And a Few More Things It Should Have)”
- Sophfronia Scott
- “The Art of Memoir”
- The decision to write memoir can be both exhilarating and paralyzing. You know your story has value but all you can see are the obstacles ahead. This workshop will gently guide you through a process to help you grasp the story you want to tell and shape it into a page-turner readers will want to read. You’ll learn how to develop scenes, communicate voice, and put fully formed personality into your work. You’ll also learn how to be a researcher of your own life to help you round out the facts or find vital missing pieces.
- “The Art of Memoir”
- Jeff Chu
- “From Fear to Hope”
- Fear of inadequacy. Fear of grammatical error. Fear of humiliation. Fear of nonexistent sales. For so many writers, fear is a near-constant companion. Jeff will explore his long, tortured, and continuing relationship with his writerly fears and insecurities. We’ll explore the power of turning that inward fear into the gift of empathy. And we’ll consider how to channel that negative energy into something positive: hope.
- “From Fear to Hope”
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Breakout Seminars D – 11:30 AM
- Webster Younce
- “Think Like a Publisher”
- The publishing business can seem intimidating and unknowable. In this session, we’ll demystify the publishing process, exploring the ins and outs of the industry by answering the following questions: What does a publishing house do? Do I even need one? What are the differences between big publishers and small publishers? What are the differences between Christian publishers and general market publishers? Do I need a literary agent? What does an agent do anyway? What makes a publisher want to publish a book? How are acquisitions decisions made? What is a “platform?” How do I build one? What does an editor do? How do publicity and marketing at a publisher work? What makes a bestseller? Does the Nobel committee call or email? By the end of this session, you’ll be able to think like a publisher and understand your place in the publishing industry.
- “Think Like a Publisher”
- Robert Benson
- “Go to Your Room : Becoming a Working Writer”
- In this practical seminar, acclaimed writer and teacher Robert Benson will teach you about habits and practices that will teach you to write and how to see yourself as a writer.
- “Go to Your Room : Becoming a Working Writer”
- Erin Healy
- “Elements of Emotionally Powerful Fiction”
- What makes some novels stick in the memory long after the reading is finished? What principal qualities do these stories possess, and how can you integrate them into your own work, regardless of the genre? In this session we’ll examine several diverse, bestselling novels in search of the often-intangible, commendable qualities that give rise to enduring tales.
- “Elements of Emotionally Powerful Fiction”
- Margot Starbuck
- “Make Publishers Happy by Crafting a Nonfiction Book Proposal That Shines”
- Want to discover what delights the hearts of agents and publishers when they’re reading a book proposal? Come find out! Learn the most effective ways to communicate that you will deliver: a project that’s unique, sentences that are beautifully written, a book that clearly meets readers’ felt needs, and a strategy to promote this masterpiece from your burgeoning platform. We’ll cover the nuts and bolts of what every proposal needs as well creative ways to make yours shine. Plenty of time for Q&R.
- “Make Publishers Happy by Crafting a Nonfiction Book Proposal That Shines”
Breakout Seminars E – 3 PM
- Susan Salley
- “Writing with Intent”
- Can you describe your message and audience in 60 seconds? Publishers want clarity and a razor sharp focus on your message – who is the primary audience, why will they read your book, and what will change in their lives. I fyou are intentional and focused, the benefit you bring the reader can be in the spotlight in the finished content but also from the title to the packaging to the layout and marketing.
- “Writing with Intent”
- Robert Benson
- “Go to Your Room : Becoming a Working Writer”
- In this practical seminar, acclaimed writer and teacher Robert Benson will teach you about habits and practices that will teach you to write and how to see yourself as a writer.
- “Go to Your Room : Becoming a Working Writer”
- Greg Daniel
- “How to Land a Literary Agent”
- Greg Daniel will give you an insider’s perspective on how to negotiate the waters of researching and determining which literary agent might be best for your book. Additionally, you’ll learn how to pique an agent’s interest with a query letter that stands out from the pack, avoiding the common blunders that most writers commit. Finally, you’ll learn how to follow up with a professional looking proposal that ultimately lands agent representation.
- “How to Land a Literary Agent”
- Jeff Chu
- “Stop Right There: Being Your Own Best Editor”
- As writers, we often have so much we want to do—with a sentence, with a paragraph, with a chapter, with a book. Usually, it’s too much. We overwrite. Our prose turns purple to the point of garishness. In this workshop, we’ll look at some basic disciplines to help with that most under-appreciated fruit of the writing spirit: self-control.
- “Stop Right There: Being Your Own Best Editor”