Writing for Your Life – May 2018 Breakout Seminars

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Breakout Seminars A – 11:30 AM

  • 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.
  • Jeff Chu
    • “The Hospitality of Storytelling”
      • A story is an invitation. In memoir and personal essay, you beckon readers to try out your lens, to accompany you as you retrace your footsteps, to look for points of convergence between your experience and theirs. In journalism, fiction, and even sermon, typically you tell others’ stories, issuing an invitation that’s no less significant—and often more freighted with responsibility. In this workshop, we’ll explore storytelling as an act of hospitality. What responsibilities does a writer have when issuing such invitations? How do you honor your own version of the truth as well as the concerns and humanity of the others who might be in the frame?
  • Lauren Winner
    • “The Art of Revision”
      • Diane Glancy once wrote: “I think in terms of revision because I have been revised. As a Christian, I feel I have started over and over, continuing one development after another. ….Writing is in the rewriting. It is in the revised. …[W]hen I write, there usually emerges both a death and a resurrection….I write if I can tolerate the snarl and gnarl of the writing process.” In this session, we’ll examine both practical revision strategies for shortform and longform prose, and we’ll examine revising as a spiritual exercise in detachment.
  • Greg Johnson – Literary Agency CEO
    • “The New Persistence: Getting an Agent and Getting Published”
      • Back in the old days, when there was an abundance of retail outlets to sell books—and plenty of ways to PR a book–authors could write and publishers could edit, package and distribute. Now, with the bare bones in retail, radio, TV and magazines, publishers (and agents) need a new kind of author. And that means there is a new persistence that any author wanting to traditionally—or independently—publish must master.

Breakout Seminars B – 3:30 PM

  • Susan Salley – Abingdon Press, Assoc. Publisher
    • “Writing with Purpose: Three Questions”
      • 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. If you 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.
  • Greg Johnson – Literary Agency CEO
    • “The New Persistence: Getting an Agent and Getting Published”
      • Back in the old days, when there was an abundance of retail outlets to sell books—and plenty of ways to PR a book–authors could write and publishers could edit, package and distribute. Now, with the bare bones in retail, radio, TV and magazines, publishers (and agents) need a new kind of author. And that means there is a new persistence that any author wanting to traditionally—or independently—publish must master.
  • 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.
  • Joyce Dinkins – Executive Editor, Our Daily Bread Ministries
    • “Your Publishing Path”
      • This workshop provides steps for pursuing your call, approaching the content proposal, relating to readers, interacting with editorial teams, and following through on editorial  production. Includes specifics regarding what Our Daily Bread is acquiring.

 

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Breakout Seminars C – 9:00 AM

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Joyce Dinkins – Executive Editor, Our Daily Bread Ministries
    • “Your Publishing Path”
      • This workshop provides steps for pursuing your call, approaching the content proposal, relating to readers, interacting with editorial teams, and following through on editorial  production. Includes specifics regarding what Our Daily Bread is acquiring.
  • Brian Allain
    • “Why You Should Consider Self Publishing”
      • In this presentation we will discuss how changes in the publishing industry mean that there has never been a better time to consider self publishing. We will review recent and current industry structure, the top 10 reasons to consider self publishing (all the way from tools to economics to platform to sources of assistance), and deal with the concern of legitimacy. We will also consider a couple of examples.

 

Breakout Seminars D – 11:00 AM

  • Greg Johnson – Literary Agency CEO
    • “The New Persistence: Getting an Agent and Getting Published”
      • Back in the old days, when there was an abundance of retail outlets to sell books—and plenty of ways to PR a book–authors could write and publishers could edit, package and distribute. Now, with the bare bones in retail, radio, TV and magazines, publishers (and agents) need a new kind of author. And that means there is a new persistence that any author wanting to traditionally—or independently—publish must master.
  • Susan Salley – Abingdon Press, Assoc. Publisher
    • “Writing with Purpose: Three Questions”
      • 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. If you 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.
  • 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.
  • Brian Allain
    • “Why You Should Consider Self Publishing”
      • In this presentation we will discuss how changes in the publishing industry mean that there has never been a better time to consider self publishing. We will review recent and current industry structure, the top 10 reasons to consider self publishing (all the way from tools to economics to platform to sources of assistance), and deal with the concern of legitimacy. We will also consider a couple of examples.

Breakout Seminars E – 3:00 PM

  • Lauren Winner
    • “The Art of Revision”
      • Diane Glancy once wrote: “I think in terms of revision because I have been revised. As a Christian, I feel I have started over and over, continuing one development after another. ….Writing is in the rewriting. It is in the revised. …[W]hen I write, there usually emerges both a death and a resurrection….I write if I can tolerate the snarl and gnarl of the writing process.” In this session, we’ll examine both practical revision strategies for shortform and longform prose, and we’ll examine revising as a spiritual exercise in detachment.
  • Susan Salley – Abingdon Press, Assoc. Publisher
    • “Writing with Purpose: Three Questions”
      • 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. If you 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.
  • Joyce Dinkins – Executive Editor, Our Daily Bread Ministries
    • “WOW Writing”
      • Explore your motivations and gain inspiration for outstanding writing, plus practical insights for the macro and micro–big and little tasks you can tackle to eliminate barriers between your content and your readers. Includes specifics regarding what Our Daily Bread is acquiring.
  • Brian Allain
    • “Why You Should Consider Self Publishing”
      • In this presentation we will discuss how changes in the publishing industry mean that there has never been a better time to consider self publishing. We will review recent and current industry structure, the top 10 reasons to consider self publishing (all the way from tools to economics to platform to sources of assistance), and deal with the concern of legitimacy. We will also consider a couple of examples.

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