Download 2018 workshop-schedule in .pdf format
Friday:
(Two Hour Session)
*Master Class in Pitching with Sheree Bykofsky (Agent, Bykofsky Associates, Inc. Literary Agency)
This fun and intensive two-hour seminar will focus on one of the most important aspects of the publishing universe, including:
• The difference between a query letter, a pitch and a proposal
• What agents are looking for How to write a query that really sells
• The difference between placing, publishing and marketing fiction and non-fiction
• Why verbal pitches are important even when you don’t meet agents in person.
Best of all, this workshop will give you one-on-one contact with an industry veteran who can answer your questions and guide you on the path to real authorship.
Writing a Marketing Plan with Don Helin
Once you are published, then what? Quality marketing requires a thoughtful plan. Learn the importance of a nonfiction hook and how to do successful book signings. Business cards, banners, bookmarks, postcards; what else does an author need to promote themselves?
Play Jenga With Your Prose with Kathryn Craft
We’ve all heard the advice: “Show, don’t tell.” But indiscriminate “showing” can create walls of words that build a barrier between the author and reader. Examples from best-selling novels will show us how to invite the reader’s thoughts and memories to come to bear on the experience of reading.
Old School Scene Planning with Romana DeFelice Long
Long before software, writers plotted out their stories using storyboards, note cards, and book bibles. Many of us still do! This workshop will share a traditional approach on how to plan effective scenes, place them in the best spot in the story, keep track of characters, action, and arcs, and record writing progress using non-digital tools.
Writing for New Technologies with Katie Ernst
You’ve probably been hearing a lot about Amazon Alexa and Google Home, but have you considered that you could use these new technologies to advance your writing? Have you heard of the Radish app that allows you to serialize your novels? What about the app maker Choice of Games that produces dozens of text-only apps every year and is looking for writers? Even if you don’t have a tech-savvy bone in your body, learn how you can use tech to become a full-fledged author-entrepreneur.
New to Writing? New to Pennwriters? with Bobbi Carducci
Published author and Pennwriters Vice President, Bobbi Carducci, will provide information and answer your questions about the ins and outs of writing, publishing and what the Pennwriters organization can offer to writers of all levels. Attendees are invited to bring a sample of their writing to share, if time permits.
Let Conflict Drive Your Romance with Susan Meier
Good books are about people. Great books are about people in trouble – real, gut-wrenching, soul-hurting trouble. Join Susan Meier to learn the basis for every internal struggle and how to achieve believable character growth that can carry your entire story and give your characters a real happy ending.
Writing the Sweet Romance with Susan Meier
Your sweet story must have enough power to compete with steamier stories. Learn to use tension, the push/pull of conflict and the characters to tell your story with drama and honesty to create a book that will stay in readers’ minds long after they read “the end.”
The Rules of Romance with Wende Dikec
Romance is the most popular and most widely read genre in modern literature, but what are the secrets to writing a successful romance novel? What is the difference between a romance novel and a novel with romantic elements? Award winning author Wende Dikec will discuss the most popular romance genres, and explain the key elements to plotting out a romance novel that will bring your own “happily ever after,” in the form of a successful book. Wende will analyze the difference between romance and women’s fiction, the importance of word count, the 50 Shades of Grey Areas when it comes to genres, and how to classify your novel according to its heat level. She will also talk about the structure of a romance, and the special plot points that apply only to this genre.
Narrative Voice with Lauren Bieker (Agent, Fine Print Literary Management)
Fiction can be thought of as comprising two basic elements: Characters and what they do next (plot); and voice, which commits those characters to the page in a memorable way. Like listening to a singer who doesn’t quite hit the right notes, an audience knows instinctively when a performer is struggling or trying to “put one over” on them. If the voice of a piece of writing isn’t genuine or appropriate, it won’t be effective. Furthermore, if the elements of the craft of writing such as rhythm, style, language, and so forth are not properly supported the voice of a piece will fall flat. In this workshop, we will analyze use of voice in narrative, and how you can use that analysis to make your work sing.
Non-traditional vs. Traditional Poetry with Veronica Mattaboni
This session will be a generative exploration of non-traditional forms of poetry. We will briefly address the attendee’s familiarity with classic poetry and their outlooks on poetry as a whole. Then we will discuss several different forms of non-traditional poetry, such as: free verse, short film, chapbooks, blackout poetry, genre poetry, slam poetry, etc. Lastly, we will explore narrative poetry and spoken word in depth by reviewing examples and discussing what aspects set them apart from classic poetry, and how those tactics can be used to strengthen skills.
Parallel Tracks: from back story to front story, managing multiple character trajectories with Hallie Ephron
This workshop addresses the challenge of orchestrating multiple character trajectories in a work of fiction. We’ll talk about how to identify what you need to know about your characters’ pasts, the subset that will matter to the reader, and how to convey in a compelling matter. We’ll also talk about writing multiple viewpoint and multiple timeline narratives, including techniques for switching from voice to voice, from past to present, and how to keep track of it all without driving yourself nuts.
Sorry, It’s Not for Us: Dealing with Rejection without Losing Your Marbles with Brent Maguire
As writers, we share similarities. We create with words. We strive to move our readers. And we inevitably (and often repeatedly) experience rejection. We make passing reference to it in conversation, or we may even avoid talking about it. In this workshop, we’ll tackle the topic head-on and develop strategies to maintain our balance.
More Stuff Tim Is Tired Of with Timons Esaias
Timons Esaias has been building a list of clichés, commons mistakes, and damnable habits ever since the publication of his infamous “Don’t Be A Bobble-Head…” essay. We will review the lowlights of that List, with occasional malt balls for those who testify.
House Style: How to Earn a Living as a Freelance Editor with Stuart Horwitz
This session focuses on what it takes to succeed as an independent book editor. An accomplished editor with twenty years of experience will decode the difference between ghostwriting, co-writing, and developmental editing; discuss income streams from copyediting to coaching; and touch on topics as varied as knowing how much to charge, fueling your referral engine, creating contracts, finding mentorship, diversifying your income stream, and having the right technology for freelancers today. Audience participation from aspiring and experienced editors welcome!
Robert’s Rules of Order with R.G. Yoho
R.G. Yoho will explain his approach to good writing, fiction or non-fiction. This class will appeal to any writer, no matter what stage that individual might be in his or her writing career.
Publishing by the Numbers with Paul Stevens (Agent, Donald Maass Literary Agency)
Paul discusses the financial side of publishing: what an advance is, how royalties are calculated, what are reserves against returns, and the numbers publishers use to make publishing decisions, such as profit and loss statements. In this session, attendees will gain a clearer understanding of the financial elements that affect a publisher’s decision to acquire a book; understand royalties, advances, and how the author actually earns money; and gain a better idea of pitfalls to look for when negotiating their own deal.
Facebook Party Basics with Lisa Lawmaster Hess
Facebook parties are a great tool for authors. In this workshop, you’ll learn how a Facebook party works, what you need and what you don’t. In addition, you’ll have time to sketch out your own Facebook Author Party so that when you’re ready, you’ll already be halfway to the invitations.
Doing Historical Research for Authentic Stories with Jim Rada
Get tips for researching books or your family history. The presentation explores digital as well as print resources. Take a look at some free and paid resources on the web and find out what types of resources you can find at local libraries and historical societies.
The Epic Quest with Jack Hillman
A lot of different types of stories are really epic quest stories. Stories that range from Raiders of the Lost Ark to A Christmas Carol are epic quest stories of one sort or another. These stories follow a series of characters, or one character, from point A to point B and then possibly back again. Come and see the basic outline of the Epic Quest, presented in easy to follow steps that will get you where you’re going and not kill all the characters along the way.
Saturday:
Pitching to Agents and Editors with Jon Sprunk
It can be the most terrifying ten minutes of your life, or the best part of your conference experience. Learn the tips and techniques for pitching your book.
Story Shrink: Writing the Synopsis with Kathryn Craft
You’ve spent a year compiling enough words for a novel, only to find that selling it requires you to shrink it back down. Why do agents and editors put you through this? (Hint: It’s more than an agonizing exercise.) How to make yours reflect your novel.
Meditation for Writers with Stuart Horwitz
In this session writers will learn an ancient yet simple meditation to center oneself before writing and combat the fear that can take over the first 5-10 minutes of a writing session. Meditation can assist writers in setting a reachable goal for the day’s writing session and bring consistency and continuity of approach to their material regardless of what draft they are in. As part of a personal ritual, meditation can sustains our writing for a lifetime. No previous experience or specialized equipment required!
London, Paris, or Dublin with Don Helin
Geographical regions can have a huge influence on your novel. Setting is a critical part of any novel. Many readers like new setting they can learn from while reading a story. It can either make your story more exciting or can hurt your story. How much is too much setting? Find out in this interactive workshop.
New to Writing? New to Pennwriters? with Bobbi Carducci
Published author and Pennwriters Vice President, Bobbi Carducci, will provide information and answer your questions about the ins and outs of writing, publishing and what the Pennwriters organization can offer to writers of all levels. Attendees are invited to bring a sample of their writing to share, if time permits.
Organizing for Writers with Lisa Lawmaster Hess
Creative people may be great at producing winning manuscripts, but that same mind can have trouble remembering which safe place we left that manuscript in. Come and explore common personal and organizational styles that interfere with getting organized and learn how to use them to your advantage. Bring your sense of humor!
First Pages with Alexa Pastor (Associate Editor, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Join Alexa Pastor, Associate Editor at S&S Books for Young Readers, as she goes through the do’s and don’ts of the all-important first page. Answering questions like why first pages matter and what agents and editors are looking to see on them, while offering tricks to hook your reader and pitfalls to avoid, you’ll learn everything you need to know about starting out your manuscript with your best foot (or words!) forward.
Harness Your Inner Child to Write for Children with Donna Galanti
Whether you write for children now or are considering it, Donna will share how to harness your childlike wonder and create an engaging story idea that tweens and teens can connect with while steering clear of stories that can fall flat. Through writing techniques that will help you get inside the minds of young readers and see what issues they face, you ll learn to write a story that gets inside their hearts.
Story is a Shapeshifter with Timons Esaias
Many writers seem to be convinced that each element of their story is sacred and unchangeable, a belief that can leave them blocked, or inflexible, or without ideas. That premise is not true at all, and this hour will attempt to teach you how to change key elements, change genres, change outcomes, and change your career. You’ll see that the “same” story can be written anew repeatedly, without actually repeating. (That’s how series work, after all.) Your own life experiences can be transformed into something unrecognizable (especially to lawyers), without losing the magic that makes it important. We will smelt story ore, and pour it into new molds. Malt balls will, of course, make the whole thing worthwhile.
Writing the Sweet Romance with Susan Meier
Damsels, Dames & Darlings: Writing Realistic Women with Ramona DeFelice Long
Women star in their own stories, but how do you avoid cliches and clutter about womanhood to write a female character who is engaging and realistic? This workshop will help you figure out how to balance the real with the fiction to create a female character who is as intriguing on the page as the reader who will buy her story.
You, too, Can Write Killer Plots with Gayle Lynds
Great plots illuminate stories and give characters the opportunity to reveal themselves not only to the reader but to themselves. Learn techniques to make your plots so very good that your story soars and, ironically, you’ll be known as a character-driven writer.
(TWO-HOUR SESSION)
*Who Are You, and Why Your Readers Care with Hilary Hauck
It’s a challenge to stand out in an industry that sells three billion books a year. Drawing on lessons from leadership to develop vision and confidence, in this two-part workshop, you’ll learn strategies to identify your brand, then to use your brand to build a platform, and propel your writing career. Pre-registration required before May 9th. Please submit a 50-word bio.
The Four-Act Novel with Jon Sprunk
How many acts are contained in your novel? One? Three? Five? Well, how about four? Come listen to me bloviate about how messing around with your story structure can be fun, and possibly even rewarding. We’ll discuss the arcs, characters, twists, turns, and the dreaded Point of No Return. Or maybe we’ll just eat cake and chat about A Game of Thrones.
World Building 101 with Jack Hillman
Whatever genre you write, the first thing you need to do is decide what kind of world you are going to write in. Sometimes the world will determine the story. Sometimes the story determines the world. But whether you can copy New York in 2015 or rebuild the universe from scratch, you need to know your world n order to finish the story. Come along as we journey from the farthest reaches of space to the joys of the inner city and find out where your story happens.
Making Extra Bucks as a Freelance Writer with Jim Rada
Learn how to get started on a successful freelancing career. You’ll learn about whether to be a specialist or generalist, how to approach and develop clients and how to run your freelance business. You will also learn how to get writing experience when you don’t have any.
(PART TWO)
*Who are you, and why your readers care with Hilary Hauck
It’s a challenge to stand out in an industry that sells three billion books a year. Drawing on lessons from leadership to develop vision and confidence, in this two-part workshop, you’ll learn strategies to identify your brand, then to use your brand to build a platform, and propel your writing career. Pre-registration required before May 9th. Please submit a 50-word bio.
The Four-Act Novel with Jon Sprunk
How many acts are contained in your novel? One? Three? Five? Well, how about four? Come listen to me bloviate about how messing around with your story structure can be fun, and possibly even rewarding. We’ll discuss the arcs, characters, twists, turns, and the dreaded Point of No Return. Or maybe we’ll just eat cake and chat about A Game of Thrones.
World Building 101 with Jack Hillman
Whatever genre you write, the first thing you need to do is decide what kind of world you are going to write in. Sometimes the world will determine the story. Sometimes the story determines the world. But whether you can copy New York in 2015 or rebuild the universe from scratch, you need to know your world n order to finish the story. Come along as we journey from the farthest reaches of space to the joys of the inner city and find out where your story happens.
Making Extra Bucks as a Freelance Writer with Jim Rada
Learn how to get started on a successful freelancing career. You’ll learn about whether to be a specialist or generalist, how to approach and develop clients and how to run your freelance business. You will also learn how to get writing experience when you don’t have any.
The Voice: Query Edition
with agents Lauren Bieker, Sheree Bykofsky, Sandy Lu and Paul Stevens, and Associate Editor Alexa Pastor
Modeled after the popular television show, this workshop focuses on queries instead of songs. Bring your one-page, double-spaced query letter (name blacked out) for a moderator to read aloud, and we’ll see which agents like which works, and when.
Sunday:
Where Two or More are Gathered: How the Presence of Others Affects Behavior with Brent Maguire
We behave differently when we’re alone than we do when we’re with others, sometimes in surprising ways. Do your characters? This workshop will present insights from social psychology with respect to the influence of others and the power of the situation on behavior.
What NOT to do as an Author with R.G. Yoho
R.G. Yoho will share a number of his 30-years of mistakes and pitfalls in the writing business and give you the means and knowledge to avoid them.
Real-life Perspective for Memorable Characters with Hilary Hauck
Stories help us make sense of life, so it follows that life should inspire our stories. But life’s a messy affair, muddled by emotions and unforeseen events. We’ll pare away at the chaos of the human condition to reveal the elements that drive memorable characters through the mechanics of story
How to Rock a Book Signing with Wende Dikec
Some authors love book signings. Others would rather have a root canal. But once you have a published novel, they become a necessary evil. In this workshop, award winning author Wende Dikec will discuss the following:
How to find a book signing
Understanding if a book signing will be worth the time and expense (or not)
What to bring
How to prepare
Making your table stand out
Interacting with your fans
Learning the secrets of the pros
Finding a way to make your name, and the name of your book, memorable
How to Keep Your Readers Turning Pages: The Art of Pacing with Don Helin
Your novel should start fast and keep moving. Learn to balance back story with compelling story telling. In this interactive workshop, you’ll find the secret of structuring a novel that will keep your readers awake at night and coming back for more.
Writing Fantasy After a Game of Thrones with Jon Sprunk
Everyone is watching it, talking about it, cosplaying it. How does a mega-successful franchise change a genre? Is the extra attention good, bad, or even real? Let’s talk about how te genre may be evolving and how fantasy writers can evolve with it.
The Eight Secrets to Creating Best-selling Thrillers with Gayle Lynds
From concept to characters and action, learn how to use the classic tools of storytelling to make your books irresistible to agents, editors, and readers.
Tips For Novelizing True Events with Kathryn Craft
Many of us write as a way of delving deeper into issues we’ve experienced in our everyday lives. Fiction gives us the freedom to do so without constraining us to true events as well as the tools to make our stories engaging on a number of levels. But predictable pitfalls abound. Here’s how to steer clear of them.
School Visits 101 with Donna Galanti
Your children’s book s soon to be released and one of the best ways to get it in the hands of your readers (and keep your book n print) is dong school visits! You’ve invested a lot of time, energy, and emotion into your book – what can you do to make sure it captures the spotlight? Donna will guide you on how to develop a tailored school presentation (whether in person or Skype), create a fee schedule, connect with educators, get testimonials, work with bookstores, and book the gigs!
* Additional registration required
**Pre-registration Required / First registered, first scheduled. Spots limited
This schedule and the classes/presenters are not guaranteed and are subject to change. The final schedule will be printed in the conference program.
Conference Workshop Schedule (.pdf)
Share this:
