DAY ONE – NEW WRITERS – August 26, 2007
Panel Discussion: Debut Writers - Roxanne Rustand, J. S. Hawley, Michelle Larks, Jill Nelson, Margo Candela, Carmen Leal, LaConnie Taylor-Jones
Workshop: Basic Writing - Host: Dee Stewart
Workshop: To Plot Or Not To Plot - Host: Barbara Custer
INTRO: Debut Authors
DAY TWO – ADVANCE WRITERS– August 27, 2007
Panel: Meet the Editor - Monica Harris - Dorchester African American Romance, Stacy Boyd - Harlequin
Panel Discussion: Networking - LaShaunda C. Hoffman, Dyanne Davis, Shelia Goss, Nikki Arana, Ayn Hunt, Tee C. Royal, Andrea Jackson, L. Martin Johnson Pratt
Workshop: Editing/Revision - Host: Leigh Michaels
Workshop:Deep Point of View - Host: Jill Nelson
DAY THREE – READERS– August 28, 2007
Question/Answer Session
Panel: Meet the Romance Author - Dyanne Davis, Shelia Goss, J. S. Hawley, Dara Girard, Ayn Hunt, Roberta DeCaprio, Devon Vaughn Archer, Rhonda Jackson Joseph, Andrea Jackson
Panel: Meet the Christian Author - Marilynn Griffith, Nikki Arana, Michelle Larks, Susan May Warren, Marlo Schalesky, Jill Nelson, Cecelia Dowdy, Linda Beed, Stacy Hawkins Adams
Panel: Meet the Mainstream Author - R. Barri Flowers, Bettye Griffin, Marissa Monteilh, Margo Candela, Karen Duvall
Panel: Meet the Erotica Author - Celine Chatillon, Andrea Blackstone, Deatri King-Bey, Koko Brown
Discussion: What makes you throw a book against the wall?
Discussion: Do you have a site for readers?
Workshop: Palibra.com & the Digital Age of Self-Publishing - Host: Edwardo Jackson
DAY FOUR – WRITING FOR THE LORD– August 29, 2007
Panel Discussion: Inspirational Writing - CBA vs ABA - Dee Stewart, Nikki Arana, Marilynn Griffith, Susan May Warren, Marlo Schalesky, Shelia Lipsey, Cecelia Dowdy, Stacy Hawkins Adams,Tia McCollors
Panel: Meet the Editor - Joylynn M. Jossel - Executive Editor Urban Christian
Workshop: The Spiritual Thread: Bondage or Blessing? - Host: Susan May Warren
Workshop: Tips on Pleasing an Editor - Host: Lyn Cote
Workshop: Children’s Writing: The Basics
DAY FIVE – SELF PUBLISHING– August 30, 2007
Panel Discussion: Self Publishing - Shani Greene-Dowdell, Anna Dennis, Alethea M Pascascio, Barbara Williams, Evelyn Palfrey, Rose Beavers, Dara Girard, Carmen Leal, Rhonda Jackson Joseph
DAY SIX – THE BUSINESS OF WRITING– August 31, 2007
Panel: Meet the Agent - Tee C. Royal - Literary agent, Tamala Murray - Literary agent
Panel Discussion: Motivation - Dyanne Davis, Nikki Arana, J. S. Hawley, Dara Girard, Stefanie Worth, Yolanda Brunson-Sarrabo, Rhonda Jackson Joseph, Andrea Jackson, Marilynn Griffith, DeRon Smith
Workshop: Submitting - Host: Dyanne Davis
Workshop: The Naked Writer - Host: G. Miki Hayden
DAY SEVEN – PROMOTION – September 1, 2007
Panel Discussion: Why you need a publicist? - Pam Perry, Marlive Harris, Kathy Carlton Willis, Rebeca Seitz
Panel Discussion: Marketing - LaShaunda C. Hoffman, Dyanne Davis, Shelia Goss, Dee Stewart, Electa Rome Parks, Dara Girard, Ayn Hunt, Sylvia Hubbard, Cheryl Robinson, Andrea Jackson, L. Martin Johnson Pratt,Debra Owsley
WORKSHOP: How to Get Booked on Radio Talk Shows - Host: Cheryl Robinson
Critiquers - Anna Dennis, Joylynn M. Jossel, Cindy Appel, Bettye Griffin, Lisa A. Crayton, Dee Stewart, Barbara Williams, Marilyn Griffith, Kim Louise, LaShaunda Hoffman, Tamika Johnson, Marina Woods, Rosalind Stormer
Judges - Anna Dennis, Joylynn M. Jossel, J. S. Hawley, Kim Louise, Elenore Shields, LaShaunda Hoffman, Rhonda Jackson Joseph, MaryLu Tyndall, Shelia Goss
Door prizes are needed
Author's if you did not receive an invite, I don't have your email. Send an email to sormag@yahoo.com for more information.
Did you miss our last conference? Check it out see what you missed.
58 comments:
Looking good, LaShaunda. I can't wait for yet another successful online conference. Shades of Romance rocks!
Fantastic, LaShaunda! I'm registered and looking forward to it.
LaShunda, this sounds like a wonderful opportunity. I look forward to experiencing this conference on line. The workshops, topics and pannelists also was well put together. Thanks for caring enough about people to bring this to fruitage. God bless!
Sounds like yet another great conference is in store! I promoted the conference on my blog today and I can't wait to giveaway items to participants! Good luck...kudos to you for being such a resource to so many.
LaShaunda -
Will you give us easy directions on how to participate? Looks like a great line up!
Posting a comment just like you did, is how you participate.
The conference is on this blog. You read the post and make comments in the comments section.
That's all too it. The best part, there's no set time, so if you feel like coming to the conference at midnight or 4 in the evening you can.
Check out 2005 conference to get a feel of it. There's a link on the blog.
Everyone is welcome to participate, but you can't win any of our goodies if you're not registered, so register before the 18th because its closed down after that.
Hoping I am not too late to register for the conference...
If not, please register Fon James.
Email: writing4fon@yahoo.com
Thanks,
Fon
Hi, LaShaunda, I'm testing to see if I'm ready to go. It looks like an interesting conference and I don't want to miss a minute!
Hi, LaShaunda. I'm really looking forward to participating in the conference!
Take Care,
Ayn Hunt also writing as Ayn Amorelli
Just found you- can I still register?
The conference topics and line-up look great!!
Looking forward to next week!!
Best,
LaConnie
This is a practice run for me. Due to a family emergency I will be traveling during the bulk of the conference but plan to go to the nearest public library and participate so sometime in the next day or so, I'll be a registered blogger. I'm so excited.
J. S. Hawley
Testing to make sure I'm good for the conference. Looking forward to it!
Great line up! ~ Marlive
Just checking in to make sure I can post. Thanks LaShaunda.
--- Tia
Hello:
I look forward to conference, which should be great for readers and writers alike.
Best,
R. Barri Flowers/Devon Vaughn Archer
Coming soon -- CHRISTMAS HEAT (Kimani Romance, December 2007)
www.rbarriflowers.com
http://crimespace.ning.com/profile/RBarri
http://www.myspace.com/devonvaughnarcher
this sounds like this is going to be a great conference. This is the practice blog for me, and it looks like some of the writers will be getting up with the roosters to post. So I will be ready tomorrow morning to hear people's thoughts on plotting. And although I will be working the rest of the week, I look forward to catching some great lectures.
Barbara
Editor, Night To Dawn
It has been awhile since I first received "The Call," but I thought I would join in this discussion to add my long view of things, and also to address the fact that one can be a debut author at various times in their career!
I started writing in 1993. I started writing because I loved it, and enjoyed my critique friends very much. I never imagined that I could be good enough to ever actually sell a book. Then one day, after joining Romance Writers of America, I learned about contests, and thought entering one might give me an idea of whether or not I was even in the ballpark with all of other aspiring writers out there. I was sure that I wasn't even close to being on that playing field, but wanted to know if there was any hope, or if my writing was just a foolish endeavor.
I now know how foolish that thinking was! And I wonder if there are other fledgling writers who could be as naïve as I was. If any of you have entered contests, you've learned that a given manuscript can be scored high in one contest and not in another. Contest judges--like editors--have personal taste. Most judges tried their hardest to be fair, honest, and careful. Most spend countless hours writing comments and trying to be helpful. But, some can be harsh, or biased, or simply not be very skilled. Some can be highly critical.
Given that--I often wonder if there are wonderfully talented new voices that are silenced forever by contest feedback. People who simply wanted to find a glimmer of hope and validation by entering a contest, but then became disheartened. I was lucky, because after all, contest success does involve a small measure of luck in who one happens to have for judges. My first manuscript finaled in the Golden Heart and then won... which was so shocking that I really couldn't believe it, and for months afterwards, I expected someone to call and say that the scoring was a clerical error. That was an encouraging start...but I would have probably assumed that there was no hope if I'd gotten low scores! So, if you are just starting out, I'd like to say this: DO enter contests. Learn from what your judges say, and use it to improve your work. But don't let a few judges take away your dreams!
I veered a little bit off the topic of being a debut author because I wanted to make a point. I remember those five years of writing before making a first sale. I imagined that life would totally change if I could only sell. I imagined that making it to the top of that lofty, impassable peak would mean that the rest of my life as a writer would be downhill all the way. I had no idea of what to expect... and had no idea of just how invaluable entering contests and belonging to a critique group had been.
When an editor buys your book, you think "she loves this story!" And, you're right. But that doesn't mean your story is ready to publish. It depends on the publisher and the editor of course, but while that editor DOES love the story that you polished and tweaked and revised and polished even more, she's going to work hard with you to make it better, and that can be a surprising and painful process.
A friend sold a book to a major single title house, and after going through three major revisions, a tough line edit and copy edit, she said that she wondered if there were more than ten words in the final version that had been in the first one that sold! With my first sale, I went through a major revision that involved dropping a chapter, cutting a number of scenes, adding a new ending and different scenes... and after all of that, it needed yet another revision! And then there were the line edits, and copy edits....
And this is where experience with difficult contest feedback or demanding critique partners becomes truly valuable. A writer who thinks that her words are golden and who doesn't want to bend will go nowhere in this business! And remember all of those contest deadlines? Perfect training for needing to be absolutely prompt and dependable for an editor. She has deadlines too, for when a manuscript must reach the various editorial and production stages, and an author who makes her life difficult with missed deadlines probably shouldn't expect a long career!
And about that mountain peak... yes, there's an incredible feeling of joy and validation when you get your first Call. It's the realization of your hopes and dreams and the endless hours you put into this goal. For some people it's the combination of many, many years of trying. But beyond that one mountain peak, there will be others. There can be a dry spell before a second sale. Your beloved editor may have a baby, move to a different publisher, or start editing for a different line within the house. Lines and publishers can fold. The ideas for your second and third books may not work well enough to sell.
But just as you held onto your dreams before your first sale, you need to be ready to work hard and to continue to hold onto your dreams. Those story ideas that didn't sell? Keep them. Maybe they will sell later on to your editor, maybe someday you can market them to a different publisher altogether.
I've sold fifteen books to Harlequin Superromance. The fifteenth will be out in mid--September as Lone Star Legacy, and you might think that it was just another easy sale. But right before that, I had three rejections on some books for a trilogy... so even multi-published authors do receive rejections! And as I look back on my career, everything happened for good reason and led to something even better. I love Lone Star Legacy, and I'm really happy I got to do that book.
And that trilogy that was rejected? I heavily revised it, and sold it to Steeple Hill's Love Inspired Suspense (Hard Evidence, December, 2007; Vendetta, February 2008; Wildfire, March 2008.) I am so thrilled to be writing for that line! The stories were far more suited for that one, not Super, and I just hadn't seen it. And this sale wouldn't have happened if not for those rejections at Super.
And this is where the term "debut author" comes into play again.....even after selling all of those Supers and one book to Everlasting Love (which will be out next August.) Changing from one line to another, or switching genres, can be like starting all over again, with some of the same challenges-- including re-establishing one's name with readers. I hope that my old readers will follow me. But I also know that I'll need to work at building a new readership as well. To that end, I am planning on a variety of promotion efforts. Even though my first Love Inspired Suspense won't be out until December, I'm already working on building a new base of readers. You can see an example of this effort at my new page at www.shoutlife.com/roxannerustand .
I've probably rambled on way too long here, and had better yield the floor to others!
For those of you who long to be "debut authors" and wonder if it can ever happen, I'd like to leave you with some good advice. I had quotes posted above my computer before I sold, and I looked at them every day. I no longer have them in written form, and can't give proper credit, but here they are.
Never give up. If you do, success might have been waiting for you just around the next corner.
Dream big. Dreams do come true--but they don't land like fairy dust on your shoulders. You have to be willing to work harder than you'd ever worked before, and you have to be open to criticism, suggestions, and willingness to change.
God doesn't give the desire, without also giving the ability.
Best wishes to you all,
Roxanne Rustand
www.shoutlife.com/roxannerustand
WHOOPS!!
I was trying to post to the Debut Authors blog, and obviously really goofed!! My post ended up here, on the main page. LaShaunda, can you delete this for me? Thanks! I don't see a way to do it on my own. Thanks!
Roxanne
Is it too late to register. I just got a bulletin about this conference and at this point really need to attend and get information. Is it possible to get today's information somewhere?
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Hi,
This is Lyn Cote checking in!
www.LynCote.net
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www.MinistryMarketingSolutions.com
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