Write It Right Conference Recap
The
2012 Write It Right writers conference
was held on Saturday, 21 April at the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce just off route 61 in Pottsville, PA.
Due to some confusion over the exact location of the building (my GPS actually guided me to an office complex across the street), I arrived with minutes to spare for the opening welcome from Sara Hodon, co-founder of the Black Diamond Writers Network.
There were two sessions each hour. I started with Patricia Gallagher's "Writing from Real Life" which focused on memoir. She offered excellent tips on methods for telling factual accounts of your life, respecting the privacy of others who you may include in your recounting, various types of research to make the story more interesting, etc. Patricia was adept at keeping her audience engaged and her presentation energetic.
Then it was my turn for two back to back presentations. The first was digital publishing and audio books at 10AM which saw excellent audience participation and a little help from writer Autumn Jordon . Autumn offered a testimonial about an author who found success with KDP Select, a program offered by Amazon that allows them exclusive sales of your eBook for 90 days. KDP Select has garnered mixed reviews but there are always some who will have better luck than others in any given venture. We also touched on Digital Rights Management, ISBN numbers, Smashwords, and Podiobooks (for audio books).
The paranormal writing session at 11AM had me talking more than I wanted. The audience was a bit quieter. I tend to think they were hungry for lunch more so than enraptured by my babbling. However, we covered everything from character arc to story arc, suspense and tension, raising the stakes, and infusing emotion.
Keynote speaker Ann Boyle had a wonderful presentation after lunch on the changes in the publishing landscape. She touched on the evolution of self publishing and small presses, the rise of eBooks, and the advantages and disadvantages of publishing through the New York houses versus doing it yourself.
I sat in for Autumn Jordon's "Breathing Life into Your Novel with Emotion" at 1:40PM. Autumn covered every possible method for imbuing not just your characters but your entire narrative with emotion such that you, as a writer, would evoke those same emotions in the reader with every scene. Her presentation was thought provoking and all encompassing.
After Autumn's session, I took a break to get caught up on emails and update Facebook. I also took the time for some editing on the short story I'm currently working on. The conference ended with a small book fair and door prize drawings.
While the event was small, with perhaps 40 people in attendance, it allowed for excellent networking opportunities and a more intimate atmosphere. I enjoyed talking with several attendees about their experiences in writing, promotion, and choices in publishing. Good times!
Due to some confusion over the exact location of the building (my GPS actually guided me to an office complex across the street), I arrived with minutes to spare for the opening welcome from Sara Hodon, co-founder of the Black Diamond Writers Network.
There were two sessions each hour. I started with Patricia Gallagher's "Writing from Real Life" which focused on memoir. She offered excellent tips on methods for telling factual accounts of your life, respecting the privacy of others who you may include in your recounting, various types of research to make the story more interesting, etc. Patricia was adept at keeping her audience engaged and her presentation energetic.
Then it was my turn for two back to back presentations. The first was digital publishing and audio books at 10AM which saw excellent audience participation and a little help from writer Autumn Jordon . Autumn offered a testimonial about an author who found success with KDP Select, a program offered by Amazon that allows them exclusive sales of your eBook for 90 days. KDP Select has garnered mixed reviews but there are always some who will have better luck than others in any given venture. We also touched on Digital Rights Management, ISBN numbers, Smashwords, and Podiobooks (for audio books).
The paranormal writing session at 11AM had me talking more than I wanted. The audience was a bit quieter. I tend to think they were hungry for lunch more so than enraptured by my babbling. However, we covered everything from character arc to story arc, suspense and tension, raising the stakes, and infusing emotion.
Keynote speaker Ann Boyle had a wonderful presentation after lunch on the changes in the publishing landscape. She touched on the evolution of self publishing and small presses, the rise of eBooks, and the advantages and disadvantages of publishing through the New York houses versus doing it yourself.
I sat in for Autumn Jordon's "Breathing Life into Your Novel with Emotion" at 1:40PM. Autumn covered every possible method for imbuing not just your characters but your entire narrative with emotion such that you, as a writer, would evoke those same emotions in the reader with every scene. Her presentation was thought provoking and all encompassing.
After Autumn's session, I took a break to get caught up on emails and update Facebook. I also took the time for some editing on the short story I'm currently working on. The conference ended with a small book fair and door prize drawings.
While the event was small, with perhaps 40 people in attendance, it allowed for excellent networking opportunities and a more intimate atmosphere. I enjoyed talking with several attendees about their experiences in writing, promotion, and choices in publishing. Good times!
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