Master Class Schedule 2022
Thursday July 21, 2022 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Amanda J. Clay Title: X Factor Fiction: The secret ingredients that makes your writing EXTRA
Description:
Have you ever read a book with a well-crafted plot, solid writing mechanics and likeable characters that was still just missing SOMETHING? Maybe you couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but the words fell flat, you put it down halfway through, or forgot about it the moment you were finished.
Conversely, have you ever read a book that on the surface was a simple story, nothing out of the ordinary, but the writing just struck a chord? Gave you chills? You found yourself highlighting passage after passage in your Kindle?
Those books have the X Factor.
In this session, you’ll learn how to:
- Use all six senses to create a sweeping sense of time and place. You’ll immerse your reader in the setting so deeply, they’ll think they were there.
- Use peep points of view to put your reader right into your character’s head.
- Craft unforgettable sentences readers will highlight in their books and kindles.
- Use a variety of sentence structure and style to give your writing powerful ebb and flow.
- Use dialogue to support your prose and create powerful narrative tension.
This session is for:
- Writers with a good grasp of story and mechanics, but are missing that something extra
- Writers just learning how to craft great prose who want to do it right from the start
- Writers seeking a traditional publishing deal who want to jump out of the slush pile
- Writers looking to pursue self-publishing and know they need that something extra to stand out in a crowded marketplace
In this class, Amazon Charts best-selling author Amanda J. Clay will show you the secret ingredients that make the words on the page something EXTRA. It doesn’t matter the genre, whether it’s literary genius or a commercial thriller–the X Factor is going to keep the reader glued to the pages, begging for more.
$99
Bio:
Amanda J. Clay is the Amazon Charts best-selling author of twenty published novels, ranging from Young Adult to Mystery/Thrillers. She is represented by Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary.
Thursday July 21, 2022 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Martha Engber Title: Grow Your Great Character and Plot!
Description:
People aren’t simply vehicles for stories, they ARE the stories. Therefore it’s crucial we writers take the time to grow great characters people want to read about. Through discussion and writing exercises, you’ll do just that by seeding and growing your own character whether for a memoir, novel, screenplay or other project. Martha Engber, author of GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS FROM THE GROUND UP, will explain what makes characters great and how they can lead you toward irresistible plots and unforgettable stories.
By actively working on a character from your current work-in-progress, Martha will show you from start to finish how to make a character unique, complex and someone readers want to learn about. Once you understand the process, you’ll be able to follow that path in creating future characters. You’ll also see how the collision of those conflicting motivations of various characters can’t help but make plots more exciting.
Specifically, Martha will teach you:
- The definition of a great character
- The types of characters and their roles within a story
- The power of giving a character a well thought-out defining detail
- How to let characters lead you in developing a list of exciting scenes
- How those scenes create a dynamic plot
Based on Martha’s GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS book, you’ll learn that once you create living characters, they’ll lead you to the conclusion of their story, rather than the other way around. Along the way you’ll learn how to avoid traps, such as author insertion and faux pas regarding characters’ dialogue, culture and depiction.
This session is for:
- Writers of fiction: novels, plays, screenplays, short stories, graphic novels
- Writers of nonfiction: memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, documentaries
- Those new to writing and those who are more experienced, but still struggle with character development
- Writing teachers and coaches looking for a new approach to inspire their students/clients
$120
Bio:
Martha Engber is the author of Winter Light, the 2021 IPPY Gold Medal Winner in Young Adult Fiction; The Wind Thief, a novel; and Growing Great Characters From the Ground Up. Her memoir, BLISS ROAD, is slated for publication in 2023. She’s had a short story nominated for a Pushcart Prize, a full-length play produced in Hollywood and over a dozen short stories, essays and poems published in anthologies and literary magazines such as the Aurorean, Watchword and the Berkeley Fiction Review. She lives in California with her husband, bike and surfboard.
SOCIAL MEDIA
My website: https://marthaengber.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/martha.engber.1
WordPress writing blog: https://marthaengber.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/marthaengber
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marthaengber/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martha-engber-a2a429a/
Facebook fan page (Martha Engber’s Creatives): https://www.facebook.com/MarthasCreatives/
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/marthaengber
GoodReads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/674291.Martha_Engber
Thursday July 21, 2022 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Rusty Shelton and Paige Velasquez Budde Title: Social Media Masterclass: High-Impact Social Media for Authors
Description:
If you have been wondering where to start when it comes to using social media to launch your book, grow a platform and drive lead-flow, this advanced workshop is the place to start. This presentation will peel back the curtain and share the most current social media strategies used to build platforms for some of the world’s leading authors and thought leaders. Long-time SFWC marketing speaker and bestselling author Rusty Shelton will be joined by Zilker Media CEO & social media expert Paige Velasquez Budde to share a 10-step roadmap that will empower attendees to leverage the latest social media strategies to grow their audience, build their list and successfully launch their book. Attendees will leave the presentation with an online brand audit and a roadmap they can follow to grow their social media platform in the years to come. This session will include stand-alone labs for TiKTok, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram!
You will learn how to:
- Build a content strategy for social media that uses less time to make a bigger impact
- Conduct an online brand audit for yourself
- Leverage the new media landscape for success through the earned, rented & owned framework
- Understand the latest trends to use TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and other social media channels more effectively to drive results
- Create the right content strategy to own the connection with your audience
- Grow your email list with quiz/assessment marketing
This is a workshop that values the practical/actionable over the big picture and attendees will be challenged and encouraged to hit the ground running with social media.
This session is for any writer who wants to go to the next level with their social media and content marketing strategy.
$150
Bios:
Paige Velasquez Budde is Partner and CEO at Zilker Media, an Austin-based agency building people-driven brands. During her tenure as CEO, Zilker Media has been named one of the Fastest Growing Companies in Austin and Best Places to Work two years in a row by Austin Business Journal and has been listed on Austin Inno’s Coolest Companies. She has been featured as a speaker on digital marketing strategy and led workshops at national venues such as Harvard Medical School and for organizations such as Camp Gladiator, IBPA and Women Presidents’ Organization.
She has led the marketing campaigns and strategies for some of the world’s most recognized authorities, including The New York Times bestseller and Fortune Magazine Senior editor-at-large Geoff Colvin, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller and Hall of Fame speaker Sally Hogshead and many others. Paige has also counseled leading international brands such as Russell Stover and a2 Milk.
Her approach to people-driven marketing has been featured in many media outlets including Inc., Thrive Global, Texas CEO Magazine, Authority Magazine, Business News Daily and Business.com.
Rusty Shelton first spoke at Harvard on the changing world of PR and marketing at the age of 23. He is a bestselling author, dynamic keynote speaker and successful entrepreneur who has helped lead campaigns for the launch of 35 Wall Street Journals and NY Times bestsellers. He is the co-author (alongside Adam Witty) of Authority Marketing: How to Leverage 7 Pillars of Thought Leadership to Make Competition Irrelevant (ForbesBooks, 2018), which features a foreword from Steve Forbes, and co-author (alongside Barbara Cave Henricks) of Mastering the New Media Landscape: Embrace the Micromedia Mindset (Berrett-Koehler, 2016), which debuted at #2 on the Austin American-Statesman bestseller list.
Rusty speaks to tens of thousands of people every year about how to build thought leadership, navigate the changing media landscape and make a bigger impact. He has been on faculty at more than 20 Harvard Medical School CME courses over the past 15 years and has spoken for YPO, EO, SXSW Interactive, Oregon State University and numerous Fortune 1000 companies.
Thursday July 21, 2022 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Monica Wesolowska Title: Ready, Set, Go: Publish a Children’s Picture Book
Description:
To write a powerful children’s picture book, all you need is a few well-chosen words. As Margaret Wise Brown claimed while churning out classics, she could write a rough draft in twenty minutes. In this workshop, we’ll put that idea to practice. First, you’ll get some basic pointers, breaking down the magic of picture books into key components such as plot, page turns, and age-appropriate character development. Next, you’ll have a chance to write a draft and share it with others. Taking your rough draft into the next stage, we’ll work on picture book dummies. Finally, we’ll talk about the picture book market and strategies for revising your manuscript to make it stand out when you pitch it to agents and editors.
In this three-hour class, we will cover these topics:
- The key ingredients for a solid picture book text
- How to write a rough draft in one sitting
- The value of making a picture book dummy
- The process of pairing an author with an illustrator
- The market and how to pitch your text to agents and editors
Whether you’ve tried picture book writing before or not, this class is the perfect chance to sit down and write a draft that will stand out from the crowd. You’ll get craft tips, marketing tips, and feedback on your story from others. In three short hours, you will gain not only a wealth of practical tips but also the motivation to find the right place for your children’s picture book in the world.
$99
Bio:
Monica Wesolowska, is the author of two children’s picture books, Leo + Lea (Scholastic, 2022) and Elbert in the Air (Dial, 2023). With twenty years of experience as a teacher and editor, she enjoys working with students and clients in a wide variety of genres from picture books to literary fiction and memoirs. Her own memoir Holding Silvan: A Brief Life (Hawthorne, 2013) was named a “Best Book” of the year by The Boston Globe and Library Journal and she has published her fiction and essays widely. Read more at www.monicawesolowska.com.
Thursday July 21, 2022 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Ted Weinstein Title: How to Write a Stellar Book Proposal That Sells
Description:
Learn how to write the most powerful, effective proposal for your nonfiction book. Whether you aim to work with a major publisher or even self-publish, a book proposal is the essential business plan that every author needs to write. Literary agent Ted Weinstein will give an up-to-date look at the publishing industry in the digital era and teach you all the elements – style AND substance – that go into a great book proposal. In this class, you will learn:
– The major trends in nonfiction
– Key developments in the book business
– The changing roles of editors, agents and authors
– How to build your personal brand
– How to make you and your project stand out when agents and editors are buried with good proposals
– How to craft and polish each of the key sections of a successful proposal
– How to identify and most effectively query the literary agents best suited to your project
– Additional resources every author needs to succeed
By the end of the workshop you will have a clear picture of how to successfully navigate the challenging path all the way from book idea to book tour. Attendees can bring their own query or synopsis for a critique.
$119
Bio:
Ted Weinstein is a literary agent who works with a wide range of journalists, academics, and other non-fiction authors, including many NY Times and international bestsellers. His clients include New York Times bestsellers Austin Kleon (STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST, SHOW YOUR WORK!, and KEEP GOING) and Leander Kahney (author of major biographies of Apple’s great leaders, Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, and Tim Cook), Elle Luna (THE CROSSROADS OF SHOULD AND MUST), Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal (THE WILLPOWER INSTINCT, THE UPSIDE OF STRESS and THE JOY OF MOVEMENT), visual thinking guru Dan Roam (THE BACK OF THE NAPKIN, THE POP-UP PITCH), Stanford professor and NPR’s “Math Guy” Keith Devlin, and many more. More information about his agency and clients is at www.twliterary.com.
Thursday July 21, 2022 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Brooke Warner Title: Mastering Voice
Description:
In this master class, Brooke Warner will support you to harness the power of your self-expression. In this course, you will evaluate what scenes belong in your book and why. We’ll delve into why it’s courageous to self-express and to be fully yourself on the page—whether you’re writing nonfiction or fiction—as well as how to access that courage for the long haul. For anyone who’s ever felt the very concept of voice to be elusive, this course will demystify that notion and set you on a path toward writing your truest, most authentic story.
You’ll learn:
- How to bring your authentic voice to every scene you write.
- The relationship between voice and narration and scene.
- How to set your voice free on the page.
- How emulating others is helpful if and when you feel stuck.
- Why sensory detail will unlock the power of your narrative voice.
Brooke is a long-time teacher memoir and personal story writing, and brings deep knowledge of craft to all of her classes. In this course, you’ll write from the heart, see examples of what we mean by voice, and feel into the permission to set free whatever might be holding you back from sharing your truth on the page—through the power of your voice.
$129
Bio:
Brooke Warner is publisher of She Writes Press and SparkPress, president of Warner Coaching Inc., and author of Write On, Sisters!, Green-light Your Book, What’s Your Book?, and three books on memoir. Brooke is a TEDx speaker, weekly podcaster (of “Write-minded” with co-host Grant Faulkner of NaNoWriMo), and the former Executive Editor of Seal Press. She writes a regular column for Publishers Weekly.
Thursday July 21, 2022 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Instructor: Paul S. Levine, Esq. Title: Fiction and Nonfiction Writers’ Essential Guide to the Legal and Business Aspects of Getting Published
Description:
The nuts and bolts of the business of writing are as essential to a writer’s success as the writer’s work itself. How does a writer get an agent and an attorney? How does the writer’s work get sold and how is the writer compensated? What will the agent and the lawyer do for the writer? How are they compensated? How do writers work together? This comprehensive seminar will cover: the principles of copyright law as the underpinnings of all writing; what agents do and what lawyers do, how their functions sometimes overlap and how they differ; the process of obtaining an agent and a lawyer, when and why an agent is necessary and when and why an agent may not be necessary; how agents and lawyers are compensated by their clients; the content of a typical collaboration agreement and three reasons why they are an absolute necessity; a review, in detail, of a typical publishing agreement–royalties, advances, rights granted and rights withheld, etc.; the editing process: what happens if the publisher rejects the manuscript, the publisher’s ultimate acceptance of the manuscript, actual publication after acceptance, and promotion and publicity. Bring all your questions concerning the business of being or becoming a successful book author–they will all be answered.
In this class, I will:
- explain how the principles of copyright are the underpinnings of all writing (“intellectual property”) and give the students a basic overview of copyright law–registration of copyright; the types of works that are protected by copyright; the idea/expression dichotomy; infringement; joint authorship (collaboration will be discussed in much more detail later on); remedies; etc.
- describe what “rights” are, how they can be divided, and which rights should be conveyed to a publisher and which rights should be reserved to an author.
- describe what agents do and what lawyers do, how their functions sometimes overlap and how they differ. I will talk about the process of obtaining an agent and a lawyer, when and why an agent is necessary and when and why an agent may not be necessary, and how agents and lawyers are compensated by their clients.
- describe the content of a typical collaboration agreement, and give three reasons why they are an absolute necessity.
- describe what is needed to present a non-fiction and a fiction book project to a publisher for consideration.
- review, in detail, a typical publishing agreement–royalties, advances, rights granted and rights withheld, etc.
- describe the editing process, what happens if the publisher rejects the manuscript, the publisher’s ultimate acceptance of the manuscript, actual publication after acceptance, and promotion and publicity.
The level of ignorance and misconceptions out there–among beginning writers and among experienced writers–always astounds me when I encounter it. Unfortunately, I encounter it all too often. Writers may know about what they do, how they do it and why they do it, but, in general, know little about and/or have misconceptions about the business of writing and the legal underpinnings of written works. All too often, writers simply leave these matters in the hands of their agents and attorneys if they have representation, or, if they do not, trust that “somehow” these matters will take care of themselves.
I design my courses to decrease the ignorance level and to dispel the misconceptions. I hope to give writers some basic knowledge so that they can be, or become, successful business persons as well as successful writers.
$129
Bio:
Paul S. Levine “wears two hats”–he is a lawyer and a literary agent.
Mr. Levine has practiced entertainment law for over 40 years, specializing in the representation of writers, producers, actors, directors, composers, musicians, artists, authors, photographers, galleries, publishers, developers, production companies and theatre companies in the fields of motion pictures, television, interactive multimedia, live stage, recorded music, concerts, the visual arts, publishing, and advertising. In 1996, Mr. Levine opened the Paul S. Levine Literary Agency, specializing in the representation of book authors and the sale of motion picture and television rights in and to books. Since starting his literary agency, Mr. Levine has sold over 250 fiction and non-fiction books to at least 50 different publishers and has had many books developed as movies-for-television and feature films.
The fiction which Mr. Levine represents tends to be commercial—thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, and literary fiction. The non-fiction which he represents also tends to be commercial—self-help, how-to, relationships, memoirs, health, women’s issues, pop culture, new age, mind/body/spirit, and business. For both fiction and non-fiction books, his biggest successes have been with authors who originally self-publish their books, sell a significant number of copies, and then wish to have their books republished by a major publishing house.
For the film screen, he represents a wide range of scripts, from romantic comedies to thrillers to historical epics. In television, Mr. Levine mainly represents writers and producers of true life story movies-for-television, as well as the subjects of those docudramas. He also represents writers and writer-producers of network and non-network series television, both dramas and comedies, as well as reality shows, game shows, talk shows and the like.
Sunday July 24, 2022 2-5 p.m.
Instructor: C.S. Lakin Title: The 8 Essential Components to Writing A Commercially Successful Novel
A Hands-On Workshop for Intermediate to Advanced Fiction Writers
Description:
Want to know the secrets to writing a commercially successful novel? They may surprise you!
Fiction writers need to go beyond the obvious: compelling characters, masterful writing that nails genre, scenes that “show, don’t tell,” an engaging (preferably rhiveting) story, and meaningful conflict that creates tension.
Those things are important … but hugely successful books have specific elements that set them apart from the masses, cause them to rise to the top of the pile, and get readers enthusiastically telling their friends to read them.
These 8 essential elements that lead to commercial success are often ignored or minimized, but if writers nail these brilliantly, their novel will shine.
Here are the 8 elements you’ll be applying as you workshop your scene:
- High Moment and Character Change: You have to know the specific purpose of your scene, build to a key moment at the end (last lines) of your scene, which creates change in your character.
- Micro tension on every page. All points to the secrets and twists to come. What are you not saying simmers under the surface of your scenes. This will make or break your story.
- Nuances of deep POV, including unique voices for every character. It’s important to establish character mood, mind-set, and motivation right from the start.
- Sensory detail. Going beyond five senses, using specific wording to set mood and tone for the scene. What the character processes through her senses should reveal important things about her and not merely convey information.
- Emotional manipulation—you must know how you want your readers to feel and how to get them there. And you need to masterfully learn how to show emotion in three key ways.
- High Stakes! High, believable personal and public stakes that ramp up to the climax—that always point back to your premise and character’s moral dilemma.
- Purposeful backstory in the right amounts and the right places.
- Tight, distilled dialogue. It makes or breaks a scene. We’ll look at “on the nose” dialogue and discuss dialogue mechanics. Characters rarely say what they mean, but what they need seeps through.
This hands-on workshop will be an accelerated, sweeping overview of what normally is covered in 8 full weeks of diving deep into sample scenes and intensive study. You’ll be given access to a folder chock-full of worksheets, handouts, and scenes to help you master the techniques you’ll be given in the workshop.
Consider this a unique opportunity to apply what you learn immediately as you rework the scene you bring to this workshop in real time, share (if you’re willing) what you’ve written, and hear what others write.
Ready to take the plunge? If so, here’s what’s required:
- You must have written at least half of a draft of a novel and have a basic understanding of novel, scene, and story structure
- You need to bring one scene to this workshop, and preferably along with a laptop or pad or some device on which you can easily rewrite your scene
- Your scene needs to be at least 10 double-spaced pages, includes some amount of dialogue, and features your protagonist
- You’ll need to be willing to work with 1-3 other writers in a breakout group to share your passages and give feedback to other writers.
The objective of this masterclass is to acquaint you with all of these elements so you can easily identify what’s missing or poorly executed in your scenes (and any scenes you read!) and know just what’s needed to remedy the problem. With this knowledge in hand, you’ll be on your way to writing a commercially successful novel!
$149
Testimonials for C. S. Lakin’s 8-Week Novel-Writing Workshops
“Susanne will show you how to develop and polish every aspect of your scenes. Her wealth of experience and compassionate teaching will help you keep your readers hooked on every page.” —Will Wraxall
“I had hit a brick wall and not written anything in six months. This workshop was a much needed kick in the pants. What I learned about writing gave me a fresh evaluation of my work and more importantly the motivation and the tools to enjoy writing again.” —Gene Quinones
“I have learned SO much in such a short space of time. It was a big commitment to make, but it was so, so worth it. I won’t ever regret it—at the very least, my writing will be so much better than before. The very best outcome is beyond exciting and I feel far more confident about making that dream a reality.” —Liz Thompson
“As someone who has only really started writing about a year ago, I can say without doubt that this course has made my writing 1,000 times better—the structure of my novel, the POV, sensory detail. While I had some of these things already, learning what works and what doesn’t has improved my writing. It has changed my writing and my joy of writing for the better. I cannot thank Susanne enough.” —Joshua Bruce
Sunday July 24, 2022 2-5 p.m.
Instructor: Jordan Rosenfeld Title: Truth on fire: Building memoir and essay from the ground up
Description:
Almost everyone has a personal story they want to tell in the form of a memoir or essay—truth, as they say, is often stranger than fiction. Memoir/personal essay can be both cathartic and healing for the writer, but in order to make our stories resonate for readers, we have to apply a solid level of craft. Just writing down what happened isn’t enough to bring it to life for readers. In this workshop writers will treat their story much the same way fiction writers approach a novel: by turning yourself into a character (known as the narrator), discovering your own inciting incident, and building the framework of a narrative arc (a plot).
Writers of this workshop will learn:
- Two key ways to conceive of your narrator
- Different kinds of narrative structures
- The “problem” or “question” that drives your story
- How to mine your memories for the most salient ones
- How to track change in your narrator’s story
- What themes shape your story
- How to build the right scaffolding for your story
By the end of this workshop, you should have a strong sense of how to write the story that’s been burning inside you, which life experiences will be most relevant, and create a working outline of the story you will write. We will engage in numerous writing prompts to help prime the pump, and narrow down the “beating heart” of your story.
Who this session is for:
- Anyone writing memoir or personal essay
- Beginning to intermediate writers
- Writers without a draft and writers with an existing draft
- Anyone who believes they have a true story to tell
- Writers who want to write compelling true stories that readers can’t put down.
$129
Bio:
Jordan Rosenfeld is author of the novels Women in Red and Forged in Grace and six books on the craft of writing, most recently How to Write a Page-Turner, the bestselling Make a Scene, Writing the Intimate Character, A Writer’s Guide to Persistence, Writing Deep Scenes and Write Free. Her freelance articles and essays have been published in hundreds of publications, including: The Atlantic, The New York Times, Scientific American, Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Washington Post and many more. She is also a freelance manuscript editor and writing coach. When not teaching her own online classes in fiction and non-fiction, she has taught at such institutions as the University of Oslo and Brown University. Jordanrosenfeld.net and [email protected].
Sunday July 24, 2022 2-5 p.m.
Instructor: Joey Garcia Title: Build An Author Platform That Attracts the Media & Sells Books: Practical Strategies From A Media Insider
Includes an 80-page workbook
Description:
The best time to begin growing your author brand and building your platform is now—whether you’re at work on a manuscript, still thinking about what you want to write, or have just sent your book to its publisher. This Master Class provides information, strategies and insider secrets you won’t find anywhere else because it’s taught by a media professional who is currently on-air at a television station and who is also an author and a book coach. It’s rare to have the opportunity to learn from someone who has deep knowledge of the book industry and currently works in a newsroom. You will learn specific platform-building strategies that help the media discover authors and their books and how to leverage discoverability to grow your audience, boost your book sales and create more opportunities. Attendees will leave this Master Class with actionable steps to implement right away and a plan to follow as their brand and platform grows.
You will learn how to:
- Get major media attention without a huge social media following or big budget.
- Think like a media outlet when editing your author website.
- Create a pitch and press release that grabs media attention.
- Grow your email list so it boosts your brand and platform.
- Leverage a media interview so it results in book sales (even if you’re an introvert).
Most book publicity courses are taught by instructors who lack recent experience in media and publicity. That matters because the media landscape has radically changed—and is evolving fast.
Why not learn from a pro how to achieve the same win that a book publicist seeks: Getting traditional or new media to say yes to a pitch. You’ll gain expert insights on how to build an author platform that attracts the media and gets your book into the hands of more readers.
This Master Class will benefit nonfiction and fiction authors or authors-to-be and is applicable to the hybrid, self-publishing and traditional publishing paths.
$129
Bio:
Joey Garcia coaches authors and authors-to-be on effective strategies to boost their books and platforms. Her clients have been featured in Ms. Magazine, CNN.com, The Tamron Hall Show, and on the TODAY Show parenting blog, among others. Joey is the author of When Your Heart Breaks, It’s Opening to Love, and she’s the on-air Relationship Expert for Fox40-TV. She’s been interviewed by HuffPost, USA Today, Deutsche Welle, KVIE public television and Global Woman TV Sweden. Her award-winning essays, poetry, and short stories have been widely published, including on KQED public radio, the Brevity blog, Mslexia, Calyx, Hippocampus magazine and Samtiden. In 2018, Joey launched The Belize Writers Conference and established the first literary fellowship for a Belizean writer in the country’s history. She manages the book publicity track for the San Francisco Writers Conference. Find her client success stories on the SFWC blog or at www.joeygarcia.com
Sunday July 24, 2022 2-5 p.m.
Instructor: Rocky Lang Title: Books To Film: How to Grab Hollywood’s attention
The movie and television businesses have undergone seismic changes. Some of those changes are due to COVID, and others are more deeply rooted in a need for more material as there are more outlets. In today’s marketplace there is an insatiable desire for IP (Intellectual property), which often means a book, and the book does not necessarily need to be published by a big house. As a result, the unpublished writer has a better opportunity to get their book, short story, play or article to Hollywood and be successful than at any other time. Rocky, is a 40-year veteran of the motion picture and television industries with major credits and is also a best-selling author. He knows the ins and outs of both worlds. In this class, he will discuss the tools and the tricks that the author needs to get Hollywood’s attention. Rocky will cover what is required to approach film agents, movie and television executives and learn to create a “package” that is attractive to buyers. Rocky will also discuss assessing the market, and what the networks, studios and streamers are looking for.
This session will help you:
- Learn the four major tools needed to take YOUR book to Hollywood.
- How to evaluate the marketplace and identify the right buyers.
- How to protect your intellectual property.
- Understand the hierarchy; who to pitch, and how to pitch.
- Finding the key to the lock on the castle. How to get in and what to do when you do.
- If you are successful…what then; and if you’re not…then what?
In this Master Class, you will come away with the tools and knowledge to give yourself the best chance of getting your book, article, play, and short story to Hollywood. The session will include a lecture, a multimedia presentation, class participation, and some writing.
This session is for:
- Writers of all kinds wishing to access the entertainment industry and learn how to take their project to film.
$129
Bio:
Rocky Lang has been involved in the motion picture and television business all his life. He has produced, written, and directed motion pictures, documentaries, television shows, movies-of the-weeks, and mini-series. Among his feature credits, he produced Ridley Scott’s White Squall, starring Jeff Bridges.
Mr. Lang recently executive produced You Can’t Take My Daughter for Lifetime Television. His previous films produced at Lifetime were Girl Fight and the Image Award-nominated, Racing For Time. Mr. Lang is the author of nine books, How I Broke Into Hollywood, published by Regan Books/Harper-Collins, Growing Up Hollywood, HLPI Books, and his new book won the Theater/Library Association’s Richard Wall Special Jury Prize Award Winning bestseller, Letters From Hollywood, published by Abrams Books which won the 2019 Richard Wall Memorial Award Special Jury Prize for exemplary work.
Lang has recently made a deal with Turner Classic Movies to produce a series of pieces based on the letters in the book Letters from Hollywood.
Directing assignments have included the long-running hit show Remington Steele, as well as three features: Nervous Ticks (Columbia Tri-Star), Race For Glory (New Century Vista), and All’s Fair (Moviestore). Mr. Lang produced the Emmy Award-winning Titanic, a four-hour mini-series for CBS.
Sunday July 24, 2022 2-5 p.m.
Instructor: Jacquelin Cangro Title: READING LIKE A WRITER: Master Close Reading and Improve Your Writing
Description:
Writers have heard the mantra time and again: good writers are good readers. We know that reading is instrumental in developing the tools to craft compelling and engaging stories, but simply reading isn’t enough. In order to really benefit, we have to read with a writer’s eye to discover how the story was constructed, so we need to evaluate as we read. But how, exactly, do we accomplish that? In this class, Jackie will offer techniques to examine published works, peeling back the layers of story to review the choices the author made and why.
This session will help you:
- Move from a passive reader to an active reader
- Evaluate a story as you read to identify passages that resonate with you; and those that don’t.
- Examine why you felt strongly about that passage.
- Learn how to ask the right questions as you read in order to uncover the techniques the writer used in crafting the story.
- Determine the techniques the author used and implement them in your own writing.
Your story is a series of choices you make about what information to share and how to share it. We’ll look at how other authors have approached those choices, the effect they had on the story, and how they impact the reader. Then we’ll review one aspect of storytelling at a time to see how it makes the story tick. This is a “how to” master class to let the craft of reading teach the craft of writing.
This session is for:
- Beginning writers
- Writers interested in adding new techniques to their toolbox
- Writers who want to learn how to solve story problems
- Anyone who wants to improve their reading skills
$99
Bio:
Jacquelin Cangro worked at Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster for more than twenty years. Now, as a freelance developmental editor and writing coach, she’s reviewed dozens of novel and short story manuscripts, providing writers with feedback to revise their stories. Her first book, The Subway Chronicles: Scenes from Life in New York, was published by Penguin/Plume, started as an online journal, accepting essays from writers of all skill levels. Jacquelin’s short fiction was selected as the Saturday Evening Post’s Great American Stories 2014, and her other works of fiction have appeared in Stonecrop Review, The Macguffin, Valparaiso Fiction Review, and Cortland Review. You can find out more about Jacquelin and her work at https://jacquelincangro.com
Sunday July 24, 2022 2-5 p.m.
Instructor: Matthew Félix Title: Podcasting for Writers: How and Why to Make Podcasting Essential to Your Platform
Description:
As the world of podcasting has gotten bigger and bigger, it has become more and more essential for writers looking to promote themselves and their work.
But how to make podcasting part of your author platform?
Whether you’re curious about the ins and outs of being a guest or everything you need to know to start your own podcast, this class takes you behind the scenes with former San Francisco Writers Conference Program Podcast Director and Host Matthew Félix. Matthew shares what he and other hosts look for in guests, and he dispels the myth that producing a podcast requires advanced technical expertise and cost-prohibitive equipment. He demystifies podcasting and shows you how and why you can—and should—leverage this dynamic, expanding medium to build and boost your author platform.
You will learn how to:
- Find and secure guest spots on podcasts
- Be an ideal guest before, during, and after an appearance
- Develop your own podcast, including your show concept, format, title, logo, and music
- Set up your podcast on hosting platforms, on iTunes, and in podcast directories
- Produce podcast episodes from start to finish, from preparation to recording, editing, publishing, and promotion
- Conduct a great interview
- Get even more out of your efforts by including video as part of your offering
- Think outside the box to leverage podcasting in other creative ways
During the class, Matthew will also produce a start-to-finish example podcast episode, providing you with a practical, real-time demonstration of many of the principals, platforms, and applications discussed in the session. By the end, you will have a comprehensive understanding of podcasting fundamentals and how to take full advantage of this exciting medium to promote yourself and your work.
This class is for any writer curious about how and why to make podcasting an integral part of their author platform, whether as a guest, a host, or both.
$119
Bio:
Matthew Félix is an author, a speaker, and the producer and host of multiple podcasts, including his eponymous Matthew Félix on Air and the San Francisco Writers Conference Podcast. He has interviewed New York Times bestselling authors, leaders of organizations such as LitQuake, the Mill Valley Film Festival, and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, and other notable figures in fields as diverse as travel, health, and the environment. Matthew has also spent time on the other side of the mic, as interviewee on podcasts, nationally syndicated radio shows, and web series. Matthew regularly speaks about subjects ranging from creativity to podcasting to marketing for authors and more. Publishers Weekly’s BookLife Prize called Matthew’s debut novel, A Voice Beyond Reason, “(a) highly crafted gem;” his travel collection, With Open Arms, won numerous Solas Awards and has topped Amazon’s Morocco category four times; and his latest book, Porcelain Travels, won Gold for Humor in the Readers’ Favorite Awards, received a Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition Award, and was a Foreword INDIES Humor Book of the Year Award finalist.
Sunday July 24, 2022 2-5 p.m.
Instructor: Sue Zizza, David Shinn, Ralph Scott, and Kendra Murray Title: FROM PAGE. TO STAGE. TO EAR.
Turn your fiction or nonfiction book into a powerful Audiobook story for the ears.
Description:
In this three-hour Masterclass audiobook event, Audie award-winning Director/Producer, Sue Zizza; award-winning Engineer and Acoustics Expert, David Shinn; and award-winning Narrator talent Kendra Murray and Ralph Scott will play samples of their recent audiobooks with an eye to deeply examining how a project is selected, produced, acted, mixed, delivered, and promoted. Each expert will look at each story from his and her unique discipline: Producing, Engineering, Performing, Promotion. With the two to three selected audience submissions*, Sue, Kendra, and Ralph will demonstrate how they bring your words to life for the listening audience. David will discuss the possible recording needs, mixing, and mastering.
For the writing selected we’ll discuss:
- Solo? Duet? Or Dual Narration? Ensemble performance? (It’s all in your POV)
- The nonverbal cues that Narrators / performers look for in your prose (Sometimes what’s not said says everything)
- Hire talent or do it yourself? (Acting choices…then choose voices. Union vs non-union?)
- The absolute must-haves in your recording home room / studio (Can a coat closet be as good as a $100K pro studio? Where do you record?)
- Distribution? (Audible? iTunes? Spotify?)
- Buzz (How to get and keep a reporter on the line.)
Be a part of the process as these industry professionals breakdown the creative, budget, and technical thinking that go into audiobook production decisions with the author and master class attendees for both fiction and non-fiction books.
This Masterclass is for:
- Writers who would like to record their own book
- Writers who want to work with professionals to record their book
- Anyone who wants to identify and understand audiobook distribution options
- Anyone seeking to better understand the booming audiobook industry
BONUS: Attend the masterclass, and in August 2022 (to be scheduled) receive a one-hour FREE consultation by ZOOM on how to turn your book into an audiobook from Sue/David and Kendra/Ralph.
*Minimum of 8 registrants required or class will be cancelled.
$149
Bio:
Sue Zizza is a Transmedia producer, director, writer, and sound designer. Sue is the owner of both SueMedia Productions, a full service audio production company, and also Radio Waves Studios, a premiere audio facility capturing and producing sound for all media: Audiobooks, TV, Film,VR. Etc.
Sue has produced award winning audio fiction for public radio, audiobooks, and podcasts for more than 3 decades.
Her work has been honored by The Audies (9 nominations, two wins); The Gabriel’s; The International Festival of New York; The National Federation of Community Broadcasters; and the Communicator Awards. Most recently, a new radio / podcast series called Day By Day, which she is co-directing / co-producing was selected to be featured as part of the 2022 Tribeca Film Festivals’ Podcast selections.
In 2021 Sue received the Norman Corwin Award for Excellence in Audio Theater for her many achievements in producing audio fiction.
Sue’s sound clients have also included: Cleo TV, PBS, Audible, Blackstone, Macmillan Audio, and USA Networks Scy-Fi Channel.
From 1996 -2008 she served as the Executive Director of the National Audio Theatre Festivals (NATF) – an audio arts training organization.
In 2013 Sue co-founded with NATF, the HEAR Now Festival.
When she’s not producing and directing, Sue specializes in and manual SFX (Foley) effects for audio productions, film, television and the stage.
Sue also teaches audio arts and sound production at New York University’s Kanbar Institute for Film and Television at the Tisch School of the Arts.
Bio:
David Shinn is co-owner of SueMedia Productions and Radio Waves Studios. David is an Emmy and Audie award winning sound designer/engineer and foley (SFX) artist specializing in remote, live, and studio productions.
Most recently he oversaw the interconnection of 21 performance artists from home and commercial studios around the world to create an ensemble performance for SueMedia Productions latest release “Presence, the Play” (nominated for Best Sound by NY International Radio Festivals 2022). He has also helped create live performance events prior to and during the pandemic for the Audio Engineering Society, the HEAR Now Festival, and Audio Publishers Association Conference.
David has mixed sound for all media, including reality television series, film, VR,AR, 360 film, audiobooks, podcasts, commercials, and more.
David is also a master builder of custom recording and VO studios. His work has been recognized by the Emmys (4 nominations, 1 win) Audies (9 nominations, 2 wins), The Communicator Awards, Earphone Awards, The NY International Radio Festival, and numerous other awards.
Bio:
An award-winning producer with a get-it-done (with a smile) attitude, Ralph Scott produces audiobooks, audio theatre, scripted entertainment, commercial spots, or pretty much anything within the live or recorded audio arena.
The characters Ralph creates on the spot (we lost count just north of 83) are only bested by the number of children’s verses he has written since he was handed a cocktail napkin on a dare back in 1993. (That would be just north of 1,700.) Give him three words and he’ll compose a witty poem for you in under five minutes.
Give him a studio and your manuscript and he’ll vibrantly breathe life into any character you craft.
Together with co-narrator Kendra Murray, Ralph turns the studio into a theatre for the ear. Be sure to grab a chair the next time you download a Murray and Scott audiobook production. And dim the lights. And don’t forget the popcorn.
You’ll swear you’re in a movie.Register Now
Bio:
Kendra Murray began narrating audiobooks in 2019 and has 34 titles available on Audible, and several more in production. Kendra performs solo narrations and dual/duet narrations with husband, Ralph Scott, of Squeaky Cheese Productions, and together they co-produce and direct author-narrated projects. (She also has titles under her pseudonym.)
Kendra hails from stage and radio theatre as an actor, director, and producer. She has received accolades for her work with The Petaluma Radio Players at the HEAR Now Festival’s Podcast Palooza.
She was named 2020 Best Supporting Actor for her role as Ulysses in Pendant Audio Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, was a Finalist for the 2021 Audiobook Adrenaline Awards in Suspense Narration for Where the Truth Hides by Liane Carmen, and was nominated for 2021 Best Supporting Actor as Thaisa in Pericles, Prince of Tyre, produced by Pendant Shakespeare.