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On Tuesday, July 21, 2015, ALSC is offering a free webinar on media mentorship. Presented by Amy Koester, Youth & Family Program Coordinator, Skokie (IL) Public Library, Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth: A Primer is an opportunity to learn more about the core ideas behind the white paper. Registration is free and open to anyone.

Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth: A Primer
Tuesday, July 21, 2015

• 12pm Eastern
• 11am Central
• 10am Mountain
• 9am Pacific

The post Free Media Mentorship Webinar appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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April is coming up and ALSC has a bundle of great learning opportunities. From online courses to webinars, ALSC has a learning choice that fits your budget!

Online Courses

Explore new ideas and great library thinking with ALSC online courses! ALSC is offering four great options including three CEU-certified courses. All courses are offered asynchronously (self-directed) meaning you won’t need to logon at a specific time. Learn new youth library-specific skills at a pace that’s comfortable and convenient. Courses start Monday, April 6, 2015.

• Children with Disabilities in the Library
  6 weeks, April 6 – May 15, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 3 CEUs
• Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy
  4 weeks, April 6 – May 1, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 1.2 CEUs
• Storytelling with Puppets
  4 weeks, April 6 – May 1, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 2.2 CEUs

Webinars

Because life in a library moves fast, ALSC webinars are the perfect solution for someone who wants and needs educational information but doesn’t have a lot of time or resources.  These short (one to two hour) interactive sessions taking place in Adobe Connect give librarians and library support staff the opportunity to learn right at their desks.

April

Be a Winner: Inspired Youth Grant Writing (Part I)
Thursday, April 2, 2015, 3 pm Eastern/2 pm Central

Be a Winner: Inspired Youth Grant Writing (Part II)
Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 12 pm Eastern/11 am Central

May

Celebrating with Poetry Snapshots
Thursday, May 7, 2015, 3 pm Eastern/2 pm Central

Archived Webinars

Missed a webinar you wanted to attend? Don’t worry! ALSC presents archived versions of webinars, which are offered at a discounted price. Archived webinars cost only $25. Please note that recorded versions are not available until all of the live sessions of that webinar have taken place.

The post Upcoming ALSC Online Education – April 2015 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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As school districts across the country continue to adopt leveled reading programs like Accelerated Reader, school and public libraries are under increasing pressure to label library materials with leveling information. This can be a distressing proposition for many reasons, but it is particularly concerning from an intellectual freedom standpoint. What does it mean for young readers when they are limited to certain reading levels, and what might be the effect of having one’s reading ability stamped onto the cover a book for all to see?

Librarians want to support their local educators, parents, and children. So when does leveled reading begin to infringe on students’ intellectual freedom, and how can we help our communities understand these problems?

We asked Pat Scales, retired school librarian, past President of ALSC, and spokesperson for first amendment issues, to share some information on leveled reading systems, labeling, and their relationship to intellectual freedom.

Additional resources that you might find useful include Labeling and Rating Systems: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights and Questions and Answers on Labeling and Rating Systems, both from ALA.org.

School Library Journal also offered a free webinar in September 2014, School Library Journal Webinar: Let’s Talk About Banned Books, which is archived and can still be viewed. Pat addressed many of these questions in more detail during her section of the webinar.

How do book leveling systems such as Accelerated Reader, Lexile and Action 100 limit intellectual freedom for children?

There are many troubling things about these leveling systems, but the systems don’t abridge freedom to read. It’s the practice of limiting students’ access to materials based on reading levels that infringes on students’ right to read. Unfortunately this is common practice in many school libraries, and some public libraries feel pressured to implement such restrictions.   Librarians serving children should evaluate how these systems are used and develop policies that promise free and open access to students of all ages.

Some school libraries are labeling their entire collections so that children can find books on their required reading levels quickly. What issues do you see with this?

Labeling is an unacceptable practice, and violates the spirit of the Library Bill of Rights. “Organizing collections by reading management program, level, ability, grade, or age level is another form of restricted access.” (Restricted Access to Library Materials: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights) A library promotes reading, but isn’t a reading classroom. Instead it should be a place where children discover the magic of story, and the power of information. Reading levels shouldn’t be worn as a badge of honor or a badge of shame. That is what happens when libraries are reduced to reading laboratories. Additional points:

• Students may be able to handle books that are beyond their “tested reading level” if they are interested enough in the book. Chronological age and emotional maturity play a much greater role in what children choose to read than reading level. Gifted students are often expected to read far beyond their maturity level simply because they can read a text. There are documented censorship cases where elementary schools purchased books more appropriate for young adults all because the books had a higher reading level.
• Students who need a quick overview on a topic may find it in an “easier” text, but may then be led to more difficult books on the subject.
• Students should expect a certain amount of privacy when making their reading selections. If books are labeled with reading level stickers, whether on the cover or on the inside of the book, there is the possibility that other students take note of the labels, thus violating a student’s privacy.
• Librarians are trained in collection development and reader guidance. Reading leveling systems preclude them for doing their job.

How should school and public librarians work together to ensure that children get access to the books they are required to read as well as the books they want to read?

Public librarians should ask to meet with school librarians or teachers in the spring when reading lists are likely developed for the following school year. Ask that schools share these lists to assure that public libraries have the books in the collection. Exchange email addresses so that the public library and schools can stay in touch regarding services. Sponsor a back to school program for teachers and parents (advertised on the public library and school websites) and include the following:

• Encourage the group to share their favorite children’s books – whether from their childhood or ones they share with their students.
• Ask adults to share their library experiences as a child. Take what they say and lead a discussion about best practices. How did their experience shape their view of libraries today?
• Make sure that parents and teachers understand that a child shouldn’t be tested on every book they read. And, the point should be made that children don’t need to comprehend every nuance in a book to enjoy the story.
• Invite readers (from the summer reading program) to share some of their favorite books.
• Encourage older readers to suggest titles for younger readers.

Often librarians struggle on the front lines when parents refuse to let their children check out books not in their reading system or on their reading level. Do you have any suggestions for gentle ways that librarians can advocate for the child’s intellectual freedom while respecting the parents in the middle of a readers advisory or reference transaction?

• Ask to speak with the parent in private and explain all the reasons that children read.
• Suggest that the parent allow the child to take several books – variety of topics and reading levels.

What are some of the limitations of book rating websites such as Common Sense Media, The Literate Mother, and Facts on Fictions?

These sites aren’t really book review sites, and some of the people writing the entries don’t really know children’s books. The focus isn’t on the entire book as a work of literature. Instead they rate the content of books using emoticons or graphs – calling out issues related to sex, profanity, violence, and drinking and drugs. Some of the sites make specific reference (by page number) to what they view as troubling content.   This is a real threat to libraries and the patrons they serve. For example, a chaste kiss may be interpreted as having a lot of sex in the book. There are documented cases where books have been removed from libraries based on Common Sense Media reviews. The most troubling thing of all is that there are librarians who rely on these sites because they think knowing about “controversial content” protects the library. These aren’t selection tools. Don’t be sucked in by such a false sense of security. Instead take the time to get to know these sites, and it will become crystal clear that these people don’t know how to evaluate books.

While we know that librarians are the best resource for connecting kids with the right books, how can librarians let their communities know they are there to help? How should we be advocating for ourselves?

Find opportunities to speak to civic groups and tell the public library story. Share a little of the history of children’s programming in the local library, and make a connection between services offered in the past and those offered today. Civic groups tend to respond to statistics, but tell human interest stories as well. Perhaps a teen parent brought her baby to the public library to find books for him, and you worked with the teen parent to help her know how to interact with her child through story.

Also, be in touch with various agencies and organizations serving children and families and suggest books and materials that may help them with their work. These may include the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, a homeless shelter, Safe Houses, detention centers, the city or town’s parks and recreation system, arts councils, etc.

Consider a library blog that showcases public library programming.   Encourage parents to ask librarians reader guidance kinds of questions. For example, “My daughter loves the Harry Potter Books. What else what else might she like?” Respond with a specific answer, or simply ask the parent to bring the child to the public library so that librarians can guide her.

BIOGRAPHY: Pat Scales is a retired middle and high school librarian whose program Communicate Through Literature was featured on the Today Show and in various professional journals. She received the ALA/Grolier Award in 1997, and was featured in Library Journal’s first issue of Movers and Shakers in Libraries: People Who Are Shaping the Future of Libraries. Ms. Scales has served as chair of the prestigious Newbery, Caldecott, and Wilder Award Committees. She is a past President of the Association of Library Service for Children, a division of the American Library Association. Scales has been actively involved with ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee for a number of years, is a member of the Freedom to Read Foundation, serves as on the Council of Advisers of the National Coalition Against Censorship, and acts as a spokesperson for first amendment issues as they relate to children and young adults. She is the author of Teaching Banned Books: Twelve Guides for Young Readers, Protecting Intellectual Freedom in Your School Library and Books Under Fire: A Hit List of Banned and Challenged Children’s Books. She writes a bi-monthly column, Scales on Censorship, for School Library Journal, a monthly column for the Random House website, curriculum guides on children’s and young adult books for a number of publishers, and is a regular contributor to Book Links magazine.

The post Leveling and Labeling: An Interview with Pat Scales appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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Online Courses

Explore new ideas and great library thinking with ALSC online courses! ALSC is offering four great options including three CEU-certified courses. All courses are offered asynchronously (self-directed) meaning you won’t need to logon at a specific time. Learn new youth library-specific skills at a pace that’s comfortable and convenient. Courses start Monday, April 6, 2015.

• Children with Disabilities in the Library
  6 weeks, April 6 – May 15, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 3 CEUs
• Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Programs Made Easy
  4 weeks, April 6 – May 1, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 1.2 CEUs
• Storytelling with Puppets
  4 weeks, April 6 – May 1, 2015, CEU Certified Course, 2.2 CEUs

Webinars

Because life in a library moves fast, ALSC webinars are the perfect solution for someone who wants and needs educational information but doesn’t have a lot of time or resources.  These short (one to two hour) interactive sessions taking place in Adobe Connect give librarians and library support staff the opportunity to learn right at their desks.

March

Building STEAM with Día: The Whys and Hows to Getting Started
Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 12 pm Eastern/11 am Central

May

Celebrating with Poetry Snapshots
Thursday, May 7, 2015, 3 pm Eastern/2 pm Central

Archived Webinars

Missed a webinar you wanted to attend? Don’t worry! ALSC presents archived versions of webinars, which are offered at a discounted price. Archived webinars cost only $25. Please note that recorded versions are not available until all of the live sessions of that webinar have taken place.

The post Upcoming ALSC Online Learning appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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Earlier this week ALSC held an online forum to continue the Day of Diversity conversation from Midwinter. I chair the committee, Library Services to Special Population Children and Their Caregivers, so I thought about the conversation in terms of special populations served by our libraries. “Special populations” is rather weird terminology (“underrepresented” may be a better term). What is considered a special population really depends on each library’s community. A special population in Richmond, CA may not be a special population in Nashville, TN. Even within a city, special populations may vary from branch to branch.

Forum attendees generated lots of suggestions about how to make our libraries more diverse, welcoming places for everyone in the community. This is a huge task – one that requires ongoing assessment to learn who is underrepresented in your community and at your library, one that requires ongoing training of library employees. To this end, I searched library-related continuing education websites for upcoming professional development opportunities focused on services or resources for diverse or underrepresented populations.

Here are some upcoming professional development opportunities:

Library Juice Academy
Bilingual Storytime at Your Biblioteca
March 2-27, 2015 $175
“Participants will discover new books, rhymes, songs, plans and resources that they can immediately put to use in their bilingual storytime programs.”

Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Technology Planning for Patrons with Disabilities – Where Do I Start?
March 12, 2015 FREE
“Learn about resources…including low-cost or free basic assistive equipment [to] download immediately.”

University of Wisconsin – Madison
Library Services for the Hmong Community
March 10, 2015 FREE
This webinar will discuss “barriers that prevent Hmong from using libraries and share the Appleton Public Library’s successful outreach strategies for reaching out to Hmong patrons.”

ASCLA
Improving Library Services for People with Disabilities
March 2-29, 2015 Registration fee varies
Attendees “will review the current level of service to people with disabilities then explore materials and sources that provide additional support or new ideas.”

RUSA
Spice it Up with Pura Belpre!
April 30, 2015 Registration fee varies
In this session attendees will learn about these award-winning titles and “discover how they enhance multicultural collections as well as contribute to instructional strategies.”

These are but a few online opportunities for you to learn more about diverse populations that may seek library services in your community. Another way to learn is to get out of the library and into your community. Attend cultural meetings, local chapter meetings of the (insert special population here) association, and special events. Think about who you don’t see in your library and find a way to learn more about that population. Then make a plan for proactively invite them in.

Africa Hands is chair of the Library Services to Special Population Children and Their Caregivers committee and author of Successfully Serving the College Bound (ALA Editions). She’s @africahands on Twitter.

The post Professional Development Opportunities for Serving Special Populations appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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How do you hook an agent right away, keep them hooked, and make the most of your new publishing relationship? In this Boot Camp starting March 23, 2015, “How to Find and Keep a Literary Agent,” you’ll learn how to get a literary agent’s attention through a great submission, and also how to navigate the process of working successfully with an agent. You’ll also work with an agent online (the instructing agents are from Sandra Dijkstra Literary) to review and refine your all-important query letter and the first 5 pages of your novel. As always, seats in the boot camp are limited, and many WD camps sell out — so consider signing up sooner rather than later. The March 23 camp is a great opportunity to get professional feedback on your writing.

 

This Boot Camp will cover a range of important questions:

— What keeps an agent reading? What makes writing jump off the page?
— What are the most common Chapter 1 mistakes that make them stop reviewing your submission?
— What are the steps you need to give your query and manuscript the best possible shot?
— What are the turn-on’s and turn-offs when it comes to queries?
— How do agents make judgment calls?
— And much more.

With real-life examples of queries that do and don’t work, you will learn how you can refine your own query letter and get an agent to request your novel.The world of literary agencies can be an intimidating place. You’ll be lead through the inner-workings of finding the perfect literary agent, working with an agent and how to get the most out of your relationship. See what a day in the life of an agent looks like, and get tips about how to find your perfect author-agent match that will result in a successful partnership.

The best part is that you’ll be working directly with a knowledgeable and experienced agent, who will provide feedback specific to your work. (Sign up for the boot camp here.)

Here’s how it works:

On March 23, you will gain access to a special 60-minute online tutorial presented by agents at the Dijkstra Literary Agency. It will explain the submission process of submitting to an agent, what they find appealing in a query letter and what an author-agent relationship looks like from the inside. You will also be notified by email which agent you’ll be working with Monday afternoon.

From 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (PT) on both March 24 and March 25, instructors will be available to answer questions and provide additional feedback via the Writer’s Digest University message boards. Only registered students can access these boards. You’ll also be able to ask question of your fellow students. Feel free to share your work and gain support from your peers.

After listening to the presentation and participating in the discussion sessions, you’ll be able to revise your query & first 5 double-spaced pages as necessary. Then, you’ll email those pages directly to Jill Marr, Elise Capron, Thao Le, Jessica Watterson, or Roz Foster, by the end of the day on Thursday, March 26. They will spend 15 days reviewing their assigned critiques and providing feedback as to what works and what doesn’t.

Please note that any one of the instructing agents may ask for additional pages if the initial submission shows serious promise. (Sign up for the boot camp here.)

In addition to feedback from instructing agents, attendees will also receive:

— Download of “An Agent’s Tips on Story Structures that Sell,” an on-demand webinar by Andrea Hurst
1-year subscription to the WritersMarket.com literary agent database

PLEASE NOTE: No Additional discounts are available. All sales are final. If you have a preferred agent you would like to work with, please notify WDU after registering.

RECAP ON DATES:

Monday, March 23 – Access to Tutorial
March 24 and March 25 – Blackboard Discussion 11 am to 1 pm (PT)
Thursday, March 26 – Materials due to agents
April 9 – All critiqued materials due back to attendees

About the Instructors:

ELISE CAPRON is an acquiring agent at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. She also manages the SDLA office and works closely with Sandra Dijkstra on author development and management. She is most interested in serious, character-driven literary fiction and well-written narrative non-fiction (particularly serious history with a good story).

A graduate of Emerson College, Elise holds a BFA in Writing, Literature and Publishing, and served on the editorial staff of the Emerson Review for several years. She interned at Harcourt and the Dijkstra Agency before joining the agency full-time in late 2003.

Elise is interested in fiction that has unforgettable writing, a terrific narrative voice/tone, and memorable characters. She loves novels with an unusual or eccentric edge and is drawn to stories she has never heard before. She aims to work with writers who are getting their work published regularly in magazines and who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience. Some of Elise’s recent and soon-to-be-published fiction titles include Tiphanie Yanique’s Land of Love and Drowning (Riverhead) andHow to Escape from a Leper Colony (Graywolf); Courtney Brkic’s The First Rule of Swimming(Little, Brown); Rachel Toor’s On The Road to Find Out (FSG); Jonathon Keats’ The Book of the Unknown (Random House); Rikki Ducornet’s Netsuke (Coffee House Press); Maureen McHugh’sAfter the Apocalypse(Small Beer Press), which was picked as a “Top 10 Best of the Year” byPublishers Weekly; Ali Liebegott’s The IHOP Papers (Carroll & Graf); Peter Plate’sSoon the Rest Will Fall (Seven Stories Press); and more.

On the non-fiction front, Elise is looking for fascinating true stories told in a compelling way. Currently, Elise is especially interested in working with up-and-coming scholars (particularly historians) who are looking to transition from the academic market to a trade readership. Some of Elise’s recent and soon-to-be-published non-fiction titles include Jack Shuler’s The Thirteenth Turn: A History of the Noose (Public Affairs) andBlood and Bone: Truth and Reconciliation in a Southern Town (University of South Carolina Press); Leo Braudy’s Haunted; Jane Vandenburgh’s The Wrong Dog Dream: A True Romance (Counterpoint); Jonathon Keats’ Forged: Why Fakes Are the Great Art of Our Age (Oxford University Press); Cynthia Barnett’s Blue Is the New Green: An American Water Ethic(Beacon); Billy Smith’s Ship of Death: The Voyage That Changed the Atlantic World (Yale); and more.

Please note that Elise is specifically not interested in: fantasy, young-adult/middle-grade, picture books, romance, sci-fi, business books, cookbooks, poetry, religious/spiritual books, screenplays, or self-help. And while she is interested in narrative non-fiction, please note that she takes on very little memoir.

JILL MARR is an acquiring agent at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.

She graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and a minor in History. She has a strong Internet and media background and nearly 15 years of publishing experience. She wrote features and ads forPages, the literary magazine for people who love books, and continues to write book ads for publishing houses, magazine pieces, and promotional features for television.

After writing ad copy and features for published books for years, she knows how to find the “hook” and sell it.

Jill is interested in commercial fiction, with an emphasis on mysteries, thrillers, romantic suspense and horror, women’s commercial fiction and historical fiction. She is also looking for non-fiction by authors who are getting their work published regularly and who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience. Jill is looking for non-fiction projects in the areas of history, sports, politics, current events, self-help, cookbooks, memoir, health & nutrition, pop culture, humor and music.

Some of Jill’s recent and soon-to-be-published non-fiction includes the Travel Channel’s Nick Groff’s Chasing Spirits (NAL); Maybe We’ll Have You Back (Skyhorse) by actor Fred Stoller; Get Over It (Seal Press) by Christina Pesoli; Doulas A. Wissing’s Funding Our Enemy(Prometheus Books); Why We Love Serial Killers (Skyhorse) by Scott Bonn;America’s Greatest “Failing” School(Nation Books) by journalist Kristina Rizga; Don’t Lick the Minivan (Skyhorse) by Leanne Shirtliffe; William Jones’More Than the Dream: The Untold Story of the March on Washington (Norton);Rocking the Pink(Seal Press) by singer-songwriter Laura Roppé; Stop Reading Baby Books (Skyhorse) by JJ Keith;Drunks: America’s Search for Sobriety by Christopher Finan; andArgyle Armada: Life with America’s Top Pro Cycling Team (VeloPress) by Mark Johnson.

Some of Jill’s new and upcoming fiction includes Bloodman and American Woman (Thomas & Mercer) by Robert Pobi; Reckless Disregard(Seven Stories Press) by Robert Rotstein; Three Souls (HarperCollins) by Janie Chang;Madam(Plume) by Cari Lynne and Kellie Martin; The Cordell Logan thriller series (The Permanent Press) by David Freed; Benefit of the Doubt (Tor/Forge) by Neal Griffin; Garbo’s Last Stand (Entranced) by Jon Miller; The Crossroads thriller series (Thomas & Mercer) by Eyre Price; The Dog Year (Berkley) by Ann Garvin; The Change Your Name Store (Sky Pony Press) by Leanne Shirliffe; and the Jaden Terrell series that includes the Shamus Award nomineeRacing the Devil and A Cup Full of Midnight (The Permanent Press).

Please note that Jill is specificallynot interested in:YA, children’s books, sci-fi, romance or anything involving unicorns.

ROZ FOSTER is an acquiring agent at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. She works from New York.

She has a B.A. in English Literature from UC San Diego, studied philosophy for a year at the University of Sheffield, U.K., and earned her M.A. in English, with an emphasis in composition & rhetoric and creative writing, from Portland State University. At PSU, she taught writing in exchange for tuition. She’s been learning French since 2009.

Roz spent over five years as a qualitative researcher in high-tech consumer products marketing. In 2008, she co-founded a web design company for which she provided non-profit organizations with audience-focused market research, project planning, and digital design. She joined SDLA in 2013.

Roz is interested in non-fiction in the areas of cultural studies, sociology, business, history, politics, current affairs, science and design. She looks for driven, narrative storytelling and sharp concepts that have the potential to transcend their primary audience. She’s also interested in literary and commercial fiction, literary YA with crossover potential for the adult market, and literary sci-fi. In fiction, she looks for a resonant, lively voice; rich, irresistible language; characters with compelling development arcs; and a mastery of dramatic structure. Across the board, she’s looking for books that make her feel like the author is tuned into a rising revolution — cultural, political, literary, or what not — that’s about to burst on the scene.

Please note that Roz is specifically not interested in: sports, cookbooks, screenplays, poetry, romance, fantasy, or children’s books.

THAO LE joined the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency in 2011. She handles finances and select contracts and is also an agent.

Thao is looking for adult sci-fi/fantasy/horror, NA (new adult), YA (young adult), and MG (middle grade). She enjoys both gritty, dark narratives and fantastically quirky stories. She is also looking for light-hearted, funny, and moving contemporary YAs with a raw, authentic teen voice. She’s particularly drawn to memorable characters, smart-mouthed dialogue, strong plots, and tight writing. Her favorite books are ones that reimagine familiar tales and tropes in a completely fresh new way and she has a soft spot for multicultural stories and lush settings.

Recent sales include: Katherine Harbour’s fantasy THORN JACK (Harper Voyager), Lisa Freeman’s surf YA novel HONEY GIRL (Sky Pony Press), IPPY Award-winning S.K. Falls’ new adult novel ONE LAST SONG (Forever Yours), James Kendley’s paranormal thriller THE DROWNING GOD (Harper Voyager Impulse), Wendy Spinale’s steampunk Peter Pan retelling EVERLAND (Scholastic), and Kathryn Tanquary’s middle grade fantasy THE NIGHT PARADE (Sourcebooks).

Thao is not looking for: biographies, business books, cookbooks, memoirs, picture books, poetry, religious/spiritual books, screenplays, self-help, short stories, or travel books.

JESSICA WATTERSON graduated from the University of California at Irvine with a degree in Sociocultural Anthropology and English. Jessica has made books a serious part of her life for many years. Jessica is most interested in all subgenres of adult and new adult romance, and women’s fiction. She is looking for heartfelt and unique romance that will instantly draw a reader in and keep them hooked.

 

(Sign up for the boot camp here.)

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It has never been more difficult to get traditionally published and make your writing stand out than right now. Literary agent Carly Watters has years of experience launching debut authors.

In this live 90-minute webinar — titled “Successfully Publishing Your First Novel in the 21st Century” —  instructor and literary agent Carly Watters shares with you the process of polishing your manuscript and getting it publication ready, querying literary agents effectively, keeping an agent’s attention with your manuscript, how to make the most of an agent/author relationship, how to find the best place to publish your writing, and where to find your readers. Plus, as a bonus, Carly will critique your manuscript’s first five pages! It all happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, February 19, 2015, and lasts 90 minutes.

Click Here to Register

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• How to begin your book and why you’ve probably been starting in the wrong spot
• Self-editing tips that will transform your manuscript
• How to make your query letter stand out (from someone who reads over 800 a month!)
• Why agents stop reading your manuscript
• What agents are looking for in writers that are going to help them stand out
• How agents partner with authors to make them stand out in 21st century publishing

Click Here to Register

ABOUT THE CRITIQUE

All registrants are invited to submit the first 5 pages of a novel. All submitted pages are guaranteed a written critique by Literary Agent Carly Watters. Carly reserves the right to request more writing from you, if she deems the writing excellent.

Please Note: Even if you can’t attend the live webinar, registering for this live version will enable you to receive the On Demand webinar and a personal critique of your material.Purchasing the On Demand version after the live event will not include a critique.

Click Here to Register

INSTRUCTOR

Carly Watters is a VP and senior literary agent with the P.S. Literary Agency. She is a hands-on agent who develops proposals and manuscripts with attention to detail and the relevant markets. PSLA’s mission is to manage authors’ literary brands for their entire career.

Never without a book on hand, she reads across categories—which is reflected in the genres she represents—and is actively seeking new authors in women’s fiction, commercial fiction, upmarket fiction, literary thrillers, platform-driven nonfiction, and select children’s projects. Carly is drawn to emotional, well-paced narratives with a great voice and characters that readers can get invested in.

Clients include Globe and Mail bestseller Jay Onrait, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Karen Katchur, Andrea Dunlop, Rebecca Phillips, Colin Mochrie, Allison Day, Paulette Lambert and more. Carly’s blog has been named one of 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writer’s Digest magazine. You can find Carly online at carlywatters.com and on Twitter @carlywatters.

Click Here to Register

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• Writers who are looking to publish their work for the first time
• Writers who want to get their manuscript publication ready
• Writers who would like to get a literary agent
• Writers who would like tips on how to query literary agents
• Writers who want to learn more about the business side of publishing in the 21st century
• Writers who have published before, but are looking for better ways to find readers

Click Here to Register

HOW DOES THE WEBINAR WORK?

The webinar is broadcasted via the internet with live audio delivered through your computer speakers or over your telephone. The live webinar’s visual presentation is displayed directly from the Presenter’s computer to your computer screen. The Q&A is managed through a chat-style submission system with questions being read and answered by the Presenter for the entire class to hear. In the event some questions are not answered during the live session, an e-mail with questions and answers will be sent to all webinar attendees. By attending the live webinar and/or asking questions, your full name may be stated during the live event and captured in the recording.

Click Here to Register

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Many writers hear that they should start blogging to build their platform, help them get published, or sell more books. But is blogging right for you and your career? If so, what should you blog about? And perhaps most importantly, how can you do it effectively and without wasting important time you could spend on paying work?

In this live 90-minute webinar — titled “How to Blog Meaningfully and Grow Your Audience” — publishing industry guru Jane Friedman covers the best practices of worthwhile blogging and how it can make a difference to the growth of your author career. You’ll learn the secrets of shareable & spreadable content, the best ways to get new readers, and how to attract more opportunities (and improve your writing skills!) by posting great content. It’s also critical to understand how online writing is different from print-based writing, so you’ll get a crash course in how to write blog posts that are online-reader and SEO-friendly (optimized for search engines), to increase your blog’s discoverability and traffic over time.

Professor Jane Friedman has been professionally blogging since 2008 and is the former publisher of Writer’s Digest. Her blog for writers at JaneFriedman.com has won multiple awards and enjoys more than 100,000 visits per month.

Click Here to Register

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• 4 key benefits to blogging
• How to begin developing a content strategy for your blog
• 7 principles every blogger should follow
• The best practices of professional bloggers (those who do it for a living)
• Do’s and don’ts of writing for an online audience
• How to write post headlines that get clicks and shares
• The basics of SEO (search engine optimization) that anyone can understand
• How to use categories and tags
• How and why to use images-and where to find them for free
• Using site analytics to improve your blog over time
• Adding email/RSS functionality to your blog
• How to begin monetizing your blog

While this session will recommend and reference specific blogging tools, such as WordPress and Blogger, it will not cover the technical aspects of setting up a blog. However, links to tutorials will be offered.

Click Here to Register

INSTRUCTOR

Jane Friedman is the former publisher of Writer’s Digest and has been a professional blogger since 2008. Her blog at JaneFriedman.com receives more than 100,000 visits per month and has won multiple awards. Jane currently teaches digital media and publishing at the University of Virginia, and is the publisher of Scratch magazine, a digital publication that offers insight into the business side of the writing life.

Click Here to Register

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• Writers who are curious about blogging and wonder if they should start
• Writers who have a blog, but don’t feel like they’re getting anything out of it
• Writers who have blogged in the past, and want to return to it in a more meaningful way
• Writers who want to build their platform
• Writers who have a book coming out in the next year
• Writers who are thinking of blogging to get a book deal
• Writers who want to improve their online writing skills

Click Here to Register

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As many writers know, agents and editors won’t give your work more than ten pages or so to make an impact. If you haven’t got them hooked by then, it’s a safe bet you won’t be asked for more material. Make sure you’ve got the kind of opening they’re looking for! In this invaluable weekend event, you’ll get to work with an agent online to review and refine the first ten pages of your novel. You’ll learn what keeps an agent reading, what are the most common mistakes that make them stop, and the steps you need to take to correct them. The best part is that you’ll be working directly with an agent, who will provide feedback specific to your work.

It’s all part of the recurring popular Agent One-on-One Boot Camp called “Your First 10 Pages.” Sign up by the end of the day, Feb. 20, 2015. It’s taught by the agents at Talcott Notch Literary.

Here’s how it works:

On Friday morning, Feb. 20, you will gain access to a special 60-minute online tutorial presented by agent and editor Paula Munier. It will help you clarify what you should be looking for in your work. You will also be notified by email which agent you’ll be working with on Friday. (All times noted are Eastern Time).

After listening to the presentation, you’ll spend Friday evening revising your first ten pages as necessary, given the guidelines provided in the presentation, and you’ll email those pages directly to Paula or one of four additional agents from Talcott Notch Literary, including Gina Panettieri, Rachael Dugas, and Jessica Negron, by Saturday morning at 10:00 AM (ET). They will spend all day Saturday reviewing their assigned pages and providing feedback as to what works and what doesn’t. (Sign up for the boot camp here.)

All pages with notes will be returned to participants by the next Saturday (Feb 28). Throughout the next 36 hours, you’ll work to revise your pages based on the agent’s specific feedback. From 1:00 to 4:00 PM on March 1st, Paula, Gina, Rachael, and Saba will be available to answer questions and provide additional feedback via the Writer’s Digest University message boards. Only registered students can access these boards. You’ll also be able to ask question of your fellow students. Feel free to share your work and gain support from your peers.

By 10:00 PM (ET) Sunday night on March 1st, you’ll return your final revised pages to your assigned agent for review. They will spend the next week reading the revised submissions assigned to them, and will provide a final brief one-or-two sentence critique of your progress no later than March 8th. Please note that any one of them may ask for additional pages if the initial submission shows serious promise.

*Please note that all attendees should have the first 10 pages of their novel finished and ready to submit to the agent prior to the beginning of the event. (Sign up for the boot camp here.)

In addition to feedback from Paula, Gina, Rachael, or Saba, attendees will also receive:

— A download of “An Agent’s Tips on Story Structures that Sell,” an on-demand webinar by Andrea Hurst
— 1-year subscription to the WritersMarket.com literary agent database

All sales are final. No additional discounts can be applied.

About the Agents:

Gina Panettieri is President of Talcott Notch Literary Services, and has worked as an agent for more than 20 years. She currently represents a full range of adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction, with an emphasis in fiction on YA, MG, mystery, fantasy, women’s fiction, horror and paranormal. In nonfiction, she is particularly seeking memoir, business, cooking, health and fitness, pop science, medicine, true crime and current events. Some of her clients include Nancy Holzner, author of the new Deadtown urban fantasy series from Berkley/Ace Science Fiction, Annabella Bloom, author of the Wild and Wanton edition romance hybrid classics Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights (Adams Media), Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of the bestselling and multi-award winning adoption book, The Connected Child (McGraw-Hill), and author and media personality, Dr. Seth Meyers. She currently represents an eclectic range of writers, encompassing everyone from a former head of Security and Intelligence for NATO Europe, to CEOs of major corporations and Deans of major medical schools, to stay-at-home writer moms and amazingly talented teens. Gina speaks at many conferences and writing events throughout the country on the subjects of securing an agent and getting published. Her agency website is talcottnotch.net

Paula Munier, Senior Literary Agent & Content Strategist at Talcott Notch Literary, has broad experience creating and marketing exceptional content in all formats across all markets for such media giants as Disney, Gannett, Greenspun Media Group, and Quayside. She began her career as a journalist, and along the way added editor, acquisitions specialist, digital content manager, and publishing executive to her repertoire. Before joining Talcott Notch, she served as the Director of Innovation and Acquisitions for Adams Media, a division of F&W Media, where she headed up the acquisitions team responsible for creating, curating, and producing both fiction and nonfiction for print, ebook, eshort, and direct-to-ebook formats. (Sign up for the boot camp here.)

Although she represents all kinds of projects, right now she’s looking for crime fiction, women’s fiction, romance, New Adult, YA, and middle grade fiction, as well as nonfiction in the areas of pop culture, health & wellness, cooking, self-help, pop psych, New Age, inspirational, technology, science, and writing. As a new agent she’s making her first deals now, including the New Adult trilogy, The Registry by Shannon Stoker, which sold for six figures to HarperCollins. She’s also just sold mystery, thriller, and self-help. Paula is very involved with the mystery community, having served four terms as President of the New England chapter of Mystery Writers of America as well as on the MWA board. (She’s currently VP of that organization.) She’s also served as both co-chair and Agents and Editors chair on the New England Crime Bake committee for seven years and counting. And she’s an active member of Sisters in Crime.

Saba Sulaiman is the newest member of Talcott Notch Literary Services. She joined the team after working as an editorial intern at Sourcebooks, where she worked primarily on their romance line. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MA from the University of Chicago, where she studied modern Persian literature. She’s looking primarily to build her Middle Grade and Young Adult lists, and is particularly interested in contemporary realistic stories. She’s also actively seeking category romance (all subgenres except paranormal), literary, upmarket, and commercial fiction, tightly plotted, character-driven psychological thrillers, and cozy mysteries à la Agatha Christie.

Rachael Dugas joined Talcott Notch Literary in 2011. During her tenure as associate agent, Rachael has judged contests and attended conferences in New York and beyond, working with groups such as Writer’s Digest, ASJA, YA Lit Chat, the National Publicity Summit, and the Hampton Roads Writers. Recent sales include titles in young adult and romance to imprints at Hachette, Perseus, and Month 9 Books. Rachael is a former Sourcebooks editorial intern and a proud Ithaca College graduate. She welcomes fiction submissions in the following categories: YA, MG, women’s fiction, contemporary and historical romance, historical fiction, and general commercial fiction. Her non-fiction wishlist includes memoir with an amazing voice and cookbooks or performing arts-related books with outstanding platforms.

Sign up for the boot camp here.

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Middle Grade books are generally defined as being books for children aged 8-12…. and at the moment, these books are hot-hot-hot. From the commercial successes of titles like DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and Rick Riordan’s LIGHTNING THIEF saga, to more “literary” award-winning fare, it seems most publishers are seeking the next great Middle Grade success story. But middle grade is also a tough category to write for. Much of what appears in the slush pile is cheesy or derivative, or just lacks “spark.” So what makes a great Middle Grade novel? What is selling? What are agents and editors looking for? And how can you make your book stand out and shine?

In this live webinar, “Writing and Selling Middle Grade Fiction,” instructor and literary agent Jennifer Laughran (of Andrea Brown Literary) will talk about what’s happening in the exciting Middle Grade market, as well as examine some recently published titles to see what they got right. She’ll also talk revision tips and tricks to help you take your work-in-progress to the next level. It all happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2014, and lasts 90 minutes.

 

ABOUT THE CRITIQUE

All registrants are invited to submit EITHER the query letter OR the first 500 words of their complete / work-in-progress middle grade novel for critique. All submissions are guaranteed a written critique by literary agent Jennifer Laughran. Jennifer reserves the right to request more writing from attendees by e-mail following the event, if she deems the writing excellent.

Please Note: Even if you can’t attend the live webinar, registering for this live version will enable you to receive the On Demand webinar and a personal critique of your material. Purchasing the On Demand version after the live event will not include a critique.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

— What’s selling in Middle Grade… and what just isn’t.
— The all-important “Hook”, and what “High Concept” looks like
— Finding the elusive Middle Grade Voice
— Common mistakes of Middle Grade submissions
— Overused beginnings and clichés that can drag down a work
— How to polish your work and stand out from the slush pile
— What “core curriculum” guidelines for schools might mean for your book. Sign up for the webinar here.

INSTRUCTOR

Jennifer Laughran is a senior agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, the oldest children’s-only agency in the US. Before she joined the agency in 2008, she spent about a decade as a children’s book buyer and event coordinator for various successful bookstores. Her many years of experience in the children’s book field have made her one of the top kid’s book agents working today. She reps picture books through YA, but has a particular love for Middle Grade novels — the warmer and funnier the better. Clients include Daniel Pinkwater, Kate Messner, Jo Whittemore, Linda Urban, and many debut authors whose names you’ll know soon!

Sign up for the Jan 22 webinar here.

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Looking for an opportunity to brush up on intellectual freedom information? Here is a quick round up of some free webinars that you can enjoy from the comfort of your desk chair:

• Introduction to Intellectual Freedom in the Library through Infopeople and presented by Mary Minow.
• Let’s Talk About Banned Books, Using Them, Displaying Them and Dealing with Challenges To Your Library Collection organized by School Library Journal. Presented by Todd Parr, Pat Scales, M.E. Kerr & Heather Acerro and moderated by Kiera Parrott.
• Defend the Freedom to Read, Reporting Challenges presented by ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom.
• Intellectual Freedom and the Collection Management Policy through Florida Library Webinars, presented by Melissa Powell.

The post Intellectual Freedom: Online Learning Opportunities appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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Rejections are not fun, and can be very costly in time, money, and to a writer’s confidence. There are a multitude of mistakes that authors, especially newbies, make when they submit their work to Agents and Editors. These mistakes are often silly and easy to rectify. As an author competing in a very subjective industry, none can afford to break the rules and not follow instructions.

In this live 90-minute webinar — titled “How to Avoid Rookie Mistakes When Submitting to Agents” —  literary agent Marisa A. Corvisiero, Esq., gives you specific advice on how to submit your work, explains common and not so common mistakes most writers make, and shares tips on how to avoid mistakes all together. Plus, as a bonus, Corvisiero will critique your query letter and sample material (1,000 words) about your novel! It all happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, January 15, 2015, and lasts 90 minutes.

Click Here to Register

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• The essentials on how to submit your work to an agent or editor
• About common and not so common mistakes authors make when preparing and sending their submission package
• How to avoid unnecessary mistakes that will lead to rejection
• How the process works, what agents and editors are looking for, and how to hook them without fumbling the opportunity to get their attention effectively

Click Here to Register

ABOUT THE WEBINAR

Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for one year. You do not have to attend the live event to get a recording of the presentation. In all WD webinars, no question goes unanswered. Attendees have the ability to chat with the instructor during the live event and ask questions. You will receive a copy of the webinar presentation in an e-mail that goes out one week after the live event. The answers to questions not covered in the live presentation will be included in this e-mail as well.

Click Here to Register

ABOUT THE CRITIQUE

All registrants are invited to submit a query letter and sample material (1,000 words). All submitted queries and samples will receive a written critique by Marisa Corvisiero. Marisa reserves the right to request more writing from attendees by e-mail following the event, if she deems the writing excellent.

Please Note: Even if you can’t attend the live webinar, registering for this live version will enable you to receive the On Demand webinar and a personal critique of your material. Purchasing the On Demand version after the live event will not include a critique.

Click Here to Register

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Marisa A. Corvisiero, Esq. is the Founder, CEO and a Sr. Literary Agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency, a New York City boutique literary management services agency representing authors around the world. Marisa is also a Corporate and Trust and Estates attorney with experience in top global firms and fortune 500 companies. She participates in and has taught several workshops and boot camps on writing and publishing for Writer’s Digest, at Conferences around the country, and various other Online Resources.

Click Here to Register

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• Writers who are getting ready to query agent
• Writers who are unsure if they’re ready to submit their novel to agents and editors
• Writers with finished novel manuscripts who are starting to consider submitting to agents and editors
• Writers who are currently submitting their work and not getting the responses they expected or hoped for
• Writers who don’t want to blow their sometimes only chance at publication
• Writers wanting improve their skills for this and all novels to come
• Writers wanting to know what the book industry looks like from an agent’s perspective
• Writers who wish to receive feedback on their query letter by a literary agent
• Writers who want a professional critique by a literary agent

Click Here to Register

HOW DOES THE CRITIQUE WORK?

All registrants are invited to submit a query letter and sample material (1,000 words). All submitted queries and samples will receive a written critique by Marisa Corvisiero. Marisa reserves the right to request more writing from attendees by e-mail following the event, if she deems the writing excellent. Instructions on how to submit your work are sent after you have purchased the webinar and officially register in Go-to-Webinar. When you have registered in GTW, you will receive a confirmation email from [email protected], which contains the information you need to access the live webinar AND the Critique Submission Instructions.

Click Here to Register

 

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When your submission materials – a query letter, synopsis, manuscript, or book proposal – arrive in an agent’s inbox, they land among hundreds of others. At that point, one of two things will happen. Either the agent (or the agent’s assistant) will like the submission and request more materials, or they will reply with a rejection.

Authors who get rejected tend to fall in one of two categories when submitting materials: they try too hard, or not enough. This all-new Writer’s Digest Boot Camp, “How to Craft Query Letters & Submission Materials That Get Noticed,” is designed to help you streamline your submission materials to stand out in a good way. It all starts on Jan. 20, 2015.

Attendees will learn how to write a dynamite query letter, tackle a one-page synopsis (for fiction) and a book proposal (for nonfiction). The instructing literary agents will also explain the importance of author platform in addition to basic etiquette in dealing with an agent and manuscript basics.

Lastly, all attendees will have an opportunity to interact one-on-one with an agent and submit ten double-spaced pages of materials (in any combination–query, synopsis, book proposal, first pages of your manuscript) for valuable feedback provided by successful literary agents.

Here’s How It Works:

On January 20, you will gain access to a special 60-minute online tutorial presented by literary agents Kimberley Cameron and Elizabeth Kracht. This tutorial will provide nuts & bolts advice on how to help you streamline your submission materials—including the query letter, novel synopsis, nonfiction book proposal, and first pages.

After listening to the presentation, attendees will spend the next two days revising materials as necessary. Following the tutorial, writers will have two days in which to log onto the discussion session and ask your assigned agent critiquer questions related to revising your materials. The agents will be available for a discussion session from 1-3 p.m. (PT) on both Wednesday, January 21 and Thursday, January 22. By end of day (11:59 p.m., PT) on Friday, January 23, attendees will submit up to 10 double-spaced pages for review to their assigned agents.

For the submission, you will send in the first 10 pages of your double-spaced manuscript and a query letter for review. You are also welcome to send a synopsis, if you want to include it in the first ten pages (i.e., 1 page synopsis + first 9 pages of the manuscript). The query letter is separate and does not count as part of the first ten.

(Sign up for the boot camp here.)

The agents will spend fifteen days reviewing all assigned pages, provide relevant feedback and offer suggestions to help attendees improve upon them. The agents reserve the right to request more materials if they feel a strong connection to the work and want to read more.

Only registered students can access the discussion session. You’ll also be able to ask questions of your fellow students. Feel free to share your work and gain support from your peers.

Please note that any one of the agents may ask for additional pages if the initial submission shows serious promise.

In addition to feedback from agents, attendees will also receive:

Download of “Everything You Need to Know About Literary Agents,” an on-demand webinar by WD editor Chuck Sambuchino
1-year subscription to the WritersMarket.com literary agent database

DATE BREAKDOWN

Tuesday, Jan. 20th: Online Tutorials
Wednesday, Jan. 21st: Agent Q&A 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (PT)
Thursday, Jan. 22nd: Agent Q&A 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (PT)
Friday, Jan. 23rd: Writers Submit Materials
Saturday, Feb. 7th: Agent Critiques Due

AGENT INSTRUCTORS

KIMBERLEY CAMERON

Kimberley was educated at Marlborough School for Girls in Los Angeles, Humboldt State University, and Mount St. Mary’s College. She began her literary career as an agent trainee at the Marjel de Lauer Agency in association with Jay Garon in New York and worked for several years at MGM developing books for motion pictures. She was the co-founder of Knightsbridge Publishing Company with offices in New York and Los Angeles.

In 1993 Kimberley became partners with Dorris Halsey of The Reece Halsey Agency, founded in 1957. Among its clients have been Aldous Huxley, William Faulkner, Upton Sinclair, and Henry Miller. She opened Reece Halsey North in 1995 and Reece Halsey Paris in 2006. In 2009 the agency became Kimberley Cameron & Associates.

Kimberley resides and works from Tiburon, California and Paris, France, with many visits to New York to make the rounds of editorial offices. She is looking for exceptional writing in any field, particularly writing that touches the heart, and makes us feel something. She’s been successful with many different genres, and especially loves the thrill of securing representation for debut authors. She represents both fiction and nonfiction manuscripts, with the exception of romance, children’s books and screenplays.

NO: Romance, Children’s, Nonfiction, Fantasy

YES: Science Fiction, Horror, Mysteries, Thrillers, Women’s, Historical

ELIZABETH KRACHT

Elizabeth Kracht represents both literary and commercial fiction as well as nonfiction, and brings to the agency experience as a former acquisitions editor, freelance publicist and writer.

Elizabeth’s career in publishing took root in Puerto Rico where she completed her BA in English and worked as a copyeditor for an English-language newspaper. When she returned to the mainland she found her “vein of gold” in book publishing. She thrives on working closely with authors and researching the potential market for new books.

Elizabeth’s eclectic life experience drives her interests. She appreciates writing that has depth, an introspective voice or that offers wisdom for contemporary living. Having lived in cities such as New York, San Francisco and San Juan, Puerto Rico, she is compelled by urban and multicultural themes and loves settings that are characters unto themselves.

In fiction, she represents literary, commercial, women’s, thrillers, mysteries, and YA with crossover appeal. She is intrigued by untrustworthy narrators, tragic tales of class and circumstance, and identifies with flawed yet sterling characters. In nonfiction, she particularly loves memoir and other narrative nonfiction projects that contribute to the well-being of the self or others in addition to niche projects that fill holes in the market, offer a fresh approach, or make her laugh. She also has a soft spot for nonfiction heroic pet stories.

NO: Fantasy, Science Fiction

YES: Women’s, Historical, Mysteries, Thrillers, Nonfiction (all types)

MARY MOORE

Marystarted her career in publishing as a writer. She graduated from Mills College with an MFA in Creative Writing. After freelancing for two years as an editor and writer in non-literary sectors, she began an internship with Kimberley Cameron & Associates with the desire to learn more about the literary business for her own writing. During the internship she discovered a passion for helping others develop their manuscripts. Now she balances three jobs: writer, editor, and agent, and finds that the experience in each helps and supports the other. She is looking for unusual fantasy, grounded science-fiction, and atypical romance. Strong female characters and unique cultures especially catch her eye. Although she will not consider most non-fiction, stories about traditional dance or pagan culture may interest her. Above all, she is looking for writing that sweeps her away.

NO: Nonfiction

YES: Fantasy! Science Fiction, Mysteries, Thrillers, Historical, Women’s

(Sign up for the boot camp here.)

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For this live webinar, “Slush Pile Showdown: How to Make Your Submission Stand Out,” literary agents Barbara Poelle and Holly Root are pulling back the curtain and showing you exactly what goes on when an agent reads your query. In their simulated slush pile, they will critique submitted queries live and give insights into which ones stand out and why, how queries could be improved, and common pitfalls to avoid. You’ll get a peek into what it’s like to be an agent sitting down, hoping to strike gold in the slush pile, and learn how to make your submission stand out. Your query is your first introduction to the world, so join us for a fun, kind-spirited but honest look at how to get noticed, get requested, and get signed!

It all happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014, and lasts 90 minutes. All registrants are guaranteed a query critique, whether you choose to have it evaluated live or after the event. Learn more about the webinar here. (Note that agent Barbara Poelle has signed several writers after meeting them through WD webinars.)

ABOUT THE CRITIQUE

All registrants are invited to submit a one-page query letter, plus the first page of the manuscript (300 words or less) for critique. If you would like your materials to be critiqued LIVE during the webinar, they must be received before 5pm EST Tuesday, December 16th. All submitted materials are guaranteed a written critique by Root and Poelle, and we’ll cover as many query + page submissions as possible in live critique during the webinar.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

— How to craft a query that will get attention
— Why querying isn’t a useless evil exercise in torture
— Common missteps and how to avoid them
— What agents are looking for when they read
— Which “rules” really matter and which ones are matters of opinion
— What it’s like to be an agent reading through submissions
— If your query is ready for prime time
— What to do if your query isn’t ready. Sign up for the webinar here.

INSTRUCTORS

Holly Root is a literary agent at Waxman Leavell Literary Agency who represents adult fiction, select nonfiction, and novels for children and teens; she is not seeking picture book clients or screenwriting clients. She heads up a Los Angeles office for the New York City-based Waxman Leavell Agency. Visit her online at www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/hroot, www.waxmanleavell.com, and www.twitter.com/hroot.

Barbara Poelle is Vice President at Irene Goodman Literary Agency representing fiction for teens and adults. Her roster trends toward thriller and suspenseful women’s fiction as well as mystery, young adult and horror. Barbara also writes a monthly Q&A column for Writer’s Digest magazine and has previously signed three clients from attendees of her Writer’s Digest webinars. Visit www.irenegoodman.com to learn more.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

— Anyone interested in how the query process works
— Writers who want a professional opinion on their query’s strengths and weaknesses
— Writers whose queries aren’t getting the responses they want
— Writers wondering if their query is ready to go
— Writers who want a professional critique by a literary agent
— Anyone with questions about writing queries or the process of querying literary agents

HOW DOES THE CRITIQUE WORK?

All registrants are invited to submit a one-page query letter, plus the first page of the manuscript (300 words or less) for critique. If you would like your materials to be critiqued LIVE during the webinar, they must be received before 5pm EST Tuesday, December 16th. All submitted materials are guaranteed a written critique by Root and Poelle, and we’ll cover as many query + page submissions as possible in live critique during the webinar. Instructions on how to submit your work are sent after you have purchased the webinar and officially register in Go-to-Webinar. When you have registered in GTW, you will receive a confirmation email from [email protected], which contains the information you need to access the live webinar AND the Critique Submission Instructions.

Sign up for the Dec. 18 webinar here!

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What are the right services for publishing your e-book? How much money does it cost to produce a good-quality e-book? What are some of the most effective e-book marketing strategies? Get answers to these questions, plus an unbiased look at the e-book publishing scene, when you should do it, and-if you do-how to be effective in your efforts, without damaging your credibility or investing more money than you should. In this live webinar, “Do Your E-Book Right (and Start Making Money),” you’ll learn about the most popular services and retailers available to distribute your e-book-including outlets such as Kindle, Nook, the iBookstore, and Smashwords. This webinar is taught by eMedia guru (and former WD Publisher) Jane Friedman.

While e-book publishing doesn’t equal instant success (if you build it, they may NOT come), you’ll learn the principles behind the successful creation and distribution of an e-book. This webinar happens at 1 p.m. EST, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, and lasts 90 minutes.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
— 3 key categories of services available to sell and/or distribute your e-book, plus what you can expect from these services, and how they turn a profit
— If and when you’re endangering the future potential of your work by making it available electronically, plus what you need to know about copyright
— The technical skill required to produce professional e-book files, plus when to use a professional to help you convert your work into different formats
— 4 essential factors that impact your e-book sales
— How to appropriately price your work
— The most current strategies for marketing and promoting your e-books
— How to decide when it’s time to seek traditional publishing options

INSTRUCTOR

Jane Friedman is the former publisher of Writer’s Digest, where she oversaw the publication of hundreds of books and magazines in both print and digital form. Her blog for writers at JaneFriedman.com has more than 100,000 unique visitors and frequently features successful business strategies of self-published authors. She has written about trends in self-publishing for Writer’s Digest magazine and will be moderating a panel of self-published authors at the 2015 Digital Book World conference.

Learn more about the webinar and sign up here.

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One of the things that I love about librarianship is that it’s a dynamic profession. It is an evolving field that challenges us to continuously learn and grow in our professional development to better serve our communities.  As a member of ALSC’s Library Service to Special Population Children and Their Caregivers Committee, we have a specific goal to advocate for special populations children and their caregivers.  We strive to discover, develop, and disseminate information about materials, programs and facilities that are available at the library for these groups of patrons.  One of the things that we suggest is that library staff at all levels participate in continuing educational programs and classes about serving these special populations.  Here is a current list of online resources available through ALSC, ASCLA, YASLA, and Webjunction for you to help you grow in awareness and competency in this area.

• Children with Disabilities in the Library online course
• “City Librarian, Country Library” student session
• Using the Every Child Ready to Read @ your library® Toolkit with Spanish-Speaking Communities webcast
• What’s After Storytime: Programming for Children and Tweens With Autism webcast
• Sensory Storytime: Preschool Programming That Makes Sense for Kids with Autism webcast
• YALSA’s Beyond Booklists online course
• Webjunction’s Serving the Underserved: Children with Disabilities at Your Library archived webinar
• Webjunction’s Rainbow Family Connections: Embracing LGBTQ Families at Your Library online course
• ASCLA’s Going to Jail: How Juvenile Books Portray the Prison Experience online course
• ASCLA’s Improving Library Services to People with Disabilities online course

Be sure to also check out ALSC’s list of Professional Tools for Librarians Serving Youth.  You’ll find a lot of great information about access, advocacy, diversity, public awareness, and more.

 

Renee Grassi, LSSPCC Committee Member

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Over-plotter, under-plotter? Struggles with plot are common among writers at all levels. This live webinar will take the guess-work out of plotting by teaching you the key scenes that build your plot backbone, providing a refresher on the elements of a scene, and breaking down the specific kinds of scenes you’ll need at each of the three key Acts of a novel. Plots, after all, are simply stories comprised of well-placed and stylized scenes.

In this live 90-minute webinar — titled “Plot Your Book: Scene By Scene” —  author Jordan E. Rosenfeld helps you simplify the plot process and avoid being overwhelmed by what comes next, so you can focus on the work of writing powerful characters and transformative stories. Rosenfeld brings more than a decade of experience in teaching students how to use scenes to transform writing. Plus, as a bonus, Rosenfeld will critique a one-page plot outline or summary about your novel! It all happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, December 4, 2014, and lasts 90 minutes.

Click Here to Register

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• The essential ingredients of a scene
• The five key “lynchpin” scenes that build your plot backbone
• The importance of First and Final scenes
• How a plot is a journey of character transformation
• Your scenes in three Acts
• How to add plot information to every scene

Click Here to Register

ABOUT THE CRITIQUE

All registrants are invited to submit a 1-page plot outline or summary. All submitted plot outlines are guaranteed a written critique by Author and Editor, Jordan E. Rosenfeld.

Please Note: Even if you can’t attend the live webinar, registering for this live version will enable you to receive the On Demand webinar and a personal critique of your material. Purchasing the On Demand version after the live event will not include a critique.

Click Here to Register

INSTRUCTOR

Jordan E. Rosenfeld, MFA, is author of the novel Forged in Grace, and the writing guides Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time, Write Free: Attracting the Creative Life (with Rebecca Lawton) and the forthcoming: A Writer’s Guide to Surrender: A Tool-kit to Build and Bolster a Lasting Writing Practice. Jordan’s essays and articles have appeared in such publications as AlterNet.org, Marin Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, the St. Petersburg Times, Whole Life Times, The Writer and Writer’s Digest magazine. Her book commentaries have appeared on The California Report, a news-magazine produced by NPR-affiliate KQED radio. She teaches popular writing courses through her website: www.jordanrosenfeld.net. She earned her MFA in creative writing and literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars.

She is also the creator and former host of Word by Word: Conversations with Writers, a radio program interviewing well-known writers such as TC Boyle, Louise Erdrich and others on KRCB, which won an NEA Chairman’s grant in 2004.

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WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• Writers who find plot overwhelming
• Writers who tend to “over-plot”
• Writers who have trouble finishing a novel
• Writers who find their story sagging in the middle
• Writers who seek an inciting incident
• Writers whose scenes lack a focus or goal
• Writers who want to write compelling, active scenes
• Writers who seek to understand their characters’ goals
• Writers who want to revise a plot
• Writers who are brand new to plotting

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HOW DOES THE CRITIQUE WORK?

All registrants are invited to submit a 1-page plot outline or summary. All submitted plot outlines are guaranteed a written critique by Author and Editor, Jordan E. Rosenfeld. Instructions on how to submit your work are sent after you have purchased the webinar and officially register in Go-to-Webinar. When you have registered in GTW, you will receive a confirmation email from [email protected], which contains the information you need to access the live webinar AND the Critique Submission Instructions.

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Of course everywhere.

On social media, through blogs and in social media groups.

Through mentor-protege relationships - whether informal or set up through ALSC or a state association.

Image Pixabay

Through our libraries - in fact this post is inspired by Katie Salo's library asking staff to teach each other about their areas of expertise. Wow, libraries of the world, do this thing! Wouldn't it be great if every library cared to make sure all staff knows what all staff work is about?!?!

Through attendance at state and national conferences - both inside and outside the library world.

Through webinars and online classes like our state's continuing series of webinars with panels of practitioners at libraries large and small; formal CE credit courses through SLIS schools and our statewide Wild Wisconsin Winter Web conference with 10 national speakers.

Through attendance at workshops outside our usual territory - and often relatively nearby. In the past month, four of our YS team have attended three different seminal, breakthrough, slaying-sacred-cow seminars on shaking up summer reading programs around the state. While we already push the envelope in this area, we are inspired by other's stories, experiences and support. And we drove to learn more!

Through reasoned discourse like that going on here and here.

Through conversations with colleagues in the library, patrons and kids.

All our learning, all our sharing (we each have the power to reflect on and teach each other) pushes our practice and grows our understanding. No matter where we learn, we can't help but get better.

Our opportunities are everywhere. Carpe perceptum!!

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The world of children’s books—young adult, middle grade and picture books—has seen more growth in the last ten years than any other category in the publishing industry. Countless articles and op-eds have analyzed the booming success of now-iconic series like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Fancy Nancy. But while critics are debating the triumph of a particular series, readers—both children and adults—are clamoring for more books and new titles that will enchant and entertain them.

But in such a competitive market, how do you make your book stand out as a quality submission? How do you walk the fine line between capturing the attention (and purchasing power) of both child and adult reader? How do you find the best agents and markets to submit your work to? How do you know what category your book falls under?

In this brand new Writer’s Digest Boot Camp starting Dec. 5, 2014 called “Sell Your Children’s Book,” the agents of The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency will answer all those questions and more. They’ll also critique your work and allow you to ask any questions you like. Registrants can choose to hear a tutorial on how to craft an amazing picture book, and then get their picture book critiqued—or they can choose to hear a different tutorial on writing MG and YA, and then get their first 10 manuscript pages critiqued.

This program will show writers of Young Adult and Middle Grade the following:

— What the difference is between middle grade and young adult, and why it matters to understand how the two categories differ
— What is commercial and what is literary in children’s books—and how that affects what agents and publishers you will target
— Why an agent will tell you, “I love this story, but I can’t sell it”
— How to start your work strong and create engaging characters for both editors and readers to love
— How to avoid the common mistakes of writing for MG and YA that sink submission chances—such as talking down to your reader, or having a story that begins too slow. (Sign up for the boot camp here.)

This program will show writers of Picture Books the following:

— How to come up with a great plot
— How to create page-turning points
— How to make a dummy book, and why you need one
— How to use language to reach a very young audience
— How to think visually
— How to avoid the taboos in writing for children
— How to handle illustration – what to do if you’re an illustrator, and what to do if you’re not
— How to learn from all of the great picture books throughout history that changed the way we write for children today.

Here’s how it works:

On Dec. 5, 2014, you will gain access to two special 60-minute online tutorials presented by literary agents from Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. Jennifer De Chiara will present a tutorial on writing picture books, and Roseanne Wells will present a tutorial on writing and selling Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction. (Sign up for the boot camp here.)

After listening to your choice of presentations, attendees will spend the next two days revising materials as necessary. Also following the tutorial, writers will have two days in which to log onto the Writer’s Digest University boot camp message boards and ask your assigned agent critiquers questions related to revising your materials. The agents will be available on the message boards from 1-3 p.m. (ET) on both Saturday, Dec. 6 and Sunday, Dec. 7. No later than Monday, Dec. 8, attendees will submit either their completed picture book text (1,000 words or fewer) or the first 10 double-spaced pages of their middle grade / young adult manuscript. The submissions will receive feedback directly from the boot camp literary agents.

The agents will spend up to two weeks reviewing all assigned critiques and provide feedback to help attendees. (The agents reserve the right to request more materials if they feel a strong connection to the work and want to read more; note that multiple agents have signed writers before from WD boot camps.) No later than Dec. 22, agents will send their feedback to writer attendees.

Only registered students can access the Writer’s Digest University boot camp message boards. You’ll also be able to ask questions of your fellow students. Feel free to share your work and gain support from your peers

Please note that any one of the agents may ask for additional pages if the initial submission shows serious promise.

In addition to feedback from agents, attendees will also receive:

Download of “An Agent’s Tips on Story Structures that Sell,” an on-demand webinar by literary agent Andrea Hurst
1-year subscription to the WritersMarket.com Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market database

PLEASE NOTE: Only Jennifer De Chiara and Roseanne Wells will be on the discussion sessions. Jennifer will handle questions related to Picture Books, and Roseanne will handle questions related to Middle Grade or Young Adult books. However, all the agents will be assisting in critiquing submissions. Jennifer De Chiara and Stephen Fraser will be critiquing Picture Books. Marie Lamba, Linda Epstein, and Roseanne Wells will be critiquing Middle Grade and Young Adult.

Sign up for the boot camp here.

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As many writers know, agents and editors won’t give your work more than ten pages or so to make an impact. If you haven’t got them hooked by then, it’s a safe bet you won’t be asked for more material. Make sure you’ve got the kind of opening they’re looking for! In this invaluable weekend event called “Agent One-on-One Boot Camp: Your First 10 Pages,” you’ll get to work with an agent online (from Talcott Notch Literary) to review and refine the first ten pages of your novel. You’ll learn what keeps an agent reading, what are the most common mistakes that make them stop, and the steps you need to take to correct them. The best part is that you’ll be working directly with an agent, who will provide feedback specific to your work. (There are a limited number of seats for any WD boot camp, and this “10 Pages” camp has sold out many times in the past. Please sign up earlier rather than later to guarantee your spot.)

Here’s how it works:

On Friday morning, November 21, you will gain access to a special 60-minute online tutorial presented by agent and editor Paula Munier. It will help you clarify what you should be looking for in your work. You will also be notified by email which agent you’ll be working with on Friday. (All times noted are Eastern Time).

After listening to the presentation, you’ll spend Friday evening revising your first ten pages as necessary, given the guidelines provided in the presentation, and you’ll email those pages directly to Paula or one of four additional agents from Talcott Notch Literary, including Gina Panettieri, Rachael Dugas, and Jessica Negron, by Saturday morning at 10:00 AM (ET). They will spend all day Saturday reviewing their assigned pages and providing feedback as to what works and what doesn’t.

Sign up for the boot camp here.

All pages with notes will be returned to participants by 11:00 AM (ET) Sunday morning. Throughout the day on Sunday, you’ll work to revise your pages based on the agent’s specific feedback. From 1:00 to 4:00 PM, Paula, Gina, Rachael, and Jessica will be available to answer questions and provide additional feedback via the Writer’s Digest University message boards. Only registered students can access these boards. You’ll also be able to ask question of your fellow students. Feel free to share your work and gain support from your peers.

By 10:00 PM (ET) Sunday night, you’ll return your final revised pages to your assigned agent for review. They will spend the next week reading the revised submissions assigned to them, and will provide a final brief one-or-two sentence critique of your progress no later than December 1. Please note that any one of them may ask for additional pages if the initial submission shows serious promise.

*Please note: All attendees should have the first 10 pages of their novel finished and ready to submit to the agent prior to the beginning of the event.

In addition to feedback from Paula, Gina, Rachael, or Jessica, attendees will also receive:

— A download of “An Agent’s Tips on Story Structures that Sell,” an on-demand webinar by Andrea Hurst
— 1-year subscription to the WritersMarket.com literary agent database

Join the Boot Camp Today!

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Hunger Games. 13 Reasons Why. Wonder. Young adult (YA) and middle grade (MG) publishing is hot right now. It’s always a group that does well, but with such big hits in recent years there’s a push by agents and publishers to grab the next Twilight or Harry Potter or unique book that’s destined for the bestseller list. The real question is this: How can you make your YA or MG book stand out?

In this live 90-minute webinar — titled “Writing the Breakout YA or Middle Grade Novel” —  literary agent Holly Root will give you an agent’s eye view of the current landscape-with plenty of straight talk about what’s real, what’s hype, and how to thrive in one of the most exciting areas of the publishing business. Plus, as a bonus, Root will critique a one-page query letter about your novel! It all happens at 1 p.m., EST, Thursday, November 13, 2014, and lasts 90 minutes.

Click Here to Register

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• What you can do today to create your strongest story ideas yet
• How to evaluate your own ideas for commercial potential
• How to know when you’re ready to query
• How to reconcile your art and the realities of the business
• How to “think like an agent” in crafting a query that will get noticed
• How to research smarter when targeting agents or publishers-targeting the best people for your work

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HOW THE CRITIQUE WORKS

All registrants are invited to submit a one-page query letter for their novel. All submissions are guaranteed a written critique by the instructor, literary agent Holly Root. Holly reserves the right to request more writing from attendees by e-mail following the event.

Please Note: Even if you can’t attend the live webinar, registering for this live version will enable you to receive the On Demand webinar and a personal critique of your material. Purchasing the On Demand version after the live event will not include a critique.

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INSTRUCTOR

Holly Root is a literary agent at Waxman Leavell Literary Agency who represents adult fiction and nonfiction as well as novels for children and teens; she is not seeking picture book clients or screenwriting clients. Her authors include New York Times, USA Today, SIBA, national and international bestsellers, as well as Morris, Nebula, and Rita award winners and nominees and many titles named to ALA Best lists. Prior to joining the Waxman Literary Agency in 2007, Holly worked at the William Morris Agency and Trident Media Group. Visit her online at http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/hroot and http://twitter.com/hroot.

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There has never been a better time to be a Sci-Fi / Fantasy author. With television shows like Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones and Outlander each in turn becoming massive pop culture phenomena, and Marvel’s superhero films dominating the box office, SF/F has gone mainstream like never before. The SF/F literary marketplace has also become more open to a variety of stories and points of view.

The SF/F agents of Fuse Literary (formerly Foreword Literary) will help you perfect your new Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Horror masterpiece in this online boot camp titled “How to Write and Sell Your Fantasy & Science Fiction.” It starts on Nov. 10, and all registrants will get individualized agent critiques as well as have the chance to ask the agent instructors any questions they wish.

Among the topics that will be discussed:

• How to build a unique and memorable fictional world that will entice an agent
• How to craft a compelling, high-stakes plot that keeps the reader engaged
• How to create refreshing and dynamic characters
• How to find agents seeking SF/F manuscripts
• How to avoid common pitfalls in your query letter and sample pages
• How to rein in an out-of-control word count
• How to lay the groundwork for an epic series in your first book. Sign up for the boot camp here.

After the seminar lecture, we will be available to answer any questions you may have about the SF/F market or the publishing process. Then the agents from Fuse Literary will critique the query letter and first five double-spaced pages from all registrants. Don’t miss this opportunity to get the inside scoop on genre publishing!

 

PLEASE NOTE: A few works discussed as examples in our presentation will include A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey, Dune by Frank Herbert, and Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor. It’s not necessary to have read any or all of these books, but a passing familiarity with at least a few of them will be helpful.

Only registered students can access the discussion sessions. You’ll also be able to ask questions of your fellow students. Feel free to share your work and gain support from your peers

Please note that any one of the agents may ask for additional pages if the initial submission shows serious promise.

In addition to feedback from agents, attendees will also receive:

— Download of “An Agent’s Tips on Story Structures that Sell,” an on-demand webinar by literary agent Andrea Hurst
— 1-year subscription to the WritersMarket.com literary agent database

About Fuse Literary:

Fuse Literary is a full-service, hybrid literary agency based in the Silicon Valley with offices in New York City, Chicago, San Diego, and Vancouver. We blend the tried-and-true methods of traditional publishing with the brash new opportunities engendered by digital publishing, emerging technologies, and an evolving author-agent relationship. Sign up for the boot camp here.

Fuse manages a wide variety of clients, from bestsellers to debut authors, working with fiction and non-fiction for children and adults worldwide. We combine technical efficiency with outside-the-covers creative thinking so that each individual client’s career is specifically fine-tuned for them.

Agent Laurie McLean is a partner at Fuse Literary. She spent 20 years as the CEO of a publicity agency and 8 years as an agent and senior agent at Larsen Pomada Literary Agents in San Francisco. At Fuse, Laurie specializes in adult genre fiction plus middle-grade and young adult children’s books. Her SF/F clients include the New York Times and USA Today bestselling YA author Julie Kagawa, bestselling fantasy and science fiction author Michael J. Sullivan, and award-winning steampunk and fantasy authors Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris.http://www.writersdigest.com/wp-admin/post-new.php

Agent Connor Goldsmith is an associate agent at Fuse Literary, part of the firm’s New York office. He began his career in publishing as an associate agent at Lowenstein Associates. At Fuse, Connor specializes in adult genre and commercial fiction, in addition to select literary fiction and nonfiction titles. His SF/F clients include award-winning romantic fantasy author Jeffe Kennedy and upcoming debut SF/F authors Claire Humphrey, Alex White, and Cass Morris.

Please note: Both Laurie McLean and Connor Goldsmith will be participating in the online discussion sessions together on the same boards. There is no need to request to ask questions to one or the other beforehand. If you ask a question, both Laurie and Connor will be able to reply to you based on their expertise. However, only Connor Goldsmith will be critiquing submissions.

Sign up for the boot camp here.

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Join ALSC and PLA for an introduction to the 2nd edition of the Every Child Ready to Read @ your library Toolkit for Spanish-speaking Communities. This one-hour webinar is designed for librarians and library staff who are interested in reaching Spanish-speaking families with early literacy information.

This same webinar will be held two different times:

• 11am Central/12pm Eastern, Wed., November 5
• 3pm Central/4pm Eastern, Wed., November 5

The Every Child Ready to Read @ your library Toolkit for Spanish-Speaking Communities is available from the ALA Store. Information on webinar registration is available from the ALSC Online Learning site.

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Are you a writer who prefers to pre-plot? Or, do you simply like to jump in and begin writing without much pre-planning? Perhaps you’re just starting out and don’t know your plotting preference? Whatever kind of writer you are, you’re much more likely to finish a fast and amazing draft if you have a basic grasp of the dramatic action plot and the character emotional development plot of your stories before you begin writing. You’ll also find that if you do more pre-plotting upfront, you’ll have fewer rewrites later.

“Plot Whisperer” Martha Alderson works with writers from all over the world. She’ll share with you a simple, visual technique to help you pre-plot your story quickly in her new Oct. 9, 2014 webinar, “How to Pre-Plot & Complete a Novel or Memoir in a Month: The Benefits of Writing a Fast Draft from Beginning.” It all happens at 1 p.m. this Thursday.

You’ll also receive a template (and a free download of Martha’s plotting e-book) to help you organize your time in the actual writing phase. We guarantee you’ll finish a fast draft of your story in a month. Once you assemble the plot items on her checklist, you’ll be ready to begin your one-month writing challenge.

 

 

ABOUT THE EBOOK

All registrants of this webinar will receive the ebook The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts by Martha Alderson.

Please Note: Even if you can’t attend the live webinar, registering for this live version will enable you to receive the On Demand webinar and the ebook. Purchasing the On Demand version after the live event will not include the ebook.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

– How to structure your story in preparation of writing a fast draft
– How to pre-plot the dramatic action plot and the character emotional development plot
– The benefits of writing a fast draft from beginning to end
– The importance of reaching the end before beginning again
– Why pre-plotting ensures you’ll finish your story in the allotted time
– The best use of your time to reach your goal
– The plot items you’ll need to begin your one-month writing challenge
– How to use the one-month deadline to your advantage. Sign up for Martha’s webinar here.

INSTRUCTOR

Martha Alderson, also known as the Plot Whisperer, has been exploring and writing about the Universal Story for the past fifteen years as part of the support she offers to writers. She leads transformational workshops for people privately as well as teaches plot workshops to novelists, memoirists, and screenwriters privately, at plot retreats, through Learning Annex, RWA, SCBWI, CWC chapter meetings, Writer’s Digest, The Writers Store and at writers’ conferences where she takes writers beyond the words and into the very heart of a story. More recently Martha, in collaboration with literary agent Jill Corcoran, teaches a series of online, live video plot chats with writers through A Path to Publishing. https://apathtopublishing.squarespace.com

She has written several books on plot and the Universal Story as part of her Plot Whisperer series of writing resources for authors: The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing , The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-Step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories, companion workbook to original The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master (Adams Media, a division of F + W Media), Blockbuster Plots Pure & Simple (Illusion Press) and several ebooks on plot.

As the founder December, International Plot Writing Month (www.plotwrimo.com), Martha manages the award-winning blog for writers: The Plot Whisperer which has been awarded honors as a top writing advice blog by Writers Digest 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. Her vlog, How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay (www.youtube.com/user/marthaalderson), covers 27 steps to plotting your story from beginning to end and playlists to help writers create a compelling plot for their novels, memoirs and screenplays.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

1. Anyone with an idea for a novel or memoir
2. Writers with an unfinished draft of a story
3. Writers looking for a new way to plot and write a story
4. Writers who want to challenge themselves
5. Writers who have never finished a story all the way through to the end
6. Writers who believe they are plot challenged
7. Writers who consider themselves “by-the-seat-of-the-pants” writers
8. Writers who prefer to have a firm idea of the dramatic action plot and character emotional development plot before beginning to write

HOW TO GET THE FREE EBOOK:

All registrants of this webinar will receive the ebook The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts by Martha Alderson. Instructions on how to submit your work are sent after you have purchased the webinar and officially register in Go-to-Webinar. When you have registered in GTW, you will receive a confirmation email from [email protected], which contains the information you need to access the live webinar AND instructions on how to get the ebook.

Sign up for Martha’s webinar here.

 

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Whether you’re writing a novel, short story, memoir, stage play, or screenplay, this boot camp will show you how to craft a great narrative scene-by-scene. It’s a hands-on event that provides personalized feedback on your story structure and plot.

The agents of Talcott Notch Literary Services share the secrets of creating a story structure that works – no matter what your genre – in this entertaining and informative online event. It’s all part of the 2014 “Plot Perfect” Agent One-on-One Boot Camp starting Oct. 24. In addition to the tutelage and instruction, every attendee gets a critique of their plot framework from the agent instructors. Seats for the event are limited, and WD boot camps frequently sell out, so consider signing up sooner rather than later.

Following are the details of what happens during the event:

 

 

 

How it works:

On Friday, October 24, you will receive access to a special online tutorial created by author and senior literary agent Paula Munier. During this presentation, Paula will detail how your work’s theme and variations on that theme determine your main plot as well as your sub-plots. You’ll learn how to break your story down accordingly, scene by scene, forming a blueprint by which you can devise the most compelling version of the story you want to tell. In addition to the tutorial, you’ll also receive two special templates designed to help you quickly develop the theme-based three-act structure you need to engage and entertain your readers.

The critique:

After watching the tutorial, you’ll sketch out a story structure for your own project using the template and submit it to your assigned Talcott Notch agent for review. The deadline for submission is 10:00 AM ET, Saturday, October 25.

The submission will then be reviewed by the agent, who will provide a personalized critique of your work by noon, Sunday, October 26. This critique will give you insights into what’s working in your story, what’s not, and how you can improve it. Informed by these comments, you’ll revise the story structure throughout the day on Sunday. You’ll have the opportunity to ask the agents questions via a live message board (open from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET), then finalize your revision and resubmit it for one last review no later than 10:00 PM ET Sunday night.

The Talcott Notch agents will spend the next few days reviewing the revised submissions. Once finished, they will send a final note assessing your revision efforts by no later than 10:00 PM, October 31. Please note that these comments are brief, and not meant to act as a second critique.

By the time you finish this one-of-a-kind plotting primer, you’ll be armed with the blueprint you need to help craft an effective first draft from page one to The End.

BONUS: For attending this Boot Camp, you will receive a free copy of Paula Munier’s just-published book Plot Perfect: How to Build Unforgettable Stories Scene by Scene. Here is a bit about the book:

“Plot is one of the most important aspects to your novel or short story. To write a successful fiction piece, you need a story rich in theme, character and nuance. These stories stand out from the rest and attract readers. Creating a story with a multilayered plot does not come naturally, but takes thoughtfulness and dedication. Plot Perfect will teach you all about writing compelling plots that keep readers wanting more. Explore the intricacies of plot by mastering the three act structure using real world examples.”

Books will begin being shipped to attendees in the beginning of November. (Sign up for the boot camp here.)

PLEASE NOTE: To illustrate superior examples of plot and structure, Paula will reference The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett throughout her webinar. Although it’s not necessary to be familiar with the story, she recommends that attendees either read the novel or watch the movie prior to the boot camp in order to get the most out of the event.

Paula also recommends that you have 60 blank index cards on hand. Though they aren’t required, you’ll find them a great help for brainstorming ideas and writing down scene details. You can then use these cards to keep track of your scenes and easily reorder them to work out the best possible structure for your story.

About Talcott Notch Literary Agency:

Founded in 2003, Talcott Notch Literary is a rapidly-growing mid-size literary and screen rights agency representing the freshest new voices in both fiction and nonfiction.

Senior Associate Agent and Content Strategist Paula Munier brings a wealth of publishing industry knowledge to the agency. With a stellar background holding executive positions in both publishing houses and writers’ organizations (simultaneously), she’s intimately-versed in the dynamics and inner workings of publishing houses, as well as the expectations of and demands placed upon writers.

Associate Agent Rachael Dugas completed a six-month internship with Sourcebooks before joining Talcott Notch, and is now seeking fiction, particularly YA and middle-grade fiction, along with women’s fiction, romance, paranormal and mysteries. She’ll also consider nonfiction, with a strong interest in the arts, and cooking. Her first sales hit the shelves this Spring, including Bethany Crandall’s SUMMER ON THE SHORT BUS, published by Running Press Kids, and Elle Daniel’s HE’S NO PRINCE CHARMING, published by Hachette, debuting this Fall.

NOTE: No special requests to work with specific agents will be available for this boot camp.

Sign up for the boot camp here.

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