(Please note that these are in-person events. We at Writing Day Workshops plan both online/virtual as well as in-person events. This next FWW conferences are in-person events happening in Tampa on Friday, April 12, 2024; and Orlando on Saturday, April 13, 2024. See you there. Registration instructions here.)
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TAMPA CLASSES (FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2024):
The topics below are subject to change. There will be 2-3 classes/workshops going at all times during the day, so sometimes you may have your choice of what class you attend.
8:30 – 9:30: Check-in and registration at the event location.
BLOCK ONE: 9:30 – 10:30
1. Everything You Need to Know About Literary Agents and Writing an Awesome Query Letter. This workshop is a thorough crash course in dealing with literary agents. After quickly going over what an agent is and what they do for writers, we will discuss resources for finding agents, how to ID the best agents for you, query letter writing, as well as the most important things to do and not to do when dealing with representatives.
2. Leveraging Social Media To Build Your Author Brand. Building your author brand is essential for all aspiring authors, regardless of your writing level. You don’t have to wait to become published to begin building your author brand, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Learn how to leverage smart content development strategy and social media management to build your platform.
BLOCK TWO: 10:45 – 11:50
1. Understanding the Publishing Industry in 2024 — From Hybrid Publishing to Artificial Intelligence and Everything in Between. Writers today have lots of choices and options, but that doesn’t mean your publishing journey is an easy path to navigate. How are traditional publishing and self-publishing changing? What kind of writer is attractive to an agent currently? What is hybrid publishing? How will A.I. (artificial intelligence) help or hurt writers in the years to come? Which social media sites and publishing resources are worth the time and effort in 2024? All these questions, and more, will be addressed during the speech.
2. Four Ways Book Authors Make Money from Publishers: How Authors Go from Fingers on Keyboard to Dollars in Bank Account. Examine the four major ways authors make money from traditional book publishing. This session, taught by a literary agent and attorney, will explain advances, royalties, subsidiary rights, and much more. If you’re curious how money works in the publishing process, this class is for you.
LUNCH ON YOUR OWN: 11:50 – 1:15
Lunch is on your own during these 85 minutes.
BLOCK THREE: 1:15 – 2:30
1. “Writers Got Talent”—a Page 1 Critique Fest, with participating literary agents and editors. In the vein of “American Idol” or “America’s Got Talent,” this is a chance to get your first page read (anonymously — no bylines given) with attending agents commenting on what was liked or not liked about the submission. Get expert feedback on your incredibly important first page, and know if your writing has what it needs to keep readers’ attention. All attendees are welcome to bring pages to the event for this session, and we will choose pages at random for the workshop for as long as time lasts. All submissions should be fiction or memoir—no prescriptive nonfiction or picture books, please. Do not send your pages in advance. You will bring printed copies with you, and instructions will be sent out approximately one week before the event.
2. How to Sell a Nonfiction Book Proposal. This session focuses on effective strategies for writing a nonfiction book proposal on any subject. Topics include industry standards, building your expertise, and how to prepare a winning proposal that demonstrates your understanding of the marketplace.
BLOCK FOUR: 2:45 – 3:45
1. Open Agent Q&A Panel. Several attending literary agents (and editors) will open themselves up to open Q&A from FWW attendees. Bring your questions and get them answered in this popular session.
2. Write Better, Right Now: What an Editor Learned by Critiquing 400 Manuscripts (and What Writers Can Take Away). Hear straightforward writing advice from a professional book doctor. In this seminar, we will touch on character, setting, plot, voice, dialogue, revision, word count, genre, and more. Improve your writing, so that fewer agents & editors response to your submission with “I didn’t connect with the writing,” and more respond with “Please send more of your work to consider.” Understand why agents (and editors, and readers) stop reading, and learn how to fix your writing mistakes as you overhaul and revise your work.
BLOCK FIVE: 4:00 – 5:00
1. Craft Amazing First Pages That Grab Readers (and Agents). Agents judge a book on its first chapter, first page, first paragraph, and yes even the first sentence. It’s incredibly important to start your book off right and immediately grab the agent (and reader) with intrigue and conflict. So what types of openings should you avoid? How do you create conflict and intrigue that pulls the reader in, and doesn’t seem forced? This class will explain what an agent needs to see on your opening pages to keep reading.
2. 10 Evergreen Keys to Writing Success. Learn 10 things you can be doing right now that will help get your book(s) published and have more control over your writing destiny. This is a general course that addresses commonsense things any writer can do to give their work the best shot at getting published, such as writing the best thing they can, stealing from themselves to generate more content, and why writing for love and money is a good idea.
SESSIONS END: 5:00
Agent & Editor Pitching: All throughout the day. (Register for the event here.)
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ORLANDO CLASSES (SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2024):
The topics below are subject to change. There will be 2-3 classes/workshops going at all times during the day, so sometimes you may have your choice of what class you attend.
8:30 – 9:30: Check-in and registration at the event location.
BLOCK ONE: 9:30 – 10:30
1. How to Prepare Your Query Package. This workshop is a thorough crash course in dealing with literary agents. After quickly going over what an agent is and what they do for writers, we will discuss resources for finding agents, how to ID the best agents for you, query letter writing, as well as the most important things to do and not to do when dealing with representatives.
2. Leveraging Social Media To Build Your Author Brand
BLOCK TWO: 10:45 – 11:50
1. Understanding the Publishing Industry in 2024 — From Hybrid Publishing to Artificial Intelligence and Everything in Between. Writers today have lots of choices and options, but that doesn’t mean your publishing journey is an easy path to navigate. How are traditional publishing and self-publishing changing? What kind of writer is attractive to an agent currently? What is hybrid publishing? How will A.I. (artificial intelligence) help or hurt writers in the years to come? Which social media sites and publishing resources are worth the time and effort in 2024? All these questions, and more, will be addressed during the speech.
2. The Texture of Urgency: How to Deeply Engage Your Readers from the First Page to the Last. Urgency is not unique to thrillers and not always a function of a fast pace. Urgency drives all fiction, and a slow-moving passage can have you at the edge of your seat. Urgency may sit deep inside the subtext of a scene, manifest in a character’s motivation, or show in the ambiance of a setting. In fact, urgency is the very fabric of your novel. It is what engages readers in your plot and makes them care about your characters’ plight. So, how do you create that sense of urgency? This session will talk about the underlying storytelling strategies such as cliffhangers, smart cuts, masking and unmasking information, about creating ambiance and the art of the crawl, about tracing clues, pacing, and racing to the end.
LUNCH ON YOUR OWN: 11:50 – 1:15
Lunch is on your own during these 85 minutes.
BLOCK THREE: 1:15 – 2:30
1. “Writers Got Talent”—a Page 1 Critique Fest, with participating literary agents and editors. In the vein of “American Idol” or “America’s Got Talent,” this is a chance to get your first page read (anonymously — no bylines given) with attending agents commenting on what was liked or not liked about the submission. Get expert feedback on your incredibly important first page, and know if your writing has what it needs to keep readers’ attention. All attendees are welcome to bring pages to the event for this session, and we will choose pages at random for the workshop for as long as time lasts. All submissions should be fiction or memoir—no prescriptive nonfiction or picture books, please. Do not send your pages in advance. You will bring printed copies with you, and instructions will be sent out approximately one week before the event.
2. How to Sell a Nonfiction Book. This session focuses on effective strategies for writing a nonfiction book proposal on any subject. Topics include industry standards, building your expertise, and how to prepare a winning proposal that demonstrates your understanding of the marketplace.
BLOCK FOUR: 2:45 – 3:45
1. Open Agent Q&A Panel. Several attending literary agents (and editors) will open themselves up to open Q&A from FWW attendees. Bring your questions and get them answered in this popular session.
2. Improve Your Writing: The Basics of Self-Editing and Revision. Writing your manuscript’s first draft is a huge step, but only a primary one. Now it’s time to look at your creation and slowly make it amazing through overhauls, self-editing, and revision. Remember that good writing is rewriting. In this class, you’ll learn to identify your writing’s flaws (and fix them) — such as tense and POV issues, when to cut and shorten your length, and what makes some writing crackle.
BLOCK FIVE: 4:00 – 5:00
1. Pacing in Thrillers: Keeping the Pages Turning. For a thriller novel, it’s all about the pacing, so that readers keep turning the pages long past their bedtimes. But a fast pace doesn’t necessarily mean constant action; a great roller coaster ride is as much about the suspenseful build-up of tension as it is about the thrills. This class will explore how to balance a breakneck storytelling speed with the character conflict and setting details that make a compelling novel.
2. Nine Habits of Profitable Writing. This general speech will quickly lay out advice on how to make money through writing. Learn how to expand your horizons, make money online, how to use fiction writing skill to generate profitable nonfiction, stay motivated, and much more.
SESSIONS END: 5:00
Agent & Editor Pitching: All throughout the day. (Register for the event here.)
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FREE ADDITIONAL RECORDED CLASSES:
We will actually send attendees extra FREE pre-recorded classes as part of their attendance. In addition to getting the weekend’s classes to enjoy live and in person, we will also send you 5 more free recorded classes on the side, from amazing instructors. In the week leading up to your in-person conference, we will send all confirmed attendees these classes below, some of which will aid in your pitching efforts:
- “Tips on Pitching Literary Agents & Editors at an In-Person Event,” taught by literary agent Carlie Webber
- “Tips on Pitching Literary Agents & Editors at an Online Event,” taught by literary agent Carlie Webber
- “Talking Dollars and Cents — How Authors Make Money,” from our Tennessee Writing Workshop
- “Publishing Options: Pros and Cons of Both Traditional and Indie Publishing,” from our Atlanta Writing Workshop
- “Overcoming Failure: How to Strive for ‘Yes’ in the Face of a Hundred Nos,” from our Florida Writing Workshop