Jeff Herman, founder of The Jeff Herman Literary Agency and author of the Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents, provides tips on finding and working with an agent. Jeff is one of the most innovative agents in the book business and represents more than 100 writers. He has sold more than 450 titles in the United States and Internationally.
This session is also offered Friday afternoon.
You’ve spent weeks crafting your characters; days perfecting your dialog; and untold hours editing and proofreading your text. Now, what do you do? Self-Publishing allows you to tell your story, your way, and reap all the benefits, including editorial control of your manuscript; publishing the number of books you need, when you need them; determining royalty fees; and optioning your book. Robert “Mack” McCormack, president of 1stBooks, the world’s leading provider of publishing and marketing services for authors, guides you through the entire process. This session is also offered Friday afternoon.
Mary McCarty (metro columnist for the Dayton Daily News) and Laura Pulfer (former columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer) have mastered the art of human interest writing. Hear their tips on interviewing and writing that will add life to your words. They'll explain how they find great human interest stories and the techniques they use to write them. This session is also offered Friday afternoon.
Book marketing 101: Giving your book a fighting chance -- Steve Kissing
If you want to share your story with the world, writing a book and getting it published is only half the battle. You also need to market it, often with little or no support from the publisher. Learn some of the tricks of the trade -- and get inspired -- from author and advertising professional Steve Kissing. This session is also offered Friday afternoon.
Participants will come away with techniques, column formats and new insights into humor writing. The material will be based on the experience Deb has in writing her own humor column for over a decade and the tried and true techniques of other well-known humor writers.
Made you laugh: Cracking the humorless world of magazine writing -- Dan Zevin
Dan Zevin has written for magazines including Rolling Stone and Details and has been a humor columnist for the Boston Phoenix and Boston Magazine. Dan teaches magazine writing at New York Univerisity and is the author of The Day I Turned Uncool: Confessions of a Reluctant Grownup; The Nearly-wed Handbook: How To Survive the Happiest Day of Your Life; and Entry-Level Life: A Complete Guide to Masquerading as a Member of the Real World. This session is also offered Friday afternoon.
Think romantic comedy is just about clumsy nose hits during the kissing scenes? Think again. Publishers are clamoring for writers who can combine humor with love, and come out with characters who are believable, strong and yet leave the reader laughing all the way to the last page. This session will teach you how to write romantic comedies that incorporate humor into every element -- plot, character, setting, synopsis and query letter -- to help you write and sell your love with laughter novel. This session is also offered Friday afternoon.
