Jane Friedman & Christina Katz
I am teaching at the Willamette Writers Conference this weekend. This is the writing conference I attended in 2005, where I sold my first book, Writer Mama to Jane Friedman, when she was still at Writer’s Digest Books.
I’ve taken a break from teaching appearances for a few years, so I am looking forward to the conference and the opportunity to connect and re-connect with writers. I’ve got a stack of manuscripts to review for writers who are attending and I cannot wait to see Jane Friedman, who is giving the Friday morning keynote. I’m also meeting a coaching client in person, who I’ve been working with for over a year for the first time.
Bottom line: technology is awesome, but events like writing conferences are great places to connect with your writing tribe.
While I wholeheartedly recommend all of the sessions and instructors, here are some of the sessions I recommend, related to sessions I am teaching (see the complete schedule):
Platform & Marketing
Friday
8:30 am: The Basics Of Author Platform Building with Christina Katz (that’s me)
1:30 pm: Optimizing Your Online Presence and Book Launch to Maximize Sales with William Hertling
3:30 pm: Advanced Platform Building: Meaningful Metrics and Lifelong Readership with Jane Friedman
Saturday
8:30 am: Branding: The Key to Career Growth with Chip MacGregor
1:30: Make It Worth Your Time: How to Analyze and Adjust Your Social Media
Sunday
8:30 am: Building Your Brand with Rima Greer
1:30 pm: Getting Started as an Indie Author: What Does It Take? with Tonya Macalino
Nonfiction, Essay & Memoir Writing
Friday
10:30 am: Location, Location, Location: Settings that Breathe, Create Mood, and Influence Story Events with Jessica Morrell
1:30 pm: Your Memoir’s Focus: Writing About Yourself by Writing About the World with Emily Grosvenor
3:30 pm: The Most Important Moment in Your Story with Larry Brooks
Saturday
8:30 am: Excellence 102: The Essential Nature of Dramatic Arc with Larry Brooks
10:30 am: The Web of Character with Hallie Ephron
1:30 pm: Corporeal Writing I with Lidia Yuknavitch
3:30 pm: Corporeal Writing II with Lidia Yuknavitch
Sunday
8:30 am: Writing for the Common Good & Service Writing with Cheryl Hofstetter Duffy
10:30 am: Act Two Blues: The Tools for Making Act Two Great with Cynthia Whitcomb
1:30 pm: Maintaining Your Sanity While Writing About Family with Debra Gordon Zaslow or That’s What She Said! with Natalie Serber
3:00 pm: The Personal Essay: Turn Your Personal Experience into Literary Gold with Christina Katz
Of course, I am only scratching the surface of all the great faculty, who are speaking at the conference. I recommend creating learning tracks for yourself that are customized to the skills you are working on most at this time.
Have fun and be sure to say hello if you are there!
Learn more about the Willamette Writers Conference.
Thanks for reading! And thanks for sharing this post with fellow writers! Please subscribe to The Prosperous Writer Blog and sign up for The Prosperous Writer Newsletter for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. Click on the Enter School tab above to start learning.