• How far will I have to travel? (Mileage plus number of nights in hotel).
• What are the conference fees? And is what they offer worth the price?
• Who is on the faculty? And do they offer private faculty appointments?
• What are the networking opportunities?

Southeast Christian Writers Conference, Cleveland, TN – October 14-15:

Cleveland (near Chattanooga) is a beautiful place to be in October. Fall color will be near-peak on the weekend of October 14th and 15th. Definitely a perk.

This is a new conference, this year’s edition being only the second. My friends Lettie Kirkpatrick Burress and Wendy Brown are among the organizers. And Sally Stuart , the authority on the Christian market, is featured speaker.

The conference starts mid-afternoon on Friday with sessions on Friday evening and all day Saturday. The fee is only $85 for both days (includes a couple of meals). There are no writing contests or private appointments with faculty. Hotels with reasonable rates are nearby. I think this conference is worth the fee and the travel expense just to be around Sally Stuart. She lives in Oregon, and I live in western Tennessee. When will I have this chance again? Visit the SECWC site and check it out for yourself.

Indianapolis Christian Writers Conference, Fishers, IN – November 4-5:

I’ve attended this conference several times in the past, and they always do a great job. It’s sponsored by Wesleyan Publishing House and is held at their world headquarters in Fishers, IN, northwest of Indianapolis. Keynote speaker is Angela Hunt.

The conference starts at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, November 4th and runs through 4 p.m. on Saturday. There’s a full schedule including workshops and private faculty appointments. The fee is $149 for both days, no meals included.

This conference provides excellent networking opportunities. It’s well-attended, and their faculty includes some of the most knowledgeable writers, teachers, and editors in the Christian publishing industry: Lin Johnson, Terry Whalin, and Jim Watkins, to name my favorites. It’s a long way to go for me (6-7 hours), with at least three nights in a hotel added to the expense of the fee. All details are now up on their site.

North Texas Christian Writers Conference, Keller, TX – September 17-18:

This conference, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has not been around very long, but it has grown by leaps and bounds. Maybe that’s because everything in Texas has to be big? I have wanted to attend this one for several years, but it hasn’t happened.

Although the fee for this conference ($265 for both days) is higher than the first two I’ve mentioned, it offers more. Not only do they have workshops and featured speakers, they have private appointments, contests, and mentoring clinics. And—the fee includes continental breakfast and lunch each day, plus dinner on Friday. The faculty includes Gail Gaymer Martin, Frank Ball (organizer), DiAnn Mills, Kathy Ide, and Mary DeMuth, among others. The hours are Friday, 8 a.m. until 8:45 p.m. and Saturday all day.

For me it’s 9 hours of driving with probably four nights in the hotel. There’s a guilt factor associated with this one, too. I have family living in the Dallas area. If I were to attend a conference at Keller, I’d need to take an extra day to visit them before heading home.

So—What to do? Making these decisions is hard, but it’s time to think about registration. Last year, the Indy conference sold out, and there were no at-door registrations. How about you? Which of these would you choose if you were me? How do you make your decisions on what conferences to attend? Your comments are welcomed.

• A Business Approach to Marketing Your Work
• Turning Your Journal Entries into Saleable Articles
• Social Networking for Writers: Overview of Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Self-Editing: Preparing Your Work for the Market
• Write What You Know: Finding Stories in Everyday Life

Would you take a couple of minutes and participate in my survey? Make believe you are attending a writers conference. Based ONLY on the title, rate the following workshop titles from 1 to 5 with 1 being your first choice, 2 the second, etc. If you are not at all interested in a title, you do not have to rate it at all. There’s space for you to put additional comments, too. E-mail subscribers, if the link to survey does not work, click on the title of this post above and go to my site where the link will definitely work.

Click here to link to the survey.

Thanks for taking the time to give me your opinion. I’ll share the results with you soon.

PS—I invite you to share this post with your writer friends to help me get more input. Here’s how:

• If you are subscribed in a reader, click on the post title to link to my site.  At the bottom of the post, look for the Facebook, Twitter, e-mail (envelope), and Share buttons and take your pick.
• E-mail subscribers can forward the entire message using your e-mail program. Or—click on the post title to go to my site to use the share buttons.

Kentucky Christian Writers Conference founders and attendees celebrated its fifteenth anniversary June 24-25, 2011, at College Heights United Methodist Church in Elizabethtown, KY. Conference offerings included Cecil Murphey, keynote speaker, numerous workshops, and private faculty appointments.

I attended two workshops by Cinda King, Hopefully Devoted to Devotional Writing and Curriculum Writing for Small Groups. In the devotional workshop, King advised us to be prepared for “unplanned inspiration.” She said she gets her ideas when she least expects it. The curriculum workshop included a step-by-step guide to writing studies for small groups or retreats. In both workshops, she provided copious handouts.

Carlton Hughes, a professor of journalism, children’s pastor, and award-winning freelance writer, taught Unlocking the Inner Journalist: Basics of Article Writing. Hughes covered the basics of getting ideas, planning, interviewing/research, writing, and submitting articles. He based part of his session on a book by William E. Blundell. Check out The Art and Craft of Feature Writing: Based on The Wall Street Journal Guide on Amazon.com using the Look Inside feature. I’ve ordered the book so that I can study it in detail.

Stirring the Pot: Writing for Chicken Soup and other Inspirational Markets, led by Tracy Crump, included a history of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series along with tips on how to write and submit for future editions. It was news to me that Chicken Soup is not considered a Christian series. Although they are open to stories about faith, no scripture is used in the stories.

Donna Clark Goodrich led a session entitled How to Sell What You Write. At the beginning of her workshop, she quoted Yogi Berra: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” Then she gave us great directions to get us on the road to publication. She distributed several handouts to the class. The most valuable part of the discussion for me was the portion dealing with reprint rights and simultaneous submissions.

Goodrich also presented a keynote on “The Freedom of Letting Go.” She has a book in the works by the same title. The jist of her talk was that we must let go of all the things that keep us from being our best. Primarily, our reluctance to let go is a result of wanting to be in control. But, she said we have to let go of that, too.

Cecil Murphey gave three keynote addresses, all drawing on his extensive experience as a writer and ghostwriter. He began with examining why we write, emphasizing that writing is not a talent. It’s a gift from God. In his second appearance, he discussed voice. He noted that finding one’s true voice can be painful at times. He asked the group to affirm: “I am a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God.” His third keynote dealt with learning to be genuine in your writing—“giving what you want to receive.” Readers appreciate writers who truly show their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths as they write. Murphey’s prayer for this session was: “Loving God, show me the truth about myself, no matter how wonderful it may be.”

Here’s the main thing that I learned at this conference. Very little of what I heard in workshops was new information for me. However, in every session, I picked up tips and tidbits that are useful to me right now. Networking with other writers gave me the jumpstart I needed to renew my interest in my writing. It definitely pays to take advantage of all opportunities to learn from and share with other writers.

Last weekend, I attended Kentucky Christian Writers Conference in Elizabethtown, KY. I realize that I am fortunate to be close enough to such a conference and to be able to afford to attend. If you want to write for publication but can’t attend conferences, you can get the information and encouragement you need in other ways. Since I couldn’t collect handouts for you, I’m sharing a list of sources provided by the faculty of KCWC 2011:

• Cecil Murphey’s blog, Writer to Writer.
• A Step in the Write Direction, Donna Clark Goodrich’s book on the basics. She provides step-by-step instructions on how to get published in the Christian market. A student edition for the home school market and younger writers has just been published.
• Mentoring by Michelle Medlock Adams. Michelle will be taking new mentorees in September.
• Critique and/or copyediting services with C. S. Lakin.
• Sign up for Tracy Crump’s Write Life newsletter.
• Read Ann Gabhart’s blog post about KCWC here.
• Take a look at Cinda King’s blog to get a feel for the type of work she does.
• Listen to or watch David W. Pierce talk about his work here.
• Find out about the ministry of Andrea Merrell and Cindy Sproles at ChristianDevotions.us. See the writers guidelines here.

Also, see my previous post about building your own conference. Also, check out my first update on “my” conference.

Next week, I’ll report on KY conference offerings and what I learned from them. If you haven’t subscribed, please do so now so that you won’t miss anything.

And—thanks to Ann Gabhart for providing the photo of Cecil Murphey above.

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Monday, April 11, 2011

Planning for 2011, I realized I would not be able to get away for conferences this year, so I decided to build my own. Today, I want to share with you some of the resources I’ve found.

Faithwriters.com: As a “free” member, I had taken advantage of some of their services. However, I discovered that the paid membership offers many other services. I joined as a platinum member for one year. I was particularly interested in the free courses they offer. I’m still exploring, but I think the weekly writing challenge will be what I need to get me back to writing new material regularly. The fee is $10 a month or $120 a year, but that is much cheaper than most conference tuition. I’ll share more about Faithwriters later in the year.

Book Proposal Help from Terry Whalin: As I browsed the Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference blog, I found a video interview between Alton Gansky, conference director, and Terry Whalin. The interview promotes Terry’s conference classes, but what caught my interest was the news of his membership site devoted to teaching people to write a book proposal. You may be familiar with Terry’s book, Book Proposals That Sell. The course-work is based on the book, but Terry offers additional materials on this memberships site, http://www.writeabookproposal.com/. If you are working on a book right now, this would be a great way to get help from an industry pro without leaving your desk. It’s a three-month (twelve-week) course for only $27 a month. Read the FAQ’s on the site here. Also, see the interview on YouTube here.

Publishing Industry Blogs: A new writer can learn a lot just by following blogs offered by publishing professionals. Sign up to receive these blogs regularly. It’s almost like taking classes from conference faculty. You’ll get more out of it if you comment on posts and/or ask questions.

• Rachelle Gardner, Agent
• The Borrowed Book (for fiction writers)
• There Are No Rules (a Writer’s Digest blog)
• Cecil Murphey’s Writer to Writer
• Linda Clare’s Writing Tips

Subscribers, if you have opinions about the sites and blogs I’ve mentioned today, I welcome comments. Also, if you follow a publishing industry blog that’s not listed, please share the URL by posting a comment on this post.

Would you like to attend a writers’ conference—but you can’t get away or don’t have the money? I’m in that situation myself this year, and here’s what I’m going to do about it. I’m putting together my own personal conference. I can assemble the components now and work on them when I have the time.

Here’s my action plan:

• Browse the available conferences for subject matter of interest to me. I don’t have to limit myself to conferences that are near me. See the following lists: Sally Stuart’s list, ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com, Steve Laube’s list.

• Choose subject matter to study this year. Then find ways to get that information outside of conferences: books, online courses, writers’ groups (in person and online), and/or mentors.

• Find other ways to network with writers and editors.

For the next few weeks, I’ll be assembling my conference content and resources list. When I’m done, I’ll share it with you. First, I’ll look for free resources, but, if I don’t find what I’m looking for, I’ll seek low-cost alternatives.

Subscribers, your input is welcomed. Are there any print or online resources that have helped in your self-education? Any courses or groups that you can recommend? Post your ideas in the comment section for all to see.

See my other posts on writers conferences here.

PS: I’d still like to attend one conference if I can. The nearest conference to me is Kentucky Christian Writers Conference, June 24-25. A day’s drive from me are two conferences that I have attended in the past: Indianapolis Christian Writers Conference (November, not updated for 2011 yet) and Southern Christian Writers Conference, June 10-11.

If you haven’t planned to attend a conference this year, now’s the time to consider it. If cost is a factor, look for a conference nearby to keep travel expenses down. If you have never attended a conference before, choose one of the smaller ones to “get your feet wet.” So, how do you go about finding the right conference?

• Search online for conferences in your area at Shawguides.com. For Christian conferences, go to Sally Stuart’s conferences page. Sally has not updated the list for 2011, but the list includes links to conference websites.
• Agent Steve Laube offers a conference list on his site here.
• Ask for recommendations from fellow writers. Members of online groups are happy to make recommendations if you don’t have local contacts to help you.
• Visit author John Vonhof’s WritersConferenceGuidelines.com and browse the wealth of information he provides about how to choose a conference and prepare for attendance.

I can answer questions about Kentucky Christian Writers Conference, Indianapolis Christian Writers Conference, and Southern Christian Writers Conference, as I have attended all three numerous times.

See my previous post on conferences, Writers Conferences: Why-to, How-to.

Virginia Smith did an outstanding job as keynote speaker with a pothole-by-pothole description of her road to publication. Beginners and published writers alike enjoyed two days of networking, learning, and worship.

I taught a workshop entitled, “Get Organized—And Sell Your Work.” Some of the information in my session is included in a series of blog posts. See the summary and links to each post on this page.

If you’re reading this, and you were a KCWC attendee, I encourage you to subscribe so that you won’t miss the book giveaway coming soon.

In the summer of 1999, I attended my first conference, Southern Christian Writers Conference at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Somehow, an announcement about the conference reached my local newspaper in Union City, Tennessee. I managed to locate some other West Tennessee writers who were attending SCWC, so I decided to go with them. I had no idea what I would learn or what I would do with the information. I just knew that I liked to write and had been told that I was good at it. I wanted to explore the possibilities.

My first workshop was “Writing for Magazines,” a two-part workshop led by Cheryl Sloan Wray. I couldn’t have chosen a better place to start. Cheryl led us step-by-step through the submission process. She provided sample query letters, sample articles, and a list of suggested beginner markets. I also purchased the first edition of her book, Writing for Magazines. With what I learned in the course and suggestions from mentors, I submitted my first work that fall. My acceptance rate for the first five articles was 100%. Of course, I didn’t maintain that “batting average” forever. But, I have always been thankful for the thorough training I received at my very first conference.

I went back to SCWC each year, even after it was moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I also have attended several other conferences. Without the teaching from that first conference, I would not have been equipped to submit my work. Equally important in my quest for publication was the encouragement of Betty Jones, a writer from nearby Dyersburg, Tennessee. She’s the one who let me ride with her to that first conference. At SCWC, I met other writers who provided useful information as we got to know each other outside of the scheduled conference activities. It’s impossible to name them all, but I do want to mention Lettie Kirkpatrick Burress. At a time when I was discouraged, she suggested markets that helped me get back on track.

Here’s a partial list of my published work. Thanks to the people who organize conferences like SCWC, KCWC, Indianapolis Christian Writers Conference, and Florida Christian Writers Conference for your hard work and willingness to help people like me get started.

If you are thinking about writing for publication, there is no better way to learn than to attend a Christian writers conference. Whether or not you intend to write for the Christian market, you will learn the basics of writing for publication. And, you’ll find caring people who truly want to help you succeed.

Online Conference Lists:

ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com

List on Sally Stuart’s Web Site

The Christian PEN: Freelance editor Kathy Ide organized The Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network as a Google group. She offers online courses for people wanting to become freelance editors. I joined the group about four years ago. The discussions on the group were helpful to me, but the online classes have helped me improve my writing and editing. Especially useful to me as a writer was my first class, “Proofreading and Editing for Clients.”

Contributing members of TCP pay lower course fees than non-members, but all the fees are quite reasonable. Kathy Ide does not teach all of the courses. Instructors must be contributing members and submit a course syllabus to Kathy for approval. She manages the enrollment details for all courses. The complete list of course offerings is here. The 2010 course schedule is here.

Write Integrity Editorial Services: Tracy Ruckman, freelance editor and photographer, is the proprietor of WEIS. She offers a broad range of online courses on writing craft. Most workshops are for fiction writers, but she offers some non-fiction, organization, and marketing topics, too. Ruckman’s courses are modeled after TCP’s. Tracy finds the instructors, schedules the classes, and handles enrollment. For details and 2010 schedule, see this page.

Writer’s Digest Online Workshops: These courses are more costly that TCP and WIES offerings, but they do carry the Writer’s Digest name. General information is here. Some courses are six weeks, while others go for as long as 14 weeks. See a detailed list of offerings here. WD also offers special events like the upcoming (March 11, 2010) webinar featuring literary agent Rachelle Gardner. Details here.

Disclaimer: I have not taken any of the WD workshops myself, but I have heard from friends that they were pleased with their experience.