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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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.

Ten years ago, when I first started writing for publication, I set up my computer and file cabinet in an unused upstairs bedroom. I could hide out in there and work undisturbed. However, it was too inconvenient to the rest of the house. I had to go downstairs frequently for breaks, household chores, and just plain interruptions.

Finally, I bought a desk for our den, thinking I could work on the computer and not be far from my other responsibilities while writing. The biggest challenge with this plan was where to put supplies and reference materials. I still wanted the room to be a den, but I needed to have handy storage.

My solutions for:

• Files: The desk has one file drawer, not quite enough for all my writing files. I bought a couple of portable file boxes, very cheap, and use them for overflow or special projects files. These go underneath the desk, out of sight.
• Books: A seven-shelf bookcase matching the desk provides ample space for books. Since a bookcase is often considered proper furnishing for a den, nobody suspects it’s really office storage.
• Supplies: My desk has a couple of small drawers but not enough space for all my supplies. I already had an antique secretary-style desk in my den. I stash some supplies inside and store reference books on the shelves underneath. For my printer stand and additional storage, I found an inexpensive magazine rack at an antique store. My inkjet printer and scanner sit on top. Underneath, I put a plastic drawer set, also cheap, where I store small supplies. Printer paper, envelopes, and other printing supplies go in the side pockets and around the drawer set. This is in a corner behind the desk, so it is not even visible to someone walking through the room.
• Overflow storage: Over time, my file space and book storage proved to be inadequate. I left my four-drawer file cabinet in the bedroom upstairs to be used as an archive. Periodically, I cull my downstairs files and take them upstairs. I also have a bookcase upstairs where I store books that I don’t use often.

Photos from my den/office are on Flickr here. Not pictured in the room are two recliners with side tables and a TV-entertainment center. I’m just steps from the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry. I still have the interruptions, but they don’t take as long to “neutralize.” I have a small folding table that I can pull up to the desk if I need space to spread reference materials while writing.

Other articles on workspace organization at the following links:

• Rachelle Gardner, literary agent
• Christina Grantham on Ehow
• Sharon Hunt on Suite 101

I welcome comments from readers if you have workspace organizing tips to share.

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This is the first installment in a series of posts in the category, Get Organized. The content will be included in my workshop session, “Get Organized and Sell Your Work,” at Kentucky Christian Writers Conference, June 11-12.

Here’s my spring cleaning plan.

• Organize files (both computer and hard-copy). Dispose of duplicates and out-dated material.
• Clean equipment. See Computer Hope site for detailed how-to on computer cleaning.
• Make sure all files on the computer are backed up. See my post on backup methods here.
• Inventory supplies and equipment. Make a shopping list and a wish list.
• Look for fresh ideas. Spend some time reading old journals and/or writing projects you put aside long ago. Move the ones that interest you to your active file.
• Inventory writing books and magazines. Sell or give away those that you have not looked at in more than a year. I know. This is hard.

Don’t even try to do all this at once. You may feel overwhelmed and give up. Give yourself a week or even a month to finish the job.

Meanwhile, I’m working on a workshop session entitled, “Get Organized and Sell Your Work” for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference, June 11-12. I’ll provide information on organizing:

• Workspace
• Records and resources
• Intentions (goals and objectives)
• Time
• Evaluation

Notice that, putting together the first letter of each category, you end up with WRITE. My next blog post will be about organizing your workspace. If any of you would like to send me a photo of your workspace, I’ll consider posting some of them with that post. E-mail me at akinemily@gmail.com.

Why Attend Conferences?

If you’re a writer seeking to get published, you must attend conferences to:

• Improve your craft through sharing information with other writers and through the workshops offered,
• Learn how to present your work to editors and agents,
• Meet editors and agents individually if the conference offers private appointments,
• Get out of your routine so that your creative juices can begin to flow,
• Learn marketing techniques for selling your books and articles,
• Be inspired and/or overwhelmed by the experience.

Beginning writers often fail to understand that the most important information that they gain at conferences is how to market their work. Of course, the other things are important, but marketing is the tool that helps you get your work published. Take a look at the Marketing Mix page for insight.

How Do I Choose a Conference?

Here’s the process I use for  deciding which conferences to attend:

• Search the Web for “Christian writers conference” in my area, or browse the conference list on ChristianManuscriptSubmission.com,
• Look for conferences being held near where I live,
• Check the dates and eliminate the ones for which I have conflicts,
• Examine the faculty list and workshop offerings for people I need to meet and subject matter you need help with,
• Add up the total cost, including tuition, meals, housing, and travel expenses,
• Decide which ones I’d like to attend and start working on the arrangements,
• Pray about my choices and let God guide me as I plan.

I welcome comments on any conferences that my readers may have attended. In the past year, I have attended Indianapolis Christian Writers Conference, the ACW Conference in Memphis, and the one in KY. I’ll post an evaluation of the each conference soon.

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Subscribe to this blog by e-mail subscription, and you will be entered in a drawing to receive a free copy of my e-book, A Business Approach to Marketing Your Work (for Freelance Writers and Editors). Deadline to subscribe is midnight, July 31, 2009, and you must subscribe by e-mail to qualify for the drawing.

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I have this blog, plus I do the blog for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. Check out the others, Tennessee Christian Reader, which is a book review blog, and my devotional journal.

If you have a Google or Gmail account, you can start blogging on Blogger right away. There are several designs to choose from. Some of the blogs I follow use Blogger and add their own unique design. This blog is a basic Blogger design with my own graphics in the heading. Others get really creative with their designs, still using Blogger:

Kathy Carlton Willis Communications
Little Nuances by Lee Warren
Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent
The Writing Life by Terry Whalin

Get started blogging today! Set it up and practice until you’re ready to let the public know about it. Meanwhile, I invite you to subscribe to any and all of my blogs.

I started from scratch with the Ky Christian Writers site. The theme for the writers conference is “Publish His glorious deeds among the nations” Psalm 96:3 (NLT). The print logo used by the group has a globe and a book with the Bible verse superimposed. I wanted to keep the concept but have more color and depth for the Web site design. I searched for a free graphic on the Web and found one that’s just right. I set up the banner in Publisher 2000, copied and pasted into Ulead photo software and converted it to a jpg. Once I had the banner, it was just a matter of plugging it in and setting up the rest of the page. I’ll admit, I did have to get professional help at one point.

I used the same banner on http://www.kychristianwriters.blogspot.com/ to provide continuity between the two sites. If you’re at all interested in writers conferences, please subscribe to the KCWC blog, and maybe we’ll see you at the conference next year.

I’m doing OK with Front Page, but I would not have gone out and bought it to do these sites. I want to do more research on the WordPress version that you download onto your computer. This version requires a hosting account, and therefore is not free. Supposedly, though, you get a lot more functions with that version.

News flash: I just found a great article on Web sites for writers on the Writer’s Digest site. Be sure to check it out, especially if you don’t already have a site or if you’re thinking of changing your current arrangement.