Sambuchino to lead off Permian Basin Writers’ Workshop, Sept. 15–17 in Midland

Hurry — a few spaces are still available!

The Third Annual Permian Basin Writers’ Workshop will be held Sept. 15-17, 2017, at Midland College. Administered by the Permian Basin Bookies, a nonprofit organization of West Texas writers, and the Midland Public Library, the workshop aims to bring nationally recognized members of the writing community to the Permian Basin once a year to provide high level professional development for the local writing and literary community.

This year’s three-day event features an all-day overview of publishing options on Friday, fifteen different break-out sessions on craft and the business of publishing on Saturday, and special seminars on Christian publishing and screenplay writing on Sunday.

Friday, September 15

Writer’s Bootcamp with Chuck Sambuchino, 9 am–5 pm, with lunch and snacks provided.

1. An Overview of Your Publishing Options Today. This workshop examines the two largest routes any writer can take with their book: traditional publishing and self-publishing / e-publishing. We will examine the upsides of both routes, the challenges with both, and the next steps no matter what you decide. In today’s publishing world, a writer has to understand what they’re in for before they send their book out. This session is designed to prepare them for what’s to come and what options exist.

2. Everything You Need to Know About Agents and Query Letters. 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.

3. “Writers Got Talent”—a Page 1 Critique Fest. 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 novels 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.)

4. Platform, Social Media, and Blogging. Whether you’re traditionally published or self-published, everyone could use some helpful guidance on how to effectively market themselves and sell more books. This session includes easy-to-understand advice on social media (Twitter, Facebook, more), blogging, and other simple ways you can market your work online cheaply and easily.

5. Ten 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, and why writing for love and money is a good idea.

Friday Evening Mixer, 7–9 pm

Mingle with other authors, agents and publishers at the Friday night mixer at the Doubletree in downtown Midland. Regroup and enjoy visiting with your peers, listening to the West Texas Winds, cash bar and snacks.

Sat., Sept. 16

Conference format with over fifteen breakout sessions between 9:00 am and 5:30 pm. All of Saturday’s activities will take place at the Marie Hall Academic Building on the Midland College campus.

Literary Agency Pitch Sessions between 9:00am and 5:00pm

Each registration for the Permian Basin Writers’ Workshop comes with one pitch to any of the six agents/agencies at the workshop. You will be asked to make your selection when you register. Additional pitch sessions can be purchased for $30 each.

Literary agents in attendance:

Jennifer Canzoneri, Ben Bella Books

Cynthia Ruchti

Mark Falkin, Falkin Literary

Jeanie Loiacono, Loiacono Literary Agency

Sarah Barnard, Prairie Rose Publications

Julie Gwinn, The Seymour Agency

Sunday: Special Christian Publishing Workshops

It’s All About Character, 9 am–noon

Writing the Christian Novel with Christy Award winner DiAnn Mills. Christian fiction emerges the reader into any genre that embraces a character who solves a problem or reaches a goal through a Christian worldview. This workshop instructs the writer in the dynamics of showing a Christian character through a power-point led presentation and hands-on workshop.

Cynthia Ruchti, Memoir, Inspirational, and Personal Experience Stories…Oh, MY!, 9:00am – 12:00pm

That may be how Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz would describe this session. But the topics aren’t as unrelated–or frightening–as they might seem. Many of the same principles of communication need to be in place to write effective memoirs, personal experience stories, and books that inspire or focus on faith. We’ll talk about what works, what doesn’t work, how to make sure our motivation is clear and the takeaway unmistakable, deepening the reader’s connection to someone else’s experience, and infusing life into what can inadvertently come across as a study in chronology. Jam-packed with practical tips, the session will answer many of the questions you’ve had about memoir, inspirational, and personal experience writing. And it will fuel your passion for writing in those genres.

10 Essentials for the Aspiring Inspiring Writer, 1:15–5 pm

Writers need more than a fast word processing program, spare printer ink cartridges, and high speed internet. In this workshop, author, speaker, American Christian Fiction Writers’ professional relations liaison, and literary agent Cynthia Ruchti will share what she considers essentials for the aspiring or veteran inspirational writer, including the role of writer affiliations like ACFW.

James Fite, Evolution of a Screenplay, 1–2:50pm

From the initial idea, to final post production of the film.  The script takes a long journey to become what you see on the screen.  Learn how to prepare, write, then adapt where needed as the story on the pages evolves into a moving piece of art for the world to experience.  From script readings, storyboarding, on set changes and through the editing room process, discover that your screenplay becomes something much more than you might imagine.

For more information or to register, visit www.permianbasinwritersworkshop.org.

(Information from organization’s website)

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