A little more about some conference sessions (Frederick and Glick)

Are you a non-fiction writer? Excited about Matthew Frederick's three sessions, but not really sure what to expect? The author provided these teasers to his upcoming sessions:

TheFour P’s of Nonfiction

This workshop will help you assess thestatus of your nonfiction work and identify the next steps you need to take to improveyour chances of publication. You will read aloud a brief statement ordescription of your work—a pitch, synopsis, first page, or similarlyinformative piece of 250 words or less. The instructor and class participantswill assess your project in terms of the Four P’s: Platform (can you convince a publisher youhave the expertise, reach, or name recognition to attract an audience ofreaders?); Prose (are your writingand narrative skills suited to your project?); Proposal (what is this peculiar document required by agentsand publishers for nonfiction projects, and what makes it most effective?); andPurpose (is the concept or formatyou have chosen for your book appropriate to the needs of readers as well asyour own goals?). From there, the instructor will guide you as you work on yourweaker area(s). Bring to the session the first chapter of your manuscript, achapter outline, and any related documents you have been working on (query,proposal, etc.).

Small Steps, Big Books

Unpublished writers make a frequent mistake:investing too much energy in producing one "great" work instead ofcreating more works. Certainly, thedesire to publish a great book is understandable and even commendable, but amore useful goal for the unpublished writer is simply to become more publishedthan he or she currently is. For most, this means momentarily scaling backone’s ambitions and pursuing lesser but more immediate writingopportunities: community newspaper articles, letters to the editor, newsletteressays, PR copy, book and movie reviews, blogs, books-for-hire, and so on.Small writing projects can help the overly ambitious writer clarify his or her thinking,improve narrative skills, build an audience, make contacts in the publishingindustry, overcome creative blocks, and perhaps even generate an income streamthat will fund your work on your Big Book. Join Matthew Frederick, author offive bestselling small books and one forever-in-progress Big Book, as he helpsyou identify some effective small steps you can take toward becoming morepublished.

Being an Expert Can Pay

Everyone is perhaps expert at something;can your expertise be turned into a book? For that matter, are you certain whatyour area of expertise is? Is it your professional knowledge, yourchild-rearing skills, your winning way with cats, or your ability to avoid hardwork? In this session, bestselling nonfiction author Matthew Frederick willhelp you explore possibilities great and small, serious and silly, for nonfictionbook projects. Bring to the seminar some raw ideas, a sense of humor, and adesire to explore in unexpected directions.

As you can see from Sunday's blog, all appointments with Glick are sold out. However, here's a little more about the three sessions she'll offer during the conference:

From Research to the Dotted Line: What a Writer Should know about Finding, Signing with an Agent

You've written your manuscript or you've outlined a great non-fiction idea. But what do you do next? Agent Mollie Glick will walk attendees through the steps to finding agents in your area, how to send a query, what types of projects need proposals and then move to communicating with agents and what to keep in mind when considering an agent contract.

To Whom it May Concern: Tips on Writing Dynamic Query Letters

You know you've got a gold mine of a manuscript in your hands or in your head. What's the best way to get the project across to an agent? Mollie Glick will share what she looks for when she's reading query letters and tips on how to get yours polished.

Let's Talk About Genres: Learning How to Categorize Your Work and Other Names Agents Might Call It

Literary? Commercial? Upmarket? Young Adult? Middle Reader? Independent Reader? Memoir? Narrative Non-fiction? Let Agent Mollie Glick help you discover what your genre might be called by agents. Bring all your genre/category questions to this one!