Workshop Topics
Whether you are an author "hopeful" or an accomplished writer with a finished manuscript to sell, this workshop will give you the tangible tools and techniques to complete the project.
You will learn to...
- Create original concepts that you can trademark and extend to a brand
- Test the market for your book idea
- Develop 12 approaches to almost any subject and select the most appropriate for your topic
- Select writing projects that propel your career to the next level
- Craft enticing titles that tease readers to take your book home
- Create an irresistible one-page pitch to agents
- Write a query letter that grabs attention and gains representation by top agents
- Select the most appropriate agent for your project and long-term career goals
- Develop a killer book proposal that leads to a lucrative contract
- Get your idea to finished manuscript quickly with a systematic work plan
- Identify low-cost ways to do proprietary, primary research
- Discover resources to help you with the steps you don’t want to do yourself
- Polish your writing skills to take your project from ho-hum to humdinger
- Use a 12-step editing process to create a quality book quickly, reducing the production timeline
- Identify no-cost or low-cost marketing ideas to get your book into readers' hands
- Execute your marketing plan in the most productive way possible
- Include the key pieces and the "extras" in the PR materials to generate media attention
- Identify hooks for your book that will generate major print and broadcast media coverage
- Turn media interviews into actual sales
- Use multiple channels to the media--without paying high monthly retainer fees to a publicist
- Set a plan to get endorsements from celebrities and other ideal candidates
- Set up joint ventures to drive book sales to spike into bestseller lists
- Create an "umbrella" to brand yourself as a best-selling author for the long haul
- Negotiate 10 sticky clauses in your book and subrights contracts to avoid legal potholes
- Cash in on your subrights sales
- Build an entire product line around your expertise
- Develop licensing agreements to expand your distribution channels
- Generate ongoing publicity for yourself, your product, your service, or your organization
- Integrate your writing career with the rest of your life
Dianna shares more about the workshop and the world of
publishing in this podcast.
(click below to listen to Dianna)
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Why YOU? Why Not YOU?
According to statistics compiled by R.R. Bowker (the firm that assigns International Standard Book Numbers, or ISBNs), 175,000 - 250,000 new books are published each year. Publishers are constantly on the lookout for works they
think will add punch to their portfolio, and we want your book proposal to be included.
The Next Superstar?
During the next workshop, we may discover the next Stephen King, or the next Danielle Steele, or the next John Grisham, or the next
Who Moved My Cheese? But, all cheese aside, the person we really want to meet is the next you!
Currently you are successful in your own right, but your career needs the added credibility that only a published book can bring. The
next you is the person who walks into a business meeting with your newly-published book under your arm and watches as peers gape
in awe at your charismatic "published" presence. You are immediately considered an expert in your chosen field, and that perception
can carry you a long way. Especially if your publisher is one people have actually heard of. Which leads us to a common question
among new authors...
What About Self-publishing?
Dianna will lead a discussion of the pros and cons of self-publishing. For the purposes of this workshop, the target publisher is a
major house with name credibility and prestige. Why? Because that prestige automatically transfers to your book in the mind of the
buyer. Generally, you don’t find top-selling books coming out of the self-publisher’s digital printer. In fact, most self-published books
sell only a handful of copies, which generate little opportunity for multiple revenue streams. A select few have carved out a successful
niche relying on self-publishing format. Learn how they did it. Then you will have the facts to make an unbiased decision for your
project and goals.