$100 – Book Proposal Intensive Clinic (3 hours) 

Presented by Dave and Cindy Lambert

Limit: 25 registrants

• Fiction Proposal Template

• Non-fiction Proposal Template

Prerequisite: Complete and bring with you a working proposal. Please download and use one of the templates above, or you may use a proposal model you’ve found on your own.

A winning book proposal is a tool that entices seven audiences (author, agent, editor, pub board, marketing, creative, and sales) to grasp a contagious vision for a book, and then equips them to successfully play their parts in placing the book into the hands of its ideal readership.

We've all heard it said, "Write to your audience, not to yourself." Good advice! Many authors, however, may know the audience of their book, but have no understanding of the true audience of their book proposal. In this three-hour intensive clinic, you will be introduced to the business side of publishing decisions, discover what really happens behind the closed doors of editors’ meetings and publishing boards, and learn how to craft an enticing proposal that captures the interest of editors and publishers.

Broken into four segments, this hands-on interactive clinic will begin with an in-depth presentation, then offer individual time to work on and refine specific proposal elements of your own, then break into small groups for fiction and nonfiction personal feedback and critique, and finally come together again for advice and guidance to launch you into the world of meeting with editors.

Endorsement:
Proposal-writing classes have always left me feeling a bit bewildered. Each instructor had their own, different list of “musts,” “do’s,” and “don’ts.” The fog lifted for me after working with Cindy Lambert at the Colorado Christian Writers’ Conference. A delightful and caring mentor, I would have enjoyed her class under any circumstances. But as a teacher Cindy really zeroed in on: WHAT we needed to include in our proposal, WHY that information was important to an Acquisitions Editor, WHERE each section should be shown for optimum effect, HOW to dig deeply to uncover what made our writing stand out in a crowd, and, maybe most importantly, WHO are our readers? It took my understanding of writing and publishing to a whole new level.
Lori Hynson, Author of SuperGal vs God

$100 Marketing & Platform (3-hours)
Taught by Cheri Cowell
Marketing and Platform: Turning These Twin Dreads into Your Biggest Assets

 They ask, “What is Your Platform?” and “What is Your Marketing Plan?” These two dreaded questions are part of the publishing reality. But how do you get a platform if you don’t have one, and what are you to do when the whole marketing thing overwhelms you? In this class you will learn to build on your strengths while tapping into a plan any writer can put into place. You will leave this class with a step-by-step course of action so you can confidently answer the twin questions with, “Yes, I have a platform and marketing plan, let me show you.”

Key concepts we will cover:

• Are you a speaker or someone with a message?
• Becoming the “expert”
• Getting the gigs
• The business side of writing- dollars and cents
• Marketing verses Promotion
• Getting more done with templates
• Social Media, Article Writing, Networking
• Begin before the book is written
• A blueprint for action