Monday, October 09, 2006
Workshops on "How to be Published" offered through Extended Services
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USI Extended Services is offering a series of five workshops on “How to be Published” October 21-22. The workshops will be led by Michael Garrett, an associate editor for Writer's Digest School who has instructed writing workshops all over the country. He is co-editor of the popular Hot Blood anthology series and has published dozens of short stories and a novel. Workshops include: • How to Become a Published Author, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, October 21. What does it take to become a published novelist? Like any other profession, becoming a professional writer requires a career plan. Where should your initial focus lie in order to meet your goal of publication? Success as a writer requires far more than just sitting at the keyboard. Learn the keys to success in today’s competitive publishing industry, including marketing techniques that move you closer to publication. Your novel could be the greatest ever written, but if you don’t know how to get it into the hands of someone who can buy it, it will never sell. This course discloses how to keep your submissions out of the editor’s “slush pile,” how to overcome “writer’s block,” how to get editors to ask for your submission and much more! If you’ve already completed your novel, use what you’ll learn to produce a more marketable rewrite. • The Truth about Self-publication, 1-4 p.m. Saturday, October 21. Traditionally, self-publication, or the “Vanity Press,” has been frowned upon for all but the most ambitious non-fiction writers. Today, however, with the advent of print-on-demand publishing, self-publication has become the perfect low-cost solution for many writers who wish to target a specific audience and maintain complete control over their finished book. With little investment, your professional-quality book can be listed on Amazon.com and ready to market around the world in only a few weeks. Learn how to make the most of this exciting new technology and avoid traditional publishers if your situation lends itself well to self-publication. The included textbook also serves as a sample of the quality to be expected from print-on-demand publication. • Screenwriting for the Movies, 6-9 p.m. Saturday, October 21. Hollywood has never been more eager to buy cutting-edge motion picture scripts. Have you ever thought about writing a movie? Screenwriting requires a decidedly different approach from fiction writing. Producers look for specific qualities to distinguish one screenplay from another. Here’s a workshop designed to help beginners break into an exciting career as a screenwriter. You’ll view and analyze film clips as well as learn proper screenplay format, recommended screenplay development software, where and how to contact a Hollywood agent, effective storyline development procedures, how to create desirable roles to attract Hollywood’s hottest stars and how to communicate with the audience through your script and set design. • Creating Your Novel, 9 a.m.-noon Sunday, October 22. Writing a novel requires an enormous investment of time; however, specific techniques can make the task far more manageable. This course offers a step-by-step methodology to help you produce a marketable first novel. Under the guidance of a professional editor and internationally published author, you’ll formulate a novel outline, create a cast of characters, decide which point of view and structural form are most appropriate, and write an opening paragraph. Demonstrated techniques are easily adaptable to your own work, regardless of your category of interest. You will learn how to create realistic characters, the universal “formula” for a successful first novel, and how to target specific publishers before you even start writing. You will meet with other local writers with similar interests, pick up valuable pointers, and challenge your imagination. • Short Story and Novel Feedback, 1-4 p.m. Sunday, October 22. Most short story and novel submissions are rejected within the first few pages, regardless of how many pages were submitted. Editors rarely read every word, and rejection slips seldom explain why your manuscript fell short. Here is an opportunity to sit face-to-face with a professional fiction editor who’s worked with such noted authors as Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Lawrence Block and others as he evaluates your submission. You’ll be surprised as minor mistakes in your writing, likely the source of manuscript rejections, are constructively pointed out to you. Bring two copies of the first five pages of your short story or novel manuscript to class. If you prefer not to have your own writing reviewed, you’ll benefit by listening to other critiques. The registration fee for each workshop is $85. Workshops may be taken independently, but you will save $10 off the total fee when you register for two or more. Each workshop will be held in the University Center, Room 206, at USI. For more information, contact Extended Services at 812/464-1989. |
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