April 2019 Writing Show: How to Sell the Heck Out of Your Book
Whether you’re self-published or traditionally published, you have one all-consuming goal: Move more books. But how do you convince people to pull out their wallets? We’ll discuss effective approaches to marketing your work, planning book events, securing pre-orders and obtaining reviews.
Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm (Doors open at 6:00; meet & greet 6:00-6:45; program starts at 6:45)
Location: Firehouse Theatre 1609 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA, 23220
Price: $12 – Members; $15 Non-members ($5 for students)
SPEAKERS
Jane Friedman
Jane Friedman is a full-time freelancer and has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. She is the co-founder of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and is the former publisher of Writer’s Digest. In addition to being a columnist with Publishers Weekly and a professor with The Great Courses, Jane maintains an award-winning blog for writers at JaneFriedman.com. Jane’s newest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press, 2018).
Website: janefriedman.com
Facebook: janefriedman
Twitter: @janefriedman
Chanel Cleeton
Chanel Cleeton is the USA Today bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Next Year in Havana. Originally from Florida, Chanel grew up on stories of her family’s exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She loves to travel and has lived in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.
Website: chanelcleeton.com
Facebook: authorchanelcleeton
Twitter: @chanelcleeton
MODERATOR
Stacy Hawkins Adams
Stacy Hawkins Adams is the author of ten books whose characters and themes have fostered personal growth, illuminated journeys of faith, and infused readers with confidence in their own stories. Her fiction has been a featured title in college coursework, selected as a Target stores “Recommended Read” and noted on the Essence magazine bestseller list. Stacy is also a freelance journalist, teaches at writing conferences nationwide, and curates an inspirational blog called LifeUntapped.com.
Website: stacyhawkinsadams.com
Facebook: stacyinspires
Twitter: @stacyinspires
James River Writers is grateful to the following sponsors for their generous support.
Master Class: Doing More with Dialogue with Katharine Herndon
The usual advice about writing dialogue sets a pretty high bar: advance the plot, capture your characters’ voices and reveal something about them, don’t dump in exposition, and watch out for -ly words. But how do you do all that between two quotation marks? This class will explore the ins and outs of effective dialogue. We’ll talk about all of the above, plus tag lines and some of the mechanics, like punctuation and capitalization. Author and James River Writers’ Executive Director Katharine Herndon will walk you through how to get your characters talking without using a bare light bulb or a dungeon cell. We’ll dissect scenes from the pros and try a few hands-on exercises to limber up your pen. You’ll leave with a renewed appreciation of what dialogue can do for your story and concrete takeaways for improving it.
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2019
Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Visual Arts Center of Richmond, 1812 W Main St, Richmond, VA 23220
Price: $65 – Members; $80 Non-members
INSTRUCTOR
Katharine Herndon
Katharine Herndon is the Executive Director of James River Writers and an enthusiastic advocate for the RVA literary community. She used to teach (English, of course), but the homework got to her, so she took up nonprofit work instead. Previously, she worked for AAA, Walt Disney World, a community college in Florida, and a ranch in Wyoming–pretty much the required random collection of jobs for an author bio. She has a B.A. from Davidson College (in English, of course) and an MA from the University of Florida (in, yes, English/Creative Writing). Her short stories have appeared in several indie-published anthologies, including The Great Richmond Zombie Book and River City Secrets.
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