Workshops & Classes
OPEN FOR REGISTRATION FOR 2021
Building a Powerful Protagonist—When That Protagonist Is You
A workshop with Sands Hall hosted by Linda Joy Myers on Zoom
Three Saturdays: Sept 25, Oct 2, Oct 9
10:30-1:00 PM PDT | 1:30-4:00 PM EDT
I’m so pleased to be offering this course to memoir writers! Sands Hall is one of the best teachers I’ve known and offers so much essential information to offer memoir writers. The writers I’ve talked with in our group coaching sessions and zoom events tell me over and over again they struggle with scenes, characters, and narration as they write their memoir. These elements can be hard to conceptualize, and a class can pull together the various threads of your skills in a cohesive way.
Sands will address these necessary story elements in this three-part workshop. You’ll be able to try out the techniques and discuss them in each class—this is a terrific way to learn!
In this workshop, you’ll come to understand the vital difference of author versus narrator—and you’ll practice skills that allow you to build your character and your story. Excerpts and examples allow you to see how published writers utilize these ideas.
All classes will be recorded. Each class recording will be available for three weeks after the course to those who signed up.
Women Writing Memoir
6 Mondays: 10/4, 10/11, 10/18, 10/25, 11/1, 11/8 4pm Pacific | 7pm Eastern
If you’re a woman writing memoir, you’re part of a growing movement. Women are showing up more than ever to write our personal stories, to assert that our stories matter, to claim our right to write. For centuries, men’s stories have been the cornerstone of our cultural heritages while women’s stories were lost to history. Not anymore. But as we show up to write, fears emerge, doubts surface. Emotions threaten to overwhelm us, even stop us in our tracks.
The women authors teaching these six sessions have been there. They have walked through the fire of writing their own stories. They have faced shame, fear, and doubt, and they have written and published their truths. They’ve risked fallout, and been met with others’ outrage. They’ve written into their own anger and grief and come through the other side. Writing memoir is one of the most courageous things you’ll ever do, and gaining insight into other authors’ processes and hearing their survival stories is like armoring yourself up for the journey ahead—because yes, you’re gonna need that armor along the way.
Join me on Zoom March 6, 2021 for a conference on Zoom with the St. Louis Writer’s Guild!
I’m speaking on TIPS FOR MEMOIRISTS—Craft, Family, and How to Get Your Book in the World
We all know that memoir is a story, not a journal, but memoirists struggle with writing their truths (what about my family), and how to use elements of craft to shape a story that others want to read. I will talk about the techniques that invite a reader to walk in your shoes, how to bypass the pesky inner critic, and how to create your story arc. Getting your book in the world—that’s a whole course, but we can touch on the trends and tools in publishing today.
I hope you can join us for a quick reminder of what we are called to do as memoirists. It’s a very inexpensive conference with lots of good speakers!
Join us on Saturday, March 6, 2021 | 9am to 4pm
Writers on Zoom
A part of the Writers in the Park Series
Calling All Writers! Online Writers Conference
Multiple Workshops
Query Letter Critiques
Pitch Sessions with Publishers
Workshops: Free for SLWG Members & $20 for Non-Members
Query Letter Critiques are $25
Two Pitch Sessions: $10 for SLWG Members & $20 for Non-Members
Publishing Series by Carla King & Linda Joy Myers
How to Sell Your Book to Bookstores, Libraries, and Online Retailers
Book Distribution and Direct Sales Basics
TBA
90 minutes on Zoom – 60 minutes and 30 minutes Q&A
$99 / $79 for NAMW Members
VALUABLE BONUSES include Carla’s Distribute Your Book online course, a $49 value.
Learn about the services that will get your ebook, print book, and audiobook out into the world. This course will prepare you for the formatting and design work you need to do to ready your book for distribution. It will get you thinking about book marketing strategies on launch day, taking advantage of the marketing programs some of the online retailers provide. For example, you’ll learn why so many authors use the exclusive Amazon KDP Select program to sell their ebook instead of “going wide” to all the ebook stores. You’ll learn about metadata, and exactly how many words and characters you are allowed to use in your book description and author bio. Book categories and keywords? BISAC codes? We’ll go there, too!
Three Easy Ways to Grow Your Email List… And You Don’t Even Need a Website!
Monday March 1st, 2021
3 PM PST | 4 PM MST | 5 PM CST | 6 PM EST
90 minutes on Zoom – 60 minutes and 30 minutes Q&A
$99 / $79 for NAMW Members
VALUABLE BONUSES include Carla’s Build Your Platform online course, a $49 value.
You’ve heard that you need to grow your email list so you can sell your book when it launches, but how do you even start? This second course in our publishing series guides you step-by-step through a process that really works. We think you’ll even have fun with it… really!
Publishing for Memoirists: The Steps You Need to Take to Successfully Publish Your Memoir in 2021
Feb 8, 2021 (Replay available)
Many authors believe that publishing your book independently is simply about getting your book designed, formatted, and uploaded to stores, so it’s no wonder the average self-published book sells only 200 copies. You can do better by following a proven process to find your community of readers and peers, to get your book into as many hands as possible, to build a platform, and to follow a launch plan.
Publishing Course 1
Everything You Want to Know About Self-Publishing but Are Afraid to Ask
Jan 25, 2021 (Replay available)
Carla King and I want to help you become a successful author. In our NAMW coaching calls and teleseminars over the last few years, I’ve noticed that there is a great deal of confusion and many questions about how to get your memoir published. Many of you have noticed that it’s nearly impossible through the traditional means—especially now that there are only three major publishing houses. That means you must find your way through the maze of self-publishing options—or is it “indie” or hybrid? Yes, there are so many questions, and we will answer them.
On this FREE call we’re going to address many of the major questions about how to decide what path you want to take. We understand that the process feels overwhelming and is fraught with potential landmines, and it’s hard to know where to start.
Join us this spring 2021
Build Your Memoir from the Ground Up
A Craft Boot Camp for Writers with Linda Joy Myers and Brooke Warner
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEXT COURSE (March-April 2021)
If there’s one thing that’s lacking in the landscape of memoir, it’s straightforward teaching about craft and how to execute your memoir project from the ground up. This spring we’re offering our most ambitious course yet because we know it’s material memoirists so desperately need. Six expert memoir teachers will guide you through structure, beginnings, scene and narration, transitions, voice and language and self-expression, and finally reflection and takeaway. If you’ve ever read a memoir and marveled at its construction, at the way the author seemed to capture all the right elements, then immerse yourself in the wonder of building your memoir from the ground up with us. Scroll down for more information about your instructors and details about each course.