Saturday, March 30
8:00 – 10:00 – Registration – Exhibit Area
9:00-12:30 – Editor/Agent Appointments – Diamond C & D
2:00-3:00 – Editor/Agent Appointments – Garnet
9:00 – 10:00
Writers Track
GOLD Room
Sourabh Sharma
Creating and Maintaining Your Online Presence
Enhance the social media strategy to boost an author’s platform by combining social media with other outlets (website, email marketing, etc.) to ensure a unanimous brand voice that resonates with the author’s brand, but is also tailored to each platform and outlet. There are several best practices that can be used and will be shared to give audiences a variety of tools and tips as options on how to proceed.
SAPPHIRE A
Nancy Quatrano
Writers as Speakers
This workshop is focused on the importance and development of writers as speakers for fun, fame, and fans. Writers who develop strong speaking skills will grow their long-term fan base and enjoy perks that are otherwise missed. The workshop is interactive with a handout.
SAPPHIRE B
Lois Winston
Creating Compelling Back Cover Copy
Whether a reader is scrolling through an e-retailer book site or strolling the aisles of a bookstore, the cover is what will first attract her to a book. What does she do next? If she’s in a bookstore, she picks up the book, flips it over, and reads the back cover copy. If she’s on a book site, she scrolls down to read the back cover copy. If she likes what she reads, she’ll check out the first few pages before deciding whether or not to buy the book. If she doesn’t like what she’s read, she’ll move along. Back cover copy is the second most important element in whether a reader will buy your book. For that reason, you need to make sure you’ve hooked that potential customer with your back cover copy. In this interactive workshop, award-winning, bestselling author Lois Winston will teach you how to craft dynamic back cover copy that will make readers reach for their wallets to buy your book.
Readers Track
SILVER A
Caridad Pineiro
Who’s that Man Candy?
Think you know everything about your favorite hottie? Join Caridad and friends as they challenge you in this guessing game and have fun and win prizes as you show off your knowledge of Man Candy from today and the past.
SILVER B
Paula Scardamalia
Journaling Through Story
Readers read to experience the once-upon-a-time, the places where no man has gone before, the happy ending, and to tap into myth and metaphor and magic, meaning and message. This workshop shows readers how to use a fresh approach to journaling in order to harvest new ideas, insights and inspiration from the books they read, thus encouraging creativity, reflection, investigation…and more reading.
10:15 – 11:15
Writers Track
GOLD Room
Teel James Glenn
Small Arms and the Writer
Please note this is a two hour workshop that will run until 12:30
Do you need to use weapons in your story but don’t know anything about them? In this class Mr. Glenn will differentiate between small sidearms, explain their use and misuse, and show close quarters combat, using both knives and found objects. He will explain the trauma resulting from wounds, calibers and types of ammunition, and talk about techniques of clearly writing scenes involving weapons.
SAPPHIRE A
Eva Natiello
Goodreads for Authors
When time and resources are limited, authors need to focus on marketing opportunities with the biggest opportunity for impact. Enter Goodreads: the unparalleled social media hang-out for readers. Learn in this session everything you need to know about Goodreads for authors; what’s available to authors, and how to maximize your efforts with these actionable strategies. You can’t afford to ignore Goodreads!
SAPPHIRE B
Paula Scardamalia
Conquering the Sirens of Distraction
This workshop will help writers be more discerning about the differences between the calls of the Muse and those of the Sirens, those mythic beings whose songs are sweet but whose listeners–and their writing–often end up on the rocks. Learn several techniques for ignoring and defeating those seductive Sirens so that you continue confidently and swiftly on your writing journey.
Readers Track
SILVER A
Carol Van Den Hende
Chocolate and Books from Around the World
Come take a trip with your favorite stories from around the world and beyond, with chocolate and treats to accompany your visit. Travel from Italy to France, China and even beyond the stars, by exploring favorites like The Da Vinci Code, Toujours Provence to newer titles like Crazy Rich Asians and The Martian in a multi-media experience accompanied by Italian desserts, chocolate croissants, Chinese candies and MILKY WAY Bars!
SILVER B
Cathleen O’Connor
Reader “Madlibs” Adventure
Have you ever wanted to put your own words in your favorite characters’ mouths? Ever wanted to change the course of a story that you love? In this fun, brainstorming workshop, you, the reader, will get to play with characters and storylines with often hilarious results! But it is not all silly fun. By delving into this creative playground, you’ll be opening up your own creativity and getting into the experience of what it means to be a writer. No experience necessary (the less the better LOL). Join Cathleen for inspiration, fun and a new adventure.
11:30 – 12:30
Writers Track
Teel James Glenn
Small Arms and the Writer
Workshop continuation from 10:30
Do you need to use weapons in your story but don’t know anything about them? In this class Mr. Glenn will differentiate between small sidearms, explain their use and misuse, and show close quarters combat using both knives and found objects. He will explain the trauma resulting from wounds, calibers and types of ammunition, and talk about techniques of clearly writing scenes involving weapons.
SAPPHIRE A
Kathy Otten
Page Turning Dialogue
One of the most common reasons manuscripts are rejected is because the author tells too much of the story and fails to engage the reader by showing action. Dialogue is action. It’s one of the best ways to show your story. Good dialogue is like having good tires on your car. Dialogue grips the road of your plot and keeps your story car going up and down hills, through the twists and turns of your plot road. In this workshop we’ll look at:
1. Why we need dialogue in our stories.
2. How to write the engaging dialogue you’ll need to keep your story car moving forward.
3. The mechanics of dialogue.
SAPPHIRE B
Jacqueline Cutler
How to Deal with the Press and Reviewers
As a book critic for two very different newspapers, the New York Daily News and the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Jacqueline Cutler constantly hears from publishers, publicists and authors. Jacqueline will suggest the best way to approach book critics and what you need to have for them. Jacqueline will also explain what the process is for how a book is chosen for review and what makes the cut and why. Jacqueline will also review with attendees the best ways to reach out to journalists, what to definitely not do, and how to tell if your book is a fit for the critic.
Readers Track
SILVER A
Yvonne Ventresca
The Power of Secrets
Can you keep a secret? Authors can! They often withhold information from either the reader or from their characters as a powerful device to increase tension in a novel. The very nature of what is revealed and what is concealed can create an irresistible reading experience. For example, the reader unravels a mystery at the same time the main character does and eagerly anticipates the result. A secret relationship is kept under wraps, only to be discovered at the worst possible moment. Or a character might be keeping a secret from the reader that results in a thrilling twist. Yvonne will discuss the psychology of secrets and provide insight into how authors purposefully use them to create suspense.
SILVER B
Meet the Authors
Book Readings
Various Liberty States Fiction Writer members will share excerpts from their works and answer your questions about their books, the writing process and anything else you may have wondered about as a reader!
12:45 – 2:00
LUNCH
Featuring Keynote Speaker
Deb Werksman
Diamond A & B
2:00 – 3:00
Writers Track
GOLD Room
Sourabh Sharma
Creating and Boosting Your Author Platform on Social Media
Develop a social media strategy to boost an author’s platform. Advice, user-friendly how-to’s, recommended platforms based on objectives, tips and tricks, software supplements, etc. There are several best practices that can be used to both get started, as well as establish yourselves on social platforms to boost your platform, and can be tackled from a beginner to advanced level in the workshop.
SAPPHIRE A
Editor and Agent Panel
SAPPHIRE B
K.M. Fawcett and Erik Heller
It Was Self-Defense, Officer! Writing Believable Fight Scenes and Police Tactics
What would your police character do during an active shooter incident? How would your non-police characters defend themselves if attacked? In this interactive workshop, police chief and martial artist Erik Heller, teams up with author and martial artist KM Fawcett, to help authors write accurate and believable action scenes. Whether your characters fight crime or fight for their lives, Erik and K.M. will demonstrate self-defense techniques and police tactics they could use depending on their experience, training, and skill level. Erik will answer your police questions and K.M. will present ten tips for writing fight scenes.
Readers Track
SILVER A
Nancy Quatrano
What’s Bugging You?
A fun session to discover all the things that bug readers about the books they read. Do those things keep readers from writing reviews? Is it grammar or punctuation errors? Lousy characters or underdeveloped setting? Too much description or too little? Plot is a “who cares?” What’s unforgiveable? Each participant will receive a free eBook. Email address is required.
SILVER B
Lois Winston
Coloring and Conversation
Adult coloring books came on the scene a few years ago and took the public by storm. Coloring is both relaxing and addictive. Join award-winning, bestselling author Lois Winston for an hour of coloring and conversation about your favorite books. Leave with your very own handmade greeting card to send to a loved one as well as some titles of books you might want to add to your TBR pile.
3:15 – 4:15
Writers Track
GOLD Room
Deb Werksman
THE POWER OF POSITIONING: Everything You Need To Know…And Then Some!
Here’s the latest scoop on how to position your books and yourself for the most success based on what’s happening with book sales, reader profiles, market conditions, and more. Guaranteed to answer your questions (especially the ones you didn’t know to ask).
SAPPHIRE A
Carol Van Den Hende
BRAND LAND: Applying Best Practices in Branding to your Writing Career
In this fun, fast-paced session, Carol will demystify what an author brand is. You’ll learn why branding is important, how to define your own brand, and the most important principle when translating your brand into a visual world (hint: think consistency!).
SAPPHIRE B
Sonali Dev
Character Through Backstory
Despite the fact that some of our favorite romances past and present are heavy on backstory, in recent years backstory has gained a bad reputation. This has to do with how the backstory is communicated to the reader (backstory dump, anyone?) rather than with the backstory itself, because some believe there can be no story without backstory. Characters are a product of their childhoods and pasts, and the best plots are set into motion way before a story starts. Thinning out backstory can cause a story to lose its soul and result in the kind of characters editors and agents “like but don’t love” and readers easily forget. Learn from romance classics and bestsellers how backstory, when done right, is the key to infusing your story with emotion and making it impossible to put down.
Readers Track
SILVER A
Kathy Otten
How Brave is a Hero?
Who are your favorite fictional characters? Why have you remembered them even years after you closed the book? In this workshop we’ll delve into the psyche of the hero and discover how flaws, failures, and fears create those memorable characters with whom, you as a reader, can truly bond.
SILVER B
K.M. Fawcett and Erik Heller
Self-Defense Fact or Fiction
What would you do if grabbed from behind? Do you know what a hard target is? What two things do criminals fear? Police chief and martial artist Erik Heller, along with author and martial artist K.M. Fawcett, demonstrate practical self-defense techniques a person (real or fictional) can use to protect against an attack or sexual assault. Be your own hero in this interactive workshop! Audience participation is encouraged.
4:30 – 6:30
BOOK FAIR
Open to the General Public
Exhibit Area and Diamond C
6:45 – 7:45
DINNER
Featuring Keynote Speaker
Jacqueline Cutler
Diamond A & B
8:00 – 11:00
Game Night with Caridad Piñeiro
Crystal Room
Come and play the night away with
an assortment of fun and challenging games, such as Cards Against
Humanity, Charades, and more!
Sunday, March 31
8:00 – 10:00 – Registration – Exhibit Area
9:00 – 10:00
BREAKFAST
Featuring Keynote Speaker
Sonali Dev
10:15 – 11:15
Writers Track
SAPPHIRE A
Sonali Dev
Culture Building is Not Just for Multiculturals
Culture Building is World Building between the cracks and under the foundation of your story. Learn how to layer your storytelling with the nitty-gritties of human existence that make up the world your characters live in. Learn not just how to enrich your narration with the kind of depth and detail that absorbs readers wholly into your story, but also learn how to place your characters in conflict with their world to infuse authenticity and meaning into your story, irrespective of genre.
SAPPHIRE B
Yvonne Ventresca
Technology Tips and Tricks for Writers
Make your creative life easier while using basic technology (Word, Excel, and the Internet). Learn how to set automated alerts to facilitate story research, find appropriate occupations for your characters with job databases, obtain visuals of your settings, research agents and editors online, track subsequent story submissions, and more. A former technology trainer, Yvonne has collected tricks and tips throughout her writing years to simplify research and maximize creative productivity.
DIAMOND C
Pascale Kavanagh
Juggling Too Many Balls
How to survive indie publishing without self-flagellation, -immolation, or –destruction. Each step of the independent publishing process requires new information and new skills. When looked at in its entirety, it can feel like standing under an avalanche. This workshop will provide the anxious writer with a path to undertake this formidable pursuit, focusing on concrete, easy-to-incorporate practices that will keep the balls afloat and to avoid being overwhelmed.
Readers Track
SILVER A
Stacey Wilk
Name that Book!
OBJECT OF THE GAME:
Identify the book in as few words as possible. Earn points based on the limited number of words used. Team with the most points at the end wins.
HOW TO PLAY:
Divide the room into two teams. Put a buzzer on a table at the front. Bring up a player from each team. Show each player the card with the book title. The first one to hit the buzzer with the number of words they will use to win the round goes first. No more than four words. No proper names or places. (Ex. A Christmas Carol: Miser, holidays, three spirits.) A team only has one chance to guess. If the team can’t guess in the allotted number of words, the other team can steal with one additional word. Repeat with other members of each team until everyone has had at least one chance. The team with the most points at the end wins.
SILVER B
Patt Mihailoff & Karen Cino
Reading Brings You to a World of Imagination
Reading transports us into a world where there are plenty of challenges and lots of love, depending on the genre. In an exciting and fun-filled workshop, readers will participate in role playing game, “improv,” and a discussion of their favorite books. Lucky readers will receive prizes throughout the workshop.
11:30 – 12:15
Writers Track
SAPPHIRE A
Stacey Wilk
Fixing Any Plot Problem with the 5 Ws
The first rule of journalism is to answer the 5 Ws. Who, What, When, Where, Why. Those same questions can get a writer out of his or her plot hole, regardless of the problem or genre. Every writer has said, “I wrote myself into a hole.” Whether you outline or not, stories have a way of getting away from us. Falling down an errant plot chasm frustrates the most seasoned author and consumes way too much time. By asking the 5Ws Stacy can get any author out of his or her plot problem without having to read their manuscript. Bring your plot hole. In real time, and with lots of questions from Stacy, she’ll help you find your way back to the story you were meant to write.
SAPPHIRE B
Caridad Pineiro
Self-Publishing 101
Interested in self-publishing? NY Times and USA Today Bestseller Caridad Pineiro will share insights on the various forms of self-publishing and how to get your book out into the wild. Caridad will clarify the different kinds of publishing opportunities that are available today, what steps are necessary in order to self-publish, how to launch your book, and what to do to sustain your self-publishing career.
DIAMOND C
Cathleen O’Connor
Irresistible First Chapters
As a writer of fiction, you have only the first few pages or that first chapter to grab the attention of readers, agents, publishers, and reviewers. The very best first chapters create a sense of immediacy through the discerning use of detail and an effective POV. Each is a tightly polished piece of work that could be excerpted in whole to be showcased in a magazine or book review, able to stand on its own while pulling the reader more and more into the book.
First impressions matter and you want your book to hook your readers from the very first sentence, compelling them onward. But there is more to writing an irresistible first chapter than one compelling sentence – in that first chapter you must set a mood, introduce a magnetic protagonist and have a catalyst or incident that changes everything. And . . . you need to do all that without a lot of flowery adjectives and descriptive detail. In this workshop for fiction writers, you will learn how to grab your readers and create that ‘Gotta Read More’ energy in your book. And . . . you’ll have some fun along the way! Open to writers of all levels. A current project can be used but not required.
Readers Track
SILVER A
Gwen Jones & Linda Parisi
Writing Sexy Sex Scenes
Readers always ask writers how they do what they do. One of the things that rarely gets asked is how a writer really writes a sex scene. In this fun and hands-on workshop, we intend to explain what writing sex scenes is all about.
SILVER B
Eileen Watkins
Pick Your Poison
Mystery Subgenres
Wondering what’s your next great mystery read? Eileen will provide readers an overview of the mystery genre, including Cozy, Traditional, Police Procedural and Hard-Boiled mysteries. The tone and tropes of each, for the reader who likes whodunits but finds some more to her/his taste than others, and how to recognize your favorite kinds in the library or bookstore.