Make Plans Now to Attend the Colorado Christian Writers Conference



Elk near the Colorado Christian Writers Conference

 It's not too late! The Colorado Christian Writers Conference starts one week from today, and it's not too late for you to make plans to attend.

If you've ever wanted to write books for the Christian market, or write Christian-themed books for the general market, or write for Christian magazines, you can learn what you need to know at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference. Launch your career, or further your career. Or simply fulfill your ministry on the side of your current career. It's all here.

This year there will be continuing sessions on all these topics:

• Reaching the Hearts of Your Readers by Ken Gire
• How to Get Published by Tim Shoemaker
• Suspense Novels & Screenplays by Bill Myers
• Fiction for Women by Gayle Roper
• Obscure No More by Thomas Umstattd Jr.
• Inspiration and Perspiration by Dina Sleiman
• Nonfiction Books by Kim Bangs
• Pixels to Profits by Brian Schwartz

In addition to all those, there are stand-alone workshops on many other topics, including the writer's life, the writing craft, writing fiction, writing nonfiction, publishing, and marketing.

I will be teaching two earlybird workshops on Wednesday, May 15. My workshops are:

• Beginning Screenwriting
• How to Shape Your Story for the Screen

I will also be representing my publisher Pix-N-Pens and Write Integrity Press, looking for manscripts for this publisher to consider.

Are you, or do you have, a teenager? Be sure to check out Teens Write, a special segment on Saturday especially for young people. I'll be sitting on the panel Saturday afternoon to talk about screenwriting.

You can network with other writers and authors, and make appointments with editors and publishers.

Still, in my opinion, the best value for your dollar. So sign up now! Register here.

Your lodging includes your meals. Make your reservation here.

Please share this with your contacts by using the Share buttons below to Tweet, Facebook, and Google+ this. Thank you!

I hope to see you next week at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference!

At the Colorado Christian Writers Conference with Magnificent Hope

Had a great time at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference. Saw Magnificent Hope there!

Visit the Hope Book Tour site to read more about my experiences at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference with Magnificent Hope.

See my story on "Write His Answer" blog

Marlene Bagnull, director of the Colorado Christian Writers Conference, has posted my story over on her blog at Write His Answer.

You can read about how (and why) I started writing, how I got into screenwriting, and much more about my writing adventure and journey. I hope you enjoy my story!

Met Deliver Me contributors in person

One of the really cool things about attending writers conferences is that sometimes you get to meet people that you've worked with only through e-mail or phone previously.

I've met Shirley Reynolds at the Colorado conference and got to hug her neck before. It was wonderful to see her again (although I feel like we hardly got to talk at all this time). Shirley, did I even hug your neck? Shirley has a wonderfully powerful story about adoption in chapter 7 of Deliver Me. Her story is titled "The Life Savers."

Also this year at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference I got to meet Kyleen Stevenson-Braxton. Kyleen and I have e-mailed, of course, during the making of the book, and we've talked by phone once or twice, but this is the first time we've laid eyes on each other. It was so cool to meet Kyleen. Her powerful story is titled "Sing, O Barren Woman" and appears in chapter 4.

It is always such a cool blessing to meet the writers who have so blessed me over the years. God bless you and your writing, Shirley and Kyleen!

Fun at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference

I had a great time at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference.  The two workshops I taught seemed to go well. I got a lot of good comments on them. The first workshop was "Ten Tools for Marketing Your Book." I taught both workshops on Wednesday, at the very beginning of the conference. One dear lady came to me on her way out at the end of the conference on Saturday and said that some presenters have great information, others know how to present it. She said I had both! What a great compliment! She then said my book marketing workshop was one of her top three for the conference. Wow.

I sat on a panel about "Self Publishing" with about a dozen other authors and specialists who help people who self publish their books, and I was quite surprised that many of the questions were directed to me personally. I got to talk about my adventure of self-publishing Deliver Me. Of course I had both my books, Deliver Me and Dear America, in my hands and got to show them off. I also got to show my books during both my workshops.

I think being able to show my books helped my sales (of course). I sold eight Deliver Me's and three Dear America's, which was a very pleasant surprise! That may not sound like a lot to you, but I think it's pretty good. My pamphlets also sold well, and I sold one set of my taped seminar.

Many people said they were going to show Deliver Me to their local pregnancy center. What a blessing!

The conference was the usual long days and short nights and full to the brim. And at the end, I really wished I didn't have to leave!

If you're not familiar with my first book, you can find it here: Dear America: A Letter of Comfort and Hope to a Grieving Nation.

Excuses, Excuses

I'm still running to catch up with the Publishing Agreements that are coming in! What's taking so long? you ask.

I was at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference for almost a week in May. Had a great time with doors opening possibilities for other book projects, including a novel, a non-fiction book about living married but childless, and a Bible study. Then, of course, in the aftermath I'm scrambling to get material to the people who requested it.

Also, my really big news is that I've been accepted to attend Act One Program's "Writing for Film and Television" two-week seminar in Hollywood, California, later this month! So I've been scrambling to read the "required reading" books, view the "required viewing" movies, and read the "required reading" screenplays. It's all fun! And they call this homework?

But I've been working on processing the Publishing Agreements all along. It just takes way longer than I ever anticipated. This is me trying to make sure I'm not missing anything: like a change a writer requests, a bio they sent, and question about the Publishing Agreement, a needed Permission Form... There's a lot to do, and every one of my writers is unique. And I have over forty writers. So...it's taking some time.

Those are my excuses.

Here's an update:

Of the 41 writers, I have Publishing Agreements back from 16!

Some writers I still haven't been able to contact, though. Still working on that. Which is what I'd better get back to.