Seminar

Hooking Readers: The Power Of The First Line

 in PastEvent21 / Seminar

Webinar
Month Day 2021

This month we present this online Webinar as our monthly Seminar.

In this interactive seminar we’ll be discovering the secrets of how you can hook readers, wooing them to go beyond the first line, and in fact turn the page, and then the next page, and on and on until they get to The End.

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Presented by: Ina H

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Ina Hillebrandt, Book Coach
Erika Fabian photographer

Taking Great Photographs for Fun & Profit

 in PastEvent21 / Seminar

Webinar
Saturday, June 19, 2021

This month we present this online Webinar as our monthly Seminar.

Today we can take pictures anywhere anytime with our phone. It’s easy to just click and get the shot.

But do you ever wonder later on why that pole is sticking out of a child’s head? Or why is everyone’s face so dark when the sun was so bright?

Can you make adjustments to get better shots on your cell phone? What are the best settings if you’re using a regular digital camera?

Could you take a contest-winning picture? Or illustrate an upcoming article with your shots?

These and other aspects of photography will be addressed during Erika Fabian’s photo-illustrated presentation. She will cover…

Presented by: Erika Fabian

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Amazon discusses Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

 in PastEvent19 / Seminar

Webinar
Tuesday, November 12, 2019

This month we present this online Webinar as our monthly Seminar.

In this WEBINAR,  Daniel Slater, Principal, Independent Publishing, Kindle Global Content, will present an overview of what making your eBook and POD paperback available from KDP entails, including publishing specifics, economics, and the tools, services, and resources to help you every step of the way.

Presented by: Daniel Slater,

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Self Publishing Intensive: Everything You Need to Self-Publish So You Can Publish Your Book Now

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TheWGroup/PALA Self Publishing Intensive Everything You Need to Self-Publish So You Can Publish Your Book Now Saturday, October 19, 2019 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Do you have everything you need to successfully self-publish your book? Whether you’re writing a helpful nonfiction work, a stunning genre novel, a community cookbook, or the next bestseller, the publishing process involves the same elements: preparation of your manuscript and production of your book. And don’t forget about marketing. TheWGroup/PALA’s 2019 Self-Publishing Intensive has the answers you need to start now and successfully publish your book. Our experts, Carla King of Self-Publishing Boot Camp […]

Screenwriting & TV Writing with Pilar Alessandra: 90-minute Q&A

 in PastEvent19 / Seminar

Webinar
Wednesday, July 10, 2019

This July we present this online Webinar as our monthly Seminar.

Are you a screenwriter or thinking about writing a movie or TV script?

Our popular seminar leader, Pilar Alessandra, author of “The Coffee Break Screenwriter,” answers your questions about the craft. Her tips and techniques are well known for getting writers On the Page, and helping them finish their scripts fast! Anything goes in this 90-minute video-conference Q&A. So, bring your questions about brainstorming, outlining, character work, dialogue and page-writing.

Writers can ask about:

  • Structure
  • Outlining
  • Character work
  • Page craft
  • and any other questions you may have.

Presented by: Pilar Alessandra

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Writing Memoirs that People WANT to Read!

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Seminar
Saturday, March 16, 2019

Writing Memoirs that People WANT to Read!
Writing Tips and Techniques to Bring Your Story to Life

TheWGroup kicks off the New Year with a memoir-writing workshop intensive led by our own Ina Hillebrandt. Using her special provocative techniques in this hands-on writing seminar, you’ll be writing a short tale to immediately get the hang of this new style!

You’ll experience for yourself how fun and cathartic it can be to write stories from your own life.

You’ll get creative practical feedback and writing tips to write memoirs that people will want to read — even those who are not your mother or child.

You’ll see why internationally celebrated storyteller and new author Michael D. McCarty wrote about Ina’s workshops, “My inner critic disappeared. He’s somewhere in the Bahamas.”

Presented by: Ina Hillebrandt

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Ina_Hillebrandt_laughing_with_Cheryl_Miranda_Wendy_writing_at_Jump_Start_Your_Book_seminar

Writers Marketing Intensive 2018

 in PastEvent18 / Seminar

“Hope is Not a Book Marketing Strategy”
Prepare, Plan & Produce The Perfect Book Marketing Campaign

For the third year in a row, TheWGroup is offering a premium, all-day intensive seminar on building a strategy for your book marketing:
Strategizing your publishing • Strategizing your publicity • Strategizing your platform

Helping you build a strategy for your book’s success.

What Book Marketing strategies are most effective today?
What’s changed in the past year that affects your publishing, launch, publicity and platform building?
How do your publishing decisions affect your book’s success?
What publicity works best for authors?
Why is your platform more important than ever and what pieces are essential?
Presenting new material for 2018 (and a new expert!), our three experts will take you through strategies on everything from publishing to publicity to platform-building. If you’re a seasoned author, we will help you fine-tune your approach to marketing your books. And if you’re just putting together your first book marketing plan, our full-day intensive will help you put together the right strategies for your success.

The morning will be sectioned into three sessions, with three group sessions in the afternoon.

Session 1: Book Publishing and Launch Strategies, 2018-2019 — by David Wogahn
Session 2: Publicity and Marketing Strategies, 2018-2019 — by Emanuela Cariolagian
Session 3: Platforms and Social Media Strategies, 2018-2019 — by Steven Sanchez
Session 4: Group Session — The Experts Review Your Plan
Session 5: Your Questions —  Ask the Experts
Session 6: Intensive Wrap-Up — If You Only Do One Thing…

Ready to Write in 2019

 in PastEvent18 / Seminar

Seminar
Saturday, September 15, 2018

How’d you do meeting your 2018 writing goals?
Do you want to be better prepared for 2019?

Then set this day aside and join fellow writers of the Greater Los Angeles area and let’s start planning.

Whether you’re a “Planner” and outline and plan out every bit of your book, or you’re a “Pantser” preferring to fly by the seat of your pants, we’ve got tips and tricks that will help you set and reach realistic writing goals for next year.

Presented by: Telly Davidson, Vickey Kalambakal

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Grammar for Grownup Writers

 in PastEvent18 / Seminar

Seminar
Saturday, July 21, 2018

Flo will go through the reasons that grammar matters to writers and readers, and review simple, often overlooked, rules to correct dozens of common errors. You’ll come away with newfound confidence including support with printed handouts.

Presented by: Flo Selfman

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Flo Selfman (photo by Libby Slate)

The Pitch (for writers) with Pilar Alessandra

 in PastEvent18 / Seminar

Seminar
Saturday, June 16, 2018 

Whether you as a writer are pitching your book or novel idea to a publisher or your screenplay idea to a producer, this class will help you stay on point and avoid listener tune-out.

As a writer, you never know when the chance to sell your book or screenplay may pop up. Don’t let it pass you by! Be prepared, and learn to pitch your writing with panache and excitement.

Pilar guides writers as we learn to pitch our ideas in a concise, focused, and entertaining manner – one that emphasizes the hook and eliminates “writer-babble.” Proven pitching tools for writers and a written template are provided, to help authors define the key elements of their stories.

Presented by: Pilar Alessandra

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Practical Poetry for Everyday Writers

 in Seminar

Seminar

Novelists, screenwriters, essayists, non-fiction and memoir authors, songwriters, and writers of all genres: did you know you can will learn poetic techniques that you can use in all of your writing, whether it’s for articles, books, copywriting, songs, or scripts.

Writer and poet Tresha Faye Haefner, will share basic poetic principles that writers can use to improve all of your writing and enhance your creative voice.

Presented by: Tresha Faye Haefner

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Award-winning writer and poet Tresha Faye Haefner
Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound

Free Promotional Ideas for Writers: easy, creative and productive ideas from Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound

 in PastEvent18 / Seminar

Phone Seminar
TUESDAY, March 13, 2018

When it comes to generating publicity for your book, don’t expect a press release do all the heavy lifting. You must have a strong “hook” or angle to get the media’s attention and use the press release as background information. Publicity expert Joan Stewart will share more than a dozen hooks that smart authors can use to promote their fiction and nonfiction books.

You will learn:

  • How to “newsjack” by taking a breaking new story and tying it to your book.
  • Creative ideas for fiction
  • Powerful hooks for nonfiction
  • The easiest place to start you publicity campaign: This media outlet will welcome you with open arms!

Presented by: J Joan Stewart “The Publicity Hound”

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Self-Publisher’s Toolkit — with IngramSpark

 in PastEvent18 / Seminar

Webinar
Tuesday, February 6, 2018

As writers, we know that writing a great piece is only part of our challenge. Along with the writing and editing, we have the challenges of publishing our work. That’s why, in February, we are hosting a special WEBINAR with IngramSpark, one of the main producers of print-on-demand and e-books.

IngramSpark offers the same products and services enjoyed by big-time publishers—superb quality and industry connections backed by decades of experience—made accessible to the indie-publishing community from one award-winning platform.

We will discuss the following topics as time permits…

  • Print on Demand as a way to create and sell quality printed books without a massive print run.
  • E-book publishing
  • Formats
  • Reach to 39,000+ retailers and libraries worldwide and 70+ major online retailers.
  • Marketing

Presented by: Justine Bylo — Key Account Sales Manager, IngramSpark, Ingram Content Group Inc.

[To read more, click the title!]

IngramSpark-featured

Grammar and Punctuation Review for Writers

 in Seminar / Upcoming-Seminar

Seminar
Saturday, January 20, 2018

Authors, do you fear making grammatical errors in writing or speaking?

Have you forgotten the writing rules you learned in school – and do they still apply?

As a writer, you might be preparing your book manuscript for publication, or maybe you’re crafting a query letter to a literary agent or a magazine editor. How about updating your author website? You might be writing promotional copy or composing a memoir.

Whatever you’re writing, are you just plain confused? Then this grammar class is the class for you. Publicist, copyeditor and TheWGroup past president Flo Selfman will bring your prose up to speed.

Writers will gain grammar confidence with a review of simple rules to correct dozens of common writing errors.

Topics include…

Presented by: Flo Selfman

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Self-Publishing with BookBaby

 in PastEvent17 / Seminar

Seminar
TUESDAY, November 14, 2017

A special telephone seminar

Steven Spatz, president of BookBaby, will share with his audience of essayists, novelists, editors, book designers, authors of all genres, and self-publishers, information on topics of vital interest to book producers and writers, including…

Presented by: Steven Spatz

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Overcoming Gender and Racial Bias in Publishing and Hollywood

 in PastEvent17 / Seminar

Seminar
Saturday, October 21, 2017 

In this seminar for writers and others in publishing and Hollywood, we will explore the dynamics of gender and racial discrimination that writers face in publishing and in show business. Whether you are a journalist, scriptwriter, copywriter, editor, songwriter, script doctor, or any other type of writer, join us as we discuss discrimination: how to spot it, how to handle it, how to “lean in” and push back against it, and how to work around it.

For a time, it appeared that sexism, homophobia, and racism directed at writers were things of the past in “tolerant, liberal” New York publishing and the world of showbiz. But it appears that change was only cosmetic. Discrimination persists, but has become more coded than it was in the days of Madmen. The same problems that writers faced back then have been lurking under the surface all along.

To get at how writers can fight back or find a way around this issue, we will be discussing topics like…

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Legal issues for writers 101

 in PastEvent17 / Seminar

Seminar
Saturday, September 23, 2017 

What do writers need to know about contracts? Or Intellectual Property? How about collaborations between authors? Turns out, there’s a lot of legal issues that writers and self-publishers should be aware of.

How can writers avoid the pitfalls of intellectual property theft, frivolous libel and plagiarism lawsuits, scam literary agents, too-good-to-be-true offers, contract loopholes, and how can authors avoid being cheated out of their money when writing a book, screenplay/play, or TV format? And what new traps are out there in cyberspace and online writing that writers need to be aware of?

Presented by:
Dan Laidman
Dana Newman
Workshop Coordinator: Telly Davidson

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Dana Newman
Colleen D. Bates

Summer Reads – Who’s hot, why, and how can we all sizzle on the bookshelves next summer?

 in Seminar / Upcoming-panel

TheWGroup presents an interactive Monday Evening Meeting: Summer Reads — Who’s hot, why, and how can we all sizzle on the bookshelves next summer? Monday, July 24, 2017 — sorry, this event has been cancelled. 7:30 to 9:15 p.m. (networking follows the program) Jump down to register As the season heats up, do readers’ tastes run toward light romance, cozy mysteries, or do more prefer curling up on the beach with serious literature? What makes for a hit summer read? Summer Reading Lists from major literary publications – what are their staff members reading? What tips does this provide for […]

Jump Start Book Writing Project

 in PastEvent17 / Seminar

Seminar
Saturday, June 17, 2017

Have you been thinking about writing a book?
Wondering where to start?
Or, have you started, but feel unclear about how to organize your writing?
Looking for ideas to make your book a better read?

Now’s the time to get feedback and ideas for moving ahead!

In this workshop…

Presented by: Ina Hillebrandt

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How to Write Query Letters & Proposals

 in PastEvent17 / Seminar

Seminar How to Write Query Letters & Proposals Saturday, May 20, 2017 10:30 am – 1:00 p.m.   How do you get published in “mainstream” publishing? If your story is fiction, get your backside in a chair and write it. If it’s nonfiction, the first and most critical step is creating a proposal. When you have a proposal, when your novel is in final manuscript, you will need an irresistible query letter that will convince an agent to represent you. Only literary agents have the contacts to get your work seen and read by editors in publishing houses. But how to […]

Monica Faulkner

Learn about the New Print on Demand Publishing Service from Amazon Kindle Direct!

 in PastEvent17 / Seminar  tagged Kindle

Seminar
Thursday, April 20, 2017

For April we present a special event: a phone-in seminar in conjunction with The Publishers Association of Los Angeles (PALA) — on a THURSDAY EVENING rather than a Saturday morning. We save you a trip to Culver City, enabling you to learn with us from the comfort of your own home — and for a special lower price!

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is rolling out a new program that offers self-publishers and indie authors the opportunity to publish print on demand paperbacks through Kindle, along with publishing their eBooks.

In this telephone seminar, Daniel Slater, Principal, Independent Publishing, Kindle Global Content, will present an overview of what making your POD paperback available from KDP entails, including publishing specifics, economics. etc.

Presented by: Daniel Slater, Principal, Independent Publishing, Kindle Global Content

[To read more, click the title!]

Nonfiction Writing Seminar

 in PastEvent17 / Seminar  tagged Non-Fiction

Seminar
Saturday, March 18, 2017

This month we’re diverging from our usual one-person seminar and hosting an intimate panel of sorts for our seminar.

Our experts will cover many aspects of writing non-fiction prose including…

Presented by: Marc Weingarten and Kelly Carlin with Greg Miller

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March 18 2017 IWOSC Nonfiction Panel, our speakers pose for us.