Just a few observations after my panel appearances at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference on Tuesday, June 11 and at the Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference Friday and Saturday, June 14 and 15. Venues: Santa Barbara was much more upscale. It was held at a lovely hotel that overlooks the beach. GLA was obviously done on a budget at LA Valley College. The meetings were held in classrooms instead of conference rooms. Linda Joy Myers, Marla Miller, me, Eleanor Vincent Panels: However, I think the panels went well for both. In Santa Barbara I was a panel member discussing building a platform with a master moderator, Marla Miller, presiding. At the GLA I moderated three panels: memoir, platform, and poetry. Excellent experts were on all panels so we had lively discussions and lots of questions from the audience. Since the poetry workshop was a roundtable everyone participated in a give and take discussion throughout. In the end I think we provided useful information with lots of … [Read more...]
So what’s the bottom line on the conferences?
A couple of busy weeks
My writing life is becoming very busy these days. This week I'll be featured on three websites: Today my post on revision and editing is featured on She Writes where I urge writers to Make the Decision to Do the Hard Work Before You Start to Write a Book. I learned the hard way during the time I wrote and revised my memoir, so now I'm following a long arduous edit and revision process for my novel. On Wednesday June 5, I'll have a post about writing as healing up on Southern Writes Magazine's Suite T blog. Here's the link though I'll remind you again on Wednesday. In the meantime, go over and look at my book trailer on their Must Read TV site and listen to me read a five-minute excerpt from Leaving the Hall Light On, on Take Five, presented by Southern Writers magazine. On Friday June 7, I'm so excited to be a guest on Laura Dennis' The Adaptable (Adopted) Expat Mommy blog. She gave me some tough questions to answer, and I hope you'll come over and join in the … [Read more...]
It’s all about win-win
What an honor that Marla Miller, one of my favorite people, invited me to join a panel discussion yesterday as part of her Santa Barbara Writer's Conference afternoon workshop. I've known Marla for a year or so, at first virtually. I think she found and made a comment on one of my articles at More Magazine online. Then we became Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn friends, and now I see her occasionally at Greater Los Angeles Writer's Society events. In person. She has been super supportive of me and my book. She invited me to be guest on her blog, Marketing the Muse, and posted my video on her wonderful Women Over 45: Speak site. So when she asked I didn't hesitate. A ninety-mile drive back and forth to Santa Barbara from my home in Manhattan Beach. No problem. Like we said at the end of the workshop yesterday, it's all about win-win. Plus I got to meet three other wonderful women who were on the panel with me. Sheri Fink spoke about being a self-published children's book writer … [Read more...]