Annual Conference August 24-27, 2023 Saint Louis, Missouri

You can purchase ALL the workshops below, and will have immediate access to the MP3 files after your order is completed.

Continuing Education Tracks

• 2023 CE 02: Exploring the Art of Plotting with Carrie Stuart Parks - Plotting is a skillful expression of a writer’s creativity and imagination that sends a protagonist on an aesthetic, evocative, and emotional adventure through the actions of three-dimensional characters who strive to achieve a goal.
• 2023 CE 03: How do I Run my Launch Team with Tammy Karasek - A successful launch of your book is possible and Tammy will share tools and tips to assist you in doing so.
• 2023 CE 04: Successful Indie Publishing with Lisa and Scott Phillips - Business plus mindset makes a winning combination for the independent author—a writer, publisher, marketer, and small business owner all wrapped up in one package—so come and find out everything you need to know.
• 2023 CE 05: The Author-Preneuer with Tracy Higley - Turn your writing into a business, by learning the marketing strategies and advertising techniques that will help you sell more books and keep more revenue.

Early Bird

• 2023 - Early Bird Session with Donald Maass - Donald Maass discusses storytelling, psychology, technique, and an understanding of reader reactions.

Workshops

• 2023 WS 01: Demystifying the Synopsis with Jerusha Agen - In Demystifying the Synopsis, veteran, multi-published author Jerusha Agen will shatter the myths that spark fear in our hearts and reveal that you DO have what it takes to write contract-winning synopses!
• 2023 WS 02: Your Author Website as Your Bestseller with Kate Angelo - In this class you’ll learn how to find your author identity, apply it to your website, and begin to build an authentic relationship with agents, publishers, and readers even if you haven’t published a book yet.
• 2023 WS 03: Your Messy Best: Juggling Writing, Family, and Other Things with Pepper Basham - Pepper will discuss ways to navigate the balance of family, work, and our other callings and share tips used to keep getting words on the page without neglecting all the other things.
• 2023 WS 04: Show me a Story - Writing Cinematically with Deborah Raney - By dissecting and comparing two 20-words sentences, Deborah will explore showing vs. telling, point-of-view, deepening characterization, writing vivid settings, naming characters, using strong verbs, and many other secrets of strong writing.
• 2023 WS 05: Paths to Publication with Angela Hunt - Every successful writer follows a unique path to publication, and never have there been more roads you can travel. Learn what those roads are, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and how to use each of them (online publishing, writing for periodicals, self-publishing, traditional publishing, genre publishing, work for hire) to follow God’s plan for your writing.
• 2023 WS 06: Writing Fiction Worth Thinking About with Chawna Schroeder - This class will systematically define the meanings of the eight qualities found in Philippians 4:8 and discuss how our writing can practically exhibit those qualities, making our books the kind that are worth reading and thinking about.
• 2023 WS 07: Mastering the Rewrite with Rachel Hauck - Novels aren't written they are rewritten. However they dynamic of taking a novel apart to add layers, to clean up prose and to up tension is not as simple as we think. In this workshop we'll talk about areas of focus to clean up prose and elevate tension.
• 2023 WS 08: Disciplined Author Life Formula with Tasha Hackett - Concrete applications to organize your days, escape hustle culture, and move from overwhelmed to productive without sacrificing your first-born.
• 2023 WS 09: Selling Direct with Hallee Bridgeman - Hallee will go over how an author can sell ebooks, paperbacks, and even audiobooks direct - and why an author should.
• 2023 WS 10: Author's Secret Weapon with Terri Reed and Lenora Worth - Join best-selling authors Lenora Worth and Terri Reed to unpack the author’s secret weapon--Dwight Swain’s Scene and Sequel.
• 2023 WS 11: No Sagging Middle with Gayle Roper - Writing the beginning of a novel is a breeze and the ending isn't so bad, either, but the middle can often stall the story, so learn how to keep the middle fresh and exciting with no sag in sight.
• 2023 WS 12: Writing Children's Books with Angela Hunt - An overview of writing for children: a brief discussion and description of each of the genres (picture book, story book, chapter book, easy reader, nonfiction, middle grade book, and young adult books), along with the specific blueprint for how to write a wonderful and entertaining picture book.
• 2023 WS 13: Newbie in a Nutshell with Sami Abrams - Things I’m glad someone told me when I first started writing.
• 2023 WS 14: Can You Hear Me Now? with Kathleen Y'Barbo Turner - Calling all rebel writers! Standing out in a crowded field of good books means being different than the others. In this workshop you will discover why following the rules can sanitize your manuscript and make your characters sound like everyone else’s. Once you learn to break the rules and silence your inner editor, your characters will speak, both to you and to the reader. And they may even use incomplete sentences!
• 2023 WS 15: Welcome to the Jungle with Joy Massenburge - You’ve completed your two-page questionnaire about your character’s hair and eye color, the kind of car they drive, where they work and still your crit partners say your hero/heroine is flat. In this interactive workshop we will use the common attributes of animals in the jungle to depict the four basic personalities and how they communicate to create the kind of characters our readers find themselves talking to as if they are real people in the room.
• 2023 WS 16: Spilling Secrets (Author Panel) with Terri Reed, Lenora Worth, Dana Mentink - Join three bestselling authors to learn the ins and outs of writing for Harlequin’s Love Inspired lines.
• 2023 WS 17: Market a New Book Release with Misty Beller - Learn step-by-step strategies to reach both previous fans and new readers during a book launch.
• 2023 WS 18: Why You're Getting Rejected with Rachel Hauck and Kristy Cambron - A deep dive into why your proposal is getting rejected.
• 2023 WS 19: The Importance of Community with Hallee Bridgeman - Panel with: Lacy Williams, Robin Patchen, Susan May Warren, Sharon Srock, and Misty Beller: Six writing friends - who all write different genres - support one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, and help each other with all different aspects of writing from plotting to blurbs and everything in-between. We'll discuss what it's meant to each of us as individuals, sisters-in-Christ, and writers.
• 2023 WS 20: Conquer the Chaos, Writer! with Liana George - Conquer the chaos and discover the organizing secrets that will bring order to your writing life so you can be more creative and productive as you work.
• 2023 WS 21: The "Tea" in Social Media with Pepper Basham and Betsy St. Amant Haddox - Realistic and positive social media tricks, tips, and truths for the Christian author.
• 2023 WS 22: Plotting 101 with Crystal Caudill - Participants will learn how to create stories readers can't put down through a detailed examination of the four-act structure and will leave with the tools necessary to plot a story whether a pantser or plotter.
• 2023 WS 23: Building Your Newsletter and Creating Superfans with Dineen Miller - A newsletter list can be an author’s most powerful and consistent tool to build readership, create launch teams, enlist ARC readers, and build relationships and community.
• 2023 WS 24: Learning the Arcs at the Arch with Darlene Turner - Learn how to build memorable character and story arcs that will engage readers from the first sentence and keep them turning the pages to a satisfying conclusion. Creating believable characters your readers love and story lines filled with conflict, tension, and twists and turns will guarantee they’ll come back for more.
• 2023 WS 25: Will you Marry Me? Creating an Irresistable Proposal with Betsy St. Amant Haddox - This workshop walks the attendee through all the various elements of building an eye-catching, irresistible proposal, with a heavy emphasis on taming the dreaded synopsis.
• 2023 WS 26: Writing When Life Gets in the Way with Robin Patchen - Learn to meet your writing deadlines—external and self-imposed—despite the distractions, difficulties, and disasters that come your way.
• 2023 WS 27: Writing to Market with Cynthia Hickey - How to research the market, then write a book that fits in with what readers are looking for.
• 2023 WS 28: Hit and Run Romantic Suspense Panel with Terri Reed and Dana Mentink - In this workshop we’ll give tips and tricks to blending romance, suspense and faith to make a compelling read.
• 2023 WS 29: Listen Up! Audio Books with Tracey Lyons - Are audio books the next wave in publishing? This workshop will cover the steps taken to bring a book into audio production.
• 2023 WS 30: Podcasting for Writers with Sarah Hamaker - Learn how to tap into the power of podcasting either as a guest or podcaster yourself.

Click Here to Order

Looking to purchase workshops individually? ORDER INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS HERE
We're also offering a special Conference Bundle for the Continuing Education classes and all 30 Workshops. Interested? ORDER HERE