Continuing Education

You can’t perform successful brain surgery unless you’ve studied the brain. Likewise, you can’t write a successful novel unless you’ve studied what a novel is and how it works. Angela Hunt, who’s been writing for more years than she likes to admit, will teach you what a novel is, how to plot it, and how to create compelling characters. Learning what to do before you attempt to do it will save you time and heartache.

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.

A successful launch of your book is possible and Tammy will share tools and tips to assist you in doing so.

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.

Lisa will outline the independent publishing process, highlighting everything attendees need to know about publishing independently. From the idea all the way to the monthly royalty check from Amazon, she will lay out all her processes and procedures for releasing a book, as well as tips and tricks that have built her career from that first month making $900 to a six-figure annual business. Attendees will leave with a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to publish independently, as well as the pitfalls and mountains to climb. Combining inspiration with a business mindset is key, and this CE session will feature that, and so much more.

Scott will walk authors through the business side of starting the journey. He will discuss topics like: Why an author might choose Kindle Unlimited vs being Wide, what options there are for formatting a book, when ISBNs are
needed, why Copyright registration is a good idea, what tools are useful in ensuring you get noticed, and what a basic budget for a release looks like. He will also provide some insight into when they moved to an LLC from
putting the income on their household taxes and what some of the benefits and disadvantages are for that structure.

Lisa will wrap up the session by walking attendees along an encouraging path of mindset, creativity, and productivity to glean tips on building a lasting career and staying creative, and not falling into the pitfalls of burnout or a dry idea well. With her trademark energy, Lisa will uplift and inspire authors to lean on their faith, their friendships, and their own stories, in order to build a brand that outlasts any mistakes they might make and those inevitable shifts in the publishing world.

Any handouts will be provided instead as a follow up resource through a downloadable PDF on Lisa’s website for anyone looking for additional information on author tools.

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.

These days, whether you are traditionally or independently published, you need to treat your author-career like a business, utilizing best practices in marketing to make the most of your sales. Join Tracy Higley, a 20-year veteran of the ecommerce world, as she teaches you how to turn your writing passion into a sustainable business, without letting it drain your creative energy.
In this session you’ll learn how to:
• Set up an online store to sell direct to your readers (without sharing profits with Amazon!)
• Build advertising that will fast-track your mailing list growth and sell more books
• Set up simple sales funnels to turn strangers into super-fans

You’ve been working on your novel & you like what you’ve got—but you’re not sure it’s good enough. It’s time to be courageous and share it with a group of your fellow writers.  See your classmates’ reactions and get the professional input and suggestions of your group leader and multi-published writer, Rick Acker or Gayle Roper. Each group will be limited to ten participants, so every manuscript will get time to be the star.

This is a hands-on bootcamp with limited seats, based on first pay, first served.

Each participant will submit the first 10 pages of their novel, a short (500 words or less) synopsis and a 50-word or shorter elevator pitch. All participants must read the submissions from other members of their group and come prepared to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each.