Announcing: The Atlanta Writers Conference Prep Workshops

As many of you know, we hosted our first-ever conference with literary agents in May and it went very well, but the agents remarked afterward that a number of registrants would have benefited from a preparatory workshop or two to polish their manuscripts and pitches. We want as many of you as possible to land contracts with agents and secure book deals with publishers. Thus, to prepare you for our 2009 Atlanta Writers Conference, we are providing the opportunity to submit your work and give your pitches to fiction and nonfiction authors who have succeeded in this difficult business. Their mission is to help you make your manuscript sample and/or your "pitch" presentation to the agents as solid and professional as possible.

Overview

The preparatory workshops are structured the same way the agent conference is set up: you can submit the first 20 pages of your manuscript for critique in advance, and, on the day of the prep workshop, the author you chose will give you 15 minutes of verbal feedback about your work. We'll break for lunch and then you can practice explaining ("pitching") your project to the same author or a different one and you will receive advice about better structuring your pitch for use in query letters and face-to-face encounters with agents and publishers, a process lasting for 10 minutes.

To check on your progress implementing the author's suggestions, you can receive another critique and/or pitch session with the author of your choice in early 2009 so you and the author can evaluate your progress and continue to smooth the rough edges. If you're not ready for the Fall 2008 Prep Workshop, you can meet with the author of your choice for the first time in early 2009.

These two sessions should give you the recommendations you need to make your work shine when it's time to register for the agent conference in 2009. Be sure to register ASAP--spots for both workshops will fill up quickly. Here are the details:

Participating Fiction Authors:

David Fulmer--Author of five award-winning historical mysteries, most recently the critically acclaimed The Blue Door; writing instructor at Margaret Mitchell House; and best friend of the Atlanta Writers Club. David will critique mainstream fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and suspense.

Haywood Smith--Author of eight novels encompassing historical fiction and women's fiction, including the best-selling Red Hat Club series and her latest novel Wedding Belles. Haywood will critique all genres of popular fiction EXCEPT occult (vampires, etc.), casual sex, and erotica.

Participating Nonfiction Authors:

Constance Curry--Acclaimed historian, memoirist, and essayist who has authored or co-written a number of books about people she met or worked with in the Civil Rights movement--Silver Rights, Deep in Our Hearts: Nine White Women in the Freedom Movement, The Fire Ever Burning, and Mississippi Harmony. Most recently she has co-authored with Bob Zellner his memoirs, The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement, to be published this coming fall. Connie will critique any nonfiction EXCEPT work with pornographic content.

Jedwin Smith--Author of the award-winning nonfiction books Fatal Treasure and Our Brother's Keeper, which Publishers Weekly called a "muscularly written, starkly honest memoir." Jedwin will critique any nonfiction works (memoir, history, military, self-help, etc.) EXCEPT work with pornographic content.

If demand dictates, we will try to add other authors to these workshops.

Registration Period for Fall 2008 Prep Workshop & Critical Dates:

Registration is NOW OPEN and will continue until each author has filled the 10 spaces allotted for critique sessions and 12 spaces for pitching. Standby lists for each author will be created as necessary.
For the Fall 2008 Prep Workshop, your 20-page manuscript sample for critique is due by September 20.
For those wanting to pitch their projects, you will be encouraged to practice your pitches at the club meetings, either before or afterward, with others who have registered for that event.
The Fall 2008 Prep Workshop will be held on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with 90 minutes for lunch, at Georgia Perimeter College in Dunwoody.

Registration Period for Winter 2009 Prep Workshop & Critical Dates:

Registration is NOW OPEN and will continue until each author has filled the 10 spaces allotted for critique sessions and 12 spaces for pitching. Standby lists for each author will be created as necessary.
For the Winter 2009 Prep Workshop, your 20-page manuscript sample for critique (either reworked using the author's Fall Workshop feedback or a new piece if you didn't attend the Fall Workshop) is due by December 20.
For those wanting to pitch their projects, you will be encouraged to practice your pitches at the club meetings, either before or afterward, with others who have registered for that event.
The Winter Prep Workshop will be held on Saturday, Jan. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with 90 minutes for lunch, at Georgia Perimeter College in Dunwoody.

Cost:

You must be a member of the Atlanta Writers Club to participate in these workshops. If you are not, add $35 to the costs below to cover your membership for the remainder of 2008 through the end of 2009.

For the Fall 2008 Prep Workshop, the cost is $100 for a critique and $30 for a pitch. If you choose to do both, we'll discount the total cost to $125.

For the Winter 2009 Prep Workshop, if you signed up for the Fall Workshop too, the cost for reevaluation is $75 for a critique and $25 for a pitch. If you choose to do both, we'll discount the total cost to $95.

If you didn't sign up for the Fall Workshop but want to participate in the Winter Workshop, or you participated in the Fall Workshop but want a different work evaluated this time, the cost is $100 for a critique and $30 for a pitch. If you choose to do both, we'll discount the total cost to $125.

If you register now for both the Fall and Winter Prep Workshops and do the critique and the pitch events at both, we'll discount your total cost to $210.

To Register:

RSVP to Atlanta Writers Club VP George Weinstein at george@atlantawritersclub.org to tell him:

Which author you want
Which workshop you want: Fall or Winter or both
Which session you want: critique or pitch or both

You will receive his reply about whether a seat still is available with that author for the sessions you desire. If a seat is not available, you'll have the option of switching authors or going on the standby list for your first choice.

George also will reply with payment instructions and the deadline for payments. Once he receives your payment, he will provide a reminder about the due date for your 20-page manuscript and submission instructions if you chose that option, and/or he will connect you with those who are pitching their projects so you can help each other practice.

If you RSVP but do not submit payment by the deadline, you will be dropped from the roster and the next available person on standby who has paid will take your place.

Refund Policy:

For the Fall 2008 Prep Workshop, if you paid for a critique but cannot make it to the October 25 event, you will receive a refund if you notify George Weinstein at george@atlantawritersclub.org no later than September 13. If you paid for a pitch but cannot make it to the October 25 event, you will receive a refund if you notify George at george@atlantawritersclub.org no later than October 18.

For the Winter 2009 Prep Workshop, if you paid for a critique but cannot make it to the January 24 event, you will receive a refund if you notify George Weinstein at george@atlantawritersclub.org no later than December 13. If you paid for a pitch but cannot make it to the January 24 event, you will receive a refund if you notify George at george@atlantawritersclub.org no later than January 17.

We hope you take advantage of these Fall 2008 and Winter 2009 Prep Workshops. They should help you present your best work at the Atlanta Writers Conference in May 2009. (Conference information and the opening date for Conference registrations will be announced in February 2009.) If you have any questions, please direct them to George Weinstein at george@atlantawritersclub.org.

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