CONFERENCE 2016

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, OCTOBER 15, 2016

Women Who Write’s Sixth Annual Writers' Conference will again be held at The Madison Community House in Madison, NJ. Registration for WWW members will start on July 15th and for non-members on July 22nd.

In past years, attendees would have to sign up for a particular writing track of prose, poetry or children's tracks and stay in that track all day.

Like last year's Conference, this year's will again be about Choices. You’ll be able to choose some programs. For example, a prose writer may choose to hear a presentation of Women Who Write traditionally published authors, or a children’s writer may choose to listen to a Short Stories program. Of course, some things won’t change: first page sessions will be offered again as well as a chance (for an extra fee) to meet 15 minutes with an editor/agent/poet for a critique of your submitted work and new this year will be a 15 minute critique of a song or your website.

We’re pleased to announce that they’ll be a Keynote morning address on Incorporating Lyrics into Your Writing for all attendees to hear and an afternoon Keynote address on Social Media.

If you decide to become a member, you will enjoy registering earlier, be able to receive the members’ discount price for Conference registration and also a members’ discount if you choose to have a critique with an editor or agent.

Photo by Juanita Kirton

FIRST PAGE SESSIONS

Bring four copies of a first page of a single manuscript with you. Do not put your name on the paper, but do include a title and indicate the genre (picture book, chapter book, middle grade, young adult, non-fiction). Your manuscript must fit on a single sheet of paper (begin at the top of the page). If you submit a second page, only the first page will be read.

Use standard manuscript formatting—double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman or Courier font, one-inch margins all around, half-inch indents for each new paragraph, single column of text. You may include up to the first 23 printed lines (not sentences!) of text from your manuscript.

All the first pages will be read aloud by a volunteer reader and two editors/agents will give their critiques.

CRITIQUES by EDITORS, AGENTS and Poets

Conferences are an excellent way to improve your writing and when one-on-one critiques are offered, you have a rare opportunity to get a professional assessment of your work. Often, though, we as writers are so in love with our words, that we expect everyone else to be as well. New writers may feel devastated when editors don’t immediately laud their manuscripts or offer the writer a contract on the spot. But a seasoned writer will go into a critique intending to pick the brain of the professional, and they will value honest criticism, which will make their work better. Editors and agents see hundreds of manuscripts yearly and they have a very good eye for what works and what doesn’t work. They are the best reviewers an author can have because they can see what is best in your story as well as where it slows down, becomes too wordy, or goes off track. So to get the most from your critiques, take a deep breath, and focus on what you can take from the professionals that may make your work good enough to make a future sale.

~ Pat Weissner