Central Valley Fiction Writers
~January 8th~
Business Meeting
~February 12th~
Hands-On Workshop
Write the Blurb First!
Led by Michele Mills
Do you draft your blurb in a final chaotic rush prior to publication? Are you disgusted with those attempts and worry your blurb is detrimental to sales?
I hear you! Been there, done that!
Try something different - Decrease your stress by writing a fully realized blurb up front, long before a single word of that book is written! Plan ahead! Be strategic in how you add books to your catalogue! Learn tips from a top 50 Amazon bestselling author with thirty published books, on how to assess and *fingers crossed* inflate your book’s potential “clickbaitiness” with laser focus on blurbs that readers have to one-click.
Join me and learn how more time spent up front being strategic about what you’re writing next, equals less angst at the end and more books sold!
**Have your notebook ready! This will be interactive - I will pause to give opportunities to plan your own ideas, taglines, or rough draft a blurb for a book you haven’t written yet. Or, you can do a rough draft of an old blurb you’d like to redo!
Michele Mills is an Amazon bestselling author of Science Fiction Romance, including her Alien Bounty Hunters and Monsters who Love Curvy Girls series. She’s written a duology with #1 Amazon bestselling author Ruby Dixon and co-authored a standalone with NY Times bestselling author Celia Kyle. You can find out more about Michele by visiting her Facebook page or Amazon author page.
~March 12th~
Presentation
Time, Place and Beyond:
Bring Your Setting To Life
Presented by Cynthia Owens
In Time, Place and Beyond: Bring Your Setting To Life, we will examine various methods for plunging your reader into your setting and making it real.
We will cover:
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The Basics—Time, place and mood.
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World Buildings—Researching your setting.
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Make Your Setting a Character—Give your setting a unique personality.
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Storyboarding—It’s not just for plotting anymore!
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Those Who Forget the Past—The history of your setting.
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Geography 101—You setting’s geography.
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Moody Blues—Creating your setting’s mood.
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It’s Tradition!—How tradition and folklore can reveal your setting.
Included in the workshop is a workbook with assignments, worksheets, and more.
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A former journalist and lifelong Celtophile, Cynthia Owens is the author of The Claddagh Series, historical romances set in Ireland and beyond, and The Wild Geese Series, in which five Irish heroes return from the American Civil War to find love and adventure. A lifelong resident of Montreal, Canada, she lives there with her own Celtic hero. You can learn more about Cynthia on her website.
~April 9th~
Presentation
Kindle Vella:
What Is It and Is It Right For You?
Presented by Bonnie Phelps
Bonnie Phelps writes contemporary romance and has self-published eight books. During her professional life, she used her writing skills as a fundraising/communication executive for nonprofits, authored a syndicated column in several California newspapers, and worked as a Wedding Planner. She craves anything sweet and is addicted to tracing her family’s roots. A native Californian, the author lives in Northern California with her husband.
~June 11th~
Presentation
Organize Your Story
and
Empower Yourself
Presented by Sheri Humphreys
Do you feel like your brain is spinning and your story is out of control? Do you need to make a multitude of revisions, and the more you move, add, delete, and change, the more confused you become? Coordinating character names, locations, series details, and historical events can grow overwhelming. This workshop will give you tools for keeping details organized and show you how to keep track of what you’ve done and what’s left to do. Learn to keep a story or series bible, timeline, and progress note, and simplify through organization.
Sheri Humphreys writes historical romance, dual timeline historical fiction, and a blog about a snarky winery cat: https://mustcattales.blogspot.com
She’s a hybrid author with five books and an anthology released, including a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2016. Her books are available from all major online vendors. You can find her on the Central California Coast, or at SheriHumphreys.com.
~July 9th~
Presentation
Producing an Audiobook
– It’s Easier & Cheaper than You’d Think
Presented by Tara September
• Learn the steps to producing an audiobook and the cost-effective services
available to authors
• Learn how to make your backlist profitable again with audio
• Marketing your audiobook
Tara September
Besides being an award-winning contemporary romance author, Tara September is a former PR executive for The Walt Disney Company and communications manager for WWE. She holds a Master’s degree in journalism & communications from New York University. For 16 years, Tara has also penned a popular lifestyle, travel, and parenting blog at TaraMetBlog.com. She lives in Southwest Florida with her husband, twin boys, and three cats and is the President of the Southwest Florida Fiction Writers group.
~August 13th~
Presentation
“World-crafting: Integrating Your World into Your Story”
Presented by Midnight Voss
When is the backdrop of your novel just a setting, and when does it become a world? In this presentation, Dr. Midnight Voss discusses worldbuilding as an integrated approach that interlocks with other elements of crafting your manuscript. She will cover some basic approaches for this type of worldbuilding, as well as discuss its application within both speculative and contemporary fiction.
Midnight Voss
A longtime addict of fiction and weird worlds, Midnight Voss holds a doctorate in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Houston. Since 2004, she has worked with writers in formal classrooms and one-on-one consultations. Her workshops focus on creating vivid characters and places readers will want to visit again and again. With Ivy Quinn, she co-authored dragon-shifter urban fantasy Frozen Ashes and Smoldering Shards, published in the USA Today Bestselling Sirens and Scales boxset.
~September 10th~
General Meeting
No Presentation
~October 8th~
Presentation
“Amazon's A+ Content for
Your Book's Sales Page”
Presented by Emilie Haney
Using visual examples, this presentation will discuss what A+ content is, how it can elevate your marketing, what role your personal author brand takes in A+ content, and tips to make your A+ content stand out. We’ll also go through how to access your A+ content through KDP and a few simple ways to create your own graphics if a designer isn’t in your budget yet.
Adding A+ content for your books is a relatively low-cost and important marketing tool for any author, This presentation will help give you the knowledge to publish with confidence.
Emilie Haney
Emilie is a self-employed author and graphic designer living in Indiana with her husband, two dogs, and a cat named Pages. She’s a member of SCBWI and ACFW, and writes fiction in multiple genres. She spends more time on Instagram than she probably should and has built a thriving community around her Instagram platform and brand CreateExploreRead. You can learn more about Emilie on her website, eahchreative.com.
~November 10th~
Presentation
“Setting as Character:
Making it Real”
Presented by Nan Dixon
There are three pillars of your story: Character, Plot and Setting. This course will help you identify ways to create vibrant settings that enhance both the characters and the plot.
Nan Dixon
Award winning author Nan Dixon of the DESIGNER CHILDREN, THE MACBAINS, BIG SKY DREAMERS and FITZGERALD HOUSE series spent her formative years as an actress, singer, dancer and competitive golfer. But the need to eat had her studying accounting in college. Unfortunately, being a successful financial executive didn’t feed her passion to perform. When the company she worked for was purchased, Nan got the chance of a lifetime—the opportunity to pursue a writing career. You can learn more about Nan on her website: https://www.nandixon.com/
~December 10th~
Holiday Luncheon
No Meeting
2022 Meetings
Meetings are the second Saturday every month
1:00 - 3:00 PM
Due to COVID, meetings are currently being held online via Zoom.
Guests are welcome to attend at a cost of $10.
Payment can be made online using the green Guest button below.
To receive the Zoom link, please RSVP using the form on our Contact page.
