publishing tips

2018 Authors Conference: Chip MacGregor

Chip MacGregor - Literary Agent Chip MacGregor, founder of MacGregor Literary, an author agency, will be speaking at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon.

MacGregor’s work as an author agent and representative helps authors in the memoir, spirituality, self-help, Christian, true crime, romance, and literary fiction genres publish their books and negotiate movie and television projects. His company represents a wide range of authors including an astronaut.

Chip MacGregor will be presenting workshops throughout the day on Querying and Finding an Agent, Writing a Proposal, and Creating a Pitch, and participating in the afternoon panel session where you can ask questions of our speakers.

He joins a group of extraordinary professional editors, writers, and poets in our first writer’s conference. Other speakers include Paulann Petersen, Deborah Reed, MaryJane Nordgren, Holly Lorincz, Kristin Thiel, and Jessica Morrell.

Register today to learn from Chip MacGregor on professional editing and writing at the 2018 Authors Conference in January as space is limited.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

This is a fundraiser for the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center, a non-profit community center and the host of Writers in the Grove weekly meetings. The Center provides free and low cost meals through their dining services and Meals On Wheels outreach program, as well as a wide range of educational, recreational, wellness, and community events and educational opportunities.

Writers in the Grove is a free weekly workshop for those wishing to develop their creative writing skills. The group meets Mondays at the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center on Mondays from 9-11am, and on the second Saturday of the month at the Forest Grove Public Library from 10:30-noon. Writers in the Grove supports the freedom of expression and creative writing spirit in Forest Grove, Oregon, and around the world.

2018 Authors Conference: MaryJane Nordgren

Author and writing coach, MaryJane Nordgren, will be speaking at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Mary Jane Nordgren Author MaryJane Nordgren is a published author of novels, plays, and memoirs, and publisher of the Seeds of… anthologies. Her books, Early: Logging Tales Too Human to be Fiction, Quiet Courage, and Frail the Bridge.

She is also the leader of Writers in the Grove, a free and open-to-the-public creative writing workshop held Monday mornings from 9-11am at the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center and the second Saturday of the month at the Forest Grove Public Library.

MaryJane will be presenting a practice session on writing open paragraphs and hooks.

She joins a group of extraordinary professional editors, writers, and poets in our first writer’s conference. Other speakers include Paulann Petersen, Deborah Reed, Chip MacGregor, Holly Lorincz, Kristin Thiel, and Jessica Morrell.

Register today to learn from MaryJane Nordgren on professional editing and writing at the 2018 Authors Conference in January as space is limited.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

2018 Authors Conference: Additional Special Sessions

As a reminder, in addition to our top notch speakers on writing, editing, poetry, and publishing at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon, we are offering special and optional private and small group consultations with some of our faculty for an additional fee. Registration for these optional consultations will be the morning of the event.

The special sessions are:

15 minute professional consultations (Cost: $10):
- Jessica Morrell on a single sample of a memoir or fiction piece.
- Holly Lorincz to talk through a story idea, plot points, and non-fiction scope and sequence.
45 minute small group session for practicing pitching (Cost: $5)
- Kristin Thiel

These sessions are in addition to the workshops and presentations by our group of extraordinary professional editors, writers, poets, and speakers including Paulann Petersen, Deborah Reed, Chip MacGregor, Holly Lorincz, Kristin Thiel, MaryJane Nordgren, and Jessica Morrell. The conference also includes lunch.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

2018 Authors Conference: Jessica Morrell

Author and writing instructor, Jessica Morrell, will be speaking at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Jessica Morrell Author Photo Jessica Morrell will be speaking on developing a character arc for your story and novel.

Jessica is a long-time favorite speaker and teacher on writing fiction, and an accomplished author. Her books, Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us, A (sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected, Between the Lines, Bullies, Bastards, and Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys of Fiction, and Writing Out the Storm continue to be textbooks for writers determined to improve their writing and get published.

Register today to learn from Jessica Morrell on professional editing and writing at the 2018 Authors Conference in January as space is limited.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

2018 Authors Conference: Editor Kristin Thiel

Editor Kristin Thiel will be speaking about the pitfalls of common writing errors and how to avoid them at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Kristin Thiel Publisher - photo by BC Debney, 2017. As a full-time professional writer and editor for fourteen years, Kristin Thiel works with writers, publishers, and other businesses to improve their professional writing skills with a goal toward publishing.

She’s also an avid hiker, backpacker, and “yes-sayer” to Northwest fun and exploration.

Register today to learn from Krtisin Thiel on professional editing and writing at the 2018 Authors Conference in January as space is limited.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

2018 Authors Conference: Editor Holly Lorincz

Editor Holly Lorincz will be speaking at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Holly Lorincz editor Holly’s specialty is in developmental editing, fiction and non-fiction, as well as collaborative writing. She will be speaking about the publishing industry and preparing a manuscript for submission.

Holly Lorincz is an author of fiction and non-fiction and owner of Lorincz Literary Services, a literary editing agency. She worked for many years as a collaborative literary agent for MacGregor Literary. She is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and on the faculty for the Profitable Authors Institute and The Blackbird Studio for writers in Portland, Oregon.

Register today to learn from Holly Lorincz on professional writing at the 2018 Authors Conference in January as space is limited.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

2018 Authors Conference: Special Optional Sessions

In addition to our top notch speakers on writing, editing, poetry, and publishing at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon, you will have the opportunity to work directly with the faculty privately or in small groups for an additional fee. Registration for these optional consultations will be the morning of the event.

15 minute professional consultations:
- Jessica Morrell on a single sample of a memoir or fiction piece.
- Holly Lorincz to talk through a story idea, plot points, and non-fiction scope and sequence.
Cost: $10 paid in advance.

Small group session for practicing pitching (45 min) with Kristin Thiel. Cost: $5 paid in advance.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

2018 Authors Conference: Publisher Chip MacGregor

Chip MacGregor will be presenting on publishing and editing, how to find, query, and pitch your story to agents and publishers at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Chip MacGregor - Literary Agent Chip MacGregor is the founder of MacGregor Literary, an author agency, helping authors in the memoir, spirituality, self-help, Christian, true crime, romance, and literary fiction publish their books and negotiate movie and television projects.

He joins a group of extraordinary professional editors, writers, and poets in our first writer’s conference. Other speakers include Paulann Petersen, Deborah Reed, Holly Lorincz, Jessica Morrell, MaryJane Nordgren, and Kristin Thiel.

Register today to learn from Chip MacGregor on professional writing and publishing at the 2018 Authors Conference in January as space is limited.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

2018 Author Conference: Poet Paulann Petersen

A special afternoon session at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon, will be presented by Paulann Petersen.

Paulann Peterson Author Photo Paulann Petersen is an award-winning poet and former Oregon State Poet Laureate. She is a former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and author of several books of poetry including The Wild Awake, Blood-Silk, A Bride of Narrow Escape, Kindle, The Voluptuary, and Understory. She has also published five chapbooks and her work has been published in many anthologies, magazines, and websites.

Paulann teaches poetry workshops for colleges, libraries, and writer’s conferences, and serves on the National Advisory Board for Friends of William Stafford. She will be presenting an afternoon poetry workshop to help you not only improve your poetry but also move toward publishing your work.

She joins a group of extraordinary professional editors, writers, and poets in our first writer’s conference. Other speakers include Deborah Reed, Chip MacGregor, Holly Lorincz, Jessica Morrell, MaryJane Nordgren, and Kristin Thiel.

Register today to learn from Paulann Petersen on professional poetry writing at the 2018 Authors Conference in January as space is limited.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

What We Learned from Harry Potter

In “Twenty years of Harry Potter – the 20 things we have learned” in The Guardian, Sam Leith listed factoids that tell a fascinating story of one of the most successful book stories in history.

Harry Potter - Hogwarts at Florida Disney World - Wikipedia

These are also great lessons for authors. A few highlights included:

Only 500 hardback copies were originally published in 1997. Three hundred went to libraries. Today, these may be worth tens of thousands of dollars and expected to increase in value.
Writer and editing errors made in the original published book were changed in later editions. So there is hope for fixing our published errors.
Rowling aged her characters in each book, growing more and more adult right along with the aging process of her readers, something rarely done in children and young adult series that keep the age of the character the same through multiple books.
Rowling wrote not just for children and young adults, but for parents and adults. To accommodate the every-growing adult customer, the covers were redesigned to look more “adult” with somber designed covers.
There are now degree programs and classes using Harry Potter for academic studies.
Harry Potter books were burned in the southern United States as witchcraft and satanic, thus a threat to children. Really? Still, any publicity is good publicity.
A reviewer in the New York Times dissed the first book, earning angry responses from fans. Sometimes even critics can get trashed by fans.
Rowling and her publishers set up an environment for fan fiction to allow it to thrive while retaining control and rights by not allowing settings inside Hogwarts (outside is fine), and no smut nor commercial publishing. The fan fiction community for Harry Potter represents hundreds of thousands of amateur writers today.
If you play the game right, book merchandise licensing can generate great income for the publishers and author, as well as attorneys protecting those rights.

We live in an era where books can grow into television shows and movies, and become entire industries if the game is played right and the fans stay loyal. Luckily, we have a few great authors who’ve paved the path well for us to follow.

Want to learn more about publishing? We have the Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference coming up in January. Register now to ensure a place as seating is limited.