Highlights master class info

Great information, passed along by Joni Sensel:

Darcy Pattison is going to be teaching a Master Class in Novel Writing next summer at Highlights Foundation. In order to attend, writers must be published or have attended one of my novel revision classes. For this first time, the topics are plot and point of view. I'm just contacting some people from previous retreats to start letting them know because the class is limited to only 8 people. Please pass along the info as you like.



Thanks!
Darcy

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Kirby Larson joins Highlights Foundation Whole Novel faculty

Here's a wonderful opportunity for children's fiction writers, as announced by Kirby Larson:

With the push toward Common Core Standards, historical fiction may be the next "hot trend." 

Or maybe not. 

But if you have a passion for the genre, please consider attending the Highlights Foundation Whole Novel Workshop, with a focus on historical fiction. Faculty includes editor Tamra Tuller (a spring conference faculty member), of Chronicle Books; acquiring agent Linda Pratt of Wernick and Pratt; Tracy Barrett (whose books about Sherlock Holmes' great-grandkids made a recent Best Mysteries for Kids' list); and Kirby Larson, who is just publishing her fifth novel of historical fiction. Teaching assistants include Augusta Scattergood (Glory Be) and nonfiction writer Nancy Castaldo.

The setting is lovely, the food divine, and the week's workshop provides lots of time for one-on-one with a mentor for your novel. 

What are you waiting for? Sign up!

Kickstarter or indiegogo? Two authors, two choices.

For those of you at the monthly Professional Series meeting who heard firsthand from Panda Chronicler Anne Belov and her Kickstarter experiences, here are two more locals who have forged a path along the same lines of crowd sourcing support for their writing projects.

Brenda Winter Hanson dives into crowd-sourced funding for her mermaid novel.

Assistant Regional Advisor Brenda Winter Hanson has started her own site, through indiegogo, to help her get to a writing workshop that will allow her to delve into her entire manuscript. Here's her story, which takes us through her thinking behind this decision to go public. To view her campaign site, click here. Go, Brenda!

Karen Kincy

Another local author, the novelist Karen Kincy, turned to Kickstarter to help fund her newest book. In a recent interview with the Chinook Update, below, Karen shared her success story:

Q: Is this a new frontier for you? How did you decide to pursue this avenue? Other people doing it?   What made you head in that direction?

My project for Shadows of Asphodel was my very first Kickstarter, and I was inspired to do it after seeing all the amazing entrepreneurial projects that have succeeded on the crowdfunding platform--everything from handmade chocolates to board games to indie films. It helped me immensely to plan the logistics and marketing of the Kickstarter in advance, as well as deciding a reasonable budget to self-publish a book. I spent at least a month brainstorming with my friend and fellow novelist, Chelsea Campbell, since we have also been scheming up a co-authored book to write this summer. (Moral of this story: Talk to your writer friends! They have awesome ideas!)

Q: What happens now that you've made your fundraising goal?

After I finish the manuscript to the satisfaction of my beta readers and myself, it's time for editing, formatting, and pre-publication marketing. Shadows of Asphodel is slated for a September 2013 release. I'm keeping my backers in the loop through Kickstarter email updates. Soon I hope to share at least a sneak peak of the cover--I have already commissioned an amazing cover artist for Shadows of Asphodel, and can't wait to see the final cover.

Q: What has been the response from: fellow writers, agent, publishing folks, etc.? 

Curiosity and excitement, mostly, and a whole lot of enthusiasm from those who backed the project and spread the word. I couldn't have done it without my cheerleaders!

Q: Would you do this again? Why or why not?

I would definitely do it again. Thanks to Kickstarter, I don't have to worry about funding the initial costs of  self-publishing a book myself. And since most of the Shadows of Asphodel Kickstarter backers chose pledge levels with ebook or paperback rewards, I can effectively count those as a small batch of pre-orders, hopefully that will lead to good first reviews from those who love the book.

Highlights Whole Novel Workshop

You’ve written a novel, something that everyone seems to talk about doing but almost no one manages. But you . . . you have done it. What an accomplishment!

Now what? Once your book lands on an editor’s desk, it has about three seconds to grab the editor and hold his or her attention. Three seconds. After all of your work, your struggle, the heart and soul you have put into those pages. Three seconds. Your next step is crucial: you must be certain—before you send the book out—that it is ready for editorial review.

The Highlights Foundation, along with Newbery-honor author Carolyn Coman, created the Whole Novel Workshop for writers like you. This workshop does what an MFA program does—without the added time and expense. It provides the writer with an accomplished mentor. That mentor will read and critique your entire novel before the workshop begins and then work with you for a full week, guiding you as you polish your book so that an editor will pick it up and not want to put it down until the last page has been turned.

During the Whole Novel Workshop, you will enjoy
• focused one-on-one response to your entire novel in progress from acclaimed author Carolyn Coman or accomplished editor Joy Neaves;
• group critiques;
• seminars on technique and craft; and
• ample time to write and revise in a private, rustic cabin.

Give your work its best chance to pass the three-second test. Devote a week of your summer

(June 5-12, 2011) to polishing your novel at the Whole Novel Workshop.

Applications for the Whole Novel Workshop are being accepted through March 25, 2001. You will be notified of acceptance status by April 8, 2011. Only eight students will be accepted, to ensure that each novel receives the close attention it deserves. To apply, contact Jo Lloyd at 570-253-1192, e-mail jo.lloyd@highlightsfoundation.org, or request an application online.

Highlights Foundation Founders Workshops take place near Honesdale, Pennsylvania. You’ll stay in your own cozy cabin, surrounded by 1,300 wooded acres and hiking trails. Workshop fee includes individual cabins; all meals (provided by a top-notch chef); airport pickup service, if
needed; and an intimate teaching setting at the homeplace of the Founders of Highlights for Children. For more information on this workshop, the faculty, etc. visit the Highlights Foundation website.