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2020 WFWA Workshops 

2020 Writing Career Vision Workshop

Presenter: Jamie Raintree

January 6-31, 2020
Description: How long have you been working toward a writing career and struggling to see the results you’re looking for? Or, if you are published, is it as satisfying as you thought it would be? The unfortunate mistake many writers make is leaving their careers up to the publishing industry. They spend years learning their craft, writing books, and trying to break into the industry. And knowing how tough the odds are, they are often willing to accept any offer, only to find the option they settled for isn’t as fulfilling as they’d hoped.


In this workshop, you will learn how to take the reins on your writing career. As modern authors, we are lucky to have so many choices at our fingertips but sometimes we let those choices distract us from forging our own way. Rather than leaving the fate of your writing career up to the publishing gods, you will hone in on your own vision for your career, getting clear on the writing and publishing path that best fits you, and how to implement that vision in 2020.

Week 1: What Kind of Writer Do You Want to Be?
In Week 1, we will work on getting clear about what kind of writer you want to be, the kind of writing that most calls you, what you hope to get out of a writing career, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Once you know who you are and what you want, you will be better equipped to make the right choices for your career.

Week 2: What Kind of Author Do You Want to Be?
In Week 2, we will discuss the pros and cons of traditional publishing, small publishing, and independent publishing and how to choose the one that most aligns with the goals you have for your writing career.

Week 3: Creating a Big Picture Vision for Your Year
In Week 3, we’ll talk about the art of setting achievable goals and creating action steps to start moving you closer to your writing career vision. You’ll decide on your main goals for the year and plot them out on a calendar so you can see what you’ll be able to accomplish in 2020.

Week 4: Week Planning and Habits
In Week 4, we’ll go over how to create daily and weekly routines to optimize your writing time amongst all your other commitments. We’ll also talk about how to prioritize your writing and how to stay motivated in the short-term so you can reach your long-term goals.

Bio: Jamie Raintree is the author of Perfectly Undone and Midnight at the Wandering Vineyard. She is a mother of two, a wife, a businesswoman, a nature-lover, and a yogi. She also teaches writers about business and productivity.

Prepare Your Pitch Peer-Review Week

January 20-25, 2020

Registration opens Friday, January 3

Registration will close when all spots are filled or Thursday, January 9 (whichever comes later).

Description: Is your pitch clear? Is it engaging? Is it likely to make an agent want to request your manuscript for review and possible representation?

Prepare Your Pitch Week

This peer-review event is designed to provide participants with feedback from fellow writers regarding their 50-word pitch. Expect to give and receive lots of feedback during this week.

Format

Participants will be placed into groups by subgenre. You will be expected to provide feedback on the pitches of those in your group. In return, you’ll get feedback on your pitch from others. Comments on any pitch throughout the forum are also encouraged.

Time commitment

This event is free to members. Please note, though, that this event requires a significant time investment. Sign up only if you have ample time to participate, and block out the time on your calendar! Expect to invest a minimum of one hour per day for six days to give and respond to feedback. Almost all participants find that the time investment is worth it.

Please cancel at least five days in advance if you become unable to join. The coordinators of this event are volunteers, and fewer last-minute surprises will help them.

Content of pitch

In keeping with WFWA's mission, your pitch must be for a WOMEN'S FICTION manuscript - that is, it must include your protagonist’s emotional journey. Note: This requirement will prepare you for the February 2020 Agent Pitch Event, in which all pitches must include the protagonist's emotional journey (see below).

Please see examples of pitches that received multiple agent requests in previous WFWA Agent Pitch events.

Protagonists

Protagonists for manuscripts in both the January and February events must be nineteen-years-old or older, as agents generally consider manuscripts with younger protagonists to be Young Adult. If you believe you should be granted an exception to this rule for your eighteen-and-under protagonist, please email [email protected] for instructions on how to apply for an exception.

Resources

Want to plan ahead to get the most out of the event? Get started now with the WFWA Prepare Your Pitch resource list.

Additional information

Prepare Your Pitch Week happens once or twice per calendar year.

You may participate in this and future Prepare Your Pitch weeks even if you are not ready to participate in the Agent Pitch Event.

If you want to participate in the Agent Pitch Event, you are required to participate in a recent Prepare Your Pitch Week first (see below).

Completion of this event does not automatically mean you are registered for the February Agent Pitch Event. You must register for that event separately (see below).

Agent Pitch Event

An optional follow-up to this Prepare Your Pitch Week, the February 2020 Agent Pitch Event, is an opportunity to submit your pitch to approximately 20 agents who are seeking women's fiction manuscripts.

What agents are looking for

Agents participating in this event are looking specifically for women's fiction, so all pitches must include the protagonist's emotional journey. To facilitate agents' work, hard-working WFWA volunteers must individually remove posts from other genres. The volunteers are excited to help you, but please be respectful of their time and energy by including your protagonist's emotional journey right from the start during Prepare Your Pitch Week.

If you have participated in previous Agent Pitch Events, do not re-submit the same manuscript.  Agents do not want to see the same pitch. Volunteers will be checking.

Registration

There will be a one-day registration opportunity for this Agent Pitch Event on Monday, January 27, 2020.

The February 2020 Agent Pitch Event will be open only to those who have not participated in a previous Agent Pitch Event (unless they are pitching a new manuscript).

Eligible participants for the February 2020 Agent Pitch Event will be selected from two pools of applicants:

  1. First-priority slots: WFWA members who participate in this January 2020 Prepare Your Pitch Week
  2. Second-priority slots: WFWA members who participated in the July 2019 Prepare Your Pitch Week

Participation in Prepare Your Pitch Week is required. Members who have participated in this event in the past received significantly more agent requests during the corresponding Agent Pitch Event. Stronger individual pitches result in more agent interest for all WFWA members. 

Exploring the Emotional Frontier: Going Where Readers Fear (But Want) to Go

Presenter: Donald Maass 

April 27-May 8, 2020

Description: In women's fiction the protagonist's journey toward greater fulfillment is central. Ensure that your story has the emotional drive it needs. Join Donald Maass, President of Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York, author of Writing the Breakout Novel, The Emotional Craft of Fiction and other craft books for novelists for a deep dive on emotional story arc and more. 

Please note this is a master class designed for experienced fiction writers. Limited to 40 participants. This session will be repeated in November, though April workshop participants will be ineligible for that session. 

Bio: Donald Maass founded the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York in 1980. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009), The Breakout Novelist (2011) and Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012). He is a past president of the Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc.

Exploring the Emotional Frontier: Going Where Readers Fear (But Want) to Go

Presenter: Donald Maass 

November 2-13, 2020
 

Description: In women's fiction the protagonist's journey toward greater fulfillment is central. Ensure that your story has the emotional drive it needs. Join Donald Maass, President of Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York, author of Writing the Breakout Novel, The Emotional Craft of Fiction and other craft books for novelists for a deep dive on emotional story arc and more. 

Please note this is a master class designed for experienced fiction writers. Limited to 40 participants. This session is a repeat of the April workshop. Participants from the April workshop are ineligible.  

Bio: Donald Maass founded the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York in 1980. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009), The Breakout Novelist (2011) and Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012). He is a past president of the Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc.