Guest: NAIWE’s Nonfiction Expert Amy Waters Yarsinske If your book is well written, Hollywood may seek you out. Or alternatively, if you have connections in the motion picture production industry, your book might get picked up and made into a film. However, most book writers are not screenwriters, and the book writers’ main focus should be on developing an excellent book.

First impressions ended the editing before the end of the first chapter . . . section . . . it was hard to tell. The submission had come from someone who was not a writer but the publisher was anxious to acquire the subject matter. This meant the manuscript was in bad shape and impossible to follow. When it takes months to plow through one “chapter” of a book of undefined scope, it is not an editing gig.

Guest: NAIWE’s Nonfiction Expert Amy Waters Yarsinske Interested in writing nonfiction books? Learn from one of the best! In this webinar, Amy Waters Yarsinske, who has published over 85 nonfiction books, shares the ins and outs of the nonfiction world. She tells her personal story of always having been a writer at heart, even though she went on an adventurous path before she began writing full time.

Guest: NAIWE’s Executive Director April Michelle Davis Writing is no longer a lucrative career. The most recent study by the Authors Guild, a professional organization for book writers, shows that it may not even be a livable career. In this webinar, we will discuss the theme of NAIWE membership: developing multiple streams of income. And we will discuss how to leverage your book to succeed in a career in writing!

Guest: NAIWE’s Blogging Expert Carol Tice Keywords in headlines need to explain the post because there are no subheads to help. And to take it a step further, the first two lines of the post are also used for search engine optimization. Learn how to be mindful of your keyword drivers to attract the readers that you want. Every NAIWE member has a blog to practice the many takeaways that you will find helpful!

Guest: NAIWE’s Tax Expert Carol Tice A blog is more than an avenue for putting your personal thoughts out there; it is a marketing tool that when set up correctly will catch the eye of big name companies looking for a freelance blogger whose numbers show reader engagement. In this webinar, Carol shares her experiences to guide and aid you to becoming more than a blogger . . . a content strategist!

Guest: NAIWE’s Ghostwriting Expert Claudia Suzanne Ghostwriting began in times where storytellers used scribes to write down their stories. Today, ghostwriters take the first draft of the manuscript to the second draft grade. This profession is lucrative and in demand. Thus, ghostwriting is a way to be paid well to learn a new subject matter and command a strong flat fee from authors who want to share their stories.

Guest: NAIWE’s Headline Expert Dana Sitar A single headline is not sufficient for most content in digital publishing. Readers access your content in a variety of contexts, and the headline that’s effective in one context is often less effective in another. This training shows you how to craft headlines that catch readers’ attention across platforms, including websites, social media, email, and search.

Guest: NAIWE’s Marketing Expert Diana Ennen Diana will share how to get the most out of each article you write by using bits of it on your website and on each social media platform and by inserting keywords in your article and even in the title. Having a plan helps a pro reach goals. She will share how to create a plan, what should be in it, and also how to build your following and establish trust and credibility.

Guest: NAIWE’s Creative Nonfiction Jennia D’Lima Apart from bringing credibility to your topic, historical details have the benefit of helping your reader better understand the context surrounding your subject. This session shows how to sift through research and facts to find what will have the most impact and meaning as well as how to identify which areas of your manuscript would most benefit from these additions.

Writers interested in recounting their journeys have options, but which form is the best fit? Does an account of cheese tasting need the same amount of detail as a story about a retelling of a hike through each of Canada’s provinces? In this webinar, we’ll learn about some of the most popular forms of travel writing and look at how narrowing down your topic will help you choose a form and identify your audience.

Guest: NAIWE’s Creative Nonfiction Jennia D’Lima The shortest stories are sometimes the ones that stick with us the most. While many of us are familiar with the many ways fiction can be written in a condensed format, we may not be aware of a trending market in creative nonfiction—the micro memoir. Participants will be shown what separates it from similar subgenres and tips and tricks for writing micro memoirs.

You’re certain that a memoir is the best way to share a personal event. But before you begin, it can be helpful to ask yourself a series of questions to determine whether writing a memoir is right for you. This webinar will use these questions to define what a memoir is and what it isn’t while also addressing an individual’s emotional readiness to share their story.

Guest: NAIWE’s Journalism Expert Kristen Fischer Want to know how to quickly find reputable sources? We'll go through tips and tricks from journalists to find the right sources for stories—in a pinch. This will include experts for quotes, as well as written research for articles.

Guest: NAIWE’s Journalism Expert Kristen Fischer Journalists guide interviews, and how they do it can make or break a story. In this webinar, we’ll explore different tactics for asking questions that receive more detailed responses and produce better sound bites. Come prepared with one example of a great question you’ve asked in the past, and one that you thought was great yet fell flat.

Guest: NAIWE’s Journalism Expert Kristen Fischer Whether you write for digital or print avenues, being a freelance journalist can be tough. This webinar will explore how to target publications, secure editorial contacts, line up regular work, and overcome obstacles that arise when you’re not on staff. Learn business tips to break into new publications as a freelancer and keep a steady flow of freelance work coming.

Guest: NAIWE’s Journalism Expert Kristen Fischer We live in the age of misinformation so it’s vital for journalists to use reputable sources. How can you sift through the information on the internet and find legitimate sources? How can you pinpoint sources for interviews and ensure they are legitimate? This webinar will take a deep dive with tips to help you ensure that your research and interview sources are solid.

Guest: NAIWE’s Business of Writing Expert Laura Pennington Briggs Feeling overwhelmed by everything you’re “supposed” to do to launch a book? This webinar breaks down the launch process into manageable phases. You’ll learn how to map out a marketing plan, what actually moves the needle, and how to tailor your approach based on your goals. Perfect for authors who want clarity, structure, and realistic expectations.

Guest: NAIWE’s Copyright and Permission Expert MJ Courchesne As a writer, you know the value of your work, and have a keen interest in protecting it. You also may know that your work is copyrighted as soon as you put thoughts into a fixed medium, so why should you bother registering your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office? This webinar will review the basics of copyright law in the United States.

Guest: NAIWE’s Copyright and Permissions Expert MJ Courchesne Learn about what the newly established Copyright Claims Board means for individual creators in this town hall style webinar. We’ll also talk about the implications of a shared copyright between two or more authors.

Guest: NAIWE’s Copyright and Permissions Expert MJ Courchesne Learn the ins and outs of what publishers require when they ask you to "clear" permission for third-party materials you are incorporating into your work. What things do you need to have in a permission agreement, how do you go about getting permission anyway, and how long will this process take?

Guest: NAIWE’s Copyright & Permissions Expert MJ Courchesne This webinar will feature some sample agreements and sources for templates that the writer may find useful. What does a work-for-hire look like? What should you expect in a trade publishing contract? How common are NDAs in the publishing world? How do you format a simple permission request? Who can you reach out to for help when reviewing a contract?

Guest: NAIWE’s Public Relations and Book Marketing Expert Marcia Rosen A good detective needs to be tenacious and patient. A good detective needs to look at the truths of a situation and ask questions that get to the heart of the matter. Those same skills are needed to write a good memoir. How do you search for clues about your history and their impact on your life?

Guest: NAIWE’s Public Relations and Book Marketing Expert Marcia Rosen The audiobook market is one of the fastest growing segments of the publishing industry. According to the Audio Publishers Association, it grew an estimated 24.5% from 2017 to 2018. This included self-published authors and small publishers who accessed numerous marketing actions and opportunities to create an awareness and enhance sales.

Guest: Conference Speaker Nicole Evelina Learn how to know if your book idea is likely to appeal to traditional publishers and whether your self-published book is likely to reach readers. Topics will include gatekeepers in traditional publishing, genre trends, perennial bestselling topics, the importance of platform, and how to find an idea that not only appeals to you but fills a gap in the marketplace.

Guest: NAIWE’s Novel Writing Expert Nicole Evelina They say everyone has a book in them, or maybe some short stories. As a corporate communicator, you may have the ability to write but may not feel creative enough to break out of your business-minded mold. A veteran of business communication and a USA Today bestselling author, Nicole Evelina will show you how to tap into ideas and talents you didn’t know you had.

Guest: NAIWE’s Book-to-Blog Expert Nina Amir Writing an entire book can seem overwhelming, while writing a daily post for a blog may be manageable. Having a blog gives you a platform and a fanbase, and the opportunity to blog your ideas for a book among its potential readers. Learn how having a blog and regularly posting to it can increase your likelihood of being accepted by a publisher.

Guest: NAIWE’s Book-to-Blog Expert Nina Amir Writing a book is a creative process, but once the book has been published, a different type of creativity is needed to successfully market and sell the book. This webinar will help you develop a business plan to include defining your readers and your market. This business plan will aid you with creating a marketing plan and a promotion plan to ultimately build sales.

Two elements in a successful short story are the opening and conclusion. We’ll cover the importance of a good title, good first sentence, good paragraph; effective openings; setting the scene/tone/characters with the opening; establishing stakes and genre. For endings, we’ll cover paying off the promise of the beginning, tying the ending to the beginning formally, leaving the reader satisfied but wanting more.

Guest: NAIWE’s Booklets Expert Paulette Ensign All writers can benefit from publishing tips booklets. Even speakers can benefit from having booklets! Listening to this teleconference, you will hear in Paulette’s voice her excitement for this subject matter as she explains how to select the best topic and the ideal word count for a tips booklet, and she will even share her sales and marketing considerations.

Guest: NAIWE’s Well-Fed Expert Peter Bowerman Commercial writing may sound intimidating, but it is simply freelance writing for companies. Because some companies are unwilling to hire full-time writers, they often have needs for freelance writers. Commercial writing allows freelance writers to offer a fresh perspective while letting them learn how to help others and set themselves apart as experts.

Guest: NAIWE’s Benefit Partner ProWritingAid As writers we often spend too much time focusing on what our ideas are instead of how to communicate those ideas most effectively. If we don’t sharpen our sentences with our readers in mind, then our ideas will get lost and our writing will be less engaging. In this presentation, ProWritingAid will walk you through five key ways to improve the craft of your writing.

Guest: NAIWE’s Benefit Partner ProWritingAid As nice as it would be, writing your novel isn’t over when you type “The End.” In fact, the actual work is just beginning. During the editing process, your novel will go from rough first draft to thrilling final manuscript. In this workshop, a ProWritingAid rep will walk you through the most important edits you should make to your manuscript to ensure it’s publish-ready.

Guest: NAIWE’s Professionalism Expert Robert Moskowitz Almost everyone can write. Nearly every high school graduate can cobble together some words. Some people can even earn a few bucks as a writer. But if you really want to pursue the writing life, you’ll find you need to succeed at becoming a professional. Many years ago, I had a dream of writing professionally. I even had a job as a writer. But it was just a job.

Guest: NAIWE’s Writing Goals Expert Rochelle Melander Life is busy, and even though writers have a passion for writing, many feel like they have no time to do so. Like other things in life, writing needs to be made a priority to become a habit for those with this passion. In this webinar, Rochelle Melander will discuss ways to fit in writing, even if it is only a few minutes each day—those few minutes can add up.

Guest: NAIWE’s Freelance Writing Expert Ruth Thaler-Carter Portfolios can take a variety of forms. At one time, it was popular for them to be in a physical format, like a scrapbook, to be able to present to potential clients at tradeshows and conferences. These were great to use as a table display of your work. However, like most things, writing portfolios have also gone digital.

Guest: NAIWE’s Networking Expert Ruth Thaler-Carter You may have information worth sharing with colleagues (and maybe even clients). You’ve developed experience, knowledge, and a strong skill set in your niche. It might be time to add to that skill set by becoming a presenter of conference speeches, workshops, or classes. This webinar will provide tips on why and how to develop a public speaking persona and service.

Guest: NAIWE’s Networking Expert Ruth Thaler-Carter Starting a writing business is exciting and challenging. Get some practical, effective tips from a long-time, award-winning freelance writer/editor in this session. Learn about types of writing that can be the basis of a business; getting experience; finding outlets, audiences, readers and clients; avoiding scams; and more.

Guest: NAIWE’s Media Interviews Expert Suzanne Lynn Cheesman Your work is not done when you finish writing a book. Now you need to let the world know about it, but how? Forbes endorses video as an author’s go-to strategy for marketing: “Video will be the primary marketing format for years to come.” You are in the business of selling books, so let’s talk about the why’s and how’s of video marketing as an author tool!

Guest: NAIWE’s Memoir Expert Suzanne Sherman Memoir writers often spend time exploring material that is essential for their book but is uncomfortable to dive into to craft scenes and write an engaging narrative. Suzanne Sherman will give you tips for navigating the emotional territory. She will address self-exposure and the exposure of others. Suzanne will also discuss legalities and the pros and cons of pen names.

Guest: NAIWE’s Journaling Expert Tina Games Journaling is a safe place to eliminate overwhelm and give order to your life. It allows you to become aware of patterns and focus your mind. Because you are continuing to write, journaling helps you become a better writer, and these thoughts may even turn into a book! Tina will share some benefits of journaling and even types of journals that are best suited for writers.

Guest: NAIWE’s Research Paper Expert Yateendra Joshi Research and academic papers rarely make easy reading, given the dense subject matter, rigid conventions, and unappealing layout and design. Also, the layout and design must work across platforms and devices. The design must also take into account how research papers are accessed because rarely are they read from beginning to end.