A Great Opportunity For All You Writer Types

The other day I read about something so exciting, I had to share it with you all. I usually read things like this and think, "Scam." But after I checked this one out, I have to say that it will be well worth your time. I know that many of you who read this blog are closet writers, wannabe writers, and full-fledged, throwing-caution-to-the-winds writers. For all of you, there is something worthwhile here.

What is it, you may be asking? It's a teleconference next Wednesday night from 7pm to 8:30, EST. An opportunity for you to eavesdrop on some of the biggest agents and editors in the Christian publishing world discussing what they look for in great writing and in proposals. I got so excited, I emailed Terry Whalin (no relation, trust me, I get asked all the time) the mastermind behind this, and asked him to share a bit more about it with you guys. He graciously agreed to do so. Here is an interview I did with him.

Terry, what led you to offer this as a teleconference?

I've been learning about teleseminars last year and did a couple of them like: http://www.askterrywhalin.com/replay I wanted to pull together some editors and literary agents who hardly ever appear at writer's conferences yet are key decisionmakers. In particular I wanted to see what they could tell me about the characteristics of successful book proposals and manuscripts. It's what will be the focus of each one of my conversations with them during the teleseminar. In between the interviews, I'm going to be launching my new product for writers, Proposal Secrets

How does this compare with going to a live writers' conference?

It doesn't involve traveling or the effort for a live writer's conference. Of course, the audience doesn't have the opportunity to directly ask questions. Yet the teleseminar has the convenience of sitting in your home in your casual clothes yet listening to some critical information from these publishing professionals. Every writer needs to understand the importance of making a good first impression and putting the right type of energy and effort into their book proposals.

What makes this call unique?

The people who are participating makes the call unique. If you tried to call most of these speakers, the average person would have a difficult time getting to them. Each of them have agreed to participate for a brief period of time. At a live panel of editors and agents at a writer's conference, all of the participants are present and hear the presentations of the other participants. For this teleseminar, the editor or agent only has to appear during a brief time period. They can choose to hear the rest of the presentation or not. In particular I selected a variety of editors--fiction, nonfiction, Christian and general market. Each person has a different role and unique perspective on the whole issue of what's an attractive pitch from a writer.

What are the benefits to someone who participates?

If you participate, you will gain the benefit of education about what attracts an editor or a literary agent to a particular project. You can learn those factors and apply them to your own pitch to editors and literary agents. The principles will be transferrable to your project. Also you can listen to the presentation more than once--because each participant will receive the link to the replay. They can download the presentation and listen to it on their computer or their ipod.

Also I'm offering a free Ebook and audio presentation called Straight Talk From The Editor, 18 Keys to a Rejection-Proof Submission to the first 200 people who sign up for the session. I've got some other benefits which will be a surprise during the session.

What are you most excited about with this event?

I'm excited to learn what attracted editors and agents to various projects. I will learn a lot from each session--even though I've been involved in publishing for over 20 years and written more than 60 books for traditional publishers. I'm also excited about the results from such a session--hopefully improved pitches and book proposals from writers. As each of us learn how publishing works, we can be more effective in pursuing our own dreams as writers. I believe education through events like this help move our dreams closer to becoming reality.

Finally I'm excited to introduce a new product, Proposal Secrets to the audience. I'm answering 50 actual questions from writers about book proposals and believe some exciting things will come from this process as well.

Thanks Terry for sharing with us. I hope that many of my readers will invest the small fee to participate and get a large amount of knowledge in return!!

Marybeth, I'm delighted to have this opportunity to share my excitement. I've poured a lot of energy into this event and feel like it will benefit many people.

Y'all, I have to encourage you to sign up for this call. When I went to the link to see what it was all about, I was shocked at the caliber of folks he has got on the call. Trust me, he is not lying when he says these folks are hard to get to. Much less sit and learn from! The call only costs $20-- less than the price of a movie and popcorn these days and you will learn so much. I can guarantee that.

I recently paid for a series of calls on speaking that Randy Ingermanson did with Mary Byers, and I learned so much-- even though I have been speaking for 3 years. There is always room to grow and improve. So, sign up, make the investment, and carve out the time (it's in the evening, so you can get your kids settled, then sit down with a notebook and pen and listen in in your pj's!). Even if you can't listen in on the actual call, you will receive a link to listen in to the recorded call at a time that suits your schedule. I did this with the speaker calls (listened after the fact), and it worked great!

Don't miss this opportunity. Terry is providing a great service. Just go to THIS LINK to sign up. If you hurry, you will get a free bonus gift and I know how much we women love our free bonus gifts!! What are you waiting for?? Ü