At the April 4 Willamette Writers meeting, attendees got to hear from Laura Bradford, founder of Bradford Literary Agency, about what agents look for in writers. Here are some key takeaways from the presentation. Are You Someone Agents Want to Work With? Be nice. If your personality is too demanding, or if you are not…
The November 7th meeting of Willamette Writers brought William Kenower, teacher of the Fearless Writing Series, to the Old Church to share his perspectives for building up a strong writing life while keeping the topics that interest and engage us forefront in our minds. One of the things I enjoyed so much about Kenower’s presentation…
by C. Lill Ahrens The old saying, “Can’t see the forest for the trees” can be a metaphor for wordy writing. Too many extra words obscure the view of your story. In contrast to “cutting,” (the deletion of an entire subplot, minor character, etc.), “tightening” is a delicate and complex process. Its goal is to…
The June 6th Willamette Writers meeting was a wonderful time to be in community with one of my very favorite presenters from last year’s conference, Tex Thompson. The presentation focused on how writers can promote and market themselves, a topic that has become more and more important as the entire publishing landscape shifts into an…
This contributed piece brings notes from Willamette Writers Portland’s April 4th, 2017 Meeting with author and editor Jessica Morrell by member Amy Foster Myer. Enjoy! Having seen Jessica Morell present at the 2016 Willamette Writers Conference, I can tell you she is an amazing presenter who provides an absolute wealth of information in a speck of…
Today, we’re bringing you a post from Ellen Urbani who was our closing keynote at the 2016 Willamette Writers Conference. In 2015, Ellen Urbani toured the South with her novel Landfall (Forest Avenue Press, 2015). The tour brought in overflow crowds and pushed Landfall up on the bestseller lists. Upon her return to Portland, Ellen had another successful book event for Landfall,…
Notes from the conversation between Kevin Sampsell And Monica Drake about leading a literary life at Willamette Writers Portland’s Monthly Meeting, February 07, 2017, by member Amy Foster Myer. In the month’s meeting in Portland, Kevin Sampsell and Monica Drake touched on a subject close to the heart of many writers – leading a literary…
Do you mentor someone? What benefits of mentoring do you most enjoy? Have you ever thought of working with a young person in this way? Today, we’re delighted to share a blog post by long time member Stephanie Raffelock drawing from her experience as a mentor in our Young Willamette Writers program. Life blessed me with a…
Notes from Agent DongWon Song’s Talk at Willamette Writers Portland’s Monthly Meeting, January 03, 2017, by member Amy Foster Myer. Willamette Writers launched 2017 with an excellent presentation and Q&A session in Portland with local agent DongWon Song, who agents for Howard Morhaim Literary Agency. DongWon also participates in the publishing graduate program at PSU and…
You’ve finished your book. It’s been a month, a year, a decade, but you’ve polished that baby, and now it sits gleaming on your desk begging to be shared with the world. What do you, author, do now? Send it to an agent? An editor? Self-publish? Serialize it? Make an audiobook? And how does one…
