One of the most frustrating phrases we’ve heard as writers will frustrate you no more! Yes, you’ve slammed into the phrase countless times and although it sounds like simple logic, when it comes right down to crafting your novel, you still end up telling the story instead of showing it. You try to be more descriptive, yet you are again told that the writing is telling. “How can that be!” you scream at your computer, head pounding in pain from beating it against your desk in defeat. Here’s part of the problem. Writing a novel is a long process and much of that process is spent working to move the story forward. We spend a lot of time trying to get from here to there, moving step by step through the story to get to the conclusion. What we aren’t doing is making each step of the journey vivid, real, tangible and engaging. This workshop will not only make sense out of “show don’t tell,” but will make the craft of showing your story enjoyable and exciting! Feel free to bring examples of your own writing for review, but be prepared to share with the class!

Shirley Webb - Writing and Marketing Young Adults Books Today

Shirley Webb was a former advertising writer for television when she chose to change direction and write for Young Adult children. Since 2002, Shirley, in Connecticut, and Janet Moreland, in Nevada, have written and published three historical Women's novels and one contemporary romance. The authors met online and found they have mutual interests in writing and in Cherokee culture. Both authors say their friendship came first and cemented the rapport necessary for the overwhelming task of collaborating on this series while living a continent apart. Many hours of emails, phone calls, brief meetings, research, and revisions culminated in "The Howell Women Saga" - Cherokee Love, Dance in the Rain, and Song of Love, all published by iUniverse, Inc. All of the stories have a Cherokee background and follow the lives of four generations of the independent Howell women from 1865 to 1953 as they manage the daunting task of mixing family and career.

With all the changes in publishing today, downsizing of publishing houses, the rise of the small press, e-book, audio books and all the other methods for writers to market their thoughts, it is more necessary for agents to know the best routes for their writers to take to travel the road to success. It is exciting. Change is exciting. I believe that opportunities grow out of change. But books, physical books will still be THE backbone of the industry in the foreseeable future…but the I-Pad, for instance, seems to be a very cool device which may open doors to a different kind of content. And there could be some cool book apps in the future that bring a new readership base to certain projects. Not everyone is as excited about digital publishing, though. Do you think this could pose some challenges to new writers? What should they do to meet these challenges? Work even harder than. There is always an opportunity in good or bad times.

CAPA founder Brian Jud will share his vast store of marketing ideas for authors to find non-traditional ways to sell their books. Brian is the author of Beyond the Bookstore and How to Make Real Money Selling Books. His unusual approach to finding sales in non-traditional markets has developed into a full time business with his Book Marketing Works. This company helps authors sell their books in volume to companies that need titles to help market their products or to major resale non-bookstore venues. Everyone is invited to hear what Brian has to say and learn how it might help you market your books. Brian will take questions so come prepared to learn something that will help you sell more books.



I love exposing the little hidden nooks in our unconscious that hold memories, ideas, imaginings that suddenly sprout up during the writing process like a magic garden you didn’t remember you had tilled and somehow, somewhere, got planted and now feeds you and your work. I think about that a lot. I don’t know how it happens, (and I surely don’t take much credit for it) but I know the creative part of writing makes me very grateful to a generous God. Eleanor will talk about the world of writing the romance novel and how it differs from other genre.

After several careers in book retailing (Waldenbooks), publishing (Crown Publishers), direct marketing (American Express Travel Related Services), and video/television/public television (WNET, ABC, Kultur, Winstar) she traded in her pumps for a yellow legal pad and a stack of pencils and started writing. A small item in the New York Times about a mummified body piqued her interest and subsequent research led to her first book, the Agatha and Anthony-nominated, Pushing Up Daisies, the first title in the Dirty Business mystery series from Minotaur Books. Daisies was followed by The Big Dirt Nap, Dead Head and Slugfest. Let Rosemary share her skills with you.

Everyone has a story worth telling. Whatever form our writing takes, most of us do draw on our own life experiences to one degree or another. Longtime CAPA member David Garnes will discuss how he has incorporated his own life into his writing, and how the particular genre—poetry, memoir, novel—influences what is remembered, re-created, and told.

Agent Linda Roghaar and author Dr. A.V. Srinivasan explain how they worked together to bring the book Hinduism for Dummies from concept to publication. This is a step-by-step workshop on how to achieve the best results from a true collaboration between agent and writer. Come ready to take lots of notes.

Peggy Gaffney, a successful author and publisher of 10 non-fiction books, has spent several years sharing her book marketing experience with her fellow writers through lectures and workshops. She now shares her experience with authors through a method, called Writer to Reader Networking. This takes the massive audience of Facebook and focuses on how to build a marketing home there with easy to use web page creation tools, and a step-by-step guided instruction course. This gives the ability for writers to create unique fan pages that promote their books, build mailing lists and encourage readers around the world to read the books and interact with their author.


2:45 p.m.—3:00 p.m. Break

Session Three - 3:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. (choose one of the five speakers)

For Children With Love was founded by Catherine Gibson. She decided through her experiences and the experiences of many others that came into her life and touched her heart that she had to give back. She does this under the For Children With Love banner giving proceeds of every book to various charities. Catherine will take authors through the steps of not only setting up a method for charities to benefit from their work, but how to use this donation to help market the book and the message and to raise the profile of both you as an author and your cause.

Promote your books and your self online. We show you how to write your social networking campaign to promote your book, career, or to establish yourself as an expert. We’ll talk about getting the most from Twitter, your blog, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You will see the difference a single letter can make in your work and how a prominent business club offered dead relatives for Easter dessert.

Wayne English is a Web content and social networking expert, accomplished speaker, instructor, author, writer, and Web master. His first book, "Web Content Rx," is one of The Washington Post’s Top 5 Business Titles. Wayne is published nationally and internationally in magazines, newspapers, and newsletters in print and online. His short fiction, "Shift World," is published at NovelEndeavors.com and other places online as well. Wayne is president of Web Content Rx LLC. He lives in Coventry, CT with his wife and daughter. Title of my book: Web Content Rx, A Quick and Handy Guide for Writers, Webmasters, eBayers, and Business People.  



Gina is currently seeking both fiction and nonfiction, for both adults and children (middle-grade and YA only). Our current nonfiction emphasis is on health, business, parenting, sports, history, politics and current events. In fiction, we're looking for mystery, suspense, thrillers, urban fantasy, horror, and romance. For children, we're looking for fantasy, horror, adventure, humor, romance, and history. But don't feel limited by our list here and try us with nearly anything other than poetry or picture books.

Louise Fury of the L. Perkins Agency believes in the power of marketing and is constantly on the lookout for authors who know how to promote themselves. She is seeking high concept Young Adult fiction and fun, imaginative and engaging Middle Grade fiction--think humor, adventure and mystery. The characters must be authentic and original. Louise really loves romance (especially Regency and Victorian), contemporary, paranormal and steampunk romance. She's passionate about connecting with South African authors--anything about South Africa, or by a South African author is on her wish list. In non-fiction she is looking for pop culture and humor. NO science fiction, YA "issue" books or erotica. If your manuscript contains one or many of these elements, is COMPLETE, well-written and ready to be seen by an editor, send your query and the first five pages to: lfury@lperkinsagency.com. For more information on Louise or to take a peek at her client list, visit www.louisefury.blogspot.com or follow her on twitter @louisefury

Susannah Taylor of the Richard Henshaw Group. Susannah loves nothing better than a good story, so it’s a joy to work with talented writers every day. She’s been part of Richard Henshaw Group, a boutique agency in New York City, for several years and is steadily building a select list of authors who she represents with passion and enthusiasm. Currently she is seeking Romance (Historical, Paranormal, Contemporary, RomSus, Soft Romance and Romantica), Urban Fantasy, Mysteries, Thrillers, Historical Fiction/Non-Fiction and Popular Non-Fiction.

Diana Finch of the Diana Finch Literary Agency. Seeking new and established writers. Prior to opening her agency, Ms. Finch worked at Ellen Levine Literary Agency for 18 years. Established: 2003. Member of AAR. Represents 45 clients. 20% of clients are new/unpublished writers. Currently Handles: 65% Nonfiction Books, 25% Novels, 5% Juvenile Books, 5% Multimedia. Represents: Nonfiction Books, Novels, Scholarly Books. Nonfiction areas of interest: Biography, Business, Child Guidance/Parenting, Computers, Current Affairs, Ethnic/Cultural, Government/Politics/Law, Health/Medicine, History, How-to, Humor, Juvenile nonfiction, Memoirs, Military, Money, Music/Dance, Nature, Photography, Popular Culture, Psychology, Science, Self-Help/Personal Improvement, Sports, Theater/film, Translation, True Crime, Women’s Issues. Fiction areas of interest: Action/Adventure, Detective/Police/Crime, Ethnic, Historical, Literary, Mainstream/Contemporary, Thriller, Young Adult.

Dr. Uwe Stender, founder of TriadaUS Literary Agency, is a Full Member of the AAR (Association of Authors’ Representatives). Our best known clients are former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan, bestselling author and 2001 NAACP Image Award Recipient for Outstanding Literature in Fiction Omar Tyree, bestselling author Michael Konik, BET’s Jeff Johnson, bestselling author and relationship expert Dr. Joel Block, legendary NBA referee Bob Delaney, and author Dan Fante. We are open to all submissions in nonfiction and fiction. In fiction, we are particularly looking for literary fiction, women’s fiction, YA and mysteries.

Ann Collette of the Helen Rees Literary Agency was a freelance writer and editor for 15 years before becoming an agent. She reviewed fiction for PUBLISHERS WEEKLY for six years, and wrote reviews, author profiles and features for over 30 other magazines, including BOOK, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, MS., and THE BOSTON GLOBE. Initially approached by Helen Rees to evaluate manuscripts for the agency, Ann was asked to join as an agent in 2000. Her clients include Edgar and RWA nominee Vicki Lane and Steven Sidor.

Though Ann loves literary fiction and is always open to considering such work, she specializes in category fiction. She's always on the lookout for thrillers, mysteries, and the darkest of dark crime fiction. Last year saw the publication of the first vampire novel she's represented, Clay and Susan Griffith's VAMPIRE EMPIRE -- THE GREYFRIAR (the first in a trilogy), and in March 2011, the first cyber thriller she's represented, ZERO DAY, by Mark Russinovich, will be published. Ann also enjoys women's fiction, particularly works suited for book clubs. Novels and non fiction set in Southeast Asia, or books dealing with race and class, are always of interest to her. Ann does not represent romance, sci fi, high fantasy, children's or YA.

Linda Roghaar of the Linda Roghaar Literary Agency, LLC. Linda Roghaar has been in the book business since 1974. She worked in retail bookstores, and for many years was a publishers' rep who sold independent and university presses to bookstores, chains and wholesalers. This experience prepared her well for her career as an agent, which began in 1996. Linda's years spent on both sides of the market provide her with a keen sense of what the market is looking for and how to position it. The Linda Roghaar Literary Agency represents authors with substantial messages and specializes in nonfiction. We sell to major, independent, and university presses. Linda sells to major, independent, and university presses. Linda is a generalist, but does not handle romance, horror, or science fiction.

Marilyn Allen is a partner and founder of the Allen O'Shea Literary Agency, specializing in authors of practical nonfiction; health, cooking, business and narrative nonfiction titles. Prior to starting the agency 11 years ago, Marilyn held senior positions in publishing including Senior VP and Associate Publisher at Harper Collins, VP of Simon & Schuster, VP of Penguin Publishing Group and director positions at Avon and Warner Books. She is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Book Proposals & Query Letters (Penguin 2011) with her partner Coleen O'Shea and together they also write a regular column for Writer Magazine. Marilyn is a frequent speaker and presenter at writers' conference throughout the country and has taught publishing courses for Gotham and at NYU. She is one of the founders and the lead judge of the Next Generation Independent Book Awards, the largest not-for-profit book award program in America. She is looking for nonfiction titles in the health, business, cooking, crafts and pop culture from authors with strong media platforms and fresh ideas. She is passionate about helping writers achieve their dreams.




       Follow Up Session - 4:00 p.m.—5:00 p.m.